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The Encounter Down Under iii
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The Encounter Down Under An alternate version of the 1994 Formula One season By Christiaan W. Lustig v
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Table of contents Table of contents...vii Part II: the Fight-Back...1 Chapter 5: The Monaco Grand Prix... 3 Chapter 6: The Spanish Grand Prix... 19 vii
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Part II: the Fight-Back 1
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Chapter 5: The Monaco Grand Prix The jewel in the crown that is Formula One was next on the F1 calendar, the Grand Prix de Monaco. But this year the tragic events in Italy, a fortnight earlier, cast a shadow over the race. Roland Ratzenberger had been buried under massive media attention, and with many Grand Prix drivers, past and present, as well as representatives from the FIA and the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) attending. Since the last race, the FIA had ordered an inquiry into the death of Roland Ratzenberger. Italian magistrates had ordered a post-mortem on the killed Austrian, while also confiscating Ratzenberger s Simtek-Ford and all available video footage of the accident. Prosecutors, meanwhile, informed the managing director of the Imola track, Federico Bendinelli, that he is under suspicion of culpable homicide. On the Tuesday before the Monaco Grand Prix, Damon Hill called for action to reduce the dangers of Grand Prix racing after the death of Roland Ratzenberger and the severe crashes at the San Marino GP, amongst which that of his Williams teammate Ayrton Senna. Hill said that the structure of cars was such that drivers were unable to survive the shock of high-speed crashes. Drivers will drive in the most perilous conditions, because competition is stupendously fierce and there are any number of hopefuls ready to fill the void. Jean Alesi returned to the wheel for the Monaco Grand Prix. Expectations for him were high, because his substitute, Nicola Larini, had managed to qualify the Ferrari in seventh and sixth, and had finished second to Michael Schumacher at Imola. For Monaco, the FIA decided to leave the first grid position empty, painting an Austrian flag on the tarmac in honour of Roland Ratzenberger. The late driver s team, Simtek, ran a single car in the streets of Monte Carlo, for regular David Brabham. 3
On Wednesday morning, Ayrton Senna gave his first interview after his San Marino accident. I am very happy to be here again, said the Brazilian to a gathering of newspaper journalists, magazine writers, and television reporters, especially after my crash in Imola. It was a heavy impact, which knocked me unconscious, but professor Watkins and his team worked hard to help me. On the Wednesday after the race, I was released from the hospital by doctor Fiandri whom I would like to thank for everything that she and her team have done and I travelled by car back to my apartment, here in Monaco. There I recovered and worked on my physical condition, trained my neck muscles for the next race and so on. Senna also talked about his discussions with old rival Alain Prost over the San Marino Grand Prix weekend: Since Alain retired, we often spoke on the telephone, usually about safety. We had a conversation on the Friday, and I saw him again on the Sunday morning. I would like Alain to keep involved with safety in Formula One. We were going to speak again the following week, but since I was in hospital, that has not happened yet. But we will meet again here in Monte Carlo. Lastly, Senna extended his condolences to the Ratzenberger family: It was a very sad weekend in Imola, because we lost Roland. My thoughts are with those he left behind, and I pray to God that we, in Formula One, learn from this, and that Roland will not have died for nothing. History The Monaco Grand Prix was the seventh oldest GP, after the French, Italian, Belgian, British, Spanish and German races. It is still considered one of the three most important races in the world, together with the Le Mans 24 hours race, and the Indianapolis 500. Held on a narrow circuit through the streets of Monte Carlo, and with its many elevation changes and tight turns, the race was one of the most demanding on the Formula One calendar. The first Monaco Grand Prix, held in 1929, was won by British expatriate William Grover-Williams in a Bugatti. For the 33 event, starting grid positions were decided by practice time for the first time, 4 www.encounterdownunder.com
rather than a ballot. The race was a round of the European Drivers Championship in 36 and 37. After the Second World War, in 1946, the newly formed Fédération Internationale de l Automobile (FIA), established Formula One regulations, to which the Monaco Grand Prix was first run in 48; the race was won by Italian Nino Farina. In 50, the race through the streets of Monte Carlo was included in the new World Drivers Championship. Juan Manuel Fangio took his first Championship victory that year. After having been run to Sports Car rules in 1951 and 52, the race had been a continuous part of the World Championship since 55. That year, double World Champion Alberto Ascari spectacularly crashed his car into the harbour. Ten years later, Briton Paul Hawkins Lotus ended up in the water, too. A similar incident was included in the 1966 film Grand Prix. The only native to ever win the Monaco Grand Prix, was Louis Chiron, who took victory for Bugatti in 1931. In the World Championship era, he came third in 1950, while in 1955 he came sixth, missing out on a point, but, at 55, becoming the oldest driver to compete in a Grand Prix. In 1958 he entered his home race for the last time, but the then-58-year-old failed to qualify. Graham Hill won the Monaco Grand Prix a record five times in the 1960s and became known as Mr. Monaco. That record was only broken in 1993, when Ayrton Senna lifted his sixth Monte Carlo victory, and his fifth consecutive on the streets of the principality. The previous nine races, only the Brazilian and his life-long rival Alain Prost had taken the honours. The former team-mates had taken McLaren into shared first place with most victories in Monaco, at 9 each. However, Ferrari had achieved those from 1952 through 1981, while McLaren had taken only 10 editions to do so, losing out only once, ironically to a Lotus-Honda driven by Ayrton Senna. Thursday practice and qualifying 5
