The Belgium Grand Prix ended in controversial circumstances when Michael Schumacher, who had won the race, was disqualified and his rival Damon Hill was given the win.
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The 1994 Belgium Grand Prix was the symbol of what was a controversial season in the history of Formula One. There was a bitter title contest between Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill. Both Benetton and Williams were engaged in a heated competition. The early part of the season saw Schumacher dominate. But, Hill and the Williams team were clawing their way back into the contest. Heading into the Belgium Grand Prix, Schumacher still had a commanding 31-point lead over Hill.
Spa Francorchamps had emerged as one of the most favorite venues for Schumacher. On debut at Spa, he managed to outqualify many veterans to secure seventh place. That qualifying in 1991 had gotten Schumacher into the limelight in F1. During the 1992 season, Michael Schumacher secured his first win in F1 at Spa. Thus, heading into the 1994 race, he was pipped to win the race and extend his lead. But, things would turn downhill for Schumacher in a dramatic race.
The race at Belgium came in the backdrop of the death of Ronald Ratzenberger and Aryton Senna in Imola. With Spa being a highspeed circuit, there was the need to install a chicane at the ultrafast Eau Rouge corner. Heading from the Kemmel straight and upto Eau Rouge, cars would touch close to 300 kmph on the straight. A failure of the brakes could have catastrophic consequences. It was decided that there would be a chicane at the end of Eau Rouge that headed into Pouhon and Blanchimant.
The qualifying session was held in wet weather on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, the rain was the heaviest and Rubens Barrichello in the Jordan secured the pole position. Michael Schumacher came in second position while Hill was right behind him in third. Eddie Ervine and Jean Alesi were the top five on the grid.
The race started in dry conditions. This aided the Ferrari and Benetton cars. Schumacher was quick through the blocks and he passed Barrichello into the lead. The race saw a lot of changes from the original grid position as the dry weather changed the entire course of the game.
Schumacher apparently had a scary moment when he spun exiting the Fagnes corner but he regained the lead. Both Hill and Schumacher made their pitstops on lap 28 out of the 44-lap race but it did not impact the positions. Schumacher was simply dominant and he won the race in grand style, 13 seconds ahead of Hill. It seemed that Schumacher would now seal his championship in grand style. But, the race would be snatched away in controversial circumstances from the German legend.
Shortly after the race, excessive wear was found on the wooden skid block on the underside of Schumacher’s car. The skid block was a mandatory requirement on all cars. This was introduced two races before in Germany to increase ride height and reduce ground effect advantages. Wear on the skid block of up to 1mm 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 Mika Hakkinen second.
This meant that Schumacher’s lead in the 1994 world championship was reduced to 21 points with just five races remaining. The disqualification at Spa would have a ripple effect on the 1994 World Championship.
Before Belgium, Schumacher was involved in a greater controversy at the British Grand Prix. The German was given a five-second stop-and-go penalty for passing Hill on the parade lap. Schumacher was given the advice to not take the penalty as Benetton was appealing the decision. Schumacher stayed out beyond the three laps required to adhere to the penalty and was then shown the black flag. This meant that he was excluded from the race and from that point would have to return to the pits and retire.
Benetton, however, continued to negotiate and appeal the decision with race officials. Schumacher did return to the pits on lap 26, but only for the five-second stop-go penalty. He re-joined the race in third behind Berger and Hill. Schumacher came second but was banned for two races for ignoring the black flag. Benetton appealed and Schumacher could race. But, after Spa, the FIA rejected Benetton’s appeal and the ban stayed for Schumacher.
This forced Schumacher to miss the next two races in Italy and Portugal. Hill won the next two races and the gap was reduced to one point. The German won the next race in Jerez for the European Grand Prix while Hill finished second. The gap extended to five points with two points to go. Hill won in Japan and heading into the final race in Australia, Schumacher just had a one-point lead.
The final race in Adelaide saw Schumacher taking the race lead. However, on lap 35, Schumacher went wide and brushed the wall. It was unclear whether his car was damaged or not. Hill was suddenly right behind him took the inside line into the next corner. As Hill’s Williams drew alongside the Benetton, Schumacher appeared to turn in aggressively and there was contact between the two rival cars. Schumacher’s car was damaged and he was out of the race. Hill’s car initially appeared to be undamaged but his left tire rod was broken. The British driver went into the pits and tried to get it repaired, but he had to retire. In the most controversial situations, Schumacher had won the F1 title in grand style. There was lot of speculation and controversy but Williams did not protest the result.
The Belgian Grand Prix was just one part in a massive 1994 season. It saw plenty of twists and tragedies. But, Schumacher overcame them all.
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