with Canon as its primary backer. 1994 season During the season, Williams used FW16 (developed during the pre-season) and FW16B (with shorter sidepods and optimised for the revised floor regulations which were introduced during the season). After Canon left the team Williams signed a contract with tobacco company Rothmans International for , and their namesake brand became its primary sponsor from 1994 to . Unlike in the 1992 offseason, Williams was able to sign Ayrton Senna. The previously mentioned veto power written into Alain Prost's contract was only good for the 1993 season, and thus Senna was free to join Williams for 1994 if he so desired. Now that he was free and clear to do so without any sort of interference, and that McLaren was going through further issues with engine suppliers, Senna finally was able to fulfil his desire to drive for the two-time defending F1 championship team. Prost decided to go out on top, as shortly after Senna signed he announced his retirement from motorsports. Given this was the same team that had won the previous two World Championships with vastly superior cars, Senna was a natural and presumptive pre-season title favourite, with second-year driver Damon Hill intended to play the supporting role. Between them, Prost, Senna, and Hill had won every race in 1993 but one, which was taken by Benetton's Michael Schumacher. As with 1993, Williams' cars were issued numbers 0 and 2, following Prost's victory in the 1993 championship and subsequent retirement. Hill retained the number 0, while Senna's car was issued number 2. Pre-season testing showed the FW16 had speed but was difficult to drive. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) had banned electronic driver's aids, such as active suspension, traction control and ABS, to make the sport more "human". It was these technological advancements that the Williams chassis of the previous years had been built around. With their removal in 1994, Williams had not been a good-handling car, as observed by other F1 drivers, having been seen to be very loose at the rear. Senna himself had made numerous comments that the Williams FW16 had quirks that needed to be ironed out. It was obvious that the FW16, after the regulation changes banning active suspension and traction control, exhibited none of the superiority of the FW15C and Williams FW14B cars that had preceded it. The surprise of testing was Benetton-Ford which was