1995 Formula One World Championship
Schumacher won nine races en route to the championship, equalling the record set by Nigel Mansell in 1992.
He also continued his rivalry with Williams-Renault driver Damon Hill, including collisions at the British and Italian Grands Prix.
The cars were still in various stages of development heading into the new season; the Footwork FA16 and Simtek S951 chassis arrived at the event with virtually no testing, having been completed shortly beforehand.
[37] McLaren were concerned about the standard refuelling equipment provided for 1995 by suppliers Intertechnique, having suffered a major leak in a test of the new rig outside of its factory.
Intertechnique had redesigned the fuel equipment, which was used by all of the teams, in the wake of the pit lane fire suffered by driver Jos Verstappen during the previous year's German Grand Prix.
[38] Intertechnique traced the problem to a faulty valve within the equipment, which caused 10 kilograms (22 lb) of fuel to leak, and modified the parts accordingly.
[40] They utilised different pit stop strategies and the battle was heating up until, on lap 31, the Williams driver spun off the track when his gearbox seized.
[43][44] However, a successful appeal by the two teams saw their drivers' results reinstated, since the illegal fuel did not offer a performance advantage.
On lap six of the restarted race, Coulthard's throttle failed, allowing Schumacher and Hill past, and leading to the Scot's retirement shortly after.
Things turned out in the pit stops: Schumacher crashed, coming out on his cold tyres, and Berger's car stalled, giving the lead to Damon Hill.
Coulthard and Alesi fought hard over then-second place, but the over-eager Williams driver exceeded the pit lane speed limit and had to undertake a 10-second stop-go penalties.
David Coulthard (Williams), Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi (both Ferrari) completed the top five, but the three collided going in the first corner.
[52][53][51] At the second start, the top drivers remained in order, but during the pit stops, Hill fell back behind Schumacher and Alesi.
In Canada, Michael Schumacher achieved pole position, the 100th for a Renault-powered F1 car,[54] and led away comfortably, until on lap 57, an electrical problem forced him into the pits.
After several other front-runners encountered problems late in the race, the Jordans of Rubens Barrichello and Eddie Irvine completed the surprising podium.
Damon Hill had achieved pole position once again, but this time, spun off on the second lap as a result of driveshaft failure.
Schumacher's teammate Johnny Herbert briefly led the race, but struggled for pace on the drying track.
Hill took the lead after his teammate David Coulthard retired with gearbox issues, but then, as it was seen at least three times during the season already, Schumacher passed him during the round of pit stops.
It looked like a thrilling battle to come, until the Brit was served a 10-second stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
[63] On the formation lap of the Italian Grand Prix, pole-sitter David Coulthard spun off and retired with terminal damage.
On lap 13, Coulthard retired again, this time with a wheel bearing failure, and Schumacher crashed out when he was hit in the back by championship rival Damon Hill.
After the incident, reminiscent of the one at Silverstone, Schumacher was furious with Hill, but calmed down when learning that the Brit had had to take evasive action when lapping Taki Inoue.
The Ferraris were running 1–2 on home soil, until a TV camera on Alesi's rear wing fell off and destroyed Berger's suspension.
[65][66][67] The European Grand Prix was held at the Nürburgring and saw Coulthard start on pole, ahead of teammate Damon Hill and championship leader Michael Schumacher.
This meant that the Williams driver needed to win all remaining races, with his Benetton rival scoring less than three points.
Williams driver David Coulthard achieved his fourth pole position in a row, ahead of teammate Damon Hill and championship leader Michael Schumacher in his Benetton.
[69][71] Scoring his eighth victory of the season and gaining enough points to make it impossible for Hill to catch him, the Schumi was crowned the 1995 Drivers' Champion.
The Williams cars could not match the pace and made room for Jean Alesi and Mika Häkkinen in the top three on the grid.
David Coulthard crashed while entering the pit lane, Schumacher and Alesi collided, and Herbert and Berger retired with mechanical issues.
Hill won, over two laps ahead of Ligier's Olivier Panis and Gianni Morbidelli in a Footwork, equalling Jackie Stewart's feat during the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix.
