1994 Brazilian Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 16 in the 1994 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | 27 March 1994 | ||
| Official name | XXIII Grande Prêmio do Brasil | ||
| Location | Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.325 km (2.703 mi) | ||
| Distance | 71 laps, 307.075 km (191.921 mi) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:15.962 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Michael Schumacher
|
Benetton-Ford | |
| Time | 1:18.455 on lap 7 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Benetton-Ford | ||
| Second | Williams-Renault | ||
| Third | Ferrari | ||
The 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix (formally the XXIII Grande Prêmio do Brasil) was a Formula One motor race held on 27 March 1994 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo. It was the first race of the 1994 Formula One season. The 71-lap race was won by Benetton driver Michael Schumacher after he started from second position. Damon Hill finished second for the Williams team and Ferrari driver Jean Alesi came in third.
With it being the first race of the season, new drivers made their debuts. Roland Ratzenberger, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Olivier Panis, Olivier Beretta and Jos Verstappen made their debuts and Simtek and Pacific Racing also debuted.
Ayrton Senna took pole position from Michael Schumacher, with Jean Alesi over a second further behind. Heavy rain disrupted Saturday's proceedings. Debutant Heinz-Harald Frentzen impressed with taking the 5th spot on the grid in his very first race.
At the start Ayrton Senna maintained his lead, while Jean Alesi overtook Michael Schumacher. Schumacher retook second place on lap 2 and started chasing after Senna, who had pulled a 4-second lead in the opening laps. Before the pit stops Schumacher had reduced the gap to just over a second, and on lap 21 the leading pair entered the pit lane together. Despite both teams running the same fuel strategy, Benetton's stop was much faster than Williams' stop, and Schumacher left the pitlane in the lead.
...
Wikipedia