Seven different Formula 1 drivers won titles in an ultra-competitive and innovative class during the 1990s.

Just three of them managed to win two. Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, and Mika Hakkinen for McLaren and Benetton, respectively.

It was a nostalgic time for Formula 1, but one which produced some of the biggest advancements in safety. Tracks became far better equipped, and drivers were a lot safer in the cockpit.

The 1994 drivers’ championship went right down to the wire, and it wasn’t a season without its controversies.

That year, Benetton and Schumacher were accused of cheating by having a traction control device (which had been banned by the FIA).

Schumacher’s teammate when he won his first F1 title was Jos Verstappen, father of current superstar Max. It was the Dutchman’s rookie season, and he was thrown right in at the deep end.

Photo by: GP Library/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Jos Verstappen ‘didn’t have’ Benetton traction control device Ayrton Senna accused them of in 1994

Schumacher was one ‘at risk’ of being fired by Ferrari just a few years after his exploits with Benetton, before positive results started to arrive.

He grafted for years to reach the top, and knew exactly what level of dedication would be required to help transform a team that hadn’t won anything for nearly 25 years.

In 1994, they were his competitors, as was Senna. After being taken out of the 1994 Pacific Grand Prix, the Brazilian driver sat by the side of the track to listen to Schumacher’s car.

He left with the feeling that something wasn’t legal about their car, but Verstappen has since denied that was the case.

“I definitely didn’t have it [a traction control device]. That’s how it is,” he told the Beyond The Grid podcast. “Of course, I know all the rumours, but I cannot prove anything. One thing I can say [is that] I didn’t have it.”

Ayrton Senna felt Benetton had an ‘illegal’ car early in the 1994 Formula 1 season

The first two races of 1994 had not gone to plan for Senna. His twitchy Williams car looked far less stable than the Benetton.

Uncharacteristically, he had spun out of his home race in Brazil before being taken out in Japan just a few weeks later. His frustrations were growing.

According to Matt Bishop, ex-Formula 1 journalist and former Chief Communications Officer at McLaren and Aston Martin, Senna felt Benetton had an ‘illegal’ car.

“Senna had made it known to confidants that he felt he was competing in a legal car against an illegal one,” he wrote for Motorsport Magazine.

Tragedy would strike weeks later, and after the Brazilian passed away, Benetton were investigated and cleared of having any such device.