Mansell's last F1 win: after Hill & Schumacher crashed in 1994 Australian GP

F1
- Last updated: March 22nd 2024

30 years on from the controversial 1994 Australian Grand Prix, we look beyond the title-deciding crash between Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher to the fighting drive that saw Nigel Mansell clinch his final F1 victory

Nigel Mansell Gerhard Berger Martin Brundle 1994 Australian Grand Prix

Nigel Mansell (centre) stands with Gerhard Berger (left) and Martin Brundle (right) on 1994 Australian GP podium

Grand Prix Photo

Author

Cambridge Kisby

One way or another, Michael Schumacher was set on securing his first F1 world championship at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix, at the end of a tragic season that left him and Damon Hill in an increasingly bitter battle for the title.

So when the crown looked as if it was slipping from his grasp at Adelaide, the Benetton driver made sure he got the job done — and hang the consequences.

It was lap 36 when Schumacher ran wide while leading and clouted the wall, giving Hill a run up the inside of what looked to be a broken Benetton. With one point separating the drivers in the championship, the winner would take it all. And Schumacher couldn’t contemplate losing. He swung wildly across the Williams‘ nose at Turn 6, flipping Schumacher’s car onto two wheels and into a nearby barrier.

For a few seconds, Hill looked like he’d shrugged off his F1 adversary, but as his left front wheel locked up under braking, the terminal damage to his suspension became clear. One glance at the bent rods by his pitcrew confirmed that he was out of the race. Schumacher’s cynical sideswipe had made him world champion by that single point.

Hill returns to the site of his controversial clash ahead of 2024 Australian GP

 

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It was an acrimonious end to a season that will always be remembered for the weekend six months earlier where Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna lost their lives at Imola.

From that devastating San Marino Grand Prix, the third race of the season, Senna’s team-mate Hill had emerged as Williams’ new championship contender and the only threat to Schumacher’s world title ambitions.

The Benetton driver began the 1994 campaign with four consecutive victories, then Hill responded with a win in Spain, followed by further success in Great Britain, three straight victories in Belgium, Italy and Portugal, and one final visit to the top step in Japan. Schumacher — who had been banned for two races for ignoring the black flag — won almost every other race that Hill didn’t, except for a surprise victory for Gerhard Berger at the German GP.

Entering the season finale in Adelaide, Schumacher led the drivers’ standings with 92 points to Hill’s 91. It set the stage for a final battle to show why the tangible risks of grand prix racing were worthwhile, only to end in the controversial clash, with Williams choosing not to protest the decision.

“Anybody that knew anything about driving race cars knew that Michael deliberately took Damon out of that race,” said Williams’ technical director Patrick Head in the Beyond the Grid podcast. “But I don’t think I felt totally aggrieved because, with the death of Ayrton Senna, with the fact that Michael was banned from driving for three races [disqualified in Belgium and serving his ban in Italy and Portugal] all of which Damon won, I don’t think I’d have felt totally happy with winning the championship in that year.”

But while the headlines were, and still remain, dominated by the Hill and Schumacher battle, their exit brought a genuinely thrilling battle. At the heart if it was Williams’ returning champion, Nigel Mansell.

Schumacher Hill Adelaide

Schumacher leads Hill at Adelaide and ensured he’d never pass him

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After winning the F1 title in 1992, Mansell had left the team suddenly to seek success behind the wheel of an IndyCar in 1993. He won five races in the PPG Indy Car World Series, while often failing to get along with team-mate Mario Andretti, and was crowned champion. But similar success eluded Mansell in 1994 and he was lured back to F1 for the midseason French Grand Prix and then, at the end of the IndyCar season, the final three races of the year, replacing David Coulthard — Senna’s replacement at Williams.

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Mansell’s return began with two retirements. But an impressive fourth-place finish at Suzuka hinted that ‘Our Nige’ was still among the best. His performance in Australia confirmed it.

In qualifying, Mansell snagged pole position from Schumacher by less than a hundredth of a second, while team-mate Hill grabbed third.

As the grid formed and the lights went out for the following day’s Grand Prix, the lead Williams was slow away, allowing the two championship protagonists to lead the field before Turn 1. Later on the opening lap, Mansell made a mistake at Turn 5 — similar to the one that Schumacher would make 35 laps later — and tumbled further down the order behind Mika Hakkinen in third and Rubens Barrichello in fourth.

Nigel Mansell Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill lead field at 1994 Australian Grand Prix

A slow start for Mansell allows Schumacher and Hill to slip through

Grand Prix Photo

While the leaders drew away, Mansell found himself among a tightly contested trailing pack, composed of Hakkinen and Barrichello ahead while Jean Alesi, Eddie Irvine, Martin Brundle and Johnny Herbert lurked behind.

Mansell eventually passed Barrichello for fourth and Hakkinen for third — which made him the lead beneficiary of the Schumacher and Hill crash.

But Mansell still had work to do, as the Ferrari of Gerhard Berger was in hot pursuit, having passed Hakkinen and Barrichello after they received stop-go penalties. With one final pitstop to negotiate, Mansell’s fairytale return to motor sport’s top flight was still far from secure.

Nigel Mansell 1994 Australian Grand Prix Williams

Mansell leads at Adelaide

Grand Prix Photo

While scenes of celebration erupted from the Benetton garage as Schumacher returned to celebrate his world title triumph, Mansell pitted for the final time on lap 54. He rejoined the track 19 seconds behind the new leader, Berger, but the Austrian soon pitted for fresh tyres of his own, and came out 4.7sec ahead of Mansell’s charging Williams.

A brilliant cat-and-mouse battle ensued over the Grand Prix’s closing stages, as Mansell’s numerous attempts to pass the Ferrari ahead were repelled one after the next. But finally Berger reached breaking point: running wide at Brewery Bend, Turn 10, on lap 64 and falling behind Mansell as he returned to the circuit.

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For 17 heart-in-mouth laps, the Briton was pursued relentlessly. Memories were still strong of his catastrophic tyre failure just 19 laps from the chequered flag in 1986, which had lost him the race win and the world championship to Alain Prost. But history would not repeat itself. Despite Berger’s best efforts eight years on, Mansell held out.

The 31st and final victory of his career was not only his first on Australian soil, but it would also secure Williams’ third consecutive constructors’ crown — a feat which was later dedicated to Senna, as was Schumacher’s drivers’ title.

“It’s a great relief,” Mansell admitted to Motor Sport’s Denis Jenkinson. “I’ve now won a race every year since 1985, but this one was balls-out all the way. There literally wasn’t any time for a breather. Whether I drive now or go fishing, at least I can say I won the Australian Grand Prix.”

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