1993 Japanese Grand Prix

Last updated
1993 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 15 of 16 in the 1993 Formula One World Championship
Suzuka circuit map (1987-2002).svg
Race details
Date24 October 1993
Official name XIX Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
Location Suzuka Circuit
Suzuka, Japan
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.860 km (3.641 [1] miles)
Distance 53 laps, 310.580 km (192.985 miles)
Weather Dry/wet, warm, cloudy
Attendance 350,000 [2]
Pole position
Driver Williams-Renault
Time 1:37.154
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Williams-Renault
Time 1:41.176 on lap 53
Podium
First McLaren-Ford
Second Williams-Renault
Third McLaren-Ford
Lap leaders
  • 1993 Japanese Grand Prix

The 1993 Japanese Grand Prix (formally the XIX Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Suzuka on 24 October 1993. It was the fifteenth race of the 1993 Formula One World Championship.

Contents

The 53-lap race was won by Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Ford, after he started from second position. Alain Prost finished second in a Williams-Renault, having started from pole position, while Senna's teammate Mika Häkkinen came third, achieving his first podium finish.

Jordan drivers Rubens Barrichello and Eddie Irvine (the latter making his F1 debut) scored their first points by finishing fifth and sixth respectively. Irvine was subsequently punched by Senna for unlapping himself during the race. [3] Two other drivers made their F1 debuts at this race, Jean-Marc Gounon and Toshio Suzuki. Only 24 cars were entered, following the withdrawal of the BMS Scuderia Italia team from F1 in the run-up to the race.

Report

Qualifying

Prost took pole (the last of his career) ahead of Senna, Häkkinen, Schumacher, Berger and Hill.

Race

At the start, Senna got ahead of Prost while Berger took Schumacher. Eddie Irvine, the fifth occupant of the second Jordan this year, then got by both Schumacher and Hill. Hill briefly passed Schumacher in the esses but Schumacher retook the position. The order was: Senna, Prost, Häkkinen, Berger, Irvine and Schumacher. Schumacher would pass Irvine on lap 2 with Hill getting ahead two laps later.

Schumacher and Hill then closed in on Berger. At the end of lap 9, the three came out of the final chicane nose to tail and Hill passed Schumacher on the start/finish straight to take 5th place away. On lap 11, Hill got a run on Berger coming out of the 130R and Berger took the inside line going into the chicane. Hill tried to pass on the outside but was not able to complete the move. Schumacher, having stayed to the inside, couldn't stop fast enough as Hill turned in behind Berger and hit Hill's right rear wheel, damaging his left front suspension and putting himself out. Hill was able to keep going and inherited 4th on the next lap when Berger came in for tyres.

Meanwhile, Prost inherited the lead when Senna pitted for tyres. Shortly after it began to rain, which was an advantage for Prost and other drivers who had not yet stopped for tyres since they would have to make one less stop. Senna began to catch Prost as the track got wetter and on lap 21, as the rain intensified, Senna passed Prost on the approach to the Spoon curve. At the end of the lap, Senna was two seconds in front and the two both pitted for wets. Senna pulled away rapidly in the wet conditions, building over a 30-second lead by lap 27. Prost then went off at the first corner but was able to rejoin without losing time to Senna, who was delayed by traffic. The rain then stopped and drivers began coming in for slick tyres as the track began to dry. Hill rejoined after his pit stop nearly a lap down to Senna, who was still on wets. Unable to lap Hill, Senna was re-passed by Irvine, who had been lapped but was chasing Hill for 4th position. Irvine, who was also still on wets, challenged Hill in the first corner but was not able to make the pass stick while Senna waited behind to lap the pair. Senna lost 15 seconds to Prost by the time he forced his way back past Irvine and Hill let him through. At the end of lap 42, after he and Prost had made their pit stops for slicks, Senna's lead was back up to 24 seconds. With only 12 laps remaining, Prost never challenged after that and settled for second. Häkkinen's 3rd place was his first podium finish.

Behind, Barrichello had got Irvine during the stops for wets and then Berger's engine failed on lap 41. With 4 laps to go and battling with Derek Warwick for 6th, Irvine ran into the back of Warwick under braking on the approach to the chicane and knocked him out of the race. Irvine was able to continue and finish with a point in his first grand prix. Irvine's debut was slightly marred in a post-race altercation with Ayrton Senna who punched him when a discussion between the pair got heated. The incident led to rumours of Senna receiving a two-race ban, but ultimately, no penalty was issued.

