The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

by **BassTrombone** » 05 Apr 2020, 13:58

I will be starting a virtual racing career, telling you the story of fictional Dutch driver Nathan van Dijk, who will make his Formula 1 debut in 1995. His entry in F1 will definitely change some of the actual history and therefore some liveries as well (which may interest you all as well...)

I will be using the great classic game by Geoff Crammond, Grand Prix 2, because of its ability to run races without actually driving, and because it is quite easy to modify car designs. All results will be simulated by the game. One limitation will probably be that I will keep on using the 1994 race calendar for all seasons, as well as the car shape.

My next post will be an "official" 1995 season preview, where you will already see some tweaks to the design of Nathan's car to accomodate his sponsors... I hope you will enjoy this!

by **BassTrombone** » 05 Apr 2020, 15:47

1995 Formula One Season Preview

Mild Seven Benetton Renault

#1 - Michael Schumacher (Germany)

52 race starts
10 wins
6 pole positions

#2 - Johnny Herbert (Great Britain)

63 race starts
Best race result: 4th
Best qualifying: 4th

After Benetton's most succesful year in the sport so far, they will be looking to improve by not only taking the drivers', but also the constructors' championship crown. Michael Schumacher proved last year that, although controversial, he definitely is the best driver around after Ayrton Senna's tragic death. The 2nd driver seat in 1994 was a hot seat with a lot of changes, the last two races occupied by Johnny Herbert. He keeps his seat for 1995 and he knows he will have to perform. The state-of-the-art Renault engines will surely help.

Nokia Tyrrell Yamaha

#3 - Ukyo Katayama (Japan)

46 race starts
Best race result: 5th
Best qualifying: 5th

#4 - Mika Salo (Finland)

2 race starts
Best race result: 10th
Best qualifying: 22nd

Tyrrell will be looking to further move up the midfield, after they bounced back from a disappointing 1993 by scoring 13 points and even a podium finish in 1994. The innovative new Tyrrell 023 looks promising. Katayama has proven himself to be a stable and quick driver last year. Youngster Mika Salo will be looking to prove himself after his debut in the last two races of 1994 with Lotus.

Rothmans Williams Renault

#5 - Damon Hill (Great Britain)

34 race starts
9 wins
4 pole positions

#6 - David Coulthard (Great Britain)

8 race starts
Best race result: 2nd
Best qualifying: 3rd

Following three consecutive constructors' championships, Williams will still consider itself the team to beat. They will be eager to regain the drivers' championship as well and Damon Hill will mainly be the one to challenge Schumacher. David Coulthard made his debut last year under difficult circumstances, but he proved himself to be quick, albeit inconsistent sometimes. He will look to further improve himself and contribute to Williams' title challenges.

Marlboro McLaren Mercedes

#7 - Mark Blundell (Great Britain)

46 race starts
Best race result: 3rd
Best qualifying: 4th

#8 - Mika Hakkinen (Finland)

48 race starts
Best race result: 2nd
Best qualifying: 2nd

McLaren's pre-season was compromised by their drivers' complaints about the too narrow cockpit. Nigel Mansell would not even fit in the car and will have to be replaced by Mark Blundell for the start of the season, until McLaren are able to introduce a changed chassis. Blundell will be looking to capitalize this unique chance. A lot of his, and Hakkinen's and Mansell's chances will depend on the quality of the brought-in Mercedes engines.

Footwork Hart

#9 - Gianni Morbidelli (Italy)

50 race starts
Best race result: 5th
Best qualifying: 6th

#10 - Taki Inoue (Japan)

1 race start
Best race result: -
Best qualifying: 26th

The former Arrows team is desparately looking for money and they have shown it to the world by hiring Taki Inoue. Results will be expected from Morbidelli, who will try to drag his Hart V8 powered Footwork to some more points finished, like he did last year.

MTV Simtek Ford

#11 - Domenico Schiattarella (Italy)

2 race starts
Best race result 19th
Best qualifying: 26th

#12 - Jos Verstappen (Netherlands)

10 race starts
Best race result: 3rd
Best qualifying: 6th

Another team on a limited budget, Simtek will be looking to improve on their difficult debut year. Schiattarella keeps his seat from last year and will be looking to make a better impression in 1995. Joining him is Dutch Jos Verstappen, who is considered as one of the biggest racing talents of the moment. If he manages to impress in the Simtek, he may be back in the frame for a Benetton racing seat.

Total Jordan Peugeot

#14 - Rubens Barrichello (Brazil)

31 race starts
Best race result: 3rd
1 pole position

#15 - Eddie Irvine (Great Britain)

14 race starts
Best race result: 4th
Best qualifying: 4th

Jordan have picked up the Peugeot works engines and are hoping for it to be an improvement over the Hart V10 units they used last year. The talented driver duo of Barrichello and Irvine performed fine last year, getting Jordan a nice 5th place in the constructors' championship. Jordan will be looking to join the sub-top this year.

Pacific Team Lotus

#16 - Bertrand Gachot (France)

36 race starts
Best race result: 5th
Best qualifying: 10th

#17 - Andrea Montermini (Italy)

0 race starts
Best race result: -
Best qualifying: -

Pacific was probably the slowest team on last year's grid, racking up 25 DNQs. Due to the withdrawal of Larrousse and Team Lotus, they will not need to worry about qualifying anymore, so at least they will be seen more often at the start of the races. Speaking of Team Lotus, Pacific's merge with them might help them to further develop their car and field a more advanced chassis.

Parmalat Forti Ford

#21 - Roberto Moreno (Brazil)

25 race starts
Best race result: 2nd
Best qualifying: 5th

#22 - Nathan van Dijk (Netherlands)

0 race starts
Best race result: -
Best qualifying: -

Forti is the debuting team in 1995, jumping up from F3000. Like for Pacific, it will be a big advantage for them that only 26 cars will try to qualify in 1995. The experienced Brazilian Moreno will try to further develop the car, while also bringing some native sponsors. Van Dijk is one of the most surprising names on the grid. The 19-year old Dutchman is bringing some Dutch sponsor money, but he will face a very steep learning curve.

Minardi Scuderia Italia

#23 - Pierluigi Martini (Italy)

110 race starts
Best race result: 4th
Best qualifying: 2nd

#24 - Luca Badoer

12 race starts
Best race result: 7th
Best qualifying: 21st

Minardi missed out last-minute on the Mugen engines, having to settle with Ford V8s. Experienced Italian Martini and his young compatriot Badoer will be looking to capitalize every opportunity to gain some points, hoping that Aldo Costa has maximised on his budget to design a good chassis.

Ligier Gitanes Blondes

#25 - Aguri Suzuki (Japan)

59 race starts
Best race result: 3rd
Best qualifying: 6th

#26 - Olivier Panis (France)

16 race starts
Best race result: 2nd
Best qualifying: 6th

The new Ligier JS41 has a remarkable resemblance to the Benetton with both teams sharing ownership by Flavio Briatore. If the chassis is equally good and the Mugen Honda engine lives up to its potential, it may well become a successful year for the French team. Olivier Panis had a solid rookie season in 1994 and will be looking to improve. Suzuki will be sharing his seat with Martin Brundle, or at least that is what is being said now...

Scuderia Ferrari

#27 - Jean Alesi (France)

85 race starts
Best race result: 2nd
1 pole position

#28 - Gerhard Berger (Austria)

163 race starts
9 race wins
10 pole positions

Ferrari finally won a race again last year and they will be looking to collect more. Jean Alesi, who is overdue his first win by years now, and Gerhard Berger still look like an experienced and capable duo. If Ferrari can improve on their reliability and consistency, the prancing horse may be a dark horse for the 1995 world championships.

Red Bull Sauber Ford

#29 - Karl Wendlinger (Austria)

35 race starts
Best race result: 4th
Best qualifying: 5th

#30 - Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany)

15 race starts
Best race result: 4th
Best qualifying: 3rd

After a disappointing 8th place in the 1994 constructors' championship, Mercedes left Sauber. They were able to pick up the works Ford engines, though, using the V8 units which enabled Schumacher to win the drivers' championship last year. While that may be a bit over-ambitious for the Swiss team, Wendlinger and Frentzen will be looking to score their first podiums in 1995 and move up the midfield.

by **BassTrombone** » 06 Apr 2020, 21:44

1995 Brazilian Grand Prix

Formula 1 is ready for its 1995 season overture! All pre-season speculation will prove to be worthless when the engines are started and the first wheels are turned. Gentlemen, start your engines please!

Qualifying

The first qualifying of the year is the qualifying of the new rising stars. Benetton's #2, Johnny Herbert, takes his first pole position. The Jordan team with its young, talented duo is rising to the top with their cars on the 2nd and 3rd grid slots. Further down the field, Frentzen, Panis and Verstappen impress. Rookie Van Dijk surprises by out-qualifying his 16 year older team-mate Moreno.

