1995 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Johnny Herbert claimed his first Grand Prix victory in front of the Silverstone crowd after Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher collided. The British Grand Prix delivered a dramatic change of fortune for Benetton‘s second driver, with Jean Alesi and David Coulthard joining him on the podium.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Damon Hill	Williams
Pole time	1:28.124
Fastest lap	Damon Hill	Williams
Fastest-lap time	1:29.752 on lap 37
First	Johnny Herbert	Benetton
Second	Jean Alesi	Ferrari
Third	David Coulthard	Williams

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
14 July 1995	Practice 1	09:30–11:15
14 July 1995	Qualifying 1	13:00–14:00
15 July 1995	Practice 2	09:30–11:15
15 July 1995	Qualifying 2	13:00–14:00
16 July 1995	Warm-up	09:30–10:00
16 July 1995	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Michael Schumacher arrived at round 8 leading the 1995 F1 World Championship on 46 points, with Damon Hill on 35. Benetton headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 48 points.

Race entries

Max Massimiliano Papis made his Formula 1 debut for Footwork, replacing Gianni Morbidelli. Forti supplied Roberto Moreno with the revised car already used by Pedro Diniz, while the leading teams brought further developments for a weekend watched closely by their home supporters.

Friday Free Practice

Michael Schumacher narrowly headed Damon Hill in Friday practice despite reporting more understeer than during testing. Dry, cloudy conditions allowed a useful opening session, but the Benetton‘s balance still needed attention. McLaren worked with revised suspension geometry, while Ligier‘s drivers took different approaches to power steering: Martin Brundle chose it and Olivier Panis preferred to do without.

Friday Practice Classification

1995 British Grand Prix Practice, 14 July 1995

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton	1:29.238	16
2	5	Damon Hill	Williams	+0.034s	21
3	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	+0.423s	22
4	6	David Coulthard	Williams	+0.518s	19
5	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	+1.229s	17
6	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton	+1.329s	20
7	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+1.610s	20
8	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan	+1.956s	21
9	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren	+1.976s	22
10	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan	+2.181s	18
11	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier	+2.628s	21
12	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell	+2.998s	23
13	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier	+3.126s	18
14	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber	+3.491s	21
15	4	Mika Salo	Tyrrell	+3.731s	22
16	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi	+3.778s	19
17	24	Luca Badoer	Minardi	+4.886s	20
18	29	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Sauber	+5.113s	20
19	9	Massimiliano Papis	Footwork	+5.735s	23
20	17	Andrea Montermini	Pacific	+7.281s	7
21	16	Bertrand Gachot	Pacific	+7.710s	7
22	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti	+7.763s	22
23	10	Taki Inoue	Footwork	+7.956s	15
24	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti	+8.342s	21

Friday Qualifying

Damon Hill beat Michael Schumacher to provisional pole late in Friday’s session, overcoming strong crosswinds and improving after a set-up change. David Coulthard took third. Mika Salo‘s times were cancelled after he failed to stop for weighing, while Andrea Montermini recorded no time because of brake trouble, leaving both dependent on Saturday.

Friday Qualifying Classification

1995 British Grand Prix first qualifying session, 14 July 1995

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	5	Damon Hill	Williams	1:28.124	11
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton	1:28.397	11
3	6	David Coulthard	Williams	1:28.947	12
4	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:29.657	8
5	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton	1:29.867	11
6	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	1:29.874	12
7	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan	1:30.083	9
8	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:30.140	12
9	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan	1:30.354	12
10	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren	1:30.453	11
11	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier	1:30.946	11
12	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber	1:31.602	11
13	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier	1:31.842	11
14	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell	1:32.087	12
15	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi	1:32.259	12
16	29	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Sauber	1:33.166	12
17	9	Massimiliano Papis	Footwork	1:34.154	10
18	24	Luca Badoer	Minardi	1:34.556	8
19	10	Taki Inoue	Footwork	1:35.323	12
20	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti	1:36.023	12
21	16	Bertrand Gachot	Pacific	1:36.076	7
22	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti	1:36.651	12

Saturday Free Practice

A shower interrupted Saturday practice and made the times less representative. Damon Hill spun and damaged his transmission while trying to restart, whereas Michael Schumacher felt his car had improved. Jean Alesi became involved with Bertrand Gachot and then had a further scare entering the pits near marshals recovering Andrea Montermini‘s car. The unsettled morning was followed by more rain.

