The 1994 Italian Grand Prix (formally the Pioneer 65º Gran Premio d'Italia) was a Formula One motor race held on 11 September 1994 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza. It was the twelfth race of the 1994 Formula One World Championship. The 53-lap race was won by British driver Damon Hill, driving a Williams-Renault, with Austria's Gerhard Berger second in a Ferrari and Finland's Mika Häkkinen third in a McLaren-Peugeot. Frenchman Jean Alesi took pole position in the other Ferrari and led before suffering a gearbox failure on lap 15. The win enabled Hill to move to within 11 points of Michael Schumacher in the Drivers' Championship. Schumacher was banned for this race and the following race in Portugal for his actions at the British Grand Prix; his place at Benetton was taken by Finland's JJ Lehto, who had been his teammate earlier in the season. The day after the race, Lotus went into receivership; however, they would compete in the remaining races of the 1994 season. Lotus had brought an upgraded Mugen engine to Monza, allowing Johnny Herbert to qualify in a season-best fourth place; hopes of a points finish were ended by a first-corner collision with Eddie Irvine's Jordan. Background The Grand Prix was originally cancelled on 12 August 1994 when local officials refused a demand to cut down 123 trees for reasons related to safety. The trees in question were located at the Lesmo corners which lacked suitable run off-areas. After the announcement, Gianni Letta, an Italian cabinet under-secretary, went to Cannes to meet with FIA president Max Mosley to discuss the issue. The meeting, also attended by Ferrari driver and representative to the drivers Gerhard Berger, agreed that changes to the shape of the curve would reduce its speed. Qualifying Qualifying report To the delight of the Tifosi, Jean Alesi took pole position in his Ferrari with teammate Berger second, some 0.134 seconds behind. It was the first pole position for Ferrari at Monza since Mario Andretti in 1982, and the first all-Ferrari front row at the circuit since Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni in 1975. Damon Hill was third in his Williams-Renault, with Johnny Herbert a surprise fourth in the Lotus, running an upgraded Mugen engine. David Coulthard was fifth in the other Williams, with Olivier Panis sixth in the Ligier. The top ten was completed by Mika Häkkinen in the McLaren, Andrea de