Results

Code: Select all: ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³ 1 Pole ³ ³ Johnny Herbert ³ ³ 2 1m 16.285s ³ ³ Eddie Irvine ³ ³ 1m 16.456s 3 Row 2 ³ ³ Rubens Barrichello ³ ³ 4 1m 16.532s ³ ³ Michael Schumacher ³ ³ 1m 16.614s 5 Row 3 ³ ³ Damon Hill ³ ³ 6 1m 16.625s ³ ³ David Coulthard ³ ³ 1m 16.640s 7 Row 4 ³ ³ Jean Alesi ³ ³ 8 1m 16.649s ³ ³ Mika Hakkinen ³ ³ 1m 16.807s 9 Row 5 ³ ³ Gerhard Berger ³ ³ 10 1m 16.937s ³ ³ Heinz-Harald Frentzen ³ ³ 1m 17.155s 11 Row 6 ³ ³ Olivier Panis ³ ³ 12 1m 17.238s ³ ³ Gianni Morbidelli ³ ³ 1m 17.239s 13 Row 7 ³ ³ Mark Blundell ³ ³ 14 1m 17.274s ³ ³ Ukyo Katayama ³ ³ 1m 17.448s 15 Row 8 ³ ³ Aguri Suzuki ³ ³ 16 1m 18.012s ³ ³ Karl Wendlinger ³ ³ 1m 18.500s 17 Row 9 ³ ³ Luca Badoer ³ ³ 18 1m 18.528s ³ ³ Jos Verstappen ³ ³ 1m 18.746s 19 Row 10 ³ ³ Pierluigi Martini ³ ³ 20 1m 18.937s ³ ³ Mika Salo ³ ³ 1m 19.037s 21 Row 11 ³ ³ Taki Inoue ³ ³ 22 1m 20.169s ³ ³ Domenico Schiattarella ³ ³ 1m 20.497s 23 Row 12 ³ ³ Bertrand Gachot ³ ³ 24 1m 21.022s ³ ³ Nathan van Dijk ³ ³ 1m 21.067s 25 Row 13 ³ ³ Roberto Moreno ³ ³ 26 1m 21.094s ³ ³ Andrea Montermini ³ ³ 1m 21.146s ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Race

Race day has come and 26 drivers are eager to prove what they are worth. Somehow all of these eager lads make it through the first corner. Maybe the Jordan duo are too cautious, Barrichello dropping to 4th and Irvine to 6th. The Benetton duo have a better start with Herbert keeping the lead and Schumacher. Van Dijk's start is impressive as well, as he passes two cars to rise to 22nd. After the first lap, Herbert is leading the race, followed by Schumacher, Coulthard, Barrichello, Hakkinen and Irvine.

In the opening laps of the race, Barrichello is on a charge to prove himself for his home country. He overtakes Coulthard for 3rd. A couple of laps later, an impressive move gains him 2nd from Schumacher as well. Schumacher is even dropping further, also being passed by Coulthard, Hakkinen, Hill and Irvine in the first five laps. Irvine lost a place to Hill in the second lap, but he is fighting back some laps later. Unfortunately the Ulsterman overdrives his Jordan and spins, dropping him all the way back to last place. The same happens with another angry young man a couple of laps later, as Heinz-Harald Frentzen spins his Sauber too.

Further incidents were to come, with Frentzen trying to fight his way past Verstappen, spinning the Dutchman in the process. Things were about to get worse for Verstappen in the next lap, as he retired from last place with an engine failure. Aguri Suzuki was the next to retire. The first race of Nathan van Dijk also came to an early end, as his transmission gave up in lap 19.

From lap 20, the pit stop window was opened with Barrichello and Hill being the first ones from the top 6. Coulthard, Hakkinen and Herbert followed soon, while it appeared that Schumacher and Alesi were on a one-stop strategy. Schumacher was able to move into the lead, while Alesi got 3rd. Also in lap 22, tragedy struck Barrichello, as he retired with transmission problems.

Herbert immediately used his fresh tyres to close the gap to his team-mate and was right on his tail in lap 24. The Benettons were apparently allowed to race, as they even did a bit of wheel banging. One lap later, the party was over when Herbert made a clean pass on Schumacher going into the first corner. Another curious intra-team moment occured when Frentzen, on his way back through the field, got to the tail of Wendlinger. Under pressure, Wendlinger lost control into the first corner, causing Frentzen to take avoiding action and spinning himself as well. Both were able to continue, although having lost time and positions.

The one-stoppers Schumacher and Alesi made their stops in laps 36 and 38 respectively, dropping them to 5th and 6th. A couple of laps later, Coulthard lost his hopes of getting a good result and even beating his teammate when his engine failed. Coulthard's retirement moved Hakkinen onto a podium position, although he would not enjoy it for long. The McLaren's transmission let the Finn down in lap 44.

Soon the two-stoppers all came in for their second stops, with Herbert keeping the lead this time. Schumacher and Alesi were still able to move up to 2nd and 3rd, while Panis profited from all retirements and his one-stop strategy to move up to 5th. His luck would not last long, though, as he needed an unplanned pit stop due to electrical issues. Alesi's delight also was not forever, with Hill closing in on him fast and overtaking him for 3rd.

In the final stages of the race, more technical issues were to come. Alesi had to limp back to the pits for a full lap with electrical problems, but he was able to continue his way and salvage some points. Blundell and Irvine even lost their points positions, both drivers retiring with technical issues.

Johnny Herbert wins his first ever Grand Prix

Johnny Herbert was not bothered by any of these troubles, as he drove on to a dominant first Formula 1 victory. Damon Hill did well to finish 2nd in the end, with Schumacher starting his title defence with the last spot on the podium. Alesi and Berger managed to salvage some points for Ferrari in a difficult week-end, while Panis managed to take the last point despite his issues earlier on.

Results

Code: Select all: ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³ Pos Driver Time/Speed ³ ³ ³ ³ 1st Johnny Herbert 1h 35m 36.204s ³ ³ Benetton - Renault ³ ³ 2nd Damon Hill +24.851s ³ ³ Williams - Renault ³ ³ 3rd Michael Schumacher +48.438s ³ ³ Benetton - Renault ³ ³ 4th Jean Alesi +59.011s ³ ³ Ferrari ³ ³ 5th Gerhard Berger -1 Lap ³ ³ Ferrari ³ ³ 6th Olivier Panis -1 Lap ³ ³ Ligier - Mugen Honda ³ ³ 7th Karl Wendlinger -2 Laps ³ ³ Sauber - Ford ³ ³ 8th Ukyo Katayama -2 Laps ³ ³ Tyrrell - Yamaha ³ ³ 9th Mika Salo -3 Laps ³ ³ Tyrrell - Yamaha ³ ³ 10th Pierluigi Martini -3 Laps ³ ³ Minardi - Ford ³ ³ 11th Domenico Schiattarella -3 Laps ³ ³ Simtek - Ford ³ ³ 12th Bertrand Gachot -4 Laps ³ ³ Pacific - Ford ³ ³ 13th Eddie Irvine Puncture ³ ³ Jordan - Peugeot ³ ³ 14th Mark Blundell Transmission ³ ³ McLaren - Mercedes ³ ³ 15th Andrea Montermini Transmission ³ ³ Pacific - Ford ³ ³ 16th Gianni Morbidelli Loose Wheel ³ ³ Footwork - Hart ³ ³ 17th Mika Hakkinen Transmission ³ ³ McLaren - Mercedes ³ ³ 18th David Coulthard Oil Leak ³ ³ Williams - Renault ³ ³ 19th Roberto Moreno Engine ³ ³ Forti - Ford ³ ³ 20th Taki Inoue Engine ³ ³ Footwork - Hart ³ ³ 21st Heinz-Harald Frentzen Transmission ³ ³ Sauber - Ford ³ ³ 22nd Luca Badoer Suspension ³ ³ Minardi - Ford ³ ³ 23rd Rubens Barrichello Transmission ³ ³ Jordan - Peugeot ³ ³ 24th Nathan van Dijk Transmission ³ ³ Forti - Ford ³ ³ 25th Aguri Suzuki Suspension ³ ³ Ligier - Mugen Honda ³ ³ 26th Jos Verstappen Engine ³ ³ Simtek - Ford ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Drivers' Championship

Code: Select all: 1. Johnny Herbert 10 2. Damon Hill 6 3. Michael Schumacher 4 4. Jean Alesi 3 5. Gerhard Berger 2 6. Olivier Panis 1

Constructors' Championship

Code: Select all: 1. Benetton-Renault 14 2. Williams-Renault 6 3. Ferrari 5 4. Ligier-Mugen Honda 1

by **BassTrombone** » 07 Apr 2020, 12:24

GRAND PRIX NEWS
Your monthly source for racing news, rumors and stories | Wednesday 5th April, 1995

Ferrari's Resurgence Plans

Since Jean Todt entered Ferrari, they seem to be on their way back to the top again. Rumor has it that Ferrari are looking to significantly upgrade their personnel for the next years. Although John Barnard's 412 design was a race winner last year, Ferrari are expecting more from him. It is said Todt is already looking to lure in Williams' Adrian Newey or Benetton's Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne to replace him. Whoever takes or keeps the role, they will have the heavy task of getting Ferrari back into championship contention, but they will be greatly rewarded if they do so.

On the driver front, it is also all but quiet. According to our sources, Todt is keen to sign a new big star and has started talks with reigning world champion Michael Schumacher. His signing would mean bad news for either Alesi or Berger, raising pressure on the duo to perform well this year. Some say Ferrari might even go for a completely new driver duo, with youngsters Rubens Barrichello, David Coulthard, Eddie Irvine and Heinz-Harald Frentzen also in the picture.

Sons of Legends

In the last few years, Formula 1 has shown itself to be a family business. Damon Hill, Graham's son, is still in F1 and started the new season reasonably well with 2nd place in Brazil. But how are Jack Brabham's sons doing? How is Michael Andretti doing? And where did Wilson's son, Christian Fittipaldi go? Furthermore, are more F1 legend offsprings on their way to live up to their fathers' fame?

While Gary Brabham decided to retire from competitive racing, his brother David takes part in the BTCC this year. After deciding to leave Simtek last year, he debuted in the class in a BMW 320i last weekend. With a 12th position in both races he did not yet stand out. He will need to rise to the top to get back in the F1 picture.

Michael Andretti proved his quality in CART last year, even winning his first race back in the series after a very disappointing F1 stint with McLaren. He continues to impress this year, already having taken both pole positions. In the races he has been less lucky so far, but it remains a mystery why he was not able to show the same speed in Formula 1. If he still has the ambition, he might get a second shot at F1 as long as he keeps showing his current performance.

Emerson's nephew Christian Fittipaldi joins his uncle in CART for the first time this year, after a more than decent three-year stint in the F1 midfield. The rookie immediately impressed with a solid 5th in Miami. Fittipaldi will probably not like to re-join the back of the Formula 1 grid, but if he continues to perform this well in CART, the 24-year old might just get a place in the spotlights in the future.

Another name that still causes a bit of a stir when mentioned in the paddock, is Villeneuve. Gilles' son Jacques was the CART rookie of the year in 1994 and he won the first race of this year. The young Canadian shows some serious speed, as well as racecraft in the North American class. Will he be the next one to jump across the ocean and give Formula 1 a go?