As per tradition, the first practice and qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix, are held on the Thursday prior to the race. This allows for the public to be out and about again on Fridays, while the racing drivers and team members mingle at social events. Another tradition, is the fact that the race always starts at half past three ninety minutes later than most other Grands Prix. Returning to the car in the competitive arena for the first time since his crash at Imola, Ayrton Senna recorded the fastest time in Thursday morning s practice. He was followed by Michael Schumacher, almost a second adrift, and Martin Brundle, who was a further second behind. Tyrrell-driver Mark Blundell surprised with fourth spot, ahead of equally astonishing Érik Comas, for Larrousse. Mika Häkkinen led Gerhard Berger and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, while Damon Hill and Jean Alesi completed the top ten. J.J. Lehto was twelfth quickest, while Rubens Barrichello had to settle for fifteenth spot. Late in Thursday morning s practice session, however, Karl Wendlinger had a major accident at the Nouvelle Chicane. While exiting the tunnel, the Sauber driver braked as much as thirteen meters later than on his previous lap, sliding the car with its nose pointing left, past the chicane s turnin point, and sideways towards the barrier. Wendlinger hit with the wall, which had a façade of impact-absorbing plastic, with the right sidepod, at close to 280 km/h. The enormous forces caused the Austrian to lose consciousness, while the car quickly slid to a halt, just right from the barrier, on the escape road. Marshals and doctors were quickly at the scene, and removed Wendlinger from his stricken car. The team, led by professor Sid Watkins, examined the driver, and gave the all-clear to take him to Princesse Grace hospital in Monaco, from where he was soon moved to Saint Roch Hospital in Nice. There he underwent examinations by medical specialists, who concluded he had not broken any bones, nor sustained back injuries. Wendlinger was, however, diagnosed with cerebral contusion. His condition was critical, but stable, said one of the doctors: We are reserving judgment on 6 www.encounterdownunder.com
his progress in the coming hours. The prognosis is very serious. Robi Quet, director of Public Relations at the Nice facility, added: It s very serious. We don t know if he will live. The Broker Sauber Mercedes team decided to withdraw from the Monaco Grand Prix after their driver s accident. That afternoon, the cars took to the track again, for the first qualifying session, with Senna in the lead once more. Schumacher was second fastest again, with the gap having grown to over a second. McLaren drivers Brundle and Häkkinen were third and fourth respectively, closely followed by the Ferraris of Berger and Alesi. Damon Hill was sixth, in turn over half a second faster than Pierluigi Martini s Minardi. Comas and Blundell were ninth and tenth respectively. Lehto again disappointed in twelfth, as did Barrichello in as low a position as seventeenth. I am happy to be quickest, today, said Senna afterwards, but it means very little, knowing that Wendlinger is in the hospital after another accident. This is not a good sign for Formula One, after what happened in Imola. We have to learn from this, and make sure the cars and circuits become safer. On his performance, Senna added: We have to change quite a few things on the car. We have a lot to go on and hopefully, if it is dry on Saturday, we will improve. Schumacher said of his day: Our car is suited to this circuit and the times show that very clearly. Basically, we have a good package and the revisions to the engine mapping work really well. Mika Häkkinen was happy with his quickest lap, but would have like to go even faster. I am happy of course, said the Finn, but I don t really like being fourth. I didn t race Formula One here last year and it took me a little time to get used to the special nature of the track. Still, I live here and I know the streets so I was able to find the right racing line quickly. The FIA announced on Thursday afternoon that it would perform a complete review of all Formula One safety precautions. During a meeting 7
with all F1 teams and FOCA representatives, an 80 km/h speed limit in the pit lane was agreed. It would be imposed with immediate effect. Friday On Friday morning, Ayrton Senna announced the re-formation of the GPDA: At the drivers meeting today, we agreed to form the Grand Prix Drivers Association. It was agreed that the representatives of the GPDA will be myself, Michael Schumacher, Gerhard Berger, and Christian Fittipaldi. The GPDA requests representation and recognition within the FIA to improve the safety of Formula One, after the accidents of Rubens Barrichello, Roland Ratzenberger, and myself at Imola, and Karl Wendlinger, yesterday. At our meeting, we discussed to take immediate action to look at the next three Grand Prix circuits, together with the FIA, for possible improvements. In the Nice Saint Roch Hospital, Karl Wendlinger remained in an artificially inducted coma. Doctors said his condition was stable, and they were hopeful the Austrian would recover. Head of Mercedes-Benz motor sport division, Norbert Haug, added: We have good reason to believe he will soon be okay. FIA President Max Mosley announced sweeping safety reforms on Friday: For the next Grand Prix, which is Barcelona, we re going to reduce the size of the diffuser, we re going to raise the front wing end plates, and we re going to restrict the size of the front wings. The effect of that, for those who are not technical, is that the downforce on the car will immediately be reduced by something in the order of fifteen per cent. Mosley also publicized measures for the Canadian Grand Prix, four weeks from the Monaco race: We re going to, firstly, increase the lateral protection for the driver s head, by increasing the size of the sides of the cockpit. Secondly, in order to allow the teams to do that, without any difficulty from the point of view of weight and strength, we re going to increase 8 www.encounterdownunder.com
