On This Day: Jos Verstappen's terrifying pit fire at the 1994 German Grand Prix

It remains one of the most shocking images in Formula 1 history more than three decades later. During the 1994 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, Jos Verstappen pulled his Benetton B194 into the pits for fuel, only for pressurised petrol to spray onto the car's hot bodywork and rear brakes, igniting a massive fireball that engulfed the cockpit.

Why it matters:

The incident laid bare the lethal risks of the refuelling era and exposed how teams chasing marginal gains could compromise safety. It became a defining catalyst for overhauling pit lane regulations and reshaped how Formula 1 approached fire protection and fuelling protocols for decades to come.

The details:

• The fire erupted as the Intertechnique refuelling nozzle connected, with fuel instantly igniting on hot surfaces. Crew and marshals extinguished the blaze within seconds, but the damage was already done.
• Verstappen suffered minor burns around his nose and eyes because his visor was slightly open, a common practice at the time. Several mechanics were also burned, though none sustained serious injuries.
• An FIA investigation revealed Benetton had removed a safety filter from the fuel valve to increase flow rate by approximately 12.5%, saving roughly one second per stop. Without the filter, a foreign body jammed the valve and prevented it from closing properly.
• Benetton were fined for the modification, though the team maintained the removal was not the direct cause of the fire.

What's next:

The fallout triggered immediate regulatory changes. Fuel delivery hoses were re-engineered with fail-safe cut-out mechanisms, and the FIA mandated fire-protective clothing and upgraded headgear for all pit-stop personnel. Teams were also required to run refuelling rigs in standard, approved configurations under stricter supervision. Beyond the technical changes, the incident added significant weight to the argument against in-race refuelling, which was eventually banned from 2010 onwards.