Derek Bell never enjoyed the big successes in F1, but he has established himself as a sports car legend, winning the Le Mans 24 hours five times. His son Justin, now 27 years old, has slowly risen through the racing ranks with an almost Damon Hill-like career path. He will join his father in a McLaren in this year's Le Mans race. Could this maybe be a way into an F1 seat?

Another way to get into Formula One, is being a team boss. Jackie's son, Paul Stewart, may just be on his way to achieve exactly that. After quitting his driver career in 1993, Paul purely focuses on running his Paul Stewart Racing team in Formula 3000 and Formula 3. If money becomes available, this might be one of the teams who could be able to make the jump to Formula 1 in the next years.

Short but Sweet

Dome to join F1 in 1997 with Mugen engines • McLaren to launch B-spec to fit Mansell in Imola • Berger in talks with Benetton • Larrousse to return in 1996 with Petronas sponsoring? • Simtek in talks with Dutch, Japanese, Argentinian investors

by **BassTrombone** » 08 Apr 2020, 20:58

1995 Argentinian Grand Prix

After a surprising maiden win for Johnny Herbert, he will be eager to prove it was not a fluke. And can Williams strike back? What about the others, will Ferrari or McLaren close the gap and fight for the lead? The new, twisty circuit of Buenos Aires might throw in a surprise...

Qualifying

In Brazil, the top three was a surprise. It may still be considered a surprise that the same drivers will start from the first grid slots in Argentina. Jean Alesi also had a good qualifying, securing 4th on the grid. The Williams team takes the third row, while Schumacher disappoints with only a 7th time. Further down the grid, Panis' 10th place is impressive too. Rookies Van Dijk and Montermini will start the race from the last row.

Results

Code: Select all: ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³ 1 Pole ³ ³ Johnny Herbert ³ ³ 2 1m 29.341s ³ ³ Rubens Barrichello ³ ³ 1m 29.558s 3 Row 2 ³ ³ Eddie Irvine ³ ³ 4 1m 29.558s ³ ³ Jean Alesi ³ ³ 1m 29.693s 5 Row 3 ³ ³ David Coulthard ³ ³ 6 1m 29.714s ³ ³ Damon Hill ³ ³ 1m 29.766s 7 Row 4 ³ ³ Michael Schumacher ³ ³ 8 1m 29.782s ³ ³ Mika Hakkinen ³ ³ 1m 29.874s 9 Row 5 ³ ³ Gerhard Berger ³ ³ 10 1m 29.910s ³ ³ Olivier Panis ³ ³ 1m 30.290s 11 Row 6 ³ ³ Heinz-Harald Frentzen ³ ³ 12 1m 30.295s ³ ³ Mark Blundell ³ ³ 1m 30.511s 13 Row 7 ³ ³ Gianni Morbidelli ³ ³ 14 1m 30.553s ³ ³ Ukyo Katayama ³ ³ 1m 30.805s 15 Row 8 ³ ³ Aguri Suzuki ³ ³ 16 1m 31.246s ³ ³ Karl Wendlinger ³ ³ 1m 31.868s 17 Row 9 ³ ³ Luca Badoer ³ ³ 18 1m 32.150s ³ ³ Mika Salo ³ ³ 1m 32.356s 19 Row 10 ³ ³ Jos Verstappen ³ ³ 20 1m 32.420s ³ ³ Pierluigi Martini ³ ³ 1m 32.614s 21 Row 11 ³ ³ Taki Inoue ³ ³ 22 1m 33.660s ³ ³ Domenico Schiattarella ³ ³ 1m 34.064s 23 Row 12 ³ ³ Bertrand Gachot ³ ³ 24 1m 34.758s ³ ³ Roberto Moreno ³ ³ 1m 34.908s 25 Row 13 ³ ³ Nathan van Dijk ³ ³ 26 1m 34.919s ³ ³ Andrea Montermini ³ ³ 1m 34.933s ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Race

The second race of the year gets underway and for the second time, all 26 drivers come through the first corner unscathed. After his careful start in Brazil, Irvine is a lot more aggressive in Argentina, conquering the lead before the first corner. Coulthard has a great start as well, rising to 2nd, followed by Barrichello. Michael Schumacher makes up for his bad qualifying by gaining three places, with Herbert dropping behind him to 5th. Damon Hill keeps his 6th position. Further down the field, the first incident occurs in the third corner. After a good start, Van Dijk is pushed by Gachot in the braking zone, causing him to drop to last place.

Coulthard does not seem the fastest in the opening stages, with a group of five other cars forming behind him. Hill is the first one to gain a position within this group, overtaking Herbert for 5th place in lap 2. The next lap is packed with incidents, starting with Montermini going through the grass, rejoining in the path of Schiattarella. His avoiding action enables Van Dijk to regain a place. Further up the field, Morbidelli's Footwork breaks down and he spins when trying to move his car to the side, stopping on the middle of the track. Luckily everybody is able to avoid this dangerous situation.

Barrichello frantically tries to pass Coulthard, probably making him too careless about the threats from behind. Michael Schumacher is able to overtake the Brazilian in lap 5, with Hill following a lap later. Barrichello's race would go from bad to worse only one lap later, when he retired with suspension failure. The race of Jordan Grand Prix would even be completely over in lap 8, with Eddie Irvine's retirement from the lead as his Peugeot engine spectacularly blew up. Further down the field, both Dutch drivers catch some attention. Van Dijk by overtaking his way up to 21st position, Verstappen by being forced to pit as early as lap 10 with electrical issues. Nevertheless, he is able to continue his race in 26th.

Coulthard had inherited the lead, raising the stakes for the group fighting him. Finally, in lap 10, Schumacher was able to pass him. The reigning world champion immediately proved that Coulthard was holding him up, improving the fastest lap time of the race three times in a row. Damon Hill was next to fight Coulthard, but the Scot did not make any room for his team mate. Herbert profited with a spectacular dive bomb maneuver, stealing Hill's 3rd position. Schumacher further extended the gap to the chasing group in the meantime, lapping the first backmarkers in the process. Another intra-team battle was decided during the German's lapping, as Van Dijk cleverly slipstreamed Schumacher to pass Moreno for 17th.

The backmarkers would play another role a couple of laps later, in lap 18. It started with Herbert trying to lap Gachot, but he was blocked by the Frenchman. Hill profited and sneaked past the Benetton. Mere seconds later, Hill was too impatient when lapping Moreno, spinning and taking the Forti off track as well. Herbert was not able to avoid the incident without moving through the grass. Jean Alesi was the one to get lucky, overtaking both Brits. Herbert needs to make up the lost time and proves he is just as quick as his team mate now he has space. After this incident, Schumacher leads, followed by Coulthard, Alesi, Hill, Herbert and Hakkinen.

Lap 23 provides the next shock, as Schumacher's Benetton catches fire, caused by an oil leak. The German is able to swiftly park his car and run to safety. His retirement raises Olivier Panis back into the points, but it was not for long, as the Ligier's brakes let him down in the same lap. David Coulthard still drove his way through all the incidents and regained the lead, although he was quickly being caught by Alesi, Hill and Herbert. When the four front-runners formed a group again, Damon Hill was the first one to make a successful move, taking 2nd position from Alesi. Coulthard impressively managed to keep them all behind until lap 30, when he was forced to make a pit stop with electrical issues and dropped to 5th place, just in front of Gerhard Berger.

All drivers on a two stop strategy made their stops in the next few laps, with no issues for the front runners. The pit entry appeared to be an unsuitable location for battles, as Mika Salo found out. The Finnish Tyrrell driver crashed out while trying to enter the pits in front of Pierluigi Martini. The only front runner left on a one stop strategy was Jean Alesi, he took the lead when the others pitted. When things looked really good, the poor Frenchman did not have luck on his side, being forced to retire in lap 35 with a failed transmission. Mika Hakkinen also saw his hopes of a good result fade away in this lap with a similar issue.

The race passed its half-way point, with David Coulthard once again on a charge towards the lead. He eagerly closed the gap to Herbert, but he was not able to pass the Benetton before the Scot had to visit the pits for a regular stop. Herbert did lose the lead a lap later, though, as Damon Hill benefitted from his mistake. The Argentinian GP proved a true survival of the fittest, with Frentzen and Blundell also retiring from points-scoring positions. As a result, Karl Wendlinger and Luca Badoer found themselves in the points by lap 50.

Herbert was once again catching Hill to regain the lead, setting a new fastest lap time in lap 51. One lap later, he tried too much, again spinning his car and losing all the progress he gained. Despite his errors, Herbert soon was able to pressurize Hill again. Lap 54 saw Herbert gaining the lead again, although some corners later, Hill cleverly passed him again. One lap later, the fighting duo pitted simultaneously for their last fresh set of tyres and fuel. They rejoined the race behind David Coulthard, who made his undercut strategy work.

David Coulthard takes his maiden win in Argentina

Survival of the fittest was still not done yet, as Damon Hill's race ended frustratingly with transmission failure in lap 58. His team mate was able to keep a safe margin to Herbert in the meantime; Coulthard undoubtedly was relieved it was not his Williams failing on its way to his maiden win. Berger followed them on some distance in 3rd, with Wendlinger, Badoer and Katayama behind him set for their first points of the year. Badoer was even on his way to his first career points, if his Minardi would be able to hang on. Katayama was closing in on him quickly and looked set for a late battle for 5th place, but it was not to be. Only two laps from the finish, the Tyrrell came to a halt. This promoted Jos Verstappen, who was a lap down on the Japanese, to 6th place, scoring Simtek's first ever Formula One point and maybe providing them a lifeline by attracting new investors.

