The1994 Pacific Grand Prix(formally theI Pacific Grand Prix) was aFormula Onemotor raceheld on 17 April 1994 at theTI Circuit,Aida,Japan. It was the second race of the1994 Formula One World Championship.
| 1994 Pacific Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 16 in the1994 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 17 April 1994 | ||
| Official name | I Pacific Grand Prix | ||
| Location |
TI Circuit Aida,Japan | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 3.703 km (2.314 miles) | ||
| Distance | 83 laps, 307.349 km (192.093 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:10.218 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Michael Schumacher | Benetton-Ford | |
| Time | 1:14.023 on lap 10 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Benetton-Ford | ||
| Second | Ferrari | ||
| Third | Jordan-Hart | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
The 83-lap race was won by German driverMichael Schumacher,driving aBenetton-Ford,after he started from second position. BrazilianAyrton Sennatookpole positionin hisWilliams-Renaultbut retired following a first-corner collision with theFerrariof ItalianNicola Larini,leaving Schumacher to lead all 83 laps. AustrianGerhard Bergerwas second in the other Ferrari with another Brazilian,Rubens Barrichello,third in aJordan-Hart,his and the Jordan team's first podium finish.
Background
editThePacific Grand Prixwas the first of two races scheduled to be held inJapanin 1994 with theJapanese Grand Prixdue to take place atSuzukain October. The race at the new to the calendarTI Circuitacted as a replacement for theEuropean Grand PrixatDonington Parkthat had been originally scheduled for this date but was later cancelled[citation needed],though theEuropean Grand Prixwould later reappear on the calendar with the event taking place in early October at theCircuito de JerezinSpainas a replacement for theArgentine Grand Prix.[citation needed]FerraridriverJean Alesiinjured his back in a testing accident atMugello,[1]whileJordandriverEddie Irvineunsuccessfully appealed against the one-race ban handed to him for his involvement in the four-car accident in Brazil, this ban being increased to three races.[2]Nicola Lariniwould substitute for Alesi at the Pacific race, whileAguri Suzukiwould take Irvine's place.
Qualifying report
editMost drivers set their best qualifying times during Friday's session, the track conditions on Saturday being slower.Ayrton Sennatookpole positionin hisWilliamsby 0.22 seconds fromMichael Schumacherin theBenetton.Damon Hillwas third in the other Williams withMika Häkkinenfourth in theMcLaren,followed byGerhard Bergerin the Ferrari andMartin Brundlein the other McLaren. The top ten was completed by Larini in the other Ferrari,Rubens Barrichelloin the Jordan,Christian Fittipaldiin theFootworkandJos Verstappenin the other Benetton. Suzuki was 20th in the other Jordan, while the twoSimteksofDavid BrabhamandRoland Ratzenbergerwere 25th and 26th respectively, condemning the twoPacificsofBertrand GachotandPaul Belmondoto non-qualification.
Qualifying classification
edit| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 |  Ayrton Senna
|
Williams-Renault | 1:10.218 | 1:19.304 | |
| 2 | 5 | Michael Schumacher
|
Benetton-Ford | 1:10.440 | no time | +0.222 |
| 3 | 0 |  Damon Hill
|
Williams-Renault | 1:10.771 | 1:12.048 | +0.553 |
