The successful 1993 season, in which the Ligier team achieved its best championship result in a decade, ended in a dramatic twist when, on December 14, 1993, the team's new owner, Cyril de Rouvre, was imprisoned for financial fraud. De Rouvre, who had previously owned the AGS team from 1989 to 1991, returned to Formula 1 at the end of 1992 by purchasing the Ligier team for an estimated 200 million French francs of the time, bringing the historic French team back to fighting for competitive positions. Meanwhile, his rise in the political world continued, and it was actually from his political opponents that the fraud allegations originated, allegations that the French businessman and politician would have to face. Following his arrest, Ligier changed ownership once again, being sold to Flavio Briatore and Tom Walkinshaw, after an attempted takeover by a consortium that included Alain Prost, Hughes de Chaunac, and Philippe Streiff, financially backed by Williams-Renault, which was interested in establishing a satellite team.
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| LIGIER JS39B, Olivier Panis Adelaide, Australian GP 1994 |
However, Briatore's managerial skills tipped the balance in his favor, especially since the Italian manager was strongly interested in acquiring the French team with the goal of securing Renault engines for the Benetton team, where he was already the sporting director. The corporate turmoil and the prolonged negotiations, however, prevented the preparation of a new car for the 1994 season, so the 1993 JS39 was only slightly updated to the “B” version.
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| LIGIER JS39B, Olivier Panis Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1994 |
The car was modified to comply with new technical regulations and to accommodate the latest RS6 version of Renault’s V10 engine. The technical direction of the team remained in the hands of Gérard Ducarouge, and the design of the car faithfully followed the original concept by engineer Paul Crooks, retaining the same chassis, suspension system, and aerodynamic profile, still overseen by Loïc Bigois. Some of the improvements to the car were also suggested by Michael Schumacher, who was invited by Briatore to test the new JS39B at the Estoril circuit in Portugal in January 1994.
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| LIGIER JS39B, Eric Bernard Monza, Italian GP 1994 |
French driver Éric Bernard was designated as the first driver, but toward the end of the season, he was replaced first by Briton Johnny Herbert and then by the team’s test driver, young Frenchman Franck Lagorce. As second driver, young Olivier Panis was promoted from the French driver development program. Thanks to his consistent performance and a second-place finish at the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, Panis earned his breakthrough on the Formula 1 stage. In an era of Formula 1 where retirements and mechanical failures were still common, the JS39B proved to be particularly reliable, finishing almost every race and suffering only one mechanical issue all season, a gearbox failure on Bernard’s car at the French Grand Prix.
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| LIGIER JS39B, Olivier Panis Suzuka, Japanese GP 1994 |
However, this was not enough for Ligier to replicate the brilliant 1993 season. The steady performance improvements of rival teams limited the French team to just 13 points, resulting in a 6th place finish in the Constructors’ Championship.
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