1994 French Grand Prix

The 1994 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 July 1994 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours near Magny-Cours in France. It was the seventh race of the 1994 Formula One World Championship.

1994 French Grand Prix
Race 7 of 16 in the 1994 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 3 July 1994
Official name 80e Grand Prix de France[1]
Location Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.250 km (2.641 miles)
Distance 72 laps, 306.000 km (191.140 miles)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver Williams-Renault
Time 1:16.282
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom Damon Hill Williams-Renault
Time 1:19.678 on lap 4
Podium
First Benetton-Ford
Second Williams-Renault
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 72-lap race was won by Michael Schumacher, driving a Benetton-Ford. It was Schumacher's sixth victory in seven races. Damon Hill finished second in a Williams-Renault, having started from pole position and led the race, while Gerhard Berger finished third in a Ferrari.

Schumacher now led the Drivers' Championship by 37 points from Hill.

Report

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Background

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Nigel Mansell made his return to Formula One, driving for Williams-Renault in place of David Coulthard. He had left F1 at the end of 1992 to race in IndyCar. JJ Lehto was rested by Benetton-Ford and was replaced by the test driver Jos Verstappen who had previously deputised for Lehto earlier in the season. Jean-Marc Gounon would drive the second Simtek-Ford following Andrea Montermini's accident at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Race

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Olivier Panis and Gianni Morbidelli collided on lap 29. This was the only retirement of the season for Panis. Michael Schumacher won the race ahead of Damon Hill and Gerhard Berger. Heinz-Harald Frentzen finished fourth, his best Formula One finish up to this point. Pierluigi Martini was fifth and Andrea de Cesaris finished sixth. These would prove to be the last world championship points that Martini and de Cesaris scored in their careers, with de Cesaris failing to finish another race in his Formula One career.[2] The ninth place of Jean-Marc Gounon, four laps behind, would be the best result for the Simtek Team, a feat they would only reach once again.

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Time Q2 Time Gap
1 0   Damon Hill Williams-Renault 1:17.539 1:16.282
2 2   Nigel Mansell Williams-Renault 1:18.340 1:16.359 +0.077
3 5   Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 1:17.085 1:16.707 +0.425
4 27   Jean Alesi Ferrari 1:17.855 1:16.954 +0.672
5 28   Gerhard Berger Ferrari 1:17.441 1:16.959 +0.677
6 15   Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart 1:19.463 1:17.441 +1.159
7 14   Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 1:18.326 1:17.482 +1.200
8 6   Jos Verstappen Benetton-Ford 1:18.669 1:17.645 +1.363
9 7   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Peugeot 1:19.041 1:17.768 +1.486
10 30   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Mercedes 1:19.318 1:17.830 +1.548
11 29   Andrea de Cesaris Sauber-Mercedes 1:20.145 1:17.866 +1.584
12 8   Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot 1:18.112 1:18.031 +1.749
13 26   Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault 1:19.697 1:18.044 +1.762
14 3   Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:19.969 1:18.192 +1.910
15 25   Éric Bernard Ligier-Renault 1:19.292 1:18.236 +1.954
16 23   Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 1:20.084 1:18.248 +1.966
17 4   Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:20.001 1:18.381 +2.099
18 9   Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Ford 1:20.801 1:18.568 +2.286
19 12   Johnny Herbert Lotus-Mugen-Honda 1:20.108 1:18.715 +2.433
20 20   Érik Comas Larrousse-Ford 1:20.576 1:18.811 +2.529
21 24   Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford 1:20.097 1:18.890 +2.608
22 10   Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Ford 1:20.707 1:18.936 +2.654
23 11   Alessandro Zanardi Lotus-Mugen-Honda 1:20.122 1:19.066 +2.784
24 31   David Brabham Simtek-Ford 1:22.527 1:19.771 +3.489
25 19   Olivier Beretta Larrousse-Ford 1:21.964 1:19.863 +3.581
26 32   Jean-Marc Gounon Simtek-Ford 1:23.264 1:21.829 +5.547
DNQ 34   Bertrand Gachot Pacific-Ilmor 1:24.048 1:21.952 +5.670
DNQ 33   Paul Belmondo Pacific-Ilmor 1:24.637 1:23.004 +6.722
Sources:[3][4][5]

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5   Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 72 1:38:35.704 3 10
2 0   Damon Hill Williams-Renault 72 + 12.642 1 6
3 28   Gerhard Berger Ferrari 72 + 52.765 5 4
4 30   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Mercedes 71 + 1 Lap 10 3
5 23   Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 70 + 2 Laps 16 2
6 29   Andrea de Cesaris Sauber-Mercedes 70 + 2 Laps 11 1
7 12   Johnny Herbert Lotus-Mugen-Honda 70 + 2 Laps 19  
8 9   Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Ford 70 + 2 Laps 18  
9 32   Jean-Marc Gounon Simtek-Ford 68 + 4 Laps 26  
10 4   Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha 67 + 5 Laps 17  
11 20   Érik Comas Larrousse-Ford 66 Engine 20  
Ret 3   Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 53 Spun Off 14  
Ret 7   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Peugeot 48 Engine 9  
Ret 2   Nigel Mansell Williams-Renault 45 Gearbox 2  
Ret 27   Jean Alesi Ferrari 41 Collision 4  
Ret 14   Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 41 Collision 7  
Ret 25   Éric Bernard Ligier-Renault 40 Gearbox 15  
Ret 19   Olivier Beretta Larrousse-Ford 36 Engine 25  
Ret 8   Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot 29 Engine 12  
Ret 10   Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Ford 28 Collision 22  
Ret 26   Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault 28 Collision 13  
Ret 31   David Brabham Simtek-Ford 28 Transmission 24  
Ret 6   Jos Verstappen Benetton-Ford 25 Spun Off 8  
Ret 15   Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart 24 Gearbox 6  
Ret 24   Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford 21 Engine 21  
Ret 11   Alessandro Zanardi Lotus-Mugen-Honda 20 Engine 23  
Source:[6]

Championship standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ "Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1994". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  2. ^ Walker, Murray (1994). Murray Walker's 1994 Grand Prix Year. Hazleton Publishing. p. 67. ISBN 1-874557-01-2.
  3. ^ "Grand Prix de France – Qualifying 1". Formula1.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Grand Prix de France – Qualifying 2". Formula1.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  5. ^ "1994 French GP – Qualification". ChicaneF1. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  6. ^ "1994 French Grand Prix - Race Result". Formula1.com. 2020-02-08. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  7. ^ a b "France 1994 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.


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1994 Canadian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1994 season
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1994 British Grand Prix
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1993 French Grand Prix
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1995 French Grand Prix