1994 Spanish Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 16 in the 1994 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | 29 May 1994 | ||
| Official name | XXXVI Gran Premio Marlboro de España | ||
| Location | Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.747 km (2.950 mi) | ||
| Distance | 65 laps, 308.414 km (191.639 mi) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Attendance | 40,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Benetton-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:21.908 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Michael Schumacher
|
Benetton-Ford | |
| Time | 1:25.155 on lap 18 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||
| Second | Benetton-Ford | ||
| Third | Tyrrell-Yamaha | ||
The 1994 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 May 1994 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona. It was the 36th Spanish Grand Prix to be held since the first was held at Guadarrama in 1913. It was the fourth to be held at Circuit de Catalunya. It was the fifth race of the 1994 Formula One season.
The race was won by British driver Damon Hill driving a Williams FW16 taking his first win of the season. It was also Williams first win of the season, and a cathartic win for the team still shocked from the death of Ayrton Senna a few weeks earlier at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Hill won by 24 seconds over German driver Michael Schumacher, who for most of the race was stuck in fifth gear in his Benetton B194. Third was British driver Mark Blundell driving a Tyrrell 022. It would be the third and final podium of Blundell's career and would be the season highlight for the Tyrrell team.
The Grand Prix was additionally notable for the season-ending crash of debutant Italian driver Andrea Montermini in his Simtek S941 on the front straight. Montermini, elevated from test driver status after the death of Roland Ratzenberger at the San Marino Grand Prix crashed heavily into the pit wall. It also marked the Formula 1 debut of British Driver David Coulthard, replacing Senna for Williams.
This was the first race for the newly formed Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA). Several top level names, including Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, and Gerhard Berger, were instrumental in the setup and running of the GPDA, and they took the decision to install a temporary chicane at the Nissan corner, to attempt to slow the cars down before the La Caixa Hairpin. This was an attempt to improve safety, as well as limit speeds around the track, as the Nissan corner was generally taken at near flat-out speeds.
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