Automobilista 2's Formula Edge class has received a lot of praise - now, the fitting 1995 Season Pack update has arrived.
The latest Automobilista 2 update released right at the end of March introduced more Formula cars, and it might be hard to pick a standout: The Formula Hybrid Gen 1, inspired by the early F1 hybrid era from 2014 to 2016, was received very well, and so has the 2016 Season Pack that's already available for the class.
The other highlight was the former Formula V12 class' upgrade to Formula Edge by introducing two new models to more accurately reflect the 1995 F1 season. Our own 'Not the Bahrain Grand Prix' Special Event in the OverTake Racing Club reflected how enjoyable many find these cars to be very well - but an immersion-boosting Season Pack was still missing. Until now.
F1 1995 In AMS2
The group of @AFry, @KRRTDustin, @LadyCroussette, Kesk, Humpty, and Chrisi74 have updated the previous 1995 Season Pack to work with the new set of cars. Liveries, drivers including AI files, Reiza-style previews, helmets, driver suits, and the XML selector are all on board, giving players the opportunity to enjoy race specific scenarios in Automobilista 2.
And there are plenty of interesting ones: 1995 could be considered a bit of a transitional year, wedged in between the "old" F1 up until 1994, and 1996 that saw a slew of changes, such as a new car number system that took into account the previous year's order in the constructor's championship, the lights simply going out instead of turning green at the start of a race, the 107% rule, changing qualifying to a single one-hour session with a 12-lap limit... Add in the fact that Michael Schumacher left Benetton for Ferrari - who raced the last-ever V12 engine in F1 in 1995 - after consecutive World Championships, and it truly felt like the "old" era ended with the 1995 season.
1995 started with 13 teams, but Simtek folded following the Monaco Grand Prix. Prior to that, F1 had seen the exit of the iconic Lotus team, and while Larrousse was on the entry list, the French squad never showed up at any Grand Prix. On the flip side, a new team joined the grid in Forti - but the success the team had found in junior categories eluded them in F1, as their car was hopelessly off the pace. The FG01 was also the final F1 car to run an H-pattern gearbox - and it didn't even have an airbox at first.
The season also saw plenty of driver swaps: 35 different drivers appeared that year - which is quite a lot for the 26, later 24 cars that were available. McLaren and Pacific both ran four drivers each, while the likes of Tyrrell, Footwork, Minardi, Ligier, and Sauber all had three different racers behind the wheel in total.
1995 F1 Tracks In AMS2
- Interlagos 1993
- Buenos Aires No. 6-S
- Imola 2001
- Barcelona-Catalunya - No Chicane (different profile at La Caixa)
- Monaco (Azure Circuit - final sector reprofiled between Tabac and Rascasse starting in 1997)
- Montreal 1991 (missing temporary chicane after L'Epingle used in 1994 and 1995)
- Silverstone 2001 (different profile at Copse, Luffield, Priory & Stowe - between 1994 and 1996, several corners were squared off but returned to more flowing versions in 1997)
- Spa-Francorchamps 1993
- Monza 1993 (different profile of Curva Grande and the Lesmos, Variante della Roggia moved forward in 1995)
- Estoril (Cascais) 1988 (missing Gancho Chicane used from 1994 to 1996)
- Nürburgring Veedol 2020 (Mercedes Arena was built in 2002, replacing the 1984-2001 chicane to start the lap)
- Suzuka (Kansai) Classic (reprofiled 130R in 2003)
- Adelaide
Missing locations: Magny-Cours, Hungaroring, Aida.
Due to the number of (often makeshift) track modifications made following the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, the 1995 layouts of many circuits sported short-lived oddities that don't match with the tracks' early 90s before or early 2000s versions after them.
Schumacher Takes His Second Title
Following the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994 and the retirement of the likes of Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet in previous years, Schumacher was the only World Champion on the grid in 1995 - at least of those who competed regularly. Nigel Mansell was supposed to drive for McLaren during its first year with Mercedes power, but only did so twice: After being unable to fit in the initial version of the car, the 1992 World Champion only raced the MP4/10 twice - at Imola and Catalunya -, then called it quits, presumably grumbling "this isn't what I signed up for" into his iconic mustache.
As in 1994, the Driver's Title battle came down to a fight between Schumacher and Hill. Unlike in 1994, though, it was not a very close battle this time around: The Michael would wrap up the title at the third-to-last race of the season at Aida, winning nine races compared to Hill's four. There was also much less controversy around Benetton in 1995 compared to the previous year where the team had been accused of running cars that were not compliant with the rules.
Forti made its debut at the 1995 Brazilian GP with Roberto Moreno (pictured) and Pedro Diniz as its drivers. Considering their pace, Karl Wendlinger in the Sauber is likely approach to lap Moreno rather than to battle for position, though...
An Era Ends At Adelaide
The season finale at Adelaide also contributed to the feeling that an era would end - it was the final time that F1 visited the famous street circuit before moving to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. There, the season ended with a shocking crash: Mika Häkkinen suffered a tire failure in qualifying approaching Brewery Corner, launching his car over a curb and striking the barrier at frightening speed.
Mika violently hit his head on the steering wheel and the cockpit side on impact, as the terrifying onboard footage of the crash showed. An emergency tracheotomy performed at the track by a medical professional who just happened to watch the session at that very corner saved Häkkinen's life - he would be back in time for the 1996 season, and later won the World Championship in 1998 and 1999.
Other memorable races of the 1995 F1 season include the British Grand Prix, where Hill and Schumacher famously tangled, their DNFs enabling Johnny Herbert in the second Benetton to win his home race, and the Italian Grand Prix, where the two crashed into each other again, seemingly handing victory to the Ferrari duo of Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger. It wasn't meant to be for either of them, though: First, Alesi's onboard camera came loose, flying into the path of Berger, destroying the Austrian's suspension. Later, Alesi had to park his 412T2 with a wheel bearing failure with just eight laps to go. The winner of that race? Johnny Herbert.
Alesi and Schumacher had a memorable battle two races later at the Nürburgring, with Schumacher chasing Alesi after his final stop. With little more than two laps remaining, he put a spectacular move on the Frenchman in the chicane befoee the final turn (then known as Veedol-Schikane) to win the race.
And in another bit of Alesi-related 1995 trivia, he took his first - and, as it turned out, only - win in Formula One at the Canadian Grand Prix that year, driving a #27 Ferrari just like Montreal's late hometown hero Gilles Villeneuve used to. The popular victory was made even more memorable by Alesi's car running out of fuel on the cooldown lap, which led to him hitching a ride on top of Schumacher's Benetton's airbox.
Whether you want to recreate famous drives of the 1995 Formula One season or attempt to change history instead, one thing is certain: The Season Pack will once again up the immersion significantly.
What are your favorite memories of the 1995 F1 season? Are you looking forward to installing the updated season pack? Let us know in the comments below!