1995 Formula One World Championship

The 1995 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 49th season of FIA Formula 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, and Benetton 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 by Nigel Mansell in 1992. He also continued his rivalry with Williams-Renault driver Damon Hill, including collisions at the British and Italian Grands Prix.
Both those races were won by Schumacher's teammate Johnny Herbert, taking his first two F1 victories. Hill's Williams teammate, David Coulthard, claimed his first victory in Portugal, while Ferrari's Jean Alesi achieved his only F1 victory in Canada. Just like Honda in 1988, Renault engines won all but one race in this season.
1995 was also the last season in which the numbering system introduced in 1974 was used. From 1996 car numbers would generally allocated based on the Constructors' Championship order of the previous season.
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1995 FIA Formula One World Championship. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Goodyear.
There was a threat of a drivers' strike over the terms of the 1995 Fédération 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.
The calendar was initially announced at the beginning of 1995, but there were doubts over the selected dates:
On 6 February, a revised calendar was announced. However, some tracks still needed clearance to race.
In the aftermath of the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna, during the weekend of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, a number of regulation were implemented as of the 1994 German Grand Prix, intended to increase safety of the cars and to limit their performance. These regulations were formalised going into 1995:
More regulation changes followed before the start of the 1995 season:
The allowed engine capacity was reduced to 3 litres (down from 3.5 litres) and the description for the type of fuel that was allowed was stringently specified, to reach an approximate 100 BHP reduction in power.
All aerodynamic changes summed up were expected by reduce downforce by 30-40%.
The cars were still in various stages of development heading into the new season; the Footwork FA16 and Simtek S951 chassis arrived at the event with virtually no testing, having been completed shortly beforehand.
Luckily for them and other teams that were expected to be fighting over last places, the withdrawal of teams Larrousse and Lotus 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 the 1994 Canadian Grand Prix.
At the front of the field, Michael Schumacher for Benetton and Damon Hill for Williams were the favourites to battle for the Drivers' Championship, with Schumacher anticipating a "struggle" for the championship. 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 since 1989.
McLaren were concerned about the standard refuelling equipment provided for 1995 by suppliers Intertechnique, 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 the pit lane fire suffered by driver Jos Verstappen during the previous year's German Grand Prix. 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. 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.
1994 runner-up Damon Hill for Williams achieved pole position for the first race of the season in Brazil. Champion Michael Schumacher lined up in second in his Benetton. Hill had a bad start and was immediately overtaken by Schumacher. They utilised different pit 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 teammate David Coulthard. Third place was contested by Mika Salo in the Tyrrell until he spun on lap 39, suffering from cramp in his hand, and was overtaken by Mika Häkkinen in the McLaren and the Ferraris of Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi. After the second round pit stops, Berger took third place and stayed there.
After the race, Schumacher and Coulthard were both disqualified, as the fuel sample taken from their cars after qualifying did not match the regulations. All classified drivers moved up two places and Berger was declared the victor. However, a successful appeal by the two teams saw their drivers' results reinstated, since the illegal fuel did not offer a performance advantage. Still, the teams did not receive any points for the Constructors' Championship and were penalized $200,000. This division between car and driver was met with criticism.>
For the second race in Argentina, Coulthard achieved pole position, the first of his career, with Hill and Schumacher behind him. 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 the Scot's retirement shortly after. During the pit stops, Hill grabbed the lead and Alesi took second place. Schumacher finished third.
Before the race in San 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 local tifosi. Hill started in fourth. Light rain was falling and teams faced a difficult choice in tyres. The first five drivers on the grid started on rain 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 his Jordan 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 a 10-second stop-go penalties. The podium order was Hill, Alesi, Berger.
In Spain, 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 teammate Johnny 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 the Drivers' 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 the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari (27) led Williams (26) and Benetton (23).
On the narrow streets of Monaco, Damon Hill for Williams qualified in pole position. Championship leader Michael Schumacher in the Benetton started next to him. David Coulthard (Williams), Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi (both Ferrari) completed the top five, but the three collided going in the first corner. The track was blocked and the race was suspended. 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 avoid Martin Brundle, who had spun. Coulthard retired, so the top three at the finish was Schumacher, Hill, Berger.
This was the last race for the Simtek team, who withdrew from the championship because they ran out of budget.
In Canada, Michael Schumacher achieved pole position, the 100th for a Renault-powered F1 car, and led away comfortably, until on lap 57, an electrical problem forced him into the pits. He was stationary for 70 seconds to change his steering 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 a V12 engine won. After several other front-runners encountered problems late in the race, the Jordans of Rubens Barrichello and Eddie Irvine completed the surprising podium.
