Allegations of cheating were made throughout the 

1994 Formula One World Championship. Several

Formula One teams were involved, with the main allegations surrounding Benetton Formula. Initially,
Benetton was alleged to have been using illegal traction control software to their advantage in races;
however, this could not be sufficiently proven by the FIA.[1] A refuelling fire on Jos Verstappen's
Benetton car at the German Grand Prix led to renewed allegations and an investigation by
Intertechnique at Benetton's team factory. Following the investigation, the FIA revealed Benetton
had been using a fuel valve without a fuel filter, which allowed fuel into the car 12.5% faster than a
legal fuel valve.
The technical regulations for the 1994 Formula One season were announced at the 1993 Canadian
Grand Prix.[2] One of the major announcements was that electronic aids were to be banned, which
included power brakes and traction control systems.[3] Also banned for the 1994 season was the use
of anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and active suspension.[4] This was done as there were fears that
electronic aid systems were levelling the field up, putting more emphasis on the car rather than
driver talent.[5][6] Some spoke out against traction control, including Ayrton Senna, who said he
preferred to have more control of the car instead of having the computers drive it for him; ironically,
Senna would later say that he believed there would be a lot of accidents during the 1994 season
since no attempts were being made to slow the cars down while taking said driver aids away. Max
Mosley, the president of Formula One's governing body, the FIA, spoke in favour of banning traction
control, saying that the systems "could be extremely dangerous and unpredictable". [5]
Around the same time as the announcement regarding the technical regulations for the 1994
season, many in the sport were questioning the legality of active suspensions, which was a key
factor in their ban for 1994.[2] Some in the paddock regarded the decision as an attempt to
restrict Williams, as the team held a strong advantage with its active suspension and other driver
aids.[2][7] The unraced concept of continuously variable transmission (CVT) was also banned, but it
was well known that Williams had spent several years developing and testing such a system, which
threatened to further increase their cars' advantage if introduced. [4]
Behind the scenes at Williams they considered the timing of the announcement as "regrettable", with
some questioning if Nigel Mansell's 1992 Drivers' Championship victory would still be regarded as
valid.[2] Also introduced for the 1994 season was refuelling during races, for the first time since 1983.
As a result, all team personnel working on the car during pit stops had to wear fire-protective clothing
as a safety precaution.[3] The FIA changed the rules to increase interest in the sport partially due to
declining television ratings from the 1993 season compared to the 1992 season.[8] It was also
suggested the rule changes could benefit the Ferrari team, as the outfit had struggled with the
introduction of its driver aids,[2] and stood to gain from the re-introduction of refuelling due to its V12
engine configuration, which was less fuel-efficient than the V10s and V8s built by their rivals.[4]
Cheating allegations were made at the first round of the 1994 season, the Brazilian Grand Prix. On
lap 21 of the race, Senna in the Williams who was leading the race, made a pit stop, with Michael
Schumacher in the Benetton close behind. The Benetton pitcrew made a very quick stop for
Schumacher, getting him out in front of Senna to lead the race. Schumacher went on to win the
Grand Prix after Senna spun out of the race. This sparked speculation that Benetton was using a
system to make quicker pit stops than their rivals.[9]
During the weekend of the Pacific Grand Prix, in April, Ferrari test driver Nicola Larini (who had
replaced Jean Alesi for the early part of the season), leaked to the Italian media that he had used
traction control during the practice session for the race. Ferrari and Larini later denied the claims to
the worldwide press.[10] The "leak" by Larini further raised suspicions about teams using illegal driver
aids to help them in races. Senna retired on the first lap of the race after a collision with McLaren
driver Mika Häkkinen. Instead of going back to the Williams pit area, Senna opted to stand and
watch the cars complete the race to see if he could hear any noises that suggested traction control
was being used illegally in the other cars.[11] Senna returned to the Williams pit area after the race
suspicious that the Benetton car was illegal. [12]
At the San Marino Grand Prix, both Senna and Roland Ratzenberger suffered fatal accidents.[13] After
the race weekend, the FIA asked the teams that finished first, second and third in the race
(Benetton, Ferrari and McLaren respectively) to provide copies of their engine management
system source code to see if a traction control system was being stored. [1][14] Ferrari supplied the code
immediately, but McLaren and Benetton only handed over the code after the FIA's deadline, for
which they were fined $100,000. [1][15] Prior to this, the FIA had agreed to view a demonstration of the
Benetton system at Cosworth's engine facility, as Cosworth considered the software to be their
property and refused to give Benetton permission to provide it to the FIA. [16]
Several technical rule changes were announced by the FIA at the Monaco Grand Prix to help
improve the safety of the cars.[17] Downforce on the cars was reduced with the diffuser restricted to
help reduce the amount of grip available. [18] In between the Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix, the
teams tried out the revised cars in test sessions throughout the week. Several teams experienced
problems with their revised cars; Ligier suffered two cracked wing mountings, while Williams noted a
cracked mounting during testing at Jerez.[19] The biggest incident was that of Pedro Lamy in
a Lotus car at the Silverstone Circuit. While approaching the Bridge corner on the circuit, the rear
wing on the Lotus detached itself leading to a sudden loss of downforce. The Lotus cartwheeled off
the circuit at 170 mph (270 km/h), flying through a protective fence, landing in a spectator access
tunnel. Lamy was hospitalised as a result of the accident. [19][20] In the week leading up to the Spanish
race, Benetton team boss Flavio Briatore criticised the FIA, accusing the president Max Mosley of
making "ill-considered, snap decisions" and that some of the components on the Benetton car may
not have been subjected to quality control checks.[19] In a letter sent to Mosley on May 25, Briatore
also said:
It will be theirs and the FIA's responsibility that they race. Now that the teams have had an
opportunity to test and evaluate the Barcelona regulation changes, it has become apparent that
there are serious problems. The stability and consistency of cars have worsened. This can be
confirmed by discussions with the majority of teams and their drivers. The cornering speed of the
cars may have been reduced, but the likelihood of an accident has been increased. Several teams
are experiencing structural failures that are attributable to the change in regulations. The loading on
key components, such as rear wings, has changed and moved outside the designed range. Despite
these concerns, you continue to insist on these ill-conceived measures. It is our opinion that the
ability of yourself and your advisers to judge technical and safety issues in F1 must be questioned. [19]
The Benetton team, along with Williams, McLaren, Lotus, Pacific, Simtek, Jordan, Footwork
Arrows and Ligier debated the issue in the Williams motorhome to discuss the technical regulations.
[19]
 More changes came into force for the Canadian and German races, with the introductions of
"pump fuel" (more closely related to commercially available fuel, slightly reducing horsepower and
engine performance) and the "plank" (a piece of wood running along the underside of the chassis
that is monitored for excessive wear, increasing ride height and thus decreasing grip). [21][22]