Hill's teammate,David Coulthard, finished the season ranked third, scoring his 1st win.
The1995 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 49th season ofFIAFormula One motor racing. It featured the 1995 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1995 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a seventeen-race series that commenced on 26 March and ended on 12 November.
Michael Schumacher won his second consecutive Drivers' Championship, andBenetton won the Constructors' Championship, the first and only Constructors' title for the Benetton team. Schumacher won nine races en route to the championship, equalling the record set byNigel Mansell in1992. He also continued his rivalry withWilliams-Renault driverDamon Hill, including collisions at theBritish andItalian Grands Prix.
Both those races were won by Schumacher's teammateJohnny Herbert, taking his first two F1 victories. Hill's Williams teammate,David Coulthard, claimed his first victory inPortugal, whileFerrari'sJean Alesi achieved his only F1 victory inCanada. Just likeHonda in1988,Renault engines won all but one race in this season.
1995 was also the last season in which the numbering system introduced in1974 was used. From1996 car numbers would generally be allocated based on the Constructors' Championship order of the previous season. This was also the first season of new 3 litre engine Formula and last season in which a V12 engine would race in Formula One. Ferrari, the only team racing with V12 in 1995, would switch to using a V10 engine for 1996. This was also the last season during which1992 championNigel Mansell competed as he left the sport once more after a shambolic short-lived two-race stint with McLaren which saw him initially unable to fit comfortably in the Woking team'sMP4-10 car during pre-season requiring a wider cockpit to be built to suit Mansell which in turn delayed his debut for the team until the third round of the season at Imola before quitting the team after struggling further at thefollowing round in Spain. Mansell would never race in the sport again thereafter.[1][2]
There was a threat of a drivers' strike over the terms of the 1995Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)Super Licences, which allowed the FIA to demand promotional appearances and forbade the drivers from criticising the championship. This was resolved by the governing body prior to the race, ensuring full driver participation.[5][6]
At the end of the 1994 season,Team Lotus left F1 after 36 years in the sport, winning 6 Drivers' and 7 Constructors' Championships, with the team ceasing operations in January 1995. Shortly before the team closed doors, the team's assets were bought by David Hunt, brother of1976 Formula One championJames Hunt, who later announced that the Lotus name would be used byPacific Grand Prix under the name Pacific Team Lotus.
TheLarrousse team, with driversÉric Bernard andChristophe Bouchut, failed to turn up for any of the on-track sessions.[7][8] With French government aid not forthcoming, the team ran out of money. And with a 1995 chassis not yet built, team ownerGérard Larrousse elected to miss the first two rounds of the season in the hope of competing from theSan Marino Grand Prix onwards.[9] No funding ever arrived and it was too late for them to build a car for the season.[10] There were talks with theDAMSFormula 3000 team, butJean-Paul Driot, boss of DAMS, wanted to buy Larrousse and run the team themselves.[11] After a sponsor deal with Malaysian oil companyPetronas also fell through,[12] Driot announced on 13 February that they had abandoned plans to enter F1 for 1995. He intended to return to Formula 3000 and prepare for an F1 bid in1996.[13]
The status and the ownership ofLigier was underscrutiny. WhenMartin Brundle signed with them for 1995, rumours spread thatTom Walkinshaw would take up the function of team boss, since Brundle and Walkinshaw had many successful collaborations in the past. Walkinshaw worked forBenetton in1994 as Engineering Director[15]), but when that team was found to use an illegalfuel filter at theGerman Grand Prix, they were let off the hook, after promising to fire Walkinshaw and implementing major changes within the team. On the side of Benetton, this deal was negotiated byFlavio Briatore. However, since he was also the owner of Ligier, it seemed more like a promotion for Walkinshaw, albeit with a smaller team.[16] Furthermore, rivals compared theLigier JS41 to theBenetton B195, the only apparent difference being the engine in each car.[17] Commenting on the design similarities, Walkinshaw said:
Mechanically it [the JS41] is totally different [from the B195] and structurally it is quite different as well. Aerodynamically, it's as close as we can make it to being the same. I don't know how you would end up with anything else if you take a core of engineers who have been working on the Benetton. Of course the damn thing looks the same. But if you go into the detail of the car, there is nothing interchangeable.[18]
The 1995 season saw a major reshuffle among the engine suppliers:Benetton ended their 7-year association withFord Motor Company by switching to theRenault RS7 engines (which were the same used by Renault's business partnerWilliams F1 team). The contract with Ford was taken up bySauber and they parted ways with long time partnerMercedes-Benz. McLaren then offered a new home for the Mercedes engine supplier, ending their relationship withPeugeot after just one season.Jordan took on the Peugeot engine deal, replacing theirHart contract. And so, finally, the Hart company moved teams toFootwork Arrows. After four years as an independent engine supplier,Ilmor eventually shifted focus to trusted engine designer, builder, assembler and tuner toMercedes-Benz High Performance Engines despite the partnership started from 1994 season onwards.