Just like in Monaco, Hill started on pole position in France, but lost out to second-starting Schumacher during the pit stops. His teammate Coulthard started and finished in third.
During the British Grand Prix, championship rivals Hill and Schumacher clashed for the first time. Hill had started from pole, 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. But when the Williams tried to repass the Benetton, the two collided and retired. This promoted their teammates Johnny Herbert and David Coulthard to the front. Coulthard took the lead, but incurred a stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Herbert won the first race of his career, ahead of Jean Alesi in the Ferrari.
Two weeks later, Michael Schumacher won his home race, the German Grand Prix. Damon Hill had achieved pole position once again, but this time, spun off on the second lap as a result of driveshaft failure. David Coulthard finished second, Gerhard Berger was third, recovering from a 10-second stop-go penalty for jumping the start.
The 1995 Hungarian Grand Prix was a grand 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 from fuel pump issues. During the race, Taki Inoue had his second coming together with the safety car. This time, he himself was hit by the Tatra 623 when running over to his Footwork with a fire extinguisher. He suffered minor injuries to his leg.
In the Drivers' 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 the Constructors' Championship, with Benetton and Williams separated by just six points (74 and 68, respectively), followed by Ferrari with 57.
Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix took place in varying weather conditions and championship rivals Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill could only achieve sixteenth and eighth place on the grid, respectively. Ferrari's Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi blocked out on the front row, but both retired during the race. Schumacher's teammate Johnny Herbert briefly led the race, but struggled for pace on the drying track. Hill took the lead after his teammate David Coulthard retired with gearbox issues, but then, as it was seen at least three times during the season already, Schumacher passed him during the round of pit stops. The story did not end there, however: the rain arrived and Hill made a second pit stop for rain 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 the Williams took the lead until the rain stopped, the track dried, and the Benetton was back on top. When the safety 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 the Brit was served a 10-second stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He did recover to second place, but finished far behind the German. Martin Brundle came home in a surprising third position. After the race, Schumacher was given a one-race suspended ban for defending too aggressively.
On the formation lap of the Italian Grand Prix, pole-sitter David 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 a spare car, on pole position. Michael Schumacher and Gerhard Berger started behind him. On lap 13, Coulthard retired again, this time with a wheel 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 at Silverstone, Schumacher was furious with Hill, but calmed down when learning that the Brit had had to take evasive action when lapping Taki Inoue. The Ferraris were running 1–2 on home soil, until a TV camera on Alesi's rear wing fell off and destroyed Berger's suspension. With eight laps to go, the Frenchman also retired and handed a second victory to Benetton's Johnny Herbert. Mika Häkkinen (McLaren) and Heinz-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.
In Portugal, 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 the Tyrrell made contact with Luca Badoer's Minardi 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.
The European Grand Prix was held at the Nürburgring 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 his reconnaissance lap. Many teams decided to start on rain 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 excessive oversteer 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.
With three races to go, Schumacher was leading the Drivers' 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 the Constructors' Championship, Benetton was leading Williams with 112 over 92 points.
The F1 circus landed in Japan for two races, the first one dubbed the Pacific Grand Prix. Williams driver David Coulthard achieved his fourth pole position in a row, ahead of teammate Damon Hill and championship leader Michael Schumacher in his Benetton. At the start, fourth-starting Jean Alesi got up to second place. After Schumacher overtook Hill and Alesi during the first round of pit stops, he closed in on the leader and lapped consistently faster, so that the German just came out in front after all pit stops were made. Scoring his eighth victory of the season and gaining enough points to make it impossible for Hill to catch him, the Schumi was crowned the 1995 Drivers' Champion. He was the youngest double Drivers' Champion up to that point (his record was subsequently surpassed by Sebastian Vettel).
Schumacher did not settle down: he started on pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix. The Williams cars could not match the pace and made room for Jean Alesi and Mika Häkkinen in the top three on the grid. All drivers started on rain tyres, as it had rained in the morning and the track was damp, but it did not stop the champion from leading away. Both Ferraris were judged to have jumped the start and served a 10-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 a driveshaft 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. Schumacher won and his teammate Johnny Herbert came home in third, earning Benetton the 1995 Constructors' Champions.
The final race of the season was held in Australia and saw most of the front-running cars retire, except for polesitter Damon Hill. David Coulthard crashed while entering the pit lane, Schumacher and Alesi collided, and Herbert and Berger retired with mechanical issues. Hill won, over two laps ahead of Ligier's Olivier Panis and Gianni Morbidelli in a Footwork, equalling Jackie Stewart's feat during the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix.
Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each race as follows:
Notes:
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