the minimum weight limit with effect from Canada, by 25 kilos. Thirdly we are going to bring in provisions for strengthening the front wishbones in a technical way, which I won t trouble you with, the effect of which will be to make it much less likely that the front wheel will become partially detached and strike the driver. Fourthly, we are going to lengthen the cockpits, and try to avoid drivers striking their heads forward on the cockpit. Fifthly, we are going to change the fuel regulation and impose the use of pump petrol. And, finally, we are going to remove the airboxes from the engines. This will have an additional effect on horsepower, because, as you probably appreciate, the airboxes are put there to encourage the air to go into the engine. Saturday practice and qualifying On Saturday morning, practice resumed. Senna took top spot for Wiliams-Renault, with Schumacher having closed the gap to the Brazilian to half a second. Häkkinen and Berger, in third and fourth, were half a second adrift from the Benetton driver, while Hill had to allow a gap of another full second. Tyrrel driver Mark Blundell beat Jean Alesi to sixth, with Fittipaldi and Morbidelli in eight and ninth respectively, for Footwork. Minardi s Pierluigi Martini and Andrea De Cesaris, on his second and last outing replacing Eddie Irvine, refused Barrichello a top ten spot, while J.J. Lehto struggled in fifteenth. Saturday s second qualifying session saw an unchanged top five: Senna led Schumacher by almost a second, with Häkkinen and Berger another second back. Damon Hill had reduced his gap to just over one tenth. Alesi managed sixth spot, and was the last driver within a three-second margin. Footwork drivers Fittipaldi and Morbidelli were seventh and eight, while Brundle disappointed in ninth. Martini again completed the top ten, while Barrichello and Lehto lapped only sixteenth and eighteenth respectively. 9
Ayrton Senna on his pole position: This is my sixth pole in Monte Carlo, and my first since 91, so I am naturally very pleased. The car was quite good, but there is still room for improvement in the next races. Schumacher added being happy with the way everything has worked out, stating: We came here with a good set-up and, really, all we have done is concentrate on making small changes all of which have worked. Despite qualifying third, Mika Häkkinen was disappointed not to have got closer to Schumacher and Senna. Footwork driver Christian Fittipaldi enthused: This is my best ever grid position, so naturally I m pleased, while team-mate Gianni Morbidelli added: The team did a fantastic job. It s great to have two cars well up the grid. [ ] I m very happy with my grid position and I m looking forward to a good race. Martin Brundle voiced his disappointment with a mere ninth spot on the grid, while the Briton had been quick in most sessions. He blamed a combination of engine problems at the end of the morning session, and subsquent engine change, and my hitting the wall when on my first set of tyres, which damaged the rear suspension. Thursday s and Saturday s times combined, made for the following starting grid for the race: 1. Ayrton Senna Williams-Renault 2. Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 3. Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Peugeot 4. Gerhard Berger Ferrari 5. Damon Hill Williams-Renault 6. Jean Alesi Ferrari 7. Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Ford 8. Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Ford 9. Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot 10. Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 11. Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha 10 www.encounterdownunder.com
12. Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 13. Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford 14. Érik Comas Larrousse-Ford 15. Andrea De Cesaris Jordan-Hart 16. Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 17. Johnny Herbert Lotus-Mugen-Honda 18. J.J. Lehto Benetton-Ford 19. Olivier Beretta Larrousse-Ford 20. Pedro Lamy Lotus-Mugen-Honda 21. Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault 22. Éric Bernard Ligier-Renault 23. David Brabham Simtek-Ford 24. Bertrand Gachot Pacific-Ilmor 25. Paul Belmondo Pacific-Ilmor The absence of the second Simtek car, combined with Sauber- Mercedes withdrawal, allowed the Pacific team to qualify both cars for the race for the first time. Some time after qualifying, Benetton boss Flavio Briatore announced that his team had taken over rivals Ligier, guaranteeing the future of the French team. Ligier s activities would remain in France and both teams would continue to race independently during the 1994 season. Briatore said he would focus on greater stability and a more advanced technical programme for Ligier. Race day While Wendlinger remained in a coma, all drivers took to the track on Sunday morning, to test their cars in race trim and on race fuel. Predictably, Senna was fastest once more, by eight tenths of a second, while Schumacher led Häkkinen by another three tenths. Damon Hill was fourth 11
