1995 German Grand Prix

1995 German Grand Prix
Race 9 of 17 in the 1995 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Race details
Date	30 July 1995
Official name	XXIV Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland
Location	Hockenheimring Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	6.823 km (4.264 miles)
Distance	45 laps, 307.035 km (191.896 miles)
Weather	Sunny, 28 °C (82 °F)
Pole position
Driver	Damon Hill	Williams-Renault
Time	1:44.385
Fastest lap
Driver	Michael Schumacher	Benetton-Renault
Time	1:48.824 on lap 22
Podium
First	Michael Schumacher	Benetton-Renault
Second	David Coulthard	Williams-Renault
Third	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 1995 German Grand Prix (formally the XXIV Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland) was a Formula One motor race held at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim on 30 July 1995. It was the ninth race of the 1995 Formula One World Championship.

The 45-lap race was won by local driver Michael Schumacher, driving a Benetton-Renault, after he started from second position. Briton Damon Hill took pole position in his Williams-Renault, but spun off on lap 2 as a result of a driveshaft failure. Hill's compatriot and teammate David Coulthard finished second, with Austrian Gerhard Berger third in a Ferrari.

With the win, his fifth of the season, Schumacher extended his lead over Hill in the Drivers' Championship to 21 points.

Summary

Damon Hill started the race from the pole position alongside Michael Schumacher. After making a good start, Hill spun on entry to the first corner on the 2nd lap sending his car across a gravel trap and into a tyre barrier, ending his race. A driveshaft failure caused Hill's Williams to lock its rear wheels and initiated his spin off the track.

Schumacher was left leading David Coulthard and Gerhard Berger, who was given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for jumping the start of the race. The penalty dropped Berger to 14th position though he fought back to finish back in 3rd place. Berger denied jumping the start, claiming that though his car did move slightly when he put it into gear, it was stationary when the green light came on to start the race.

Benetton's 2-stop strategy for Schumacher prevailed over the 1-stop strategy Coulthard was on, as Schumacher pulled away from the field giving himself enough room to make his second pit stop and remain in the lead. Schumacher became the first German to win a World Championship German Grand Prix (other German drivers had won the German Grand Prix before the inception of the World Championship, the most recent being Rudolf Caracciola in 1939). His car broke down after the race had finished, as did that of team-mate Johnny Herbert and Aguri Suzuki (whose car caught fire).

Initially it was believed that Hill spun off due to oil laid down on the track from overfull oil tanks – as it is common practice for teams to fill the oil tanks prior to the start of the race. A few days after the race, the Williams team discovered that Hill's car had in fact suffered from a driveshaft failure leading to his accident. Shortly before he went off, Murray Walker commented that he had noticed blue smoke coming out of the back of Hill's car; the reason for this was never discovered.

It was the final F1 race of Pierluigi Martini, who retired with a blown engine and was replaced by Pedro Lamy for the next race.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Q1 Time	Q2 Time	Gap
1	5	Damon Hill	Williams-Renault	1:44.932	1:44.385
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton-Renault	1:45.505	1:44.465	+0.080
3	6	David Coulthard	Williams-Renault	1:45.306	1:44.540	+0.155
4	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:46.482	1:45.553	+1.168
5	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan-Peugeot	1:48.203	1:45.765	+1.380
6	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan-Peugeot	1:46.916	1:45.846	+1.461
7	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:46.291	1:45.849	+1.464
8	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren-Mercedes	1:47.854	1:46.221	+1.836
9	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton-Renault	1:46.381	1:46.315	+1.930
10	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	1:46.356	1:46.475	+1.971
11	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber-Ford	1:47.769	1:46.801	+2.416
12	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier-Mugen-Honda	1:47.372	1:47.528	+2.987
13	4	Mika Salo	Tyrrell-Yamaha	1:49.103	1:47.507	+3.122
14	29	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Sauber-Ford	1:48.526	1:47.636	+3.251
15	9	Massimiliano Papis	Footwork-Hart	1:49.621	1:48.093	+3.708
16	24	Luca Badoer	Minardi-Ford	1:50.409	1:49.302	+4.917
17	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell-Yamaha	1:56.518	1:49.402	+5.017
18	25	Aguri Suzuki	Ligier-Mugen-Honda	2:04.193	1:49.716	+5.331
19	10	Taki Inoue	Footwork-Hart	1:50.451	1:49.892	+5.507
20	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi-Ford	1:51.368	1:49.990	+5.605
21	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti-Ford	1:54.303	1:52.961	+8.576
22	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti-Ford	1:53.456	1:53.405	+9.020
23	17	Andrea Montermini	Pacific-Ford	1:53.492	No time	+9.107
24	16	Giovanni Lavaggi	Pacific-Ford	1:54.625	1:56.325	+10.240
Sources:

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton-Renault	45	1:22:56.043	2	10
2	6	David Coulthard	Williams-Renault	45	+ 5.988	3	6
3	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	45	+ 1:08.097	4	4
4	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton-Renault	45	+ 1:23.436	9	3
5	29	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Sauber-Ford	44	+ 1 lap	14	2
6	25	Aguri Suzuki	Ligier-Mugen-Honda	44	+ 1 lap	18	1
7	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell-Yamaha	44	+ 1 lap	17
8	17	Andrea Montermini	Pacific-Ford	42	+ 3 laps	23
9	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan-Peugeot	41	Throttle	6
Ret	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	33	Engine	7
Ret	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber-Ford	32	Engine	11
Ret	24	Luca Badoer	Minardi-Ford	28	Oil leak	16
Ret	16	Giovanni Lavaggi	Pacific-Ford	27	Gearbox	24
Ret	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti-Ford	27	Halfshaft	22
Ret	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan-Peugeot	20	Engine	5
Ret	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren-Mercedes	17	Engine	8
Ret	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier-Mugen-Honda	13	Water leak	12
Ret	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	12	Engine	10
Ret	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi-Ford	11	Engine	20
Ret	10	Taki Inoue	Footwork-Hart	9	Gearbox	19
Ret	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti-Ford	8	Brakes	21
Ret	5	Damon Hill	Williams-Renault	1	Driveshaft/spun off	1
Ret	4	Mika Salo	Tyrrell-Yamaha	0	Clutch	13
Ret	9	Massimiliano Papis	Footwork-Hart	0	Gearbox	15
Source:

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Michael Schumacher	56
2	Damon Hill	35
3	Jean Alesi	32
4	Johnny Herbert	25
5	David Coulthard	23
Source:

Constructors' Championship standings

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Benetton-Renault	71
2	Ferrari	53
3	Williams-Renault	52
4	Jordan-Peugeot	13
5	Ligier-Mugen-Honda	11
Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.