The 1994 F1 season was one of the most heartbreaking seasons in the history of the sport, with fans witnessing the tragic death of Ayrton Senna. While the world mourned the loss of one of F1’s all-time greats, the authorities were hard at work in trying to make the sport safer for its drivers. Meanwhile, Benetton Racing tried to take full advantage of the authorities’ distractions and ‘cheat’ their way to victory with Michael Schumacher.
In a sensational article from August 2023, BusinessF1 Magazine’s Tom Rubython revealed how Benetton used Senna’s death to their advantage and led Schumacher to his first-ever driver’s world championship despite sporting an inferior car. Rubython wrote, “Benetton tried everything to close the gap,” and mentioned the various devices used by the team to gain an unfair advantage over the rest of the field. The team used techs such as Launch Control, Traction Control, Flexible Bodywork, A lower ride height, and some special fuels. However, none of the tech was legal at the time.
McLaren was also under suspicion of using illegal race tech, and once the FIA intervened, both teams refused to hand over their source code for investigation. After getting the codes, it was clear that both teams were using illegal tech and had to pay a fine of $100,000 each for non-compliance. However, Schumacher still went on to win the championship that season, owing to the absence of a serious action against his team.
The next year, the German driver was able to retain his championship with ease. Aided by the prowess of Johnny Herbert, Schumacher led Benetton to their first-ever constructor’s title. The win for Benetton marked the end of McLaren and Williams‘ dominance as constructor’s Championships, who had been winning the title since 1984.
The Michael Schumacher-led Benetton did not have it all their way
Having gotten away with most of their outlawed technology, the report by Tom Rubython reveals the exact moment the FIA caught onto Benetton’s shenanigans. The team was caught red-handed in front of the world, leading to a huge mess in the world of F1. The 1994 season saw the return of mid-race refueling, and to avoid foreign particles mixing in with the fuel, a special filter had to be a part of the filler cap.
To save time during the refueling process, Benetton opted against putting the filter on their cars. However, the absence of the filter led to spillage of the fuel on Jos Verstappen’s car, leading to a flash fire that made for good TV. The incident launched a chain of events that began with a safety inspection but soon became a cheating investigation. Per the regulations of 1994, the second would have resulted in an immediate expulsion of the entire team from the sport. As such, Schumacher would have had to sit out the entire season, which Benetton believes, would’ve been terrible for the sport in terms of finances and viewership numbers.