for Williams-Renault, while Martin Brundle showed his racing form for McLaren-Peugeot, in fifth. In memory of Roland Ratzenberger, all the Formula One drivers, along with many team members, FIA officials and members of the press, gathered on the starting grid, next to pole position, which was left empty for the perished Simtek driver. A minute s silence was observed, while Gerhard Berger, with several Austrians working for various teams, held their country s flag, carrying a sign saying Aufwiedersehen Roland. At 15.30 o clock sharp, all twenty-five cars departed from the grid for their formation lap. Some two-and-a-half minutes later, the principality of Monaco held its breath for its 52 nd Grand Prix. As the lights went from red to green, Ayrton Senna made the most of his pole position and had a clean getaway in the Williams. On his tail was Michael Schumacher in his Benetton. Racing towards the narrow Ste. Devote right-hander, the F1 field squeezed itself along the barriers. Damon Hill had made a stunning start, passing Gerhard Berger into fourth spot, but then hit Mika Häkkinen s car from behind. This sent the McLaren driver into a spin, onto the run-off, and into retirement. Hill did make the first corner, but had hit the armco, breaking his left front suspension. The Englishman retired only a few hundred meters on, at Casino Square. Behind Häkkinen and Hill, Gianni Morbidelli and Pierluigi Martini, who had started a promising eighth and tenth respectively, tangled and retired on the spot. The mêlée behind Senna and Schumacher left the two protagonists an impressive gap of some four seconds to Berger and Alesi, who were in third an fourth. Senna, though, quickly picked up his pace to increase his lead over Schumacher to some 15 seconds in the first ten laps. The German himself went over twelve seconds faster than Berger. By the time the first pit stops came in sight, Senna led Schumacher by 28 seconds. The Brazilian pitted on lap 23, allowing his Benetton adversary in the lead, but only briefly, because a lap later Schumacher pitted, too. After their stops, Senna again drove a stunningly fast stint, with the lap record shattered again and 12 www.encounterdownunder.com
again, to the point where the three-time World Champion lapped the Monte Carlo streets almost three seconds quicker than his old rival Alain Prost had done the previous year. On lap 40 Senna held a massive gap of some 50 seconds on Schumacher, while the latter led third-placed Berger by 28 seconds. But then Mark Blundell experienced engine trouble in his Tyrrell-Yamaha, the Englishman s car spitting oil onto the track at Ste. Devote corner. While Senna had already lapped Blundell, Schumacher briefly lost control of his Benetton in the slippery first turn, nearly hitting the armco on the outside. Berger was less lucky, however, seeing the oil flags too late, spinning off the track and onto the short run-off. This allowed Martin Brundle to come close enough for the Briton to pass Berger into third at Mirabeau. The Briton stopped for fresh tyres and fuel shortly afterwards, giving Berger back his third position, only for the Ferrari driver to lose it again by the time he had to pit himself. On lap 50, Schumacher visited the pits for a second time, easily retaining second over Berger. A lap later, Senna also pitted for the last time, and he too kept his position. After an unequalled Grand Prix, Ayrton Senna took the chequered flag for Williams: his first for the team, his first of the season, and an unprecedented seventh victory in the Monaco GP. Michael Schumacher needed a full minute more to finish the race in second, the German being the only driver Senna hadn t lapped. Brundle was third for Mclaren, while Berger, in fourth, led Eddie Irvine substitute Andrea De Cesaris s Jordan in fifth. An exhausted Jean Alesi, returning after two races away due to his neck injury, took the final point with sixth place. After the race, Senna said: This was a great race for me and the Williams-Renault team. I am happy to have finally scored points. I am now on ten points, and Michael is still far ahead, but I still have a good chance to win the title. It s a great feeling to come second in Monte Carlo, stated Schumacher, complaining about backmarkers: The most dangerous moment was when someone s engine blew up at the end of the pit straight. I saw there was going to be a problem and braked early, but I didn t expect it 13
to be so slippery. I nearly lost the car; I was very lucky. Third-placed Brundle added: The car ran perfectly and I had no particular problems. The decision to make an early stop was a brilliant move by the team: it was a significant factor in my winning the third place. The finishing order: 1. Ayrton Senna Williams-Renault 2. Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford +1 02,953 3. Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot -1 lap 4. Gerhard Berger Ferrari -1 lap 5. Andrea De Cesaris Jordan-Hart -1 lap 6. Jean Alesi Ferrari -1 lap 7. Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford -2 laps 8. J.J. Lehto Benetton-Ford -2 laps 9. Olivier Beretta Larrousse-Ford -2 laps 10. Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault -2 laps 11. Érik Comas Larrousse-Ford -3 laps 12. Pedro Lamy Lotus-Mugen-Honda -5 laps Did not finish 13. Johnny Herbert Lotus-Mugen-Honda Gearbox (lap 68) 14. Paul Belmondo Pacific-Ilmor Physical (53) 15. Bertrand Gachot Pacific-Ilmor Gearbox (49) 16. Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Ford Gearbox (47) 17. David Brabham Simtek-Ford Collision (45) 18. Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha Engine (40) 19. Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha Gearbox (38) 20. Éric Bernard Ligier-Renault Spun off (34) 21. Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart Electrical (27) 22. Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Peugeot Collision (1) 23. Damon Hill Williams-Renault Collision (1) 24. Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Ford Collision (1) 14 www.encounterdownunder.com
25. Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford Collision (1) race. As was to be expected, Ayrton Senna recorded the fastest lap of the The Championship Senna had scored his first points of the season, but with Schumacher taking 6 points for second place, the German increased his lead in the Drivers Championship to 26 points over Senna, with Berger in third, one further point adrift: 1. Michael Schumacher 36 points 2. Ayrton Senna 10 3. Gerhard Berger 9 4. Damon Hill 7 5. Rubens Barrichello 7 6. Nicola Larini 6 7. Jean Alesi 5 8. Mika Häkkinen 4 9. Karl Wendlinger 4 10. Ukyo Katayama 4 11. Martin Brundle 4 12. Christian Fittipaldi 3 13. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 2 14. Andrea De Cesaris 2 15. Érik Comas 1 Benetton held a lead of 16 points in the Constructors standings over Ferrari, with Williams now in third: 1. Benetton-Ford 36 points 2. Ferrari 20 15
3. Williams-Renault 17 4. Jordan-Hart 9 5. McLaren-Peugeot 8 6. Sauber-Mercedes 7 7. Tyrrell-Yamaha 4 8. Footwork-Ford 3 9. Larrousse-Ford 1 Aftermath On Thursday, May 18th, the Sauber-Mercedes team announced that doctors would start bringing Karl Wendlinger out of his induced coma. Wendlinger is being woken up slowly over several days by reducing his medications, a spokesman said. Further prognoses are not possible in the present stages. Two days later, however, Dr. Domonique Grimaud, of the Nice St. Roch Hospital, stated that the attempts had been halted due to brain swelling. Grimaud remained hopeful, though, saying: The neurologial signs have slightly bettered but the patient is still in a critical condition. As if the tragedies that had struck at Imola and Monaco weren t enough, on May 24th, Pedro Lamy crashed in the fast Abby corner at Silversone, where he had been testing. The Portuguese lost the rear wing of his Lotus-Mugen-Honda, his car vaulting into the barriers. Lamy received treatment at the scene, and was airlifted to Northampton General Hospital, where he was diagnosed as having broken both kneecaps and a thigh. Ironically, Lotus were testing modifications aimed at reducing cornering speeds. Furthermore, Belgian Interior Minister Louis Tobback threatened, on May 20th, to ban the Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, in late August, if the track would not adopt more safety measures: If no effort is made in the coming weeks to improve security, the race will not take place, said 16 www.encounterdownunder.com
Tobback. Track official André Maes replied that the race organisers were working on improvements. 17
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Chapter 6: The Spanish Grand Prix With Michael Schumacher having scored three impressive victories, and Ayrton Senna having won the Monaco Grand Prix in a most dominant manner, 1994 promised a stunning championship battle between these two protagonists. The next stage where the Formula One circus took their battle, was the Circuit de Catalunya, just north of Barcelona, Spain. Simtek Ford, who had so tragically lost their driver Roland Ratzenberger at Imola, had named Italian Andrea Montermini and Frenchman Jean-Marc Gounon as his replacements. The two drivers would alternate the second seat at the new team until the end of the season, with Montermini debuting in Spain. Sauber-Mercedes, meanwhile, would run only a single car at the Spanish Grand Prix. Karl Wendlinger, who had crashed at the previous race, was still in a coma. The team had, however, signed Andrea De Cesaris to drive Wendlinger s car from the Canadian GP, in two weeks time. De Cesaris had, of course, already driven two races for Jordan, this season, replacing Eddie Irvine. He had scored two points for the team, with his fifth place at the Monaco Grand Prix. Irvine s three-race ban had ended, and the Northern-Irishman was back at his team for the Spanish race. While Pedro Lamy was in stable condition after his testing crash, Alessandro Zanardi would replace him at Lotus. A preliminary operation had been successful, and Lamy was expected to be transferred home in a week, after another operation on his right knee, which was planned for the Spanish GP weekend. Zanardi had driven for the Lotus team during 1993, having scored a valuable point for them at the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix. Prior to the GP at the Catalonia circuit, Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell voiced fears over the new safer cars. The Britons, former team mates at both Brabham and Ligier, found their cars a bit of a culture shock with all the modifications mandated by the FIA because of the San 19
Marino and Monaco accidents. They opined that a power reduction should go with the reduction of downforce by as much as 25 per cent. The Benetton-Ford team went a step further by attacking the governing body over their changes. Managing Director, Flavio Briatore, believed that chances of an accident occurring had in fact increased under the new rules. The flamboyant Italian made his remarks in an open letter to FIA President Max Mosley, stating that initial tests showed that the changes will decrease car safety in the future. The team, however, risked being banned from the Spanish Grand Prix, because Briatore had also said he was not happy that his cars had not been properly tested after having been modified to the new safety standards, and that he could not guarantee the safety of the Benetton-Ford cars. The FIA promptly kicked the team out of the race, with officials saying Benetton could not race unless they confirmed their cars had undergone testing. The Circuit de Catalunya had witnessed a change to its layout after a number of top drivers had threatened to pull out of the Grand Prix. GPDA representatives Senna, Schumacher, Berger and Fittipaldi examined the fast right-hand Nissan corner, where there was deemed to be insufficient run-off. They subsequently had a tyre chicane put up in order to slow the cars down, which Berger tested by running his Ferrari through it a number of times. Also, more plastic, water and tyre barriers were placed along the walls surrounding the circuit. History The Spanish Grand Prix was the fifth oldest Grands Prix, and one of the original Grandes Épeuvres. The first edition of the race, however, in 1913, had not actually been run to the Grand Prix formula of the day, but to touring car rules. It was held on a massive, 300-kilometre road circuit at Guadarrama, near Madrid. The Catalonia region had a strong racing tradition, stemming from the 1908 and 09 Catalan Cup on the roads around Sitges. A first permanent circuit was built near the same town to host the 23 Spanish Grand 20 www.encounterdownunder.com