| 4 | 7 |  Mika Häkkinen
|
McLaren-Peugeot | 1:11.683 | no time | +1.465 |
| 5 | 28 |  Gerhard Berger
|
Ferrari | 1:11.744 | 1:12.184 | +1.526 |
| 6 | 8 | Martin Brundle
|
McLaren-Peugeot | 1:12.351 | no time | +2.133 |
| 7 | 27 |  Nicola Larini
|
Ferrari | 1:12.372 | 5:32.428 | +2.154 |
| 8 | 14 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Jordan-Hart | 1:12.409 | 1:13.172 | +2.191 |
| 9 | 9 | Christian Fittipaldi
|
Footwork-Ford | 1:13.169 | 1:12.444 | +2.226 |
| 10 | 6 |  Jos Verstappen
|
Benetton-Ford | 1:12.554 | 1:12.681 | +2.336 |
| 11 | 30 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen
|
Sauber-Mercedes | 1:12.686 | 1:12.797 | +2.468 |
| 12 | 4 | Mark Blundell
|
Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:13.013 | 1:12.751 | +2.533 |
| 13 | 10 | Gianni Morbidelli
|
Footwork-Ford | 1:12.866 | 1:13.090 | +2.648 |
| 14 | 3 |  Ukyo Katayama
|
Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:13.013 | 1:13.411 | +2.795 |
| 15 | 24 | Michele Alboreto
|
Minardi-Ford | 1:13.342 | 1:13.016 | +2.798 |
| 16 | 20 |  Érik Comas
|
Larrousse-Ford | 1:13.111 | 1:13.550 | +2.893 |
| 17 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini
|
Minardi-Ford | 1:13.529 | 1:13.756 | +3.311 |
| 18 | 25 | Éric Bernard
|
Ligier-Renault | 1:13.613 | 1:14.204 | +3.395 |
| 19 | 29 | Karl Wendlinger
|
Sauber-Mercedes | 1:13.855 | 1:14.163 | +3.637 |
| 20 | 15 | Aguri Suzuki
|
Jordan-Hart | 1:14.036 | 1:13.932 | +3.714 |
| 21 | 19 |  Olivier Beretta
|
Larrousse-Ford | 1:14.101 | 1:14.271 | +3.883 |
| 22 | 26 | Olivier Panis
|
Ligier-Renault | 1:14.106 | 1:14.667 | +3.888 |
| 23 | 12 | Johnny Herbert
|
Lotus-Mugen-Honda | 1:14.538 | 1:14.424 | +4.206 |
| 24 | 11 |  Pedro Lamy
|
Lotus-Mugen-Honda | 1:14.657 | 1:15.146 | +4.439 |
| 25 | 31 |  David Brabham
|
Simtek-Ford | 1:14.946 | 1:14.748 | +4.530 |
| 26 | 32 | Roland Ratzenberger
|
Simtek-Ford | no time | 1:16.536 | +6.318 |
| DNQ | 34 | Bertrand Gachot
|
Pacific-Ilmor | 1:16.927 | 1:18.571 | +6.709 |
| DNQ | 33 | Paul Belmondo
|
Pacific-Ilmor | 1:18.671 | 1:17.450 | +7.232 |
| Sources:[3][4][5] | ||||||
Race report
editAyrton Sennawas overtaken by Schumacher before the first corner and was then hit from behind byMika Häkkinenand spun off the track.Nicola Larinialso went off the track and crashed into Senna, causing race-ending damage to both cars.Mark Blundellalso spun on the same corner after a collision at the apex of the first corner, stalling his car in the middle of the track. On lap 3Damon Hillspun off trying to overtake Hakkinen, but rejoined and climbed back to second place before stopping with transmission failure on lap 49. AsJos Verstappenin the second Benetton retired after he spun off just as soon as he came out of the pits on lap 55 as he was 3 laps behind teammate Schumacher.Martin Brundle meanwhile was looking secure in 3rd place after Barrichello pitted before he retired shortly after with his engine overheating on lap 68. Alboreto and Wendlinger to whom were just behind the top 6 had collided and both went off into the gravel trap forcing both drivers to retire whilst theMinardiwas trying to get past theSauberat the time.Michael Schumacherwon comfortably fromGerhard BergerandRubens Barrichello.Roland Ratzenberger's 11th place would be the Austrian's only finish before his death during qualifying forthe following Grand PrixatImola.