Minardi had been expected to run withMugen-Honda engines, but at the last minute,Ligier bossFlavio Briatore persuaded theJapanese engine supplier to supply his team, leaving Minardi in a mess. TheirM195 was designed for the Mugen-HondaV10 and parts were already being made. The team then had to work flat out to build a brand new car with aFord ED engine, tuned byMagneti Marelli. Team ownerGiancarlo Minardi announced he was taking legal action against the Japanese supplier.[19]
TheSimtek team went bankrupt on 1 June, after the fifth race of the season.
Nigel Mansell retired from Formula One after 15 seasons.
On 28 October 1994,Ligier issued a press release stating thatOlivier Panis andJohnny Herbert were going to be their official drivers for all of the 1995 season. However, at the end of January, they announced that Herbert was no longer at the team, joiningBenetton instead, and thatAguri Suzuki andMartin Brundle would share the second seat. The announcement came as a big shock to Suzuki and hisJapanese backers, who believed he had secured the Ligier seat for the whole season.[16] During his "off" races, Brundle joined veteran commentatorMurray Walker in theBBC commentary box. They later became commentators forITV, after Brundle retired from F1 in1996, and Brundle is now working forSky Sports F1 alongsideDavid Croft.
Mika Salo replacedMark Blundell atTyrrell, withGabriele Tarquini now the team'stest driver. Before being confirmed as race driver, Salo was involved in a contract dispute with thePacific team. He had raced forTeam Lotus in1994 and was thought to be free when the team withdrew, until new owner David Hunt coupled the name with the Pacific team and insisted Salo was obliged to race for them. TheContract Recognition Board lawyers and Tyrrell representatives were astounded by Hunt, but announced on 13 February that it had ruled in favour of Tyrrell, because the Team Lotus which Salo had signed for was not the same Team Lotus which now claimed his services.[21] Salo was unveiled as Tyrrell driver later that evening when they unveiled their 1995 car.[22]
Mark Blundell replaced fellow countrymanMartin Brundle atMcLaren. However,Nigel Mansell was in theMcLaren seat from theSan Marino Grand Prix. He had already been confirmed at the team when he left Williams, but he could not fit in the car. His deal was also dropped from $15 million to $10 million becauseMarlboro refused to pay his asking price.[23] Mansell said that the 1995 season would almost certainly be his last inFormula One.[20]
Simtek brought inJos Verstappen from Benetton instead ofHideki Noda, who was scheduled to be the team's first driver,[24] but was not able to race, after theGreat Hanshin earthquake resulted in a lack of personal funds, and was therefore relegated to share the second drive withDomenico Schiattarella.[25] Noda ended up not driving for the team at all, as they went bankrupt after theMonaco round.
The calendar was initially announced at the beginning of 1995, but there were doubts over the selected dates:[29]
TheArgentine Grand Prix was the only newly announced race, with it taking place at theAutódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez circuit. The circuit was due to begin the season on 12 March, but there were doubts over whether the circuit would be ready in time.
On 6 February, a revised calendar was announced. However, some tracks still needed clearance to race.[30]
The Argentine Grand Prix moved to 9 April, despite the fact it had now received official clearance from FIA safety inspectorRoland Bruynseraede. It gave the honor of being the season opener toBrazil.