Prix. The race moved to the Circuito Lasarte, on the Bay of Biscay, however, only a year later. There, the Spanish GP was part of the 27 World Manufacturers Championship. Grand Prix racing was absent from the Iberian Peninsula during the 1936-39 Spanish civil war, but when it returned, in 46, it was Catalonia that held the Penya Rhin GP at the Pedralbes circuit in Barcelona. Five years later, the Spanish Grand Prize returned to the international calendar, with Juan Manuel Fangio winning the race, again at Pedralbes, for Alfa Romeo. In 54 Mike Hawthorn won for Ferrari, while a year on, the pedestrian-lined street track was cancelled in the wake of a tragic accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where as many as 84 spectators were killed when a car flew into the crowd. Only in 1967 did the Grand Prix return, as a non-championship race at the newly-built Jarama circuit, north of Madrid, which was won by Jim Clark, for Lotus. A year later, the circuit hosted a World Championship race, after which the Grand Prix alternated between Jarama and the Montjuïc Park circuit in Barcelona. There, in 1975, tragedy struck as Rolf Stommelen s car crashed, killing four spectators. The Grand Prix was then confined to Jarama until 1981, after which it disappeared from calendar. On what was another new circuit, in Jerez de la Frontera, on the Costa de la Luz, a furious battle between Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell unfolded in 1986. Both men finished side by side, with Senna taking victory by only 0.014 seconds. Four years later, during practice, Martin Donnelly s car was destroyed in a high-speed collision. The Briton was severely injured, but survived. By then, work on the Circuit de Catalunya was underway, and the circuit hosted its first Spanish Grand Prix in 1991. The 92 race was advertised as the Grand Prix of the Olympics, which were held in Barcelona that year. As many as four drivers shared top spot on the most wins list, being Monegasque Louis Chiron, who won three times, pre-world War II, Jackie Stewart, who took the honours in three consecutive times from 1969, Nigel 21
Mansell, winning in 87, 91 and 92, and, finally, Alain Prost, who won the race in 88, 90 and 93. Lotus was the most successful constructor in Spain, with seven wins from 1967 through 86. Williams took the Spanish GP five times, in 80, 87, and 91 through 93. Ferrari and McLaren shared third spot with four wins each. Friday practice and qualifying On Friday, the FIA cleared Benetton-Ford to take part in Sunday s Grand Prix, after the team had provided in writing that their cars had been properly tested. However, Michael Schumacher was forced to sit out the morning practice session, while several other teams refused to practice, because of safety fears. While only nine cars went out onto the track, team bosses met several times to try to solve the safety issues. Only Ferrari, Tyrrell, Sauber, Minardi and Larrousse sent their drivers into practice, Mark Blundell being fastest, followed by Jean Alesi and Pierluigi Martini. That afternoon s first qualifying session saw all drivers doing their laps to determine the starting positions for the race. Quickest was Michael Schumacher, with Ayrton Senna a mere two tenths of a second behind. Mika Häkkinen was third, almost a full second behind the two title protagonists, while Damon Hill had to settle for fourth, and Alesi for fifth. Frentzen was sixth, ahead of Pierluigi Martini and J.J. Lehto, in the second Benetton. Mark Blundell continued his good form of the morning, by recording the ninth fastest time, while Rubens Barrichello completed the top ten. Saturday practice and qualifying In Saturday morning s practice, a serious accident happened. While negotiating the final corner of the circuit, onto the main straight, Andrea 22 www.encounterdownunder.com
Montermini ran wide. The Simtek debutant ran across the kerbs, which pushed his car to the left, forcing the driver to make steering corrections. Montermini s car soon picked up grip again, however, sending him headon into the concrete wall lining the gravel bed, impacting at some 160 km/h. With a severely damaged nose cone, the Simtek-Ford span across the straight, shedding bits and pieces all over the tarmac, and coming to a halt with Montermini unconscious in the cockpit. Medical personnel quickly arrived at the scene, and cut the Italian from his car. Montermini was then airlifted to a hospital, where a broken toe and cracked heel were diagnosed. On the track, Senna beat Schumacher to the fastest time, being the first breaking into one minute and 21 seconds, with Hill only three tenths behind. McLaren drivers Häkkinen and Brundle were fourth and fifth respectively. Both Ferraris disappointed, with 16th place for Alesi and 21st for Berger. The second and last qualifying session, that afternoon, would determine who would start form pole position. Lap times had dropped by as much as four seconds from Friday s first practice until Saturday morning s session, and with a clear sky and comfortable temperature, it was expected that the main contenders would go faster still. Senna proved to be the master of the qualifying lap, by recording the 67th pole position of his career. Schumacher, however, got as close as three tenths off the Brazilian s time, in second. Hill was third, six tenths behind, Häkkinen fourth, while J.J. Lehto equalled his best grid position, scored in San Marino, in fifth. Barrichello had to allow a gap of over half a second, but pipped Ferrari drivers Alesi and Berger to sixth spot. Brundle would start ninth for McLaren, with Tyrrell s Ukyo Katayama behind him. Because all drivers improved on their Friday times, the Saturday qualifying results determined the starting order for the race: 23
