1994 Australian Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 16 of 16 in the 1994 Formula One season | |||
.svg) |
|||
| Date | 13 November 1994 | ||
| Official name | LIX Australian Grand Prix | ||
| Location |
Adelaide Street Circuit Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
||
| Course | Temporary street circuit | ||
| Course length | 3.780 km (2.362 mi) | ||
| Distance | 81 laps, 306.180 km (191.362 mi) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Attendance | 132,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:16.179 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Michael Schumacher
|
Benetton-Ford | |
| Time | 1:17.140 on lap 29 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||
| Second | Ferrari | ||
| Third | McLaren-Peugeot | ||
|
|
|||
The 1994 Australian Grand Prix (formally the LIX Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 13 November 1994 at the Adelaide Street Circuit. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1994 Formula One season. The 81-lap race was won by Nigel Mansell driving for the Williams team after starting from pole position. Gerhard Berger finished second in a Ferrari car with Martin Brundle third for the McLaren team.
The race is remembered for an incident involving the two title contenders Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher which forced both to retire and resulted in Schumacher winning the World Drivers' Championship. Also notable was the last appearance in a Formula One Grand Prix of the first incarnation of Team Lotus, previously seven-time Constructors' Champions. It was also the 31st and last Grand Prix victory of Nigel Mansell's Formula One career. As of November 2015[update], this was the last Formula One race where the number of participants exceeded the number of places on the starting grid.
Heading into the final race of the season, Benetton driver Michael Schumacher was leading the Drivers' Championship with 92 points; Williams driver Damon Hill was second on 91 points, one point behind Schumacher. Williams led the Constructors' Championship with 108 points, while Benetton were 5 points behind with 103. Thus, both titles were still at stake and they would be determined in the final round.
Schumacher took the lead at the start, with Hill second behind him. The order remained the same until lap 36. Hill was catching Schumacher when the Benetton driver went off the track at the East Terrace corner, hitting a wall with his right side wheels before pulling back onto the track. Hill had rounded the fifth corner of the track when Schumacher pulled across the track ahead of him to the left. At the next corner Hill attempted to pass Schumacher; the two collided when Schumacher turned in. Schumacher was eliminated on the spot. Hill attempted to continue the race and pitted immediately, but retired from the race with irreparable damage to the car's front left suspension wishbone. As neither driver scored, Schumacher took the title.
...
Wikipedia