The Pacific round was pushed back due to the earthquake, placing it just one week before theJapanese Grand Prix.
TheEuropean Grand Prix was moved forward seven days, leading to another space in the schedule of just one week.
The rear wing could not extend forward of the rear wheel centreline and rear wing elements could only occupy 70% of the space between 60 centimetres (24 in) and 95 centimetres (37 in) above the ground.
A 10 millimetres (0.39 in) skid block made of impregnated wood was affixed to the underside of every car and it was demanded to wear was only permitted up to 1 millimetre (0.039 in). This was done to force an increase in ride height and thus reduceground effect advantages.
The allowed engine capacity was reduced to 3 litres (down from 3.5 litres) and the description for the type offuel that was allowed was stringently specified, to reach an approximate 100 BHP reduction in power.
The cars' ride height was raised by 50 millimetres (2.0 in).
The flat-bottomed undertray which was made mandatory in1983 was to now feature a large "stepped" section underneath each sidepod, raised about an inch higher and parallel to thewooden plank originally introduced in 1994.
The rear wing could not extend more than 80 cm (31 in) above the "reference plane" (bottom of the car) - this used to be 95 cm (37 in).
The front wing had to be at least 50 mm (2.0 in) above the bottom of the car, up from 40 mm (1.6 in).
The maximum width of the reardiffuser was brought down from 100 cm (39 in) to 30 cm (12 in).
The exclusion zones above the front and rear wheels, in which no wings or other body parts with aerodynamic influence could be placed, were extended.
All aerodynamic changes summed up were expected by reducedownforce by 30–40%.
Cars had to have impact absorbing side structures, which would have to undergo impact tests.
Frontal crash tests were now performed at 12 m/s (39 ft/s) instead of 11 m/s (36 ft/s).
Cockpit openings had to be larger and feature betterheadrest installations.
The survival cell had to extend higher alongside the driver.
The minimum weight of the cars was increased from 515 kilograms (1,135 lb) to 525 kilograms (1,157 lb) to account for the new safety measures, and then increased to 595 kilograms (1,312 lb) to include the driver. Prior to the first session of the season, all of the drivers were weighed to establish a reference weight, to be used on occasions when the two were weighed separately, or if the driver was unavailable to be weighed. As such, a small competitive advantage could be established if the driver attempted to register a weight as heavy as possible before the season and then getting their weight down to lower the total weight of the car on track.[15]
Due to the demise of the Lotus team following the end of the 1994 season, the grid was reduced to 13 teams and 26 cars at the start of season - the same number as the maximum number of cars permitted to start a race. Therefore, every driver entered for a Grand Prix would be guaranteed a slot on the grid, with any withdrawals classed as non-starts rather than non-qualifications.
The cars were still in various stages of development heading into the new season; theFootwork FA16 andSimtek S951 chassis arrived at the event with virtually no testing, having been completed shortly beforehand.[5][37]
Luckily for them and other teams that were expected to be fighting over last places, the withdrawal of teamsLarrousse andLotus dropped the number of participating cars to 26, guaranteeing all entrants of a race start, without the threat of failing to qualify, for the first time since the1994 Canadian Grand Prix.
