1995 European Grand Prix

Schumacher's win retained his position at the top of the Drivers' Championship , 27 points ahead of Hill. With three races remaining, Schumacher only required a further three points to secure the championship. Benetton were now 20 points ahead of Williams in the Constructors' Championship following Schumacher's win.

The qualifying session was split into two one-hour sessions; the first of which was held on Friday afternoon and the second on Saturday afternoon. The fastest time from either session counted towards the drivers' final grid positions . [ 16 ] Both sessions were interrupted by rain, which led to little action on the track. [ 20 ] Coulthard took his third consecutive pole position in his Williams, with a time of 1:18.738. [ 1 ] [ 21 ] He was joined on the front row by teammate Hill, who was two-te...

Media attention focussed on Coulthard outperforming Hill in qualifying for the fourth time in a row. As Hill was mathematically the only possible contender to challenge Schumacher for the championship, there was a question from the media as to whether Williams should use team orders to give Hill pole position. In response, Coulthard said that he was "rather tired of questions about team orders", adding that "everyone wants to see is a motor race" and it wasn't fair of Williams to ask him to slow...

Following the session, Barrichello and Footwork driver Massimiliano Papis revealed that they expected to fail routine drugs tests they had just taken, as both had been taking decongestants, for nasal problems and a cold respectively, which contained the banned substance ephedrine . [ 14 ] On Saturday, the team principals also met to discuss future changes to the sport: it was agreed that qualifying would be reduced to a single hour-long session for the 1996 season , and a reduction from seventee...

Coulthard, from pole position, held onto the lead into the first corner, while Hill made a bad start and was overtaken by Schumacher in the run down to the corner. [ 32 ] Irvine also passed Hill, but was later overtaken on in the opening lap. [ 8 ] Further down the order, Frentzen was judged to have made a false start , while Papis took up his normal grid position instead of starting from the back as he should have done after stalling. Both drivers were given ten-second stop-and-go penalties in ...

Near the front of the field, Hill was faster than third-placed Schumacher and began to catch him. [ 27 ] Schumacher defended his position vigorously several times, but Hill eventually passed him. However, Hill then ran wide at the final corner and Schumacher overtook him. [ 32 ] Coulthard, in the other Williams, began to suffer from excessive oversteer with his car's handling, [ 8 ] dropping to fourth behind Schumacher and Hill, who passed him on laps 21 and 23 respectively. [ 1 ] As Schumacher ...

Schumacher made his final pit stop on lap 52 from second place, having caught up with Alesi during his third stint . [ 30 ] He rejoined some distance behind the Ferrari, but set a fastest lap of 1:21.180 on lap 58, almost 1.7 seconds faster than Alesi's fastest lap of the race. [ 1 ] Alesi's attempts to keep the lead were not helped by lapped traffic getting in his way, as well as losing five seconds at the Veedol chicane by running wide onto the gravel. [ 37 ] In the closing laps, Schumacher ca...

Hill, watching from the side of the track, applauded Schumacher's win. Schumacher attempted to stop his car to give Hill a lift back to the pitlane , but was unable due to a slipping clutch. [ 30 ] Alesi held position to finish second in his Ferrari, with Coulthard third – 35 seconds behind. Completing the points-scorers, Barrichello finished fourth, ahead of Herbert and Irvine. The latter two had battled for much of the race: they collided on lap 31, dropping both behind Barrichello and causing...

Papis, Diniz, Tarquini and Délétraz completed the field. [ 1 ] Of the retirements, Roberto Moreno stopped his Forti with a driveshaft failure, [ 1 ] while Montermini endured a fraught pitstop on lap 42. The Pacific team's fuel rig malfunctioned, and, in the confusion, refueller Paul Summerfield sustained a fractured left femur when he was hit by the car as it left its pit box. [ 39 ] Montermini consequently ran out of fuel on lap 45. [ 1 ]

"Today, I decided not to risk starting on slicks because the car felt so critical in these conditions and I wanted to play safe for the championship. When I saw Damon in the wall, I thought that now I had to decide to stay in second place or to push to win and my fans pushed me to try and win the race. When I passed Jean, he was making it as difficult as possible, but there was nothing dangerous or anything. He left room on the outside and we did touch. For me, it is fantastic to win the German ...

Hill commented that "I am not going to be World Champion this year, but I'll be back. But I don't think I disgraced myself. I put up a good fight, did everything I could to win, and it didn't come off" and pledged to do his best to win the remaining races. [ 9 ] Hill later said that the car's steering had felt stiff since his collision with Alesi, making it difficult to drive, but accepted the blame for his retirement from the race. [ 8 ] [ 30 ] In the weeks after the race, heavy criticism was d...

On 2 November 1995, the FIA announced that none of the drivers who took part in the anti-doping tests at the Portuguese and European Grands Prix had tested positive, including Barrichello and Papis. [ 48 ] However, FIA Formula One Safety and Medical Delegate, Professor Sid Watkins , subsequently argued that as ephedrine had no effect on a driver's ability, the sport should not use exactly the same list as the International Olympic Committee in the future. [ 49 ]

Both Schumacher and Benetton retained their positions at the top of the Drivers' and Constructors' championships following the race. [ 1 ]

Henry, Alan (December 1995) [1995]. Autocourse 1995–96 . Hazleton Publishing. ISBN 1-874557-36-5 . Domenjoz, Luc (1995). "The 17 Grand Prix – Grand Prix of Europe". Formula 1 Yearbook 1995 . Chronosports Editeur. p. 190. ISBN 2-940125-06-6 .