the samples on file was not permitted. As before, all cars were subject to routine fuel tests as part of the scrutineering process throughout the weekend to ensure compliance with the sport's technical regulations. The rule change had been proposed by the Elf oil company in 1993 and unanimously supported by the other F1 suppliers in order to speed up the fuel-testing process. Controversy also surrounded the new Ligier JS41 car, with rival team owners comparing it to the Benetton B195 car because of their similar design, the only apparent difference being the engine in each car. The Ligier team was being run in 1995 by Tom Walkinshaw, who had been Benetton's Engineering Director the previous season. Commenting on the design similarities, Walkinshaw said: One of the rule revisions stated that the minimum weight limit of applied to both car and driver together. Prior to the first session of the season, all of the drivers were weighed to establish a reference weight to be used on occasions when the two were weighed separately, or if the driver was unavailable to be weighed. As such, a small competitive advantage could be established if the driver attempted to register a weight as heavy as possible, so their actual weight when driving the car would be lower. Williams Technical Director Patrick Head estimated that a weight penalty of could cost 14 seconds over the course of 70 laps of the circuit. In the drivers' weigh-in, Schumacher weighed in at , compared to at the beginning of the 1994 season. Sauber driver Karl Wendlinger gained the most weight compared to 1994, gaining . Wendlinger's teammate Frentzen and Tyrrell driver Ukyo Katayama added the least amount of weight, gaining . When Schumacher was weighed after the race, his weight had decreased to , although this weight, when combined with that of his car, still left it above the limit, at . Schumacher explained the weight gain as a consequence of a fitness regime over the winter that had converted excess fat to muscle, and also admitted to eating and drinking heavily, in addition to refraining from using the toilet, prior to the weigh-in. Practice and qualifying Two practice sessions were held before the race; the first was held on Friday morning, with the second held on Saturday morning. Both were held in damp conditions due to overnight rain with the track drying towards the conclusion