1994 Season

The 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship is the 48th season of Formula One motor racing. Sixteen rounds are scheduled, opening in Brazil on 27 March and closing in Australia on 13 November. Defending drivers’ champion Alain Prost has retired from the sport and will not attempt to defend his title. Williams-Renault, three-time consecutive constructors’ champions, are the defending team.

Driver changes

Ayrton Senna joins Williams from McLaren, replacing the retired Prost. Martin Brundle takes Senna’s vacant McLaren seat. Riccardo Patrese’s retirement opens the second Benetton seat; JJ Lehto arrives from Sauber to fill it. However, Lehto injured his neck in pre-season testing and has been unable to race — Jos Verstappen, Benetton’s test driver, steps up to partner Michael Schumacher from the opening round. Heinz-Harald Frentzen makes his F1 debut at Sauber, the seat Lehto vacated.

Mark Blundell joins Tyrrell. Ligier loses both its 1993 drivers and starts the year with Éric Bernard, returning to the grid after two years away, and Olivier Panis, winner of the 1993 F3000 Championship on his F1 debut. Footwork replaces Derek Warwick and Aguri Suzuki with Christian Fittipaldi, who drove for Minardi in 1993, and Gianni Morbidelli. Larrousse promotes F3000 driver Olivier Beretta for his first F1 season. David Brabham, last seen in F1 in 1990, drives for new entry Simtek alongside Roland Ratzenberger. Pacific hires Paul Belmondo, returning after his March drive in 1992, and Bertrand Gachot for his fifth season in the sport. Minardi signs Michele Alboreto.

Team changes

McLaren moves from customer Ford V8 power to works Peugeot V10 engines. Lotus, using Ford power in 1993, has agreed a deal with Mugen-Honda — their first Honda-derived power since 1988. Footwork, previously on Mugen-Honda, takes over the Ford contract McLaren has vacated. Sauber’s relationship with Mercedes-Benz deepens: Mercedes have further developed the 1993 Ilmor V10 and officially enter Formula One as an engine supplier for the first time since 1955. Larrousse moves from Lamborghini to Ford; Lamborghini leaves the sport after the McLaren deal collapsed. Two new constructors join the grid: Simtek, previously involved in F1 as designers of the Andrea Moda S921, and Pacific Racing, with a strong record in lower formulae. The former Lola BMS Scuderia Italia operation has folded; Minardi has absorbed part of its assets and rebrands as Minardi Scuderia Italia.

Calendar

Sixteen races are confirmed, though the provisional calendar carries Argentina as a potential round. South Africa has been dropped: the Kyalami circuit was sold to the South African Automobile Association in July 1993 and running an F1 event proved too costly. The European Grand Prix at Donington Park, originally scheduled for 17 April, has been cancelled and replaced by the Pacific Grand Prix at the TI Circuit in Aida, Japan — the first F1 race at that venue. Spain and Monaco have swapped calendar positions: the Monaco Grand Prix now comes before Spain.

Regulation changes

Sweeping technical changes take effect for 1994. Active suspension, anti-lock brakes, traction control, launch control, and four-wheel steering are all banned, aimed at reducing costs and returning a greater role to driver skill. Refuelling during races is permitted for the first time since 1983. Gearboxes are restricted to between four and seven ratios. Ayrton Senna was among several observers who warned that removing driver aids without curbing car speeds would make 1994 “a season with a lot of accidents.”