Hill's victory reduced Schumacher's championship lead to one point with one race left, setting up a decisive season finale.
Key Facts
- Race winner
- Damon Hill (Williams-Renault)
- Race length
- 50 laps
- Championship round
- 15th of 16 (penultimate)
- Championship gap after race
- Schumacher led Hill by 1 point
- Conditions
- Wet
- Last split-format F1 race
- Final race decided by aggregate time
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1994 Formula One World Championship entered its penultimate round with Michael Schumacher holding a narrow lead over Damon Hill. Wet conditions at Suzuka Circuit forced a race stoppage, resulting in the contest being split into two parts with the final classification determined by aggregate time.
On 6 November 1994, Damon Hill won the Japanese Grand Prix from second on the grid, overtaking pole-sitter Michael Schumacher in wet conditions. Schumacher finished second in his Benetton-Ford, with Jean Alesi third for Ferrari. The race was the last in Formula One history to be decided by aggregate time following a split into two parts.
Hill's victory closed the Drivers' Championship gap to a single point heading into the season finale. The result heightened tension ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, where the title would be decided. It also marked the final Formula One start for Érik Comas and the end of the aggregate-time format in the sport.
Result
at Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan