1994

On the San Marino GP weekend, at the circuit in Imola, two drivers lost their lives: Roland Ratzenberger (Simtek), after an impact at the Villeneuve corner during qualifying, and the 3-time World Champion Ayrton Senna (Williams), when he got off the track at the Tamburello corner on lap 7 in the race. For the year 1994 the FIA had already banned electronic assistance and introduced refilling during the race. Now it was time to adopt further rules to improve the safety of the single-seaters. The Scuderia raced with the 412 T1. The first digit indicated the valves per cylinder, the 12 stood for the number of cylinders of the 65° naturally aspirated engine and the T for the transversal gearbox. The car put an end to the barren spell, which had started in 1990: Gerhard Berger gained pole position in Germany and won the race. The Prancing Horse was back on the highest step on the podium. Ferrari concluded the Championship with a third place in the Constructors’ standings and the title was won by Williams. Meanwhile Michael Schumacher (Benetton-Ford) won his first Drivers’ Title.