Michael Schumacher is widely recognized as one of the best Formula 1 drivers of all time, and this race, in particular, demonstrated his tenacity.
It was the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona and the first race held after the tragic deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna at the previous race at Imola. Schumacher was driving one of the Benetton-Ford cars, with team-mate JJ Lehto in the other.
Schumacher took pole position, the second of his career and second in a row, some half a second clear of Damon Hill, who in turn had qualified just one-thousandth of a second ahead of Mika Hakkinen in third. Schumacher’s teammate Lehto was fourth.
“Toet, we have a problem” to “P2 Finish” – Incredible recovery by Michael Schumacher
Schumacher led for the opening 22 laps of the race before pitting with what looked like gearbox issues. The Benetton was left with only fifth gear still working. Sauber aerodynamics consultant Willem Toet offers insights into how the Benetton driver managed the situation.
Writing in a post, Toet shared the insights from the radio communication, “Michael radioed in to say that he was having intermittent gear selection problems. The team pitted the car a little earlier than they might have (still some fuel in the car) so they could have a quick look.”
The German, despite driving the final 40 laps in fifth gear and making another pitstop without stalling the vehicle. He maintained reasonable lap times despite losing up to 20 miles per hour on the main straight.
He also changed his driving style to establish fresh racing lines, backing off early on straights and rolling through corners, relying on his previous expertise as a World Sports Car driver for guidance.
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An artist on the track making a painting masterfully with his skill of driving
Schumacher ended up finishing a very respectable P2 some 24 seconds behind the Williams of Damon Hill. It was a stunning drive to adapt to the ailing car and still bring it home on the podium, marking Schumacher as a true racer who kept fighting in conditions that were stacked against him.
“Red oil was visible at the rear of the car. Red oil. That’s hydraulic oil and Benetton was using that to actuate gear changes. The car was stuck in 5th gear. 5th gear. Imagine trying to start from the traffic lights in 5th gear in your road car. Quite a challenge. Michael managed it masterfully.” concluded Toet appreciating Michael’s presence of mind.
At the end of the race “At the beginning, it was a bit difficult to take all the corners in fifth gear, but then I managed to find a good line and keep up lap times that were more or less good enough to compete against the others behind me.”
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