1. Ayrton Senna Williams-Renault 2. Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 3. Damon Hill Williams-Renault 4. Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Peugeot 5. J.J. Lehto Benetton-Ford 6. Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 7. Jean Alesi Ferrari 8. Gerhard Berger Ferrari 9. Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot 10. Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 11. Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha 12. Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Mercedes 13. Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart 14. Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford 15. Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Ford 16. Érik Comas Larrousse-Ford 17. Olivier Beretta Larrousse-Ford 18. Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 19. Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault 20. Éric Bernard Ligier-Renault 21. Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Ford 22. Johnny Herbert Lotus-Mugen-Honda 23. Alessandro Zanardi Lotus-Mugen-Honda 24. David Brabham Simtek-Ford 25. Bertrand Gachot Pacific-Ilmor 26. Paul Belmondo Pacific-Ilmor Andrea Montermini had of course not qualified his Simtek-Ford, while Sauber competed with a single car. 24 www.encounterdownunder.com
Race day Sunday was a sunny and warm day. J.J. Lehto found himself on top of the time sheets in race trim in the morning s warm-up practice, in what was only his second race for Benetton-Ford. Team-mate and Championship leader Michael Schumacher was a mere nine hundredths of a second behind, while Senna was a close third. Mika Häkkinen took fifth place, and Jean Alesi was fifth quickest. Damon Hill took 7th, Berger 9th, and Frentzen was back in 13th. On the starting grid, tension mounted as two o clock neared. The drivers were strapped into their racing cars, and the parade lap began. Some two minutes later, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher lined up on the front row, waiting for the red lights to go green. When they did, Schumacher got away quickest, beating Senna to the first corner. Häkkinen, Hill, Alesi and Lehto followed, in that order. Barrichello and Berger touched while battling for sixth place, and the Austrian dropped back to twelfth. A little later, Berger ran wide at turn one, on lap 14, damaging the underside of his Ferrari. This allowed Ukyo Katayama to pass him for twelfth, but the Japanese had to retire with engine trouble only four laps later. He was soon followed by Érik Comas on lap 19 and Gianni Morbidelli on lap 24. Gerhard Berger had to pull off the track with gearbox problems after 27 laps. At the front, though, Schumacher stretched his lead to as much ten seconds in the first fifteen laps. The first scheduled pit stops started taking place. Senna was the first to stop for fuel and fresh tyres, on lap 19, followed by Alesi, who was running fifth at the time, on the same lap. Schumacher planned to come into the pits on lap 21. However, when he approached the temporary tire chicane in his Benetton, the German encountered a problem. Every previous lap, Schumacher pushed a button on his steering wheel, commanding the car to go from the current gear 25
back to second. However, this time the Benetton s gearbox didn t respond, and, while accelerating out of the improvised obstruction, Schumacher found himself stuck in fifth gear. Coming around the circuit, however, Schumacher pitted, with the just-lapped Johnny Herbert right on his tail. All went well at the stop, and Schumacher left his team s spot in the pit lane again, having been given fuel and fresh tyres. Once he switched off the 80 km/h speed limiter at the end of the pit lane, however, the race leader could not get up to speed. Herbert s Lotus was visibly quicker, but dared not overtake Schumacher before the first corner. Schumacher briefly led Herbert and Ligier driver Olivier Panis through turns two, three and four, after which Herbert passed the Benetton leader on the outside of turn five, immediately followed by Panis on the short sprint towards seventh corner. On lap 23, Schumacher was overtaken for the lead by charging Mika Häkkinen. Then, the world witnessed Schumacher s predicament on their TV screens: while showing on-board images from the Benetton-Ford, also displayed were the car s current speed, revs, and accelerator pressure, and a circle next to them, containing the gear number: five. Meanwhile, the Benetton team had looked at the data from Schumacher s car. The engineers opted to get a new steering wheel, which contains a lot of electronics, and they hoped it would solve the gear-changing problem. However, Schumacher himself radioed his pit crew that he preferred to keep going, running only 3.5 seconds slower than the race leaders, Häkkinen and Senna, and confident he could go faster, still. On lap 23 Senna took second spot form stricken Schumacher. Not having pitted, yet, Häkkinen saw his lead over the Brazilian stretch to some seven seconds. On lap 30, though, the McLaren driver did stop for fresh tyres and fuel, dropping back to third. This left the order: Senna, Schumacher, Häkkinen, with Lehto in a lonely fourth place, followed by Hill and Brundle. Two laps later, though, Damon Hill had to retire from fifth place, with electrical problems. Soon afterwards, Alesi and Senna pitted again, on lap 38 and 41 respectively. This gave Schumacher the lead, who left his pit stop late. He 26 www.encounterdownunder.com
