The 1994 Belgian Grand Prix was a
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
motor race
Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms ''automobile ...
held on 28 August 1994 at the
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a Race track, motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa, Belgium, Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One ...
, near the village of
Francorchamps
Francorchamps (, ) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Stavelot, located in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium.
It is home to the motor-racing Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. A sk ...
,
Wallonia
Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
. It was the eleventh race of the
1994 Formula One World Championship
The 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 48th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1994 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1994 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were conteste ...
.
The 44-lap race was won by British driver
Damon Hill
Damon Graham Devereux Hill (born 17 September 1960) is an English former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Hill won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won 22 Grands Prix acr ...
, driving a
Williams-
Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
. After Brazilian
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...
took the first
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
for the
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
team, German
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
crossed the finish line first in his
Benetton-
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
, only to be disqualified due to excessive wear on the wooden
skid block
A skid block, also known as a plank, is a common term for a mandatory attachment to the underside of a racing car. Initially applied to Formula One cars in 1994, it has also been used in other categories including Formula 3000 and Formula 3. It ...
underneath his car. Hill was thus awarded the win, his third of the season, with Finn
Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968) is a Finnish former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Finn", Häkkinen won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with M ...
second in a
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
-
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...
and Schumacher's Dutch teammate
Jos Verstappen
Johannes Franciscus "Jos" Verstappen (; born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch racing and rally driver, who competes in the European Rally Championship as a privateer. Verstappen competed in Formula One between and .
Born and raised in Dutch Limburg, ...
third.
This was the last time a race-winning driver was disqualified in Formula One until
George Russell thirty years later at
the same event.
Report
Background
Having deputised for a suspended
Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968) is a Finnish former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Finn", Häkkinen won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with M ...
at
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
at the previous race in
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
,
Philippe Alliot
Philippe René Gabriel Alliot (born 27 July 1954) is a French former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to and from to .
Born and raised in Voves, Alliot initially studied political science before dropping out ...
now returned to his old
Larrousse
Larrousse Formula One was a motorsports racing team founded in 1987 by Didier Calmels and former racer Gérard Larrousse, originally under the name Larrousse & Calmels. It was based in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine, Antony, in the southern suburbs of Pa ...
team for this race, taking the place of
Olivier Beretta
Olivier Henri Aldo Léopold Beretta (born 23 November 1969) is a professional racing driver from Monaco who raced in Formula One in 1994 for the Larrousse team, partnering Érik Comas. He participated in 10 Grands Prix, debuting on 27 March 199 ...
. Meanwhile, the cash-strapped
Lotus replaced
Alessandro Zanardi
Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (; born 23 October 1966) is an Italian professional racing driver and paracyclist. He won the CART championship in 1997 and 1998, and took 15 wins in the series. He also raced in Formula One from 1991 to 1994 and again ...
with local driver
Philippe Adams
Philippe Adams (; born 19 November 1969) is a Belgian racing driver.
Career
Early career
Adams was born in Mouscron, Wallonia, Belgium. He first began in motorsport at the age of twelve, racing Kart racing, karts, before beginning in car ra ...
, who brought significant funding to the team.
Following the deaths of
Roland Ratzenberger
Roland Walter Ratzenberger (; 4 July 1960 – 30 April 1994) was an Austrian racing driver, who competed in Formula One at three Grands Prix in .
Born and raised in Salzburg, Ratzenberger began his racing career as a protégé of Walter Lechn ...
and
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Senna won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with McLaren, and—at the time of his death—held ...
at
Imola
Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...
earlier in the season, a chicane was installed at Eau Rouge to slow the cars.
Qualifying

The Friday qualifying session was held in wet but drying conditions. Towards the end of the session, the
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
cars were sent out on slick tyres, and
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...
duly put his car on provisional pole with teammate
Eddie Irvine
Edmund "Eddie" Irvine Jr. (; born 10 November 1965) is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland, who competed Formula One drivers from the United Kingdom, under the British flag in Formula One from to . Irvine was runner-up in the Formula ...
fourth. More rain fell on Saturday, with most of the drivers lapping several seconds slower than the day before, and only
Christian Fittipaldi
Christian Fittipaldi (born 18 January 1971) is a Brazilian former racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car, and NASCAR. He was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, and parti ...
improving his time. Thus, Barrichello took the first pole position of his career and the first for Jordan. At 22 years and 98 days, Barrichello became the youngest ever F1 polesitter up to that point, beating the record set by Andrea de Cesaris at the
1982 United States Grand Prix West
The 1982 United States Grand Prix West (officially the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach) was a Formula One motor race held on April 4, 1982, at the temporary street circuit at Long Beach, California.
Summary
In his third race since returning fro ...
.
Drivers' Championship leader
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
was second in his
Benetton, with
Damon Hill
Damon Graham Devereux Hill (born 17 September 1960) is an English former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Hill won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won 22 Grands Prix acr ...
third in his
Williams. After Irvine came
Jean Alesi
Jean Robert Alesi (; born Giovanni Roberto Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Alesi won the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix with Ferrari.
Born and raised in Avignon, Alesi started karting a ...
in the
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
,
Jos Verstappen
Johannes Franciscus "Jos" Verstappen (; born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch racing and rally driver, who competes in the European Rally Championship as a privateer. Verstappen competed in Formula One between and .