Saturday Practice Classification

1995 British Grand Prix Practice, 15 July 1995

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton	1:31.390	19
2	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	+0.518s	22
3	6	David Coulthard	Williams	+1.373s	15
4	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton	+1.672s	17
5	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier	+2.247s	21
6	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber	+2.779s	19
7	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren	+2.931s	16
8	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan	+2.963s	4
9	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi	+4.405s	9
10	9	Massimiliano Papis	Footwork	+5.248s	6
11	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+6.861s	4
12	24	Luca Badoer	Minardi	+7.508s	12
13	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti	+7.569s	18
14	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell	+7.774s	19
15	29	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Sauber	+8.110s	14
16	17	Andrea Montermini	Pacific	+8.585s	6
17	16	Bertrand Gachot	Pacific	+12.556s	7
18	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan	+15.026s	5
19	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier	+15.697s	15
20	4	Mika Salo	Tyrrell	+15.881s	9
21	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	+17.930s	6
22	5	Damon Hill	Williams	+18.191s	2
23	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti	+22.084s	9
24	10	Taki Inoue	Footwork	+22.974s	5

Saturday Qualifying

Persistent rain preserved the leading Friday order. Mika Salo and Andrea Montermini secured the final two places with wet-weather times, while several others did little running. Johnny Herbert crashed heavily at Copse but escaped injury. The limited sporting value of the session sharpened the debate about changing the two-day qualifying format.

Saturday Qualifying Classification

1995 British Grand Prix second qualifying session, 15 July 1995

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	6	David Coulthard	Williams	1:48.012	8
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton	1:48.204	8
3	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	1:48.205	9
4	4	Mika Salo	Tyrrell	1:48.639	9
5	5	Damon Hill	Williams	1:48.800	8
6	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan	1:49.152	6
7	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier	1:49.414	6
8	24	Luca Badoer	Minardi	1:50.959	7
9	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan	1:51.045	4
10	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber	1:51.059	6
11	29	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Sauber	1:51.086	9
12	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier	1:51.657	4
13	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:51.818	6
14	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell	1:52.054	6
15	17	Andrea Montermini	Pacific	1:52.398	3
16	9	Massimiliano Papis	Footwork	1:53.097	7
17	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton	1:55.011	4
18	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti	1:56.374	11
19	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi	2:13.471	2
20	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti	5:51.829	2
21	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren	56:10.060	1

Combined Qualifying Classification

Each driver’s faster time from the two qualifying sessions determined the overall order.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Friday Time	Saturday Time	Best Time	Laps
1	5	Damon Hill	Williams	1:28.124	1:48.800	1:28.124	19
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton	1:28.397	1:48.204	1:28.397	19
3	6	David Coulthard	Williams	1:28.947	1:48.012	1:28.947	20
4	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:29.657	1:51.818	1:29.657	14
5	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton	1:29.867	1:55.011	1:29.867	15
6	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	1:29.874	1:48.205	1:29.874	21
7	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan	1:30.083	1:51.045	1:30.083	13
8	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	1:30.140	No time	1:30.140	12
9	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan	1:30.354	1:49.152	1:30.354	18
10	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren	1:30.453	56:10.060	1:30.453	12
11	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier	1:30.946	1:49.414	1:30.946	17
12	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber	1:31.602	1:51.059	1:31.602	17
13	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier	1:31.842	1:51.657	1:31.842	15
14	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell	1:32.087	1:52.054	1:32.087	18
15	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi	1:32.259	2:13.471	1:32.259	14
16	29	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Sauber	1:33.166	1:51.086	1:33.166	21
17	9	Massimiliano Papis	Footwork	1:34.154	1:53.097	1:34.154	17
18	24	Luca Badoer	Minardi	1:34.556	1:50.959	1:34.556	15
19	10	Taki Inoue	Footwork	1:35.323	No time	1:35.323	12
20	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti	1:36.023	5:51.829	1:36.023	14
21	16	Bertrand Gachot	Pacific	1:36.076	No time	1:36.076	7
22	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti	1:36.651	1:56.374	1:36.651	23
23	4	Mika Salo	Tyrrell	No time	1:48.639	1:48.639	9
24	17	Andrea Montermini	Pacific	No time	1:52.398	1:52.398	3