Senna won ahead of Prost, Häkkinen, Hill, Barrichello and Irvine. This was the only time Prost, Senna and Häkkinen shared the podium together. Fastest lap of the race was set by Prost, the last of his career.

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorQ1Q2Gap
12 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Williams-Renault 1:38.5871:37.154
28 Flag of Brazil.svg Ayrton Senna McLaren-Ford 1:38.9421:37.284+0.130
37 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Ford 1:38.8131:37.326+0.162
45 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 1:38.5891:37.530+0.376
528 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger Ferrari 1:39.0241:37.622+0.468
60 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Damon Hill Williams-Renault 1:38.9791:38.352+1.198
79 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Footwork-Mugen-Honda 1:41.0861:38.780+1.626
815 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart 1:41.0181:38.966+1.812
910 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Aguri Suzuki Footwork-Mugen-Honda 1:41.3801:39.278+2.124
106 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Benetton-Ford 1:40.7481:39.291+2.137
1130 Flag of Finland.svg JJ Lehto Sauber 1:40.3461:39.391+2.237
1214 Flag of Brazil.svg Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 1:41.6241:39.426+2.272
133 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:40.9631:39.511+2.357
1427 Flag of France.svg Jean Alesi Ferrari 1:39.5352:44.132+2.381
1525 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle Ligier-Renault 1:41.5431:39.951+2.797
1629 Flag of Austria.svg Karl Wendlinger Sauber 1:41.3671:40.153+2.999
1726 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mark Blundell Ligier-Renault 1:41.2781:40.696+3.542
184 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:41.4801:40.696+3.542
1912 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert Lotus-Ford 1:41.4883:41.040+4.334
2011 Flag of Portugal (official).svg Pedro Lamy Lotus-Ford 1:43.1651:41.600+4.446
2120 Flag of France.svg Érik Comas Larrousse-Lamborghini 1:43.4831:41.769+4.615
2224 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 1:42.3881:41.989+4.835
2319 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Toshio Suzuki Larrousse-Lamborghini 1:44.5621:42.175+5.021
2423 Flag of France.svg Jean-Marc Gounon Minardi-Ford 1:46.7821:43.812+6.658
Sources: [4] [5] [6]

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
18 Flag of Brazil.svg Ayrton Senna McLaren-Ford 531:40:27.912210
22 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Williams-Renault 53+ 11.43516
37 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Ford 53+ 26.12934
40 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Damon Hill Williams-Renault 53+ 1:23.53863
514 Flag of Brazil.svg Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 53+ 1:35.101122
615 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Eddie Irvine Jordan-Hart 53+ 1:46.42181
726 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mark Blundell Ligier-Renault 52+ 1 Lap17 
830 Flag of Finland.svg JJ Lehto Sauber 52+ 1 Lap11 
925 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle Ligier-Renault 51+ 2 Laps15 
1024 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 51+ 2 Laps22 
1112 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert Lotus-Ford 51+ 2 Laps19 
1219 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Toshio Suzuki Larrousse-Lamborghini 51+ 2 Laps23 
1311 Flag of Portugal (official).svg Pedro Lamy Lotus-Ford 49Accident20 
149 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Footwork-Mugen-Honda 48Collision7 
Ret6 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Benetton-Ford 45Accident10 
Ret28 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger Ferrari 40Engine5 
Ret10 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Aguri Suzuki Footwork-Mugen-Honda 28Spun Off9 
Ret23 Flag of France.svg Jean-Marc Gounon Minardi-Ford 26Withdrew24 
Ret3 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 26Engine13 
Ret29 Flag of Austria.svg Karl Wendlinger Sauber 25Engine16 
Ret20 Flag of France.svg Érik Comas Larrousse-Lamborghini 17Engine21 
Ret5 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 10Collision4 
Ret27 Flag of France.svg Jean Alesi Ferrari 7Engine14 
Ret4 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris Tyrrell-Yamaha 0Collision18 
Source: [7]

Championship standings after the race

References

  1. "1993 Japanese Grand Prix | Motorsport Database".
  2. "Formula 1 Honda Japanese Grand Prix 2022 – Media Kit" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  3. "Ayrton Senna Suzuka 1993". Themagicofsenna.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  4. "Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying 1". Formula1.com. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  5. "Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying 2". Formula1.com. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  6. "1993 Japanese Grand Prix Classification Qualifying". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  7. "1993 Japanese Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Japan 1993 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.