At the front of the field,Michael Schumacher for Benetton andDamon Hill for Williams were the favourites to battle for theDrivers' Championship, with Schumacher anticipating a "struggle" for the championship.[38]Bernard Dudot,Renault's Chief Engineer, said that he believed Benetton was less well-prepared than Williams, as the former team had just changed its engine supplier to Renault, whereas Williams had been in partnership with the company since1989.[39]
McLaren were concerned about the standard refuelling equipment provided for 1995 by suppliersIntertechnique, having suffered a major leak in a test of the new rig outside of its factory. Intertechnique had redesigned the fuel equipment, which was used by all of the teams, in the wake of thepit lane fire suffered by driverJos Verstappen during the previous year'sGerman Grand Prix.[5] The new fuel rigs, in addition to being half the size of the 1994, also featured longer nozzles, and were designed to lock onto the car before any fuel could begin to flow.[40] Intertechnique traced the problem to a faulty valve within the equipment, which caused 10 kilograms (22 lb) of fuel to leak, and modified the parts accordingly.[41]
1994 runner-upDamon Hill forWilliams achievedpole position for the first race of the season inBrazil. ChampionMichael Schumacher lined up in second in hisBenetton. Hill had a bad start and was immediately overtaken by Schumacher.[42] They utilised differentpit stop strategies and the battle was heating up until, on lap 31, the Williams driver spun off the track when his gearbox seized. Schumacher comfortably won the race ahead of Hill's teammateDavid Coulthard. Third place was contested byMika Salo in theTyrrell until he spun on lap 39, suffering from cramp in his hand, and was overtaken byMika Häkkinen in theMcLaren and theFerraris ofGerhard Berger andJean Alesi. After the second round pit stops, Berger took third place and stayed there.[43][44]
After the race, Schumacher and Coulthard were bothdisqualified, as the fuel sample taken from their cars afterqualifying did not match the regulations. All classified drivers moved up two places and Berger was declared the victor.[45][46] However, a successful appeal by the two teams saw their drivers' results reinstated, since the illegal fuel did not offer a performance advantage.[47] Still, the teams did not receive any points for theConstructors' Championship and were penalized $200,000. This division between car and driver was met with criticism.[38]
For the second race inArgentina, Coulthard achieved pole position, the first of his career, with Hill and Schumacher behind him.[48] The start saw collisions between eight drivers and the race was suspended. On lap six of the restarted race, Coulthard's throttle failed, allowing Schumacher and Hill past, and leading to theScot's retirement shortly after. During the pit stops, Hill grabbed the lead and Alesi took second place. Schumacher finished third.
Before the race inSan Marino, it was Benetton's Michael Schumacher on pole position for the first time this season. Berger started second, much to the joy of the localtifosi. Hill started in fourth. Light rain was falling and teams faced a difficult choice intyres. The first five drivers on the grid started onrain tyres and, after the start, were five seconds per lap quicker than the rest of the field.Rubens Barrichello, the only other driver on wet tyres, started in tenth in hisJordan and quickly got up to sixth. Things turned out in the pit stops: Schumacher crashed, coming out on his cold tyres, and Berger's car stalled, giving the lead to Damon Hill. Coulthard and Alesi fought hard over then-second place, but the over-eager Williams driver exceeded the pit lane speed limit and had to undertake a10-second stop-go penalties. The podium order was Hill, Alesi, Berger.
InSpain, it was Schumacher on pole for the second time and he led from start to finish. On the last lap, Hill was in second, but when he suffered from a hydraulic problem, he crawled across the line in fourth. This allowed Schumacher's teammateJohnny Herbert through to second place, his first ever podium. Berger finished third, while Alesi and Coulthard retired.
After four races, Schumacher in the Benetton led theDrivers' Championship with 24 points, just one ahead of Hill in the Williams. Alesi and Berger in the Ferrari followed with 14 and 13 points, respectively. In theConstructors' Championship, Ferrari (27) led Williams (26) and Benetton (23).
On the narrow streets ofMonaco,Damon Hill forWilliamsqualified inpole position.[50][51] Championship leaderMichael Schumacher in theBenetton started next to him.David Coulthard (Williams),Gerhard Berger andJean Alesi (bothFerrari) completed the top five, but the three collided going in the first corner.[52][53] The track was blocked and the race was suspended.[54][55][53] At the second start, the top drivers remained in order, but during the pit stops, Hill fell back behind Schumacher and Alesi. The Ferrari then crashed whilst attempting to avoidMartin Brundle, who had spun. Coulthard retired, so the top three at the finish was Schumacher, Hill, Berger.
This was the last race for theSimtek team, who withdrew from the championship because they ran out of budget.