came into the pit lane together with Häkkinen, who was running some five seconds behind, in third. Senna subsequently retook the lead, with Schumacher just over ten seconds adrift the World Championship leader upped his pace lap by lap, to the point where he was only a second off his fastest lap of the day and Häkkinen running in the German s shadow. Sadly, on lap 48, McLaren driver Häkkinen saw his Peugeot engine give up the ghost, allowing fellow Finn Lehto into third spot. He too hit engine trouble, though, on lap 52, giving Martin Brundle third, almost forty seconds adrift. The Englishman only held on to his podium spot until six laps from the end, though, allowing countryman and former team-mate Mark Blundell onto the podium. So, Senna took his second win of the season, partly due to Schumacher s gearbox problems. The German finished a strong second, again scoring valuable points. Blundell was third for Tyrrell, with Alesi in fourth, Pierluigi Martini picking up two points for Minardi, and Eddie Irvine finishing sixth upon his return from a three-race ban. Although Brundle didn t finish the race, he was still classified eleventh. I am very happy with this victory, said Senna after the race. We were a little bit lucky, because Michael had technical difficulties, but we were always running not too far behind him. This gives me confidence for the rest of the season. Schumacher commented on his second place: I never would have imagined to finish that race, and then even in second position. For me, that is something like a victory. In the beginning it was a bit difficult, running with this fifth gear [only], through all the corners, but then I managed to find a good line and keep up the lap times. [ ] I m still very happy to get these points. Third-placed Mark Blundell was thrilled with his best result since the 93 German Grand Prix, stating his team Tyrrell have reacted very competently to the changes that have been introduced, giving us a package, which is still very driveable. I m just over the moon and very happy for my mechanics who have a tough time. The complete finishing order: 27
1. Ayrton Senna Williams-Renault 2. Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford +31.272 3. Mark Blundell Tyrrell-Yamaha +1 33.074 4. Jean Alesi Ferrari -1 lap 5. Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford -1 lap 6. Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart -1 lap 7. Olivier Panis Ligier-Renault -2 laps 8. Éric Bernard Ligier-Renault -3 laps 9. Alessandro Zanardi Lotus-Mugen-Honda -3 laps 10. David Brabham Simtek-Ford -4 laps Not finished, but classified 11. Martin Brundle McLaren-Peugeot Gearbox (lap 59) Did not finish 12. J.J. Lehto Benetton-Ford Engine (53) 13. Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Peugeot Engine (48) 14. Johnny Herbert Lotus-Mugen-Honda Spun off (41) 15. Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart Spun off (39) 16. Christian Fittipaldi Footwork-Ford Engine (35) 17. David Coulthard Williams-Renault Electrical (32) 18. Bertrand Gachot Pacific-Ilmor Wing (32) 19. Gerhard Berger Ferrari Gearbox (27) 20. Gianni Morbidelli Footwork-Ford Fuel system (24) 21. Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Mercedes Gearbox (21) 22. Érik Comas Larrousse-Ford Radiator (19) 23. Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha Engine (16) 24. Michele Alboreto Minardi-Ford Engine (4) 25. Paul Belmondo Pacific-Ilmor Spun off (2) 26. Olivier Beretta Larrousse-Ford Engine (0) Before he ran into gear-changing trouble, Michael Schumacher had recorded the fastest lap of the race. 28 www.encounterdownunder.com
The Championship Ayrton Senna took another 10 points for his title charge, reducing the gap to Schumacher to 22 points. Amazingly, as many as 18 drivers had scored points in the first five Grands Prix. Only eight of them finished in the points more than once, though. 1. Michael Schumacher 42 points 2. Ayrton Senna 20 3. Gerhard Berger 9 4. Jean Alesi 8 5. Damon Hill 7 6. Rubens Barrichello 7 7. Nicola Larini 6 8. Mika Häkkinen 4 9. Martin Brundle 4 10. Karl Wendlinger 4 11. Ukyo Katayama 4 12. Mark Blundell 4 13. Christian Fittipaldi 3 14. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 2 15. Andrea De Cesaris 2 16. Pierluigi Martini 2 17. Érik Comas 1 18. Eddie Irvine 1 Senna s second win of the season moved Williams-Renault into second place in the World Constructors Championship standings, 15 points behind Benetton, who profitted from Schumacher s second place. 1. Benetton-Ford 42 points 2. Williams-Renault 27 29
3. Ferrari 23 4. Jordan-Hart 10 5. McLaren-Peugeot 8 6. Tyrrell-Yamaha 8 7. Sauber-Mercedes 7 8. Footwork-Ford 3 9. Minardi-Ford 2 10. Larrousse-Ford 1 Aftermath On June 1 st, it was announced that the Argentine Grand Prix would not take place in October. Improvements to the Buenos Aires track were not expected to be finished in time. Formula One Constructors Association President Bernie Ecclestone said: We decided to postpone the race for this year. It would be stupid to rush things. The circuit had not been used for some years. It was agreed to move the race to the Spanish Circuito de Jerez de la Frontera, under the European Grand Prix banner. Karl Wendlinger regained consciousness in Saint Roch Hospital in Nice, on June 4 th. He had been in a semi-artificial coma for more than three weeks, after his massive accident during Monaco GP practice. The 25-year-old Austrian was now able to talk to relatives. We are very relieved and pleased for the relatives, said a Sauber spokesman. It s a very important step but we shall have to wait to know more. On June 7 th, Wendlinger returned to Innsbruck, Austria, for further treatment. Two days later, doctors said they expected Wendlinger to fully recover from his injuries, the driver now fully awake and able to speak, eat and read. It is expected he will recover as far as possible, maybe completely. He will be just the way his family have always known him," Wendlinger s physician stated. 30 www.encounterdownunder.com