Illegal driver aids
editDuring the weekend, Ferrari test driverNicola Larini(who had replaced the injuredJean Alesifor the early part of the season), leaked to the Italian media that he had usedtraction control(one of the banned for 1994 electronic driver aids) during the practice session for the race. Ferrari and Larini later denied the claims to the worldwide press.[6]The "leak" by Larini further raised suspicions about teams using illegal aids to help them in races. Further, after the first corner collision that put him out of the race, instead of going back to the Williams pit area, Ayrton Senna opted to sit on the wall on the outside of the turn and watch the cars for a number of laps to see if he could hear any noises that suggested traction control was being used illegally in the other cars.[7]Senna returned to the Williams pit area after about 10 laps had been completed, suspicious that theBenetton B194was illegal.[8]
Race classification
edit| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Michael Schumacher
|
Benetton-Ford | 83 | 1:46:01.693 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | 28 | Gerhard Berger
|
Ferrari | 83 | + 1:15.300 | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | 14 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Jordan-Hart | 82 | + 1 lap | 8 | 4 |
| 4 | 9 | Christian Fittipaldi
|
Footwork-Ford | 82 | + 1 lap | 9 | 3 |
| 5 | 30 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen
|
Sauber-Mercedes | 82 | + 1 lap | 11 | 2 |
| 6 | 20 | Érik Comas
|
Larrousse-Ford | 80 | + 3 laps | 16 | 1 |
| 7 | 12 | Johnny Herbert
|
Lotus-Mugen-Honda | 80 | + 3 laps | 23 | |
| 8 | 11 | Pedro Lamy
|
Lotus-Mugen-Honda | 79 | + 4 laps | 24 | |
| 9 | 26 | Olivier Panis
|
Ligier-Renault | 78 | + 5 laps | 22 | |
| 10 | 25 | Éric Bernard
|
Ligier-Renault | 78 | + 5 laps | 18 | |
| 11 | 32 | Roland Ratzenberger
|
Simtek-Ford | 78 | + 5 laps | 26 | |
| Ret | 10 | Gianni Morbidelli
|
Footwork-Ford | 69 | Engine/Spun off | 13 | |
| Ret | 29 | Karl Wendlinger
|
Sauber-Mercedes | 69 | Collision damage | 19 | |
| Ret | 24 | Michele Alboreto
|
Minardi-Ford | 69 | Collision | 15 | |
| Ret | 8 | Martin Brundle
|
McLaren-Peugeot | 67 | Overheating | 6 | |
| Ret | 23 | Pierluigi Martini
|
Minardi-Ford | 63 | Spun off | 17 | |
| Ret | 6 | Jos Verstappen
|
Benetton-Ford | 54 | Spun off | 10 | |
| Ret | 0 | Damon Hill
|
Williams-Renault | 49 | Transmission | 3 | |
| Ret | 15 | Aguri Suzuki
|
Jordan-Hart | 44 | Steering | 20 | |
| Ret | 3 | Ukyo Katayama
|
Tyrrell-Yamaha | 42 | Engine | 14 | |
| Ret | 7 | Mika Häkkinen
|
McLaren-Peugeot | 19 | Gearbox | 4 | |
| Ret | 19 | Olivier Beretta
|
Larrousse-Ford | 14 | Electrical | 21 | |
| Ret | 31 | David Brabham
|
Simtek-Ford | 2 | Electrical | 25 | |
| Ret | 2 | Ayrton Senna
|
Williams-Renault | 0 | Collision | 1 | |
| Ret | 27 | Nicola Larini
|
Ferrari | 0 | Collision | 7 | |
| Ret | 4 | Mark Blundell
|
Tyrrell-Yamaha | 0 | Collision | 12 | |
Source:[9]
| |||||||
Championship standings after the race
edit
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References
edit- ^"Larini to take Alesi's place".The Daily Telegraph.London. 8 April 1994. p. 35.
- ^Allsop, Derick (6 April 1994)."Motor Racing: Irvine's ban increased: FIA rejects appeal".The Independent.London.Retrieved20 April2023.
- ^"Pacific Grand Prix – Qualifying 1".Formula1.Retrieved29 December2023.
- ^"Pacific Grand Prix – Qualifying 2".Formula1.Retrieved29 December2023.
- ^"1994 Pacific Grand Prix Classification Qualifying".Motorsport Stats.Retrieved29 December2023.
- ^Collings, Timothy; Edworthy, Sarah (2002).The Daily Telegraph - The Formula One Years.SevenOaks. pp.256–259.ISBN1-86200-101-4.
- ^"Grand Prix Results: Pacific GP, 1994".GrandPrix.Inside F1.Archivedfrom the original on 5 September 2008.Retrieved28 August2008.
- ^Saward, Joe(11 August 1994)."Globetrotter: Rocking the boat".GrandPrix.Inside F1.Archivedfrom the original on 29 September 2008.Retrieved28 August2008.
- ^"1994 Pacific Grand Prix".formula1.Retrieved15 July2018.
- ^ab"Pacific 1994 - Championship • STATS F1".statsf1.Retrieved20 March2019.