Born and raised in Dutch Limburg, ...
in the second Benetton,
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard (born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster from Scotland who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "DC", Coulthard was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' ...
in the second Williams and the returning Häkkinen, with
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (; born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Frentzen was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won three Grands Prix across 10 se ...
in the
Sauber
Sauber Motorsport AG, currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who pro ...
and
Pierluigi Martini
Pierluigi Martini (; born 23 April 1961) is an Italian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Martini won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in with BMW in motorsport ...
in the
Minardi
Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...
completing the top ten.
Race
In dry conditions, Barrichello led away from Schumacher and a fast-starting Alesi. Schumacher passed Barrichello at Les Combes, and Alesi soon followed, only for his engine to fail on lap 3. With the Jordans struggling to hold on to track position against faster cars, Hill moved into second, ahead of Coulthard and Häkkinen.
Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger (; born 27 August 1959) is an Austrian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Berger won 10 Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons.
Berger competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, ...
in the remaining
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
also retired with engine failure by lap 12.
Philippe Adams
Philippe Adams (; born 19 November 1969) is a Belgian racing driver.
Career
Early career
Adams was born in Mouscron, Wallonia, Belgium. He first began in motorsport at the age of twelve, racing Kart racing, karts, before beginning in car ra ...
who made his debut Grand Prix appearance at his home circuit soon spun out into the gravel trap, five laps after Berger retired.
Coulthard overtook teammate Hill during the first round of pit stops, while Barrichello moved back up to second before making his stop. On lap 19, Schumacher spun exiting Fagnes but retained the lead; the following lap, Barrichello spun into retirement at Pouhon and clipped the armco barrier giving his
Jordan 194
The Jordan 194 was the car with which the Jordan Grand Prix, Jordan team competed in the 1994 Formula One World Championship. The number 14 car was driven by Rubens Barrichello and the number 15 car by Eddie Irvine, with Aguri Suzuki and Andrea d ...
terminal suspension damage.
Martin Brundle
Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Brundle won the World Sportscar Champions ...
moved into fifth in the second McLaren, before he himself had spun off and clipped the armco like Barrichello by lap 25.
When Schumacher and Hill made their second pit stops on lap 28, Coulthard led a lap for the first time in his F1 career. After making his own second stop, he remained ahead of Hill until the Williams team called him in on lap 37 to check his rear wing. He then developed gearbox problems and was passed by Häkkinen, Verstappen and
Mark Blundell
Mark Blundell (born 8 April 1966) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to , and Championship Auto Racing Teams, IndyCar from 1996 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1996 to 2000 CAR ...
in the
Tyrrell. On lap 40, Coulthard hit the back of Blundell's car going through La Source; both were able to continue, with Coulthard apologising to Blundell afterwards.
Eddie Irvine
Edmund "Eddie" Irvine Jr. (; born 10 November 1965) is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland, who competed Formula One drivers from the United Kingdom, under the British flag in Formula One from to . Irvine was runner-up in the Formula ...
was the final retirement with the result of an
alternator
An alternator (or synchronous generator) is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field wit ...
failure with only three laps to go and was classified fourteenth, leaving thirteen runners left in the race up to the finish.
Though Hill set the fastest lap of the race on lap 41, Schumacher crossed the finish line some 13 seconds ahead, with Häkkinen a further 51 seconds back and Verstappen, Coulthard, Blundell and Morbidelli completing the top six.
Post-race

Shortly after the race, excessive wear was found on the wooden
skid block
A skid block, also known as a plank, is a common term for a mandatory attachment to the underside of a racing car. Initially applied to Formula One cars in 1994, it has also been used in other categories including Formula 3000 and Formula 3. It ...
on the underside of Schumacher's car. The skid block was a
mandatory requirement on all cars, introduced two races before in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, to increase ride height and reduce
ground effect advantages. Wear on the skid block of up to one millimetre was permitted; any greater would make the ride height too low and result in an illegal aerodynamic advantage.
The Benetton team claimed that the excessive wear resulted from Schumacher's spin on lap 19, but the stewards rejected the claim because of the wear pattern. Schumacher was thus disqualified and Hill awarded the victory, with Häkkinen second, Verstappen third, Coulthard fourth, Blundell fifth and
Gianni Morbidelli
Gianni Morbidelli (born 13 January 1968) is an Italian racing driver. He participated in 70 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 11 March 1990. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of 8.5 championship points. He most recently competed in ...
sixth in the
Footwork
Footwork may refer to:
* Footwork (cricket)
*Footwork (dance)
*Footwork (genre), a genre of electronic music, also known as juke
*Footwork (martial arts)
Footwork is a martial arts and combat sports term for the general usage of the legs and ...
.
Schumacher's lead over Hill in the Drivers' Championship was reduced to 21 points with five races remaining.
Classification
Qualifying
Race
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
References
{{F1GP 90-99
Belgian Grand Prix
The Belgian Grand Prix (; ; ) is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship.
The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa region's race course, an area of the country that had been associated ...
Belgian Grand Prix
Grand Prix
( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to:
* Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition
** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship
*** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
Belgian Grand Prix
The Belgian Grand Prix (; ; ) is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship.
The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa region's race course, an area of the country that had been associated ...