Sunday warm-up

Häkkinen led the dry warm-up using an uprated Mercedes engine and fresh tyres, giving McLaren an encouraging moment. Damon Hill was happy with his race balance; Michael Schumacher focused on fuel consumption rather than a headline lap. Johnny Herbert‘s preparation was interrupted by a broken damper, which Benetton replaced before the start.

Warm-up Classification

1995 British Grand Prix Warm-up, 16 July 1995

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:29.685	12
2	5	Damon Hill	Williams	+0.115s	12
3	6	David Coulthard	Williams	+0.216s	12
4	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	+0.317s	11
5	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	+0.892s	14
6	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton	+0.980s	13
7	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan	+1.163s	10
8	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier	+1.220s	10
9	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan	+1.489s	12
10	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren	+1.508s	13
11	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier	+1.761s	14
12	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton	+2.158s	11
13	4	Mika Salo	Tyrrell	+3.000s	9
14	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi	+3.543s	10
15	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber	+3.635s	10
16	29	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Sauber	+3.786s	14
17	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell	+3.850s	11
18	24	Luca Badoer	Minardi	+4.348s	12
19	9	Massimiliano Papis	Footwork	+4.920s	15
20	17	Andrea Montermini	Pacific	+5.266s	6
21	16	Bertrand Gachot	Pacific	+6.153s	11
22	10	Taki Inoue	Footwork	+6.187s	12
23	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti	+7.557s	10
24	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti	+8.078s	10

What happened in the 1995 British Grand Prix?

Damon Hill led away while Jean Alesi‘s excellent start put the Ferrari between him and Michael Schumacher. Damon Hill built a useful advantage, but Benetton‘s one-stop plan eventually placed Michael Schumacher ahead of the two-stopping Williams. Damon Hill caught him and attempted to pass at Priory on lap 46; contact sent both championship contenders out.

Johnny Herbert inherited the lead, with David Coulthard threatening after getting ahead of Jean Alesi. A pit-lane speeding penalty ended the Williams driver’s chance: he briefly led before serving the stop-go and rejoined third. Johnny Herbert kept control to take the victory he had waited for throughout his Formula 1 career.

Jean Alesi finished second and David Coulthard third. Rubens Barrichello and Mark Blundell collided late while contesting fourth, allowing Olivier Panis to take the position. Mark Blundell limped home fifth and Heinz-Harald Frentzen scored sixth. With Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher both retiring, their points gap remained unchanged, but the day belonged to Johnny Herbert.

After the race, Michael Schumacher headed the drivers’ standings with 46 points, followed by Damon Hill on 35. Benetton led the constructors’ table on 58, with Ferrari on 49.

1995 British Grand Prix race results

The 1995 British Grand Prix was held on 16 July 1995, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton	61	1:34:35.093	10
2	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	61	+16.479	6
3	6	David Coulthard	Williams	61	+23.888	4
4	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier	61	+1:33.168	3
5	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren	61	+1:48.172	2
6	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber	60	+1 lap	1
7	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi	60	+1 lap	0
8	4	Mika Salo	Tyrrell	60	+1 lap	0
9	29	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Sauber	60	+1 lap	0
10	24	Luca Badoer	Minardi	60	+1 lap	0
11	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan	59	Collision	0
12	16	Bertrand Gachot	Pacific	58	+3 laps	0
Ret	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti	48	Engine	0
Ret	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton	45	Collision	0
Ret	5	Damon Hill	Williams	45	Collision	0
Ret	9	Massimiliano Papis	Footwork	28	Spun off/suspension	0
Ret	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell	22	Out of fuel	0
Ret	17	Andrea Montermini	Pacific	21	Spun off	0
Ret	8	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	20	Electrical	0
Ret	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	20	Wheel	0
Ret	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier	16	Spun off	0
Ret	10	Taki Inoue	Footwork	16	Spun off	0
Ret	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti	13	Gearbox	0
Ret	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan	2	Electrical	0