Results

Code: Select all: ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³ Pos Driver Time/Speed ³ ³ ³ ³ 1st David Coulthard 1h 50m 44.311s ³ ³ Williams - Renault ³ ³ 2nd Johnny Herbert +21.588s ³ ³ Benetton - Renault ³ ³ 3rd Gerhard Berger +40.507s ³ ³ Ferrari ³ ³ 4th Karl Wendlinger -1 Lap ³ ³ Sauber - Ford ³ ³ 5th Luca Badoer -2 Laps ³ ³ Minardi - Ford ³ ³ 6th Jos Verstappen -3 Laps ³ ³ Simtek - Ford ³ ³ 7th Pierluigi Martini -3 Laps ³ ³ Minardi - Ford ³ ³ 8th Taki Inoue -3 Laps ³ ³ Footwork - Hart ³ ³ 9th Ukyo Katayama -4 Laps ³ ³ Tyrrell - Yamaha ³ ³ 10th Roberto Moreno Transmission ³ ³ Forti - Ford ³ ³ 11th Damon Hill Transmission ³ ³ Williams - Renault ³ ³ 12th Domenico Schiattarella Puncture ³ ³ Simtek - Ford ³ ³ 13th Mark Blundell Loose Wheel ³ ³ McLaren - Mercedes ³ ³ 14th Heinz-Harald Frentzen Transmission ³ ³ Sauber - Ford ³ ³ 15th Bertrand Gachot Engine ³ ³ Pacific - Ford ³ ³ 16th Jean Alesi Transmission ³ ³ Ferrari ³ ³ 17th Mika Hakkinen Transmission ³ ³ McLaren - Mercedes ³ ³ 18th Mika Salo Didn't Finish ³ ³ Tyrrell - Yamaha ³ ³ 19th Nathan van Dijk Oil Leak ³ ³ Forti - Ford ³ ³ 20th Olivier Panis Brakes ³ ³ Ligier - Mugen Honda ³ ³ 21st Michael Schumacher Oil Leak ³ ³ Benetton - Renault ³ ³ 22nd Andrea Montermini Transmission ³ ³ Pacific - Ford ³ ³ 23rd Aguri Suzuki Engine ³ ³ Ligier - Mugen Honda ³ ³ 24th Eddie Irvine Engine ³ ³ Jordan - Peugeot ³ ³ 25th Rubens Barrichello Suspension ³ ³ Jordan - Peugeot ³ ³ 26th Gianni Morbidelli Throttle ³ ³ Footwork - Hart ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Drivers' Championship

Code: Select all: 1. Johnny Herbert 16 2. David Coulthard 10 3. Damon Hill 6 4. Gerhard Berger 6 5. Michael Schumacher 4 6. Karl Wendlinger 3 7. Jean Alesi 3 8. Luca Badoer 2 9. Olivier Panis 1 = Jos Verstappen 1

Constructors' Championship

Code: Select all: 1. Benetton-Renault 20 2. Williams-Renault 16 3. Ferrari 9 4. Sauber-Ford 3 5. Minardi-Ford 2 6. Simtek-Ford 1 7. Ligier-Mugen Honda 1

by **BassTrombone** » 09 Apr 2020, 20:43

Press Release - Marlboro McLaren Mercedes

Marlboro McLaren Mercedes is proud to announce that former Formula One world champion and CART champion Nigel Mansell will participate next weekend in the San Marino Grand Prix. The decision was taken after successful test sessions at Silverstone over the past days. Mansell mentions he looks forward to finally race the MP4/10.

Press Release - MTV Simtek Ford

Arriving in Imola, MTV Simtek Ford is pleased to welcome three new Dutch sponsors to the team. Electronic goods manufacturer Philips, clothing brand Mexx and beer brewer Bavaria will join Simtek, securing the team's financial future for the rest of the year. Their logos will be visible on the cars from the San Marino Grand Prix onwards.

Press Release - MTV Simtek Ford

MTV Simtek Ford confirms that Domenico Schiattarella will not be able to participate in the San Marino Grand Prix after his crash in the first free practice. Schiattarella has broken his humerus (upper arm bone), but fortunately he looks to be fully recovering within the foreseeable future. For the rest of the race weekend in Imola, Schiattarella will be replaced by Simtek reserve driver, Hideki Noda.

by **BassTrombone** » 11 Apr 2020, 13:55

1995 San Marino Grand Prix

The first race in Europe is about to begin. Most teams have used the three weeks since the Argentinan GP to test and update their cars. Will the tables have turned? Also, there are three driver changes since the last race: Mansell finally fits in the McLaren, Suzuki swaps seats with Brundle for the first time at Ligier and Hideki Noda replaces Schiattarella at Simtek. Expectations are high for Mansell's full time return to F1 and it will be interesting to see what he can do with the McLaren.

Qualifying

McLaren's B-spec of the MP4/10 certainly has not only improved in the cockpit area, as Mika Hakkinen proves its potential by taking his maiden pole position. Although Mansell confirmed he is now more comfortable in the car, he only managed a disappointing 11th time. His former team Williams was reasonably satisfied by taking 2nd and 3rd on the grid, with Alesi, Schumacher and Irvine directly behind them. Championship leader Johnny Herbert only managed an 8th start position, while Barrichello also qualified outside the top 3, only managing 10th. The last start row is occupied by rookies Van Dijk and Montermini once again.

Results

Code: Select all: ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³Pole 1 ³ ³ Mika Hakkinen ³ ³ 1m 21.777s 2 ³ ³ David Coulthard ³ ³Row 2 3 1m 21.930s ³ ³ Damon Hill ³ ³ 1m 21.934s 4 ³ ³ Jean Alesi ³ ³Row 3 5 1m 21.966s ³ ³ Michael Schumacher ³ ³ 1m 21.993s 6 ³ ³ Eddie Irvine ³ ³Row 4 7 1m 21.999s ³ ³ Gerhard Berger ³ ³ 1m 22.061s 8 ³ ³ Johnny Herbert ³ ³Row 5 9 1m 22.068s ³ ³ Olivier Panis ³ ³ 1m 22.278s 10 ³ ³ Rubens Barrichello ³ ³Row 6 11 1m 22.441s ³ ³ Nigel Mansell ³ ³ 1m 22.695s 12 ³ ³ Heinz-Harald Frentzen ³ ³Row 7 13 1m 22.981s ³ ³ Aguri Suzuki ³ ³ 1m 22.995s 14 ³ ³ Ukyo Katayama ³ ³Row 8 15 1m 23.124s ³ ³ Gianni Morbidelli ³ ³ 1m 23.384s 16 ³ ³ Mika Salo ³ ³Row 9 17 1m 24.374s ³ ³ Karl Wendlinger ³ ³ 1m 24.514s 18 ³ ³ Luca Badoer ³ ³Row 10 19 1m 24.954s ³ ³ Pierluigi Martini ³ ³ 1m 25.048s 20 ³ ³ Jos Verstappen ³ ³Row 11 21 1m 25.120s ³ ³ Taki Inoue ³ ³ 1m 25.897s 22 ³ ³ Hideki Noda ³ ³Row 12 23 1m 25.953s ³ ³ Bertrand Gachot ³ ³ 1m 26.437s 24 ³ ³ Roberto Moreno ³ ³Row 13 25 1m 26.567s ³ ³ Nathan van Dijk ³ ³ 1m 26.595s 26 ³ ³ Andrea Montermini ³ ³ 1m 26.785s ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Race

The race starts with a lot of position changes, with Jean Alesi being the most outstanding performer. Alesi takes the lead, followed by Coulthard and Irvine, who also had a great start. Hakkinen did not get away well and dropped to 4th, followed by Hill, Herbert and Barrichello after the first corner. Herbert was immediately looking to gain more positions, attempting a move on Hill in Piratella, shoving the Williams driver off track. Hill dropped all the way to the last position and suddenly needed a big recovery drive to salvage some points.

Herbert was not the only Benetton driver on the move, though, with Schumacher recovering from a poor start by overtaking Barrichello in lap 2 to gain a position in the points. Mika Hakkinen lost all hopes of a good follow-up of his pole position as soon as lap 3, when he again retired with techinical issues. This time it was the Mercedes-Benz engine letting him down. Technical issues were also hampering Gerhard Berger as the Austrian had to pit early with technical issues, dropping him to the back of the field.

Championship leader Johnny Herbert again showed a good pace and managed two cleaner overtakes on Irvine and Coulthard, both in Tosa, to move up to 2nd position. His team mate followed by passing Irvine in Tosa as well in lap 10. Herbert's ambitions took a dent in lap 12, however, as the Brit was seen limping back to the pits with electrical issues. He would drop back all the way to 9th after his stop. Alesi also pitted early, although this looked like a normal strategic pit stop. The French Ferrari driver dropped to 5th in lap 13. Barrichello made his stop one lap later and rejoined just in front of Nigel Mansell in 6th. Schumacher came in for fuel and fresh tyres in lap 15, dropping the German into 5th place.

These early stops caused Aguri Suzuki to take a surprising 4th position in the race, although the front runners who had made their stops were closing in on him fast. Suzuki did resist for a while though and a group of chasers formed behind him. Schumacher was the first to break through, passing the Ligier in Tosa. Barrichello followed a lap later in Variante Alta, with Suzuki making his pit stop another lap later. Jean Alesi was also quickly making up ground after his early pit stop and he made a very brave move in Piratella to gain 2nd from Irvine.

Irvine and Coulthard made their only pit stops of the race in lap 27 and 28, dropping them to 6th and 4th respectively. Coulthard made the most of his fresh tyres to pass Barrichello only one lap after his stop, regaining a podium position. More drama would follow for the Jordan drivers, with Barrichello and Irvine retiring within a few laps from each other. Again 0 points for Jordan. The same could be said from their former driver Michael Schumacher, who retired from the lead in lap 35 with an oil leak. All of a sudden, David Coulthard was again in the lead of a Grand Prix, although Jean Alesi was quickly catching him on fresher tyres.

Alesi closed the gap to Coulthard and was fiercely fighting him for the lead. The Frenchman looked good for the win, with only Coulthard to pass. It was again not to be for the Ferrari driver, as his car failed in lap 39, handing the race win to the Scot on a silver platter. Coulthard indeed only needed to keep driving without making too big mistakes, since the gap to the rest of the field was large.

The retirements left a top six of Coulthard, Herbert, Berger, Hill, Mansell and Suzuki, with all of them driving at some distance from each other without too many fluctuations. Aguri Suzuki looked set for his first point in 4 years, until throttle issues forced the Japanese to retire. He did leave a very good impression on his team, though. The breakdown of the Ligier did promote Karl Wendlinger to 6th place. The Austrian seems to be showing a good recovery from his injuries with already two points finishes this year.

