Michael Schumacher taught Damon Hill a vital lesson when he ‘tragically’ lost the 1994 F1 title

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Michael Schumacher sparked controversy 31 years ago when he crashed into Damon Hill during the 1994 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide to win his first F1 drivers’ title.

Only a single point separated the German from the Briton atop the F1 drivers’ championship as the pinnacle of motorsport headed into Adelaide for the 1994 season finale. Schumacher had dominated the first half of the year, but Hill mounted a comeback to sit hot on his heels.

Schumacher won six of the first seven Grands Prix in the 1994 F1 season, and had eight wins across 11 out of the 16 rounds but also two disqualifications in Britain and Belgium. Hill won in Britain and Belgium and ultimately finished the term with six wins, but not that year’s title.

Unaware that Schumacher had just hit the wall at Turn 5 trying to build a lead ahead of their second pit stops and sustained damage to his rear-right tyre, Hill tried a dive down his inside for the lead on Lap 36 of 81. But Schumacher turned in, smashing into Hill’s front-left wheel.

Michael Schumacher taught Damon Hill that titles were decided by crashes, not by fair play

Schumacher crashing into Hill during the 1994 Australian GP sent the Benetton man into the air and the barrier on the outside of T6. Williams ace Hill also sustained damage to his front-left wishbone, which ultimately forced him to retire and handed Schumacher the 1994 title.

READ MORE: Five unforgettable Australian Grands Prix, including a title-deciding collision

Losing the 1994 F1 title to Schumacher in such circumstances taught Hill how drivers would do anything to win. He can also see comparisons with Alain Prost crashing into Ayrton Senna in Japan to win the 1989 F1 title, and Senna with Martin Brundle for the 1983 British F3 title.

Hill said on Stay On Track: “When I came to car racing, when I watched it for the first time, I could not believe how they went about things. They literally decided championships by one guy crashing into the other, and everyone thought, ‘That’s decided that’.

“I remember standing on the side of the track watching Russell Spence, it was for the championship, I think it may have been [against] Johnny Dumfries, they came out of Clearways and he just took the other guy out.

“[It also happened] with Ayrton and Martin Brundle. It was how a championship was decided. And, of course, rather tragically in my case, that also applied when it came to Adelaide in ‘94 with me and Michael.

“But I hadn’t learnt that lesson that that is how people decided [championships]. It was just understood that that’s how people decided a championship. With Prost and Senna, the first time it happened, it was Prost [who caused their crash].

“I never really had the insight as to what to expect because, for me, I just thought, ‘You’re not supposed to do that’.”

Damon Hill would have won the 1994 F1 title if he knew Michael Schumacher had crashed

The sidepod and rear-right tyre on Schumacher’s Benetton B194 hitting the left-front corner on Hill’s Williams FW16B during the 1994 Australian GP in Adelaide ultimately ensured they both retired from the race and the former won that year’s drivers’ title with 92 points to 91.

Schumacher won the F1 drivers’ championship with Benetton again in 1995 before Hill won his only title during the 1996 campaign with Williams. Hill beat Williams teammate Jacques Villeneuve to win the 1996 F1 title as Schumacher, who had moved to Ferrari, finished third.

Had Hill known that Schumacher had hit the wall and suffered damage mere seconds before they crashed during the 1994 Australian GP, then the Briton would likely have won that title, as well. Hill would have taken the lead of the race had Schumacher retired without colliding.

Yet despite the controversial circumstances that decided the title fight, Hill told Schumacher “well done” on the morning after the 1994 Australian GP. The pair did not speak that often at the time, but met by chance when Hill went to have breakfast the day after the title decider.