InCanada, Michael Schumacher achieved pole position, the 100th for aRenault-powered F1 car,[56] and led away comfortably, until on lap 57, an electrical problem forced him into the pits. He was stationary for 70 seconds to change hissteering wheel and perform an on-board computer adjustment. He recovered to fifth position at the finish. Jean Alesi went on to win the race on his 31st birthday. This would be his only career victory and also marked the last time to date that a car with aV12 engine won. After several other front-runners encountered problems late in the race, theJordans ofRubens Barrichello andEddie Irvine completed the surprising podium.
Just like in Monaco, Hill started on pole position inFrance, but lost out to second-starting Schumacher during the pit stops. His teammate Coulthard started and finished in third.
During theBritish Grand Prix, championship rivals Hill and Schumacher clashed for the first time. Hill had started from pole,[57][58] while Schumacher fell behind third-starting Alesi. As happened regularly this season, Schumacher took the lead by only needing one pit stop, compared to Hill's two.[59] But when the Williams tried to repass the Benetton, the two collided and retired.[60] This promoted their teammatesJohnny Herbert andDavid Coulthard to the front. Coulthard took the lead, but incurred a stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane.[61] Herbert won the first race of his career, ahead of Jean Alesi in the Ferrari.[62]
Two weeks later, Michael Schumacher won his home race, theGerman Grand Prix. Damon Hill had achieved pole position once again, but this time, spun off on the second lap as a result ofdriveshaft failure. David Coulthard finished second, Gerhard Berger was third, recovering from a 10-second stop-go penalty forjumping the start.
The1995 Hungarian Grand Prix was agrand slam for Damon Hill: he won from pole position and set the fastest lap. Coulthard finished second and Berger third. Michael Schumacher was classified three laps down, suffering fromfuel pump issues. During the race, Taki Inoue had his second coming together with the safety car. This time, he himself was hit by theTatra 623 when running over to his Footwork with a fire extinguisher. He suffered minor injuries to his leg.[63][64]
In theDrivers' Championship, Michael Schumacher was leading with 56 points, ahead of Damon Hill with 45 and Jean Alesi with 32. It was closer at the front of theConstructors' Championship, with Benetton and Williams separated by just six points (74 and 68, respectively), followed by Ferrari with 57.
Qualifying for theBelgian Grand Prix took place in varying weather conditions and championship rivalsMichael Schumacher andDamon Hill could only achieve sixteenth and eighth place on the grid, respectively.Ferrari'sGerhard Berger andJean Alesi blocked out on the front row, but both retired during the race. Schumacher's teammateJohnny Herbert briefly led the race, but struggled for pace on the drying track. Hill took the lead after his teammateDavid Coulthard retired withgearbox issues, but then, as it was seen at least three times during the season already, Schumacher passed him during the round ofpit stops. The story did not end there, however: the rain arrived and Hill made a second pit stop forrain tyres, while Schumacher tried to brave it out, at one point lapping six seconds slower than his rival. To make matters worse, he went off the track and theWilliams took the lead until the rain stopped, the track dried, and theBenetton was back on top. When thesafety car came out, the playing field was levelled and Schumacher led away from Hill, both on wet tyres. It looked like a thrilling battle to come, until theBrit was served a10-second stop-go penalty for speeding in thepit lane. He did recover to second place, but finished far behind theGerman.Martin Brundle came home in a surprising third position. After the race, Schumacher was given a one-race suspended ban for defending too aggressively.[65]
On the formation lap of theItalian Grand Prix, pole-sitterDavid Coulthard spun off and retired with terminal damage. However, when the race was suspended after a first-lap collision in the same corner, with the track being blocked by four stranded cars, Coulthard was able to take the restart in aspare car, on pole position. Michael Schumacher and Gerhard Berger started behind him. On lap 13, Coulthard retired again, this time with awheel bearing failure, and Schumacher crashed out when he was hit in the back by championship rival Damon Hill. After the incident, reminiscent of the one atSilverstone, Schumacher was furious with Hill, but calmed down when learning that theBrit had had to take evasive action when lappingTaki Inoue. The Ferraris were running 1–2 on home soil, until aTV camera on Alesi'srear wing fell off and destroyed Berger's suspension. With eight laps to go, theFrenchman also retired and handed a second victory to Benetton's Johnny Herbert.Mika Häkkinen (McLaren) andHeinz-Harald Frentzen (Sauber) achieved their best results yet in second and third, respectively. After the race, Hill was given a one-race suspended ban for his part in the collision.[66]