David Coulthard passes the main straight for the last time

The closing stages of the race did not provide too much action, although Nigel Mansell showed he is still getting used to the situation at McLaren. The 1992 World Champion blocked Coulthard several times before he got lapped. Mansell also caught some attention blocking his tyres several times in the last laps. It would not bother David Coulthard too much, as he managed his lead and drove to a back-to-back victory. Herbert kept the championship lead by finishing 2nd and Gerhard Berger scored his second podium of the year in 3rd. A good recovery drive gave Hill three points for 4th place. Mansell and Wendlinger were the ones to capitalize on others' misfortunes to take the last points-scoring positions.

Results

Code: Select all: ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³ Pos Driver Time/Speed ³ ³ ³ ³ 1st David Coulthard 1h 31m 32.007s ³ ³ Williams - Renault ³ ³ 2nd Johnny Herbert +22.172s ³ ³ Benetton - Renault ³ ³ 3rd Gerhard Berger +25.635s ³ ³ Ferrari ³ ³ 4th Damon Hill +30.815s ³ ³ Williams - Renault ³ ³ 5th Nigel Mansell -1 Lap ³ ³ McLaren - Mercedes ³ ³ 6th Karl Wendlinger -1 Lap ³ ³ Sauber - Ford ³ ³ 7th Taki Inoue -3 Laps ³ ³ Footwork - Hart ³ ³ 8th Hideki Noda -4 Laps ³ ³ Simtek - Ford ³ ³ 9th Andrea Montermini Throttle ³ ³ Pacific - Ford ³ ³ 10th Mika Salo Water Leak ³ ³ Tyrrell - Yamaha ³ ³ 11th Aguri Suzuki Throttle ³ ³ Ligier - Mugen Honda ³ ³ 12th Gianni Morbidelli Engine ³ ³ Footwork - Hart ³ ³ 13th Eddie Irvine Engine ³ ³ Jordan - Peugeot ³ ³ 14th Jean Alesi Oil Leak ³ ³ Ferrari ³ ³ 15th Ukyo Katayama Loose Wheel ³ ³ Tyrrell - Yamaha ³ ³ 16th Michael Schumacher Oil Leak ³ ³ Benetton - Renault ³ ³ 17th Rubens Barrichello Loose Wheel ³ ³ Jordan - Peugeot ³ ³ 18th Luca Badoer Engine ³ ³ Minardi - Ford ³ ³ 19th Nathan van Dijk Engine ³ ³ Forti - Ford ³ ³ 20th Jos Verstappen Loose Wheel ³ ³ Simtek - Ford ³ ³ 21st Olivier Panis Oil Leak ³ ³ Ligier - Mugen Honda ³ ³ 22nd Bertrand Gachot Oil Leak ³ ³ Pacific - Ford ³ ³ 23rd Heinz-Harald Frentzen Engine ³ ³ Sauber - Ford ³ ³ 24th Pierluigi Martini Engine ³ ³ Minardi - Ford ³ ³ 25th Roberto Moreno Engine ³ ³ Forti - Ford ³ ³ 26th Mika Hakkinen Engine ³ ³ McLaren - Mercedes ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Drivers' Championship

Code: Select all: 1. Johnny Herbert 22 2. David Coulthard 20 3. Gerhard Berger 10 4. Damon Hill 9 5. Michael Schumacher 4 6. Karl Wendlinger 4 7. Jean Alesi 3 8. Luca Badoer 2 = Nigel Mansell 2 10. Olivier Panis 1 = Jos Verstappen 1

Constructors' Championship

Code: Select all: 1. Williams-Renault 29 2. Benetton-Renault 26 3. Ferrari 13 4. Sauber-Ford 4 5. Minardi-Ford 2 6. McLaren-Mercedes 2 7. Simtek-Ford 1 8. Ligier-Mugen Honda 1

by **BassTrombone** » 16 Apr 2020, 21:58

GRAND PRIX NEWS
Your monthly source for racing news, rumors and stories | Wednesday 3rd May, 1995

More CART/F1 crossovers in the pipeline?

Over the last few years, several drivers have made the trip across the ocean to move from Formula 1 to CART, or vice versa, with Nigel Mansell being a particularly succcessful example, but Michael Andretti having a lot less success than his father when coming to F1. Even this year, we saw a switch between the two classes, as Christian Fittipaldi made his debut in the Grand Prix of Miami this year. According to various sources in both paddocks, F1 teams are now scouting in CART for some drivers who may jump the other way.

We already mentioned Gilles' son, Jacques Villeneuve, in last month's edition. The Canadian has started his season very well with a win in Miami and two more top-5 finishes in the following four races. He is one of the favourites to win this year's Indy 500 and the IndyCar World Series. Bernie Ecclestone is a fan of Villeneuve and not only that support, but also his legendary surname could help him land a seat if he is looking for a new challenge.
Linked teams: Williams, Ferrari, Benetton, Jordan, Sauber

A true racing all-rounder is Robby Gordon, who took his maiden CART win in Phoenix a month ago. Gordon has already been successful in the Baja 500, Baja 1000, 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Daytona before scoring podiums on road courses and winning an oval race with an IndyCar. The most remarkable thing is that he is still only 26 years old. If he wants to win anything else, he is quickly running out of options in the USA and several teams are linked with the temperamental American.
Linked teams: Benetton, Jordan, Pacific

CART is featuring another famous surname, although a less recognizable one for Europeans. Hiro Matsushita is the grandson of the founder of Panasonic, Konosuke Matsushita. Hiro showed serious promise when winning the Toyota Atlantic championship in 1989, but he never lived up to it in CART. Despite his age of 34 years, his Panasonic money looks to be very tempting for the less-funded teams. An interesting additional advantage may be Hiro's ownership of Swift, the chassis manufacturer who enjoyed successes in Formula Ford, Formula Renault and Formula Atlantic. Gerard Larrousse is said to be looking for a partner to produce his chassis if his team returns next year.
Linked teams: Footwork, Simtek, Forti, Larrousse

Lola's F1 comeback plans

Eric Broadley's Lola Cars are still not giving up on their Formula 1 dream. After a successful campaign with Honda in the sixties, Lola have never been able to repeat their successes in the pinnacle of motorsport. They have achieved outstanding results in other classes in the decades after that, but their F1 stints with Shadow, Embassy Hill, Haas, Larrousse and Scuderia Italia were mediocre at best, and sometimes even worse.

Unable to find a Formula 1 team to supply chassis after the withdrawal of Scuderia Italia, Broadley decided to take matters into his own hands. Lola developed a new F1 chassis, the T95/30, which was revealed earlier this year. Lola will test the car with a Ford Zetec engine at Silverstone in the next weeks. If they are able to find sufficient financial backing in time, Broadley expects to be able to join the 1996 F1 grid.

The shakedown and first tests of the Lola T95/30 will be performed by Allan McNish, who is also one of the main candidates for a drive with the team in 1996. Other drivers who might join Lola are Jan Lammers, Andrea Montermini, Perry McCarthy and F3000 drivers Vicenzo Sospiri, Ricardo Rosset and British F3 driver Oliver Gavin.

Short but Sweet

Mika Hakkinen confirmed at McLaren for 1996, 1997 • Schumacher, Alesi to swap seats? • Bridgestone to supply tyres from 1997 • Abilio Diniz to buy Forti? • Schiattarella expected to be recovered in July • Larrousse, DAMS talk about merger

by **BassTrombone** » 19 Apr 2020, 14:00

1995 Spanish Grand Prix

Two weeks ago, it was David Coulthard who secured another victory for Williams. Michael Schumacher went home with zero points for the second race in a row. The German is still waiting for his first victory in his title defending season and his hopes are high for Barcelona. Not only Williams and Benetton will be hunting for the win, as Ferrari and Jordan have also showed promising pace. Can they overcome their reliability issues?

Qualifying

Jean Alesi showed a very good pace in the previous Grand Prix and the Frenchman continued in top shape with his second pole position ever. Herbert looked good to strengthen his leading Drivers' Championship position with 2nd place on the grid. It also was another good qualifying for Jordan, with Irvine in 3rd and Barrichello in 5th. Imola's pole sitter Mika Hakkinen did a fine job by securing a place on the second row as well.

It was a disappointing qualifying for Williams, only managing 6th and 8th, with Schumacher between them. The German will also have something to make up in the race. Frentzen showed the potential of the Sauber chassis to beat Berger and Mansell for the 9th position. At the back of the grid, the new Forti team managed to avoid the last row for the first time in their existence, beating both Pacifics.

Results

Code: Select all: ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³Pole 1 ³ ³ Jean Alesi ³ ³ 1m 26.824s 2 ³ ³ Johnny Herbert ³ ³Row 2 3 1m 26.839s ³ ³ Eddie Irvine ³ ³ 1m 26.891s 4 ³ ³ Mika Hakkinen ³ ³Row 3 5 1m 26.943s ³ ³ Rubens Barrichello ³ ³ 1m 26.951s 6 ³ ³ Damon Hill ³ ³Row 4 7 1m 27.105s ³ ³ Michael Schumacher ³ ³ 1m 27.111s 8 ³ ³ David Coulthard ³ ³Row 5 9 1m 27.192s ³ ³ Heinz-Harald Frentzen ³ ³ 1m 27.227s 10 ³ ³ Gerhard Berger ³ ³Row 6 11 1m 27.322s ³ ³ Nigel Mansell ³ ³ 1m 27.592s 12 ³ ³ Olivier Panis ³ ³Row 7 13 1m 27.592s ³ ³ Gianni Morbidelli ³ ³ 1m 27.961s 14 ³ ³ Ukyo Katayama ³ ³Row 8 15 1m 28.030s ³ ³ Aguri Suzuki ³ ³ 1m 28.473s 16 ³ ³ Karl Wendlinger ³ ³Row 9 17 1m 29.080s ³ ³ Luca Badoer ³ ³ 1m 29.417s 18 ³ ³ Jos Verstappen ³ ³Row 10 19 1m 29.535s ³ ³ Pierluigi Martini ³ ³ 1m 29.874s 20 ³ ³ Mika Salo ³ ³Row 11 21 1m 29.962s ³ ³ Taki Inoue ³ ³ 1m 31.537s 22 ³ ³ Hideki Noda ³ ³Row 12 23 1m 31.545s ³ ³ Roberto Moreno ³ ³ 1m 32.103s 24 ³ ³ Nathan van Dijk ³ ³Row 13 25 1m 32.106s ³ ³ Bertrand Gachot ³ ³ 1m 32.286s 26 ³ ³ Andrea Montermini ³ ³ 1m 32.473s ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Race

Jean Alesi capitalized his pole position by keeping the lead. Last year's title protagonists had a great start as well, with Damon Hill moving up to 2nd position and Michael Schumacher to 4th. Eddie Irvine did well to keep 3rd place after the first corner and he even improved further by outbraking Hill into the Repsol corner. Herbert and Coulthard completed the top six.

