1995 European Grand Prix

Championship standings

Schumacher leads with 72 points, ahead of Hill on 55. Coulthard is third on 39, Herbert fourth on 38, and Alesi fifth on 34. In the Constructors’ Championship, Benetton leads on 100 points from Williams on 88 and Ferrari on 62.

Previous race

Coulthard won in Portugal — his first Formula One victory and the first by a Scottish driver since Jackie Stewart won the 1973 German Grand Prix 22 years ago. Schumacher was second, Hill third. At the start, Katayama’s Tyrrell went airborne after contact with Badoer’s Minardi; Katayama was hospitalised for two days with a strained neck and bruising. After several contentious incidents between Schumacher and Hill at Silverstone, Spa, and Monza, the two shook hands at the podium presentation in Estoril.

Between-race developments

Katayama has chosen not to race on doctors’ advice following his Portugal crash. Gabriele Tarquini — a Formula One race driver turned touring car specialist — steps in at Tyrrell, making a one-off return to Formula One.

Coulthard has confirmed a move to McLaren for 1996. He had signed a contract with McLaren in October 1994 before his full-time Williams drive was confirmed, and his one-year Williams deal was not extended given the prior McLaren commitment. McLaren confirmed Häkkinen and Jan Magnussen (currently test driver) will continue in their respective roles, leaving Blundell without a seat for 1996. Coulthard’s deal was officially announced on the day of the race itself.

Jacques Villeneuve, confirmed as Hill’s 1996 Williams teammate, has tested the FW17 for two days at Monza.

Ferrari announced that Irvine will join Schumacher at the team in 1996. Jordan subsequently announced that Brundle will move from Ligier to partner Barrichello, replacing Irvine.

At a team principals’ meeting this weekend, it was agreed that qualifying will be reduced to a single hour-long session from 1996, and a reduction from 17 to 16 Grands Prix was confirmed. Barrichello and Footwork’s Papis also disclosed they expect to fail drugs tests after taking decongestants containing the banned substance ephedrine — for a nasal problem and a cold respectively.

Track changes

The Nürburgring returns to the Formula One calendar for the first time since the 1985 German Grand Prix. Its return was facilitated by the surge of interest in the sport in Germany following Schumacher’s 1994 title. As the circuit has not held a Formula One race in ten years, an additional familiarisation session has been added. The short GP-Strecke layout is used, the third occasion Formula One has raced on it rather than the near-23-kilometre Nordschleife.

Car upgrades

Williams uses the FW17B chassis for the second race. McLaren has amalgamated elements of its B and C specification MP4/10 — rear end and gearbox from the former. Ferrari introduced a revised rear wing and sidepods which both drivers describe as an improvement.

Practice

Schumacher described the Nürburgring as “dull” and “easy to learn, with no real challenges”; Coulthard predicted a processional race with limited overtaking. In the familiarisation session, Schumacher set the reference time (1:20.418), ahead of Hill, Coulthard, Häkkinen, Frentzen, and Berger.

First practice was dry; Hill was fastest (1:19.343), three hundredths ahead of Coulthard. Second practice was wet and significantly slower. Both qualifying sessions were disrupted by rain. Coulthard took his third consecutive pole position (1:18.738), ahead of Hill and Schumacher. Media attention focused on Coulthard outqualifying Hill four times in a row, prompting questions about team orders to prioritise Hill’s championship challenge.