1994 Monaco Grand Prix

Lore & Background

After the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the San Marino Grand Prix, sweeping changes were announced by the FIA to the rules and regulations of Formula One in a bid to improve safety. The majority were scheduled to come into force after the Monaco Grand Prix, but an 80 km/h pit-lane speed limit was brought into force in time for this race. Both Williams and Simtek, the teams for whom Senna and Ratzenberger drove, ran only one car each during the race weekend. Eddie Irvine was serving the third race of his three-race ban issued to him for his part in the crash during the Brazilian Grand Prix. Andrea de Cesaris again took Irvine's place at Jordan, whilst Irvine acted as a pit-lane reporter for ESPN. Olivier Beretta became the first Monégasque to compete in the Monaco Grand Prix since André Testut in 1959. This was the last time a driver from Monaco competed in his home race, until Charles Leclerc took part in the 2018 race.

In Their Own Story

The tunnel exit shimmered under the bright Mediterranean sun as Hill approached the final chicane. His hands gripped the wheel, knuckles white against the black carbon fiber. The roar of the Renault V10 engine was different today—not just noise, but a heartbeat for the team back in Grove. As he crossed the line, the blue and yellow livery seemed to glow with relief. There were no champagne sprays immediately, only the quiet nod of a job done under impossible circumstances.

Reader's Guide

During the first free practice session on Thursday morning, Austrian driver Karl Wendlinger had a major accident at the Nouvelle Chicane. Travelling at almost he appeared to brake too late, and the car slid sideways into the water-filled barriers. Wendlinger was knocked unconscious and was taken initially to the Princess Grace Hospital, and later to Saint Roch Hospital in Nice. He suffered a serious head injury and remained in a coma for several weeks. The Sauber-Mercedes team decided to withdraw from the race after this incident. Michael Schumacher claimed the first pole position of his Grand Prix career (and the first for a German driver since the 1961 Italian Grand Prix with Wolfgang von Trips, the race in which he suffered his fatal accident). Mika Häkkinen qualified second, which was also the highest starting position thus far in his career. Martin Brundle qualified 2nd in the first qualifying session on the Thursday, three tenths of a second in front of team mate Mika Häkkinen, but could not repeat this on the Saturday and dropped to 8th. As a mark of respect for Senna and Ratzenberger, the FIA decided to leave the first two grid positions empty for the race and painted them with the colours of the Brazilian and Austrian flags. For the first time since the 1959 United States Grand Prix, there was no previous World Champion competing in the race and also no former Monaco Grand Prix winner. There were also only four previous race winners: Schumacher, Hill, Berger and Alboreto. At the start of the race, Damon Hill clipped the left rear tyre of Mika Häkkinen's McLaren just before the Sainte Dévote corner. Häkkinen retired immediately, while Hill continued for a few corners before retiring with broken right front suspension. Gianni Morbidelli and Pierluigi Martini also collided before Sainte Dévote, putting each other out. Eric Bernard in the second Ligier had soon spun out of the race at the Nouvelle chicane. Katayama retired his Tyrrell from 6th position on lap 39 when his gearbox failed, as of which by lap 41, the engine on Mark Blundell's Tyrrell failed, leaving oil on the track at Sainte Dévote retiring 2 laps after Katayama which Schumacher, leading the race, had to avoid. The second placed Ferrari of Gerhard Berger did slip on the oil, however, and required a three-point turn to escape from the run off area beside the stricken Tyrrell. Berger returne

Did You Know?

• Michael Schumacher won the race from pole position, his fourth victory in the first four races of 1994.
• Martin Brundle finished second, equalling the best finish of his F1 career.
• Michele Alboreto finished sixth, scoring his final point in Formula One.
• Karl Wendlinger suffered a serious head injury in practice and the Sauber-Mercedes team withdrew from the race.
• Olivier Beretta became the first Monégasque to compete in the Monaco Grand Prix since 1959.