Despite his great start, Eddie Irvine did not seem to be the fastest driver and he held up a chasing group of Hill, Schumacher, Herbert, Coulthard and Hakkinen. Hill ferociously fought the Ulsterman, but Irvine seemed to have a counter attack ready for all of Hill's moves. Herbert moved up through the group and managed to overtake both Hill and Irvine in lap 3. Both Hill and Irvine dropped further back in the group over the first ten laps. Fighting is not the fastest way around the Circuit de Catalunya and it was shown by the fact that Alesi was able to secure a lead of several seconds. By the end of lap 10, the top six were Alesi, Herbert, Schumacher, Coulthard, Hakkinen and Irvine.

Finally Damon Hill was able to regain a position on Irvine, but he retired with a water leak only two laps later. Another disappointing result for last year's vice champion. At the front, Herbert kept steadily closing the gap to Alesi. The Briton made his move on the Ferrari in the Repsol corner in lap 17, gaining the lead. It was only one lap later that the championship leader had to make his first pit stop, dropping him back all the way to 6th, just in front of Rubens Barrichello's Jordan. If Herbert had not made his move on Alesi, he would have lost time behind the late stopping Barrichello. The other pit stops followed soon, with the top six drivers all keeping their positions.

Jean Alesi looked again set for a good result, until poor reliability struck him again in lap 26. Alesi has been very fast this season, but his points tally is stuck at only 3. More drama occured in the same lap, as Mika Hakkinen retired from the podium position he had been on for only a few corners. Now it would have been Coulthard to rise to the 3rd position, if it was not for Irvine who pulled a nice move on the Scot into the first corner. The Jordan driver was looking very good to clinch his first podium finish.

Not only Alesi, but also Berger would not make it to half the race distance. The Austrian drove an unremarkable race, driving in 6th position behind Heinz-Harald Frentzen, until a puncture forced him to retire in lap 31. Johnny Herbert was on his way to do very good business for his championship position, managing a big lead until lap 36. His Renault engine blew, leaving the Briton with his first zero points result of the year. Michael Schumacher inherited the lead, with a margin of a few seconds to Eddie Irvine.

The race leaders made their second stop simultaneously in lap 45. With both pit crews doing their last preparations, Schumacher made a small mistake on his way to the pits, allowing Irvine to enter the pits right behind him. Both the Benetton and the Jordan pit crews managed to stay calm and made no mistakes, allowing Schumacher to keep the lead with Irvine chasing him on less than 2 seconds. Irvine would try to chase Schumacher in the last stint. The scenario for Barrichello was similar, as the Brazilian was set to do a short last stint, trying to catch Coulthard for 3rd place. He would not be able to show his speed, however, as the Peugeot engine failed right after his last stop.

All the retirements had promoted Panis, Mansell and Wendlinger to 4th, 5th and 6th respectively. Panis did an excellent job to beat Mansell, until he was forced to pit with electronical issues 8 laps from the end. The Frenchman dropped to 6th and started to chase Wendlinger again. After an impressive hunt, Wendlinger did not stand a chance when Panis passed him only two laps from the end.

Schumacher crosses the line in 1st position, with Eddie Irvine visible in the background

For the first time in 1995, Michael Schumacher won a race, despite Eddie Irvine's efforts to catch him. Irvine drove an impressive race to 2nd place, Jordan's best result ever. David Coulthard is the championship leader for the first time in his career after scoring another 4 points with 3rd place. Mansell, Panis and Wendlinger completed the top six. Schumacher has shown he has not lost his speed, being eager to start a chain of good results after this Spanish Grand Prix.

Results

Code: Select all: ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³ Pos Driver Time/Speed ³ ³ ³ ³ 1st Michael Schumacher 1h 40m 06.047s ³ ³ Benetton - Renault ³ ³ 2nd Eddie Irvine +3.125s ³ ³ Jordan - Peugeot ³ ³ 3rd David Coulthard +18.988s ³ ³ Williams - Renault ³ ³ 4th Nigel Mansell -1 Lap ³ ³ McLaren - Mercedes ³ ³ 5th Olivier Panis -1 Lap ³ ³ Ligier - Mugen Honda ³ ³ 6th Karl Wendlinger -1 Lap ³ ³ Sauber - Ford ³ ³ 7th Jos Verstappen -2 Laps ³ ³ Simtek - Ford ³ ³ 8th Roberto Moreno -3 Laps ³ ³ Forti - Ford ³ ³ 9th Taki Inoue -4 Laps ³ ³ Footwork - Hart ³ ³ 10th Andrea Montermini -4 Laps ³ ³ Pacific - Ford ³ ³ 11th Bertrand Gachot Engine ³ ³ Pacific - Ford ³ ³ 12th Nathan van Dijk Oil Leak ³ ³ Forti - Ford ³ ³ 13th Hideki Noda Engine ³ ³ Simtek - Ford ³ ³ 14th Rubens Barrichello Engine ³ ³ Jordan - Peugeot ³ ³ 15th Heinz-Harald Frentzen Loose Wheel ³ ³ Sauber - Ford ³ ³ 16th Johnny Herbert Engine ³ ³ Benetton - Renault ³ ³ 17th Luca Badoer Oil Leak ³ ³ Minardi - Ford ³ ³ 18th Mika Salo Engine ³ ³ Tyrrell - Yamaha ³ ³ 19th Gerhard Berger Puncture ³ ³ Ferrari ³ ³ 20th Mika Hakkinen Engine ³ ³ McLaren - Mercedes ³ ³ 21st Ukyo Katayama Transmission ³ ³ Tyrrell - Yamaha ³ ³ 22nd Jean Alesi Engine ³ ³ Ferrari ³ ³ 23rd Aguri Suzuki Engine ³ ³ Ligier - Mugen Honda ³ ³ 24th Gianni Morbidelli Transmission ³ ³ Footwork - Hart ³ ³ 25th Damon Hill Water Leak ³ ³ Williams - Renault ³ ³ 26th Pierluigi Martini Engine ³ ³ Minardi - Ford ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Drivers' Championship

Code: Select all: 1. David Coulthard 24 2. Johnny Herbert 22 3. Michael Schumacher 14 4. Gerhard Berger 10 5. Damon Hill 9 6. Eddie Irvine 6 7. Nigel Mansell 5 8. Karl Wendlinger 5 9. Jean Alesi 3 10. Olivier Panis 3 11. Luca Badoer 2 12. Jos Verstappen 1

Constructors' Championship

Code: Select all: 1. Benetton-Renault 36 2. Williams-Renault 33 3. Ferrari 13 4. Jordan-Peugeot 6 5. McLaren-Mercedes 5 6. Sauber-Ford 5 7. Ligier-Mugen Honda 3 8. Minardi-Ford 2 9. Simtek-Ford 1

by **EchoKilo97** » 19 Apr 2020, 17:51

I am enjoying this a lot, thanks BassTrombone

by **BassTrombone** » 19 Apr 2020, 22:14

EchoKilo97 wrote:I am enjoying this a lot, thanks BassTrombone

That is really great to hear. Thanks, it cheered me up

by **BassTrombone** » 22 Apr 2020, 18:07

Press Release - Ligier Gitanes Blondes

As already announced before the season, Ligier Gitanes Blondes confirms that Martin Brundle will be driving its second car from the Monaco Grand Prix onwards. Aguri Suzuki has filled the seat satisfactorily for the first four races. He will be back in the JS41 for the Pacific and Japanese Grands Prix. Ligier Gitanes Blondes thanks Aguri for his performances and wishes Martin the best of luck.

by **BassTrombone** » 23 Apr 2020, 21:55

1995 Monaco Grand Prix

One of the classics on the calendar is about to get started: it is the Monaco Grand Prix. The twisty street circuit in the principality is full of history, but races there have still many surprises in them. Michael Schumacher seems to have regained some momentum, but the championship leaders will try to prove their speed in the first races was no fluke. Or can Damon Hill follow in the footsteps of his father Graham, who won this GP five times?

Qualifying

It was Johnny Herbert who came out on top in a very close qualifying session. The Jordans had another fine qualifying as well, getting 2nd and 4th place on the grid, with Jean Alesi in between them. Mika Hakkinen once again beat Nigel Mansell by a large margin, with the Finn in 5th and the 1992 world champion only 12th. The other world champion in the current field, Michael Schumacher, was also once again beaten by his team mate. The German only managed a 6th starting place, although he was within 0.3 seconds of Herbert.

The biggest disappointment of the Thursday and Saturday was definitely the Williams team. Coulthard could not get higher than 7th place and Hill was even further down in 10th. Sauber's Heinz-Harald Frentzen did a fine job to beat Hill and get 9th start place, once again proving that he is one of the young talents who deserve a top seat in F1. Although he was beaten by Panis, Martin Brundle proved his added value too by qualifying the Ligier 13th on his first try. Aguri Suzuki had not managed any better in four races.

Jos Verstappen is one of those talents looking for a top seat as well. The Dutchman had his best qualifying of the year so far and achieved the best starting position for Simtek ever: 17th. The new Forti team also showed their advancements by beating both Pacifics for the second time in a row.