1995 British Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	5	Damon Hill	Williams	37	1:29.752
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton	28	1:30.271
3	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	38	1:30.768
4	6	David Coulthard	Williams	42	1:30.812
5	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan	38	1:30.841
6	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton	23	1:31.149
7	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier	37	1:31.393
8	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	16	1:31.435
9	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren	54	1:31.694
10	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier	9	1:31.881
11	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	17	1:31.901
12	29	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Sauber	58	1:32.588
13	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber	27	1:33.012
14	4	Mika Salo	Tyrrell	41	1:33.081
15	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell	20	1:33.242
16	24	Luca Badoer	Minardi	31	1:33.631
17	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi	53	1:33.774
18	9	Massimiliano Papis	Footwork	21	1:34.633
19	10	Taki Inoue	Footwork	15	1:35.021
20	16	Bertrand Gachot	Pacific	8	1:36.313
21	17	Andrea Montermini	Pacific	8	1:36.445
22	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti	4	1:37.734
23	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti	4	1:37.859
24	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan	2	1:43.961

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1995 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1995 British Grand Prix.

1995 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Michael Schumacher	German	Benetton	46
2	Damon Hill	British	Williams	35
3	Jean Alesi	French	Ferrari	32
4	Johnny Herbert	British	Benetton	22
5	David Coulthard	British	Williams	17
6	Gerhard Berger	Austrian	Ferrari	17
7	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Jordan	7
8	Olivier Panis	French	Ligier	7
9	Eddie Irvine	British	Jordan	6
10	Mika Häkkinen	Finnish	McLaren	5
11	Mark Blundell	British	McLaren	5
12	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	German	Sauber	5
13	Martin Brundle	British	Ligier	3
14	Gianni Morbidelli	Italian	Footwork	1
–	Mika Salo	Finnish	Tyrrell	0
–	Pierluigi Martini	Italian	Minardi	0
–	Jean-Christophe Boullion	French	Sauber	0
–	Luca Badoer	Italian	Minardi	0
–	Aguri Suzuki	Japanese	Ligier	0
–	Ukyo Katayama	Japanese	Tyrrell	0
–	Domenico Schiattarella	Italian	Simtek	0
–	Taki Inoue	Japanese	Footwork	0
–	Andrea Montermini	Italian	Pacific	0
–	Pedro Diniz	Brazilian	Forti	0
–	Nigel Mansell	British	McLaren	0
–	Bertrand Gachot	Belgian	Pacific	0
–	Jos Verstappen	Dutch	Simtek	0
–	Karl Wendlinger	Austrian	Sauber	0
–	Roberto Moreno	Brazilian	Forti	0
–	Massimiliano Papis	Italian	Footwork	0

1995 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Benetton	58
2	Ferrari	49
3	Williams	46
4	Jordan	13
5	Ligier	10
6	McLaren	10
7	Sauber	5
8	Footwork	1
9	Minardi	0
10	Tyrrell	0
11	Simtek	0
12	Pacific	0
13	Forti	0

1995 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1995 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	26 March
2	1995 Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	9 April
3	1995 San Marino Grand Prix	Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola	30 April
4	1995 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	14 May
5	1995 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	28 May
6	1995 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	11 June
7	1995 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	2 July
8	1995 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	16 July
9	1995 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	30 July
10	1995 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	13 August
11	1995 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	27 August
12	1995 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	10 September
13	1995 Portuguese Grand Prix	Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril	24 September
14	1995 European Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	1 October
15	1995 Pacific Grand Prix	TI Circuit-Aida, Aida	22 October
16	1995 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	29 October
17	1995 Australian Grand Prix	Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide	12 November