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Remembering F1's last aggregate grand prix

Damon Hill's battle with Michael Schumacher for victory in the 1994 Japanese GP - which is being live-streamed today - at times more closely resembled a time trial than a conventional race due to a quirk in the rules that meant the event would be decided on aggregate times. At the height of the title fight, the outcome was a classic

Luke Smith Apr 22, 2020, 3:08 PM

Nearing the end of the 1994 Formula 1 season, the Japanese Grand Prix provided a first opportunity for the fierce title battle between Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill to be put to bed.

Benetton driver Schumacher arrived at Suzuka leading Hill by five points after a crushing victory at Jerez, meaning victory with his rival any lower than second would be enough to clinch his and Germany's maiden world championship - and give some kind of closure to a fraught year overshadowed by the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at Imola.

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Author Luke Smith

Luke Smith is Autosport’s Formula 1 reporter. Luke has been working in F1 as a journalist since 2013, initially alongside a History degree at University College London. Luke served as the lead F1 writer at American broadcaster NBC Sports from 2013-17 before spending two years as the F1 Editor for Crash.net. Luke joined Autosport for the 2020 season.

Luke is also a contributor to The New York Times for its F1 special reports, and has previously worked with Al Jazeera and CNBC, as well as hosting FIA press conferences. Outside of F1, Luke is a fan of sports and music, with an ever-growing vinyl collection, and has being bitten by the running bug in recent years. He also runs a surprisingly popular blog reviewing the often-terrible media centre coffee from his F1 travels.