Results

Code: Select all: ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³ 1 Pole ³ ³ Johnny Herbert ³ ³ 2 1m 15.289s ³ ³ Rubens Barrichello ³ ³ 1m 15.293s 3 Row 2 ³ ³ Jean Alesi ³ ³ 4 1m 15.340s ³ ³ Eddie Irvine ³ ³ 1m 15.356s 5 Row 3 ³ ³ Mika Hakkinen ³ ³ 6 1m 15.517s ³ ³ Michael Schumacher ³ ³ 1m 15.533s 7 Row 4 ³ ³ David Coulthard ³ ³ 8 1m 15.601s ³ ³ Gerhard Berger ³ ³ 1m 15.641s 9 Row 5 ³ ³ Heinz-Harald Frentzen ³ ³ 10 1m 15.645s ³ ³ Damon Hill ³ ³ 1m 15.651s 11 Row 6 ³ ³ Olivier Panis ³ ³ 12 1m 15.910s ³ ³ Nigel Mansell ³ ³ 1m 15.942s 13 Row 7 ³ ³ Martin Brundle ³ ³ 14 1m 16.104s ³ ³ Gianni Morbidelli ³ ³ 1m 16.263s 15 Row 8 ³ ³ Ukyo Katayama ³ ³ 16 1m 16.380s ³ ³ Karl Wendlinger ³ ³ 1m 17.208s 17 Row 9 ³ ³ Jos Verstappen ³ ³ 18 1m 17.453s ³ ³ Luca Badoer ³ ³ 1m 17.453s 19 Row 10 ³ ³ Pierluigi Martini ³ ³ 20 1m 17.788s ³ ³ Mika Salo ³ ³ 1m 17.949s 21 Row 11 ³ ³ Hideki Noda ³ ³ 22 1m 19.161s ³ ³ Taki Inoue ³ ³ 1m 19.301s 23 Row 12 ³ ³ Nathan van Dijk ³ ³ 24 1m 19.670s ³ ³ Roberto Moreno ³ ³ 1m 19.716s 25 Row 13 ³ ³ Bertrand Gachot ³ ³ 26 1m 19.798s ³ ³ Andrea Montermini ³ ³ 1m 19.801s ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Race

The field frantically shot off the line into the tight Sainte Dévote corner, with a rocket start for Jean Alesi. Once again, the Ferrari driver would be in the lead after the first corner. Herbert blocked Barrichello to keep 2nd, with the Brazilian slotting in right behind him. Irvine, Coulthard and Hakkinen completed the top six. Incredibly, all 26 cars survived the first lap without damage, although Gianni Morbidelli was too late to brake for Mirabeau and dropped to the back of the field as a result.

The Monaco track is a difficult place to overtake and it was proven to be in this year's edition. Jean Alesi was the only one to get away somewhat and create a gap. With the rest of the top 8 still very closely together, it looked like strategy would be the determining factor. David Coulthard was the first to make a pit stop in lap 22, dropping to 11th, just in front of Brundle. Alesi was the next one in lap 25, dropping to 4th, right behind Irvine. Alesi made great use of his fresh tyres to overtake both Jordans at the Nouvelle Chicane, in the laps directly after his pit stop. He regained the lead when Herbert made his first stop in lap 28.

Lap 29 saw Irvine and Schumacher making their first stop and rejoining the track in 9th and 11th. Williams' undercut strategy worked effectively for David Coulthard as he had now overtaken Irvine, with Berger still in between the two. The Austrian was presumably on a one stop strategy. One of the contributing factors to Coulthard's undercut was the difficulty of lapping backmarkers in the tight streets, as the leading group was regularly delayed by slower cars. Still in the same lap, the lapping of Pierluigi Martini caused a scary incident in the tunnel. Coulthard was let through by the Italian, after which he closed the door on Berger. Berger had to take avoiding action, touching Irvine in the process and pushing the Ulsterman into a spin. Incredibly, the Jordan got through undamaged. Only Berger had to reschedule his only pit stop to replace his front wing.

After all the drivers on a two stop strategy had gotten fuel and tyres, several one stoppers found themselves in good track positions. Alesi had kept his lead, but he was now followed by Barrichello, who was yet to stop. Herbert was in 3rd, followed by Frentzen and Panis, who were also on a one stop strategy. Nigel Mansell was also only going to make one stop, but the McLaren driver locked his brakes when trying to enter the pits and was forced to continue. His McLaren stranded in the next lap without fuel.

Alesi seemed a lot less happy with his Ferrari in the second stint, as the cars behind him closed in on him. After Barrichello had made his stop, Herbert was able to fully close the gap to the Ferrari. In lap 38, the Briton made an impressive move on Alesi, outbraking him into Sainte Dévote to gain the lead after a fierce battle. More action followed in lap 40, as Barrichello muscled his way past his team mate in the Loews hairpin. On the same lap, Herbert ran wide in the Nouvelle Chicane and Alesi profited to regain the lead. Their fierce battle had meanwhile allowed the entire top 8 to close up right behind them. Pressure seemed to get the better of Herbert as he made another mistake in lap 41. The Briton just managed to keep his Benetton out of the wall in the last corner, but he dropped all the way back to 8th.

Another curious incident at the pit entry occured in lap 45, as Coulthard tried to make his second pit stop, but Barrichello decided at the same moment to try another opportunist overtake into the last corner. Barrichello pushed Coulthard past the pit entry and a couple of corners later, the Scot was the second driver to retire without fuel. Alesi and Schumacher were able to make their pit stops, coming back behind Herbert. At this moment, Hakkinen and Irvine took the top positions in the race. However, both of them retired within a few laps with mechanical issues.

By lap 50, all regular pit stops were done and things were looking very good for those on a one stop strategy. Rubens Barrichello enjoyed a broad lead, with Frentzen behind him in 2nd place. Alesi, Schumacher, Berger and Herbert were chasing the two talents, slowly narrowing the gap to the Sauber. Lap 52 was the lap that shattered all dreams for the leading duo. Barrichello's Peugeot engine failed once again, ending the Brazilian's race in a huge cloud of smoke. Unable to see the slow Jordan through the smoke, Heinz-Harald Frentzen could not avoid driving into the failing car in the narrow Massenet corner. It broke Frentzen's front wing, making an unplanned pit stop necessary for the young German. He made it back to the pits and rejoined the track in 5th place, but it ended his hopes of a shock podium finish and even a win looked quite likely.

The man who had lead a big part of the race was now back at the front. Jean Alesi was now the third driver who looked set for his first win, although Schumacher and Gerhard Berger were closing in on him. All of the Frenchman's great efforts once again lead to nothing when his Ferrari broke down for the fourth time in a row, when Alesi was once again running on a podium position. Alesi's retirement and Martin Brundle's forced pit stop due to electrical issues promoted Olivier Panis to 5th and Karl Wendlinger to 6th.

Michael Schumacher had inherited the lead. The German was looking for his second win in a row, but Gerhard Berger was driving a remarkable recovery race after his earlier problems. Brundle was also recovering from his issues and he regained a points scoring position by outbraking Wendlinger into the Nouvelle Chicane in lap 62. At the front, Gerhard Berger fully closed the gap and fought a ferocious fight with Schumacher for several laps. The decision came in lap 75, as the Austrian Ferrari driver managed to squeeze past the Benetton in Mirabeau with a very daring move. Schumacher did not let Berger get away after that, staying right on his tail.

Berger holds off Schumacher for the win

Despite some frantic efforts, there was no way back for the German and the final straight was too short to pull off a slipstream pass. Berger won by one of the smallest margins ever over Schumacher. Herbert got away with 3rd and the championship lead after a difficult race. Frentzen scored his first three points with 4th place, although it could have been so much more. Panis and Brundle gave Ligier their first double points finish.

Results

Code: Select all: ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³ Pos Driver Time/Speed ³ ³ ³ ³ 1st Gerhard Berger 1h 46m 01.338s ³ ³ Ferrari ³ ³ 2nd Michael Schumacher +0.064s ³ ³ Benetton - Renault ³ ³ 3rd Johnny Herbert +9.333s ³ ³ Benetton - Renault ³ ³ 4th Heinz-Harald Frentzen +31.219s ³ ³ Sauber - Ford ³ ³ 5th Olivier Panis +1m 00.243s ³ ³ Ligier - Mugen Honda ³ ³ 6th Martin Brundle -1 Lap ³ ³ Ligier - Mugen Honda ³ ³ 7th Luca Badoer -1 Lap ³ ³ Minardi - Ford ³ ³ 8th Jos Verstappen -2 Laps ³ ³ Simtek - Ford ³ ³ 9th Hideki Noda -3 Laps ³ ³ Simtek - Ford ³ ³ 10th Taki Inoue -3 Laps ³ ³ Footwork - Hart ³ ³ 11th Karl Wendlinger -6 Laps ³ ³ Sauber - Ford ³ ³ 12th Pierluigi Martini Transmission ³ ³ Minardi - Ford ³ ³ 13th Jean Alesi Transmission ³ ³ Ferrari ³ ³ 14th Nathan van Dijk Transmission ³ ³ Forti - Ford ³ ³ 15th Rubens Barrichello Engine ³ ³ Jordan - Peugeot ³ ³ 16th Mika Hakkinen Water Leak ³ ³ McLaren - Mercedes ³ ³ 17th Eddie Irvine Suspension ³ ³ Jordan - Peugeot ³ ³ 18th David Coulthard Didn't Finish ³ ³ Williams - Renault ³ ³ 19th Damon Hill Puncture ³ ³ Williams - Renault ³ ³ 20th Ukyo Katayama Didn't Finish ³ ³ Tyrrell - Yamaha ³ ³ 21st Andrea Montermini Didn't Finish ³ ³ Pacific - Ford ³ ³ 22nd Nigel Mansell Didn't Finish ³ ³ McLaren - Mercedes ³ ³ 23rd Bertrand Gachot Oil Leak ³ ³ Pacific - Ford ³ ³ 24th Roberto Moreno Didn't Finish ³ ³ Forti - Ford ³ ³ 25th Gianni Morbidelli Transmission ³ ³ Footwork - Hart ³ ³ 26th Mika Salo Engine ³ ³ Tyrrell - Yamaha ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Drivers' Championship

Code: Select all: 1. Johnny Herbert 26 2. David Coulthard 24 3. Michael Schumacher 20 4. Gerhard Berger 20 5. Damon Hill 9 6. Eddie Irvine 6 7. Nigel Mansell 5 8. Karl Wendlinger 5 9. Olivier Panis 5 10. Jean Alesi 3 = Heinz-Harald Frentzen 3 12. Luca Badoer 2 13. Jos Verstappen 1 14. Martin Brundle 1

Constructors' Championship

Code: Select all: 1. Benetton-Renault 46 2. Williams-Renault 33 3. Ferrari 23 4. Sauber-Ford 8 5. Jordan-Peugeot 6 6. Ligier-Mugen Honda 6 7. McLaren-Mercedes 5 8. Minardi-Ford 2 9. Simtek-Ford 1

by **BassTrombone** » 24 Apr 2020, 17:45

GRAND PRIX NEWS
Your monthly source for racing news, rumors and stories | Wednesday 7th June, 1995

When will the drivers puzzle be solved?