InPortugal, Coulthard started on pole position again and this time, he held on to achieve his first career win. Hill started in second, before Schumacher in third, but they finished the other way around. At the start,Ukyo Katayama in theTyrrell made contact withLuca Badoer'sMinardi and went airborne. After being extracted from the car, he was hospitalised for two days, suffering from a strained neck and bruising in several places.[67][68][69]
TheEuropean Grand Prix was held at theNürburgring and saw Coulthard start on pole, ahead of teammate Damon Hill and championship leader Michael Schumacher. Coulthard did start in the spare car, however, after stalling his engine during hisreconnaissance lap. Many teams decided to start onrain tyres, but Ferrari and McLaren switched to dries after the first start was abandoned. This only turned out to be the right decision after seventeen laps, when most other drivers had pitted. Schumacher and Hill battled again, switching positions several times, while Coulthard suffered from excessiveoversteer and fell behind them. Meanwhile, Alesi was in the lead and extended his advantage to 45 seconds. During the second round of pit stops, however, he collided with Hill and had to pit for repairs. Berger retired with engine problems and Hill crashed out on lap 58. Schumacher passed Alesi for the lead, two laps from the end, and Coulthard completed the podium.[70][71][72]
With three races to go, Schumacher was leading theDrivers' Championship, 27 points ahead of Hill. This meant that the Williams driver needed to win all remaining races, with his Benetton rival scoring less than three points. In theConstructors' Championship, Benetton was leading Williams with 112 over 92 points.
The F1 circus landed inJapan for two races, the first one dubbed thePacific Grand Prix.Williams driverDavid Coulthard achieved his fourthpole position in a row, ahead of teammateDamon Hill and championship leaderMichael Schumacher in hisBenetton. At the start, fourth-startingJean Alesi got up to second place. After Schumacher overtook Hill and Alesi during the first round ofpit stops, he closed in on the leader and lapped consistently faster, so that theGerman just came out in front after all pit stops were made.[71][73] Scoring his eighth victory of the season and gaining enough points to make it impossible for Hill to catch him, theSchumi was crowned the1995 Drivers' Champion. He was the youngest double Drivers' Champion up to that point (his record was subsequently surpassed bySebastian Vettel).
Schumacher did not settle down: he started on pole position for theJapanese Grand Prix. The Williams cars could not match the pace and made room for Jean Alesi andMika Häkkinen in the top three on the grid. All drivers started onrain tyres, as it had rained in the morning and the track was damp, but it did not stop the champion from leading away. BothFerraris were judged to havejumped the start and served a10-second stop-go penalty. But Alesi was the first to switch to dry tyres and began making his way through the field. On lap 25, he was only six seconds behind leader Schumacher, when he had to retire with adriveshaft failure. When the rain arrived, but only on one edge of the circuit, teammates Hill and Coulthard crashed out in the same corner, one lap after each other.[74] Schumacher won and his teammateJohnny Herbert came home in third, earning Benetton the1995 Constructors' Champions.
^All Formula One Grands Prix held at the Nürburgring since1984 have used the 5 km (3.1 mi) long GP-Strecke and not the 21 km (13 mi) long Nordschleife, which was last used by Formula One in1976.
^abcdNeither Benetton nor Williams were awarded constructor points for Schumacher's win or Coulthard's second place in Brazil as both teams were deemed to be using illegal fuel.
^Tanaka, Hiromasa.Transition of Regulation and Technology in Formula One. Honda R&D Technical Review 2009 - F1 Special (The Third Era Activities), 2009, p. 8.
^Edwards, Ben (Commentator) (11 June 1995).Canadian Grand Prix: Warm-Up Session Live (Television production). London, England:Eurosport. Event occurs at 01:09–01:15 (excluding commercials).
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