We are only five races into this year's season, but the team bosses are already looking ahead to 1996. A lot of driver contracts are ending after this year and many drivers may be looking to switch seats. With all the rumors we are hearing, the silly season is truly underway. Even at the top teams, everything may be different next year.

The first announcements have already been made in the last few weeks. In this article, you will find an overview per team of who is confirmed, who is likely to drive for them next year and the wildest rumors.

Benetton
Confirmed: -
Likely: Johnny Herbert, Jean Alesi, Jos Verstappen, Michael Schumacher
Rumored: Gerhard Berger, Jacques Villeneuve, Robby Gordon

Tyrrell
Confirmed: Ukyo Katayama, Mika Salo

Williams
Confirmed: -
Likely: Damon Hill, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, David Coulthard
Rumored: Jacques Villeneuve, Eddie Irvine, Johnny Herbert

McLaren
Confirmed: Mika Hakkinen
Likely: David Coulthard, Nigel Mansell
Rumored: Michael Schumacher, Mark Blundell, Heinz-Harald Frentzen

Footwork
Confirmed: Ricardo Rosset
Likely: -
Rumored: Taki Inoue, Hiro Matsushita, Pedro Lamy, Luca Badoer

Simtek
Confirmed: -
Likely: Jos Verstappen
Rumored: Nathan van Dijk, Jan Lammers, Vincenzo Sospiri, Jan Magnussen

Jordan
Confirmed: Rubens Barrichello
Likely: Eddie Irvine
Rumored: Nigel Mansell, Jacques Villeneuve, Robby Gordon, Jos Verstappen

Pacific
Confirmed: Bertrand Gachot
Likely: Oliver Gavin
Rumored: Bobby Gordon, Andrea Montermini, Jean-Christophe Boullion, Hideki Noda

Forti
Confirmed: -
Likely: Pedro Diniz, Nathan van Dijk
Rumored: Andrea Montermini, Hiro Matsushita, Ricardo Rosset, Vincenzo Sospiri, Christian Fittipaldi

Minardi
Confirmed: -
Likely: Luca Badoer, Pedro Lamy
Rumored: Nathan van Dijk, Vincenzo Sospiri, Gianni Morbidelli

Ligier
Confirmed: Olivier Panis
Likely: -
Rumored: Jos Verstappen, Martin Brundle, Mark Blundell, Jean-Christophe Boullion, Gerhard Berger

Ferrari
Confirmed: -
Likely: Michael Schumacher, Jean Alesi
Rumored: Eddie Irvine, David Coulthard, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Johnny Herbert

Sauber
Confirmed: -
Likely: Karl Wendlinger, Gianni Morbidelli, Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Rumored: Jos Verstappen, Nicola Larini, Jean-Christophe Boullion

Lola
Confirmed: -
Likely: Allan McNish, Vincenzo Sospiri
Rumored: Andrea Montermini, Perry McCarthy, Oliver Gavin, Tarso Marques

Larrousse DAMS
Confirmed: -
Likely: Érik Comas, Emmanuel Collard
Rumored: Nathan van Dijk, Andrea Montermini, Jan Lammers, Jean-Christophe Boullion, Hiro Matsushita, Tarso Marques

Larrousse DAMS GP officially announced

After much speculation about the future of the Larrousse team, a new partnership with DAMS was finally announced on a press event at Maison de la Mutualité in Paris. Larrousse DAMS GP is planning to participate in the 1996 Formula 1 season with a chassis designed by British company Reynard and produced in France. In addition, a new design facility will be set up near DAMS' headquarters near Le Mans. The plan is to design and produce the Larrousse DAMS chassis independently from 1997 onwards.

Guy Larrousse said that the new team is in negotiations with several partners for engine supply, expecting an agreement in the next few months. Jean-Paul Driot did announce a major sponsorship deal: cosmetics company L'Oréal will be the team's main sponsor for three years. Most likely they will be promoting one or more of their brands such as Elvive or Lancôme.

The rumor mill was running vividly in Paris, with several drivers and engine manufacturers being linked to the team. After Briatore bought Ligier, Larrousse DAMS will be the only fully French team on the grid next year, which may help them acquire customer or even works engines from Renault or Peugeot. Brian Hart is also said to be in talks with the team. Furthermore, customer Ford engines may be an option. The drivers linked to Larrousse DAMS are listed in our article "When will the drivers puzzle be solved?".

Rookie renditions

Before flying to Canada, Grand Prix News had the chance to invite the two Formula 1 drivers who drove their first race only this year: Forti's Nathan van Dijk and Pacific's Andrea Montermini. Sitting together for half an hour in Monaco, we had an enjoyable chat with the rookies, discussing their experiences so far and looking into our crystal ball, too.

Gentlemen, thanks for coming. Let us get straight to the point and talk about racing. Both of you have now started your first five races. How did it feel to have made it to the Formula 1 grid?
AM: Well, I was close to it last year of course, when I joined the Simtek team in Barcelona. After my crash, I fought back and I was over the moon when Pacific offered me a full season seat. On the grid in Interlagos, I felt really proud that I finally made it.
NvD: I was really surprised to get an offer from Forti already. I mean, I had a good year in German F3 last year, but I never expected to be one of F1's youngest rookies ever! Still, I was a bit worried, because I really wanted to prove the people wrong who said my debut came too early. I was very satisfied that I avoided the last row on the grid and even beat my team mate.

How did your first five races go?
AM: I think we exceeded the expectations. This year's Pacific is definitely a better chassis than last year and I have already been able to beat some others to the finish. The last race in Monaco was a bit of a shame, though, as I crashed out. I'm confident that I will bounce back, though!
NvD: Unfortunately I have not yet been able to finish a race. It is impressive how Forti has set up an F1 team from scratch, though. I really am happy with the pace of the car, although there still is a lot to gain of course. I enjoyed my battles with the Simteks, Pacifics, sometimes even Footworks and Minardis, and of course my team mate.

Andrea, you already mentioned your crash from last year. Have you been scared to step into an F1 car again?
AM: To be honest, not really. I never lost the faith in my car control and speed and I was mostly happy to be in an F1 car again.

Nathan, we talked a bit about your fast debut. Do you think you could have learned more from another year in F3 or F3000?
NvD: That's hard to say, because I didn't! The learning curve was steep for this year, but I think I'm managing it. But maybe we should ask someone who did spend more years in junior categories. Andrea, what do you think? Haha!
AM: Hahaha! I don't think I can say you didn't learn enough yet, as you outqualified me on our debut already.

What do you expect from the rest of the season?
AM: I will be enjoying it even more. Pacific is still developing this year's chassis and hopefully we will be able to move further up the grid.
NvD: Forti is planning some very exciting news within a few weeks and after that, things will only get better! In the meantime, I will keep focussing on trying to match Roberto and I am sure I will finish a race soon.

Short but sweet

Mansell says he is disappointed with McLaren's performance • Is Hideki Noda out of sponsor money? • Footwork keeps Hart engines in 1996 • Pacific Grand Prix at Aida will not be continued next year

by **BassTrombone** » 26 Apr 2020, 12:53

Press release - Management for Nigel Mansell

Nigel Mansell announces he will no longer be driving for Marlboro McLaren Mercedes any more. The 1992 Formula 1 World Champion states "The car is not even safe to drive. I do not want to get back in the car only to have an accident. My hopes were high for this season, but the chassis is utterly disappointing. McLaren will not be able to compete for podium finishes this year on a regulary basis, leave alone wins or the championship."

Press release - MTV Simtek Ford

MTV Simtek Ford has decided to terminate the contract with Hideki Noda with immediate effect. Hideki Noda's sponsor Men's Tenoras has not been able to pay the agreed sponsorship money due to economic difficulties in Japan after the Kobe earthquake earlier this year. As a result, Noda will not be driving for the team anymore and the logos will no longer be on the car.

MTV Simtek Ford is glad to announce that a very adequate new reserve driver has been signed. Tom Kristensen will join the team for the rest of the year and he will be our second driver until Domenico Schiattarella is fully recovered from his injuries. MTV Simtek Ford wishes Tom the best of luck and we are looking forward to be working with this talented driver.

Domenico Schiattarella is recovering well from his injuries and he is expected to test the car at Brands Hatch in the week before the British Grand Prix. If the test is successful, Schiattarella will be back in the car at Silverstone as MTV Simtek Ford's second driver.

Press release - Marlboro McLaren Mercedes

Marlboro McLaren Mercedes confirms the termination of the contract of lead driver Nigel Mansell. Team principal, Ron Dennis, responded, saying "Mansell has decided to leave the team. Although the MP4/10 has not yet been the top car we hoped it to be, we do not recognize the situation as described by Mansell. Both Mika Hakkinen and Mark Blundell feel safe and confident behind the wheel and especially Mika's qualifying and race pace shows our potential for better results in the rest of the season."

Replacing Mansell, Mark Blundell will be back as second driver for the rest of the season. Furthermore, Marlboro McLaren Mercedes announces that Danish Jan Magnussen will be our reserve driver until the end of 1995. Ron Dennis said "I am confident that both drivers will do an excellent job, helping our team to improve our position in the championship standings."

The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk

Re: The Virtual Racing Career of Nathan van Dijk