1993 Portuguese Grand Prix

Last updated
1993 Portuguese Grand Prix
Race 14 of 16 in the 1993 Formula One World Championship
Circuito de Estoril 1972-1993.png
Race details
Date26 September 1993
Official name XXII Grande Premio de Portugal
Location Autódromo do Estoril
Estoril, Portugal
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.349 km (2.703 miles)
Distance 71 laps, 308.779 km (191.913 miles)
Weather Dry, sunny, windy
Pole position
Driver Williams-Renault
Time 1:11.494
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Damon Hill Williams-Renault
Time 1:14.859 on lap 68
Podium
First Benetton-Ford
Second Williams-Renault
Third Williams-Renault
Lap leaders
  • 1993 Portuguese Grand Prix

The 1993 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Estoril on 26 September 1993. It was the fourteenth race of the 1993 Formula One World Championship.

Contents

The 71-lap race was won by German driver Michael Schumacher, driving a Benetton-Ford. Frenchman Alain Prost finished second in his Williams-Renault, a result which secured him his fourth Drivers' Championship. Prost's British teammate Damon Hill finished third, having taken pole position before stalling on the dummy grid and having to start from the back.

The BMS Scuderia Italia team withdrew from the championship after this race. As a result of this the Formula One involvement of their chassis supplier and technical partner Lola was also ended with immediate effect until they made a brief ill-fated return with their own team at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix where they failed to qualify. Thus, this make the 1993 Portuguese Grand Prix the last time a Lola chassis actually started a Grand Prix.

Background

In between the Italian and Portuguese Grands Prix, Michael Andretti left Formula One to return to the United States, his McLaren seat being taken by Mika Häkkinen. On the Friday before the Portuguese race, Alain Prost announced his retirement from Formula One at the end of the season, with Ayrton Senna set to take his place at Williams alongside Damon Hill. [1]

Qualifying report

Once again, the Williams-Renaults filled the front row of the grid, but on this occasion Hill took pole position from Prost by just under 0.2 seconds. Häkkinen was third in the McLaren, surprisingly ahead of teammate Senna by just under 0.05 seconds, with Jean Alesi fifth in the Ferrari and Michael Schumacher sixth in the Benetton. Riccardo Patrese was seventh in the second Benetton and Gerhard Berger eighth in the second Ferrari, with Derek Warwick in the Footwork and Mark Blundell in the Ligier completing the top ten.

Qualifying classification

PosNoDriverConstructorQ1Q2Gap
10 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Damon Hill Williams-Renault 1:12.2901:11.494
22 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Williams-Renault 1:11.6831:12.762+0.189
37 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Ford 1:12.9561:12.443+0.949
48 Flag of Brazil.svg Ayrton Senna McLaren-Ford 1:12.9541:12.491+0.997
527 Flag of France.svg Jean Alesi Ferrari 1:13.6821:13.101+1.607
65 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 1:13.4031:14.135+1.909
76 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Benetton-Ford 1:14.2061:13.863+2.369
828 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger Ferrari 1:14.1591:13.933+2.439
99 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Footwork-Mugen-Honda 1:15.2001:14.388+2.894
1026 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mark Blundell Ligier-Renault 1:14.5911:14.577+3.083
1125 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle Ligier-Renault 1:14.7791:14.708+3.214
1230 Flag of Finland.svg JJ Lehto Sauber 1:14.9781:14.833+3.339
1329 Flag of Austria.svg Karl Wendlinger Sauber 1:15.0161:15.070+3.522
1412 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert Lotus-Ford 1:15.8311:15.183+3.689
1514 Flag of Brazil.svg Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 1:15.4791:15.433+3.939
1610 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Aguri Suzuki Footwork-Mugen-Honda 1:15.9681:15.491+3.997
174 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:16.0721:15.904+4.410
1811 Flag of Portugal.svg Pedro Lamy Lotus-Ford 1:17.1981:15.920+4.426
1924 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 1:15.9421:16.323+4.448
2019 Flag of France.svg Philippe Alliot Larrousse-Lamborghini 1:16.7771:16.144+4.650
213 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:16.6551:16.186+4.692
2220 Flag of France.svg Érik Comas Larrousse-Lamborghini 1:16.4171:16.998+4.923
2315 Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Naspetti Jordan-Hart 1:17.8451:16.566+5.072
2423 Flag of Brazil.svg Christian Fittipaldi Minardi-Ford 1:16.6511:16.864+5.157
2521 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Lola-Ferrari 1:17.7781:17.118+5.624
2622 Flag of Italy.svg Luca Badoer Lola-Ferrari 1:19.0641:17.739+6.245
Sources: [2] [3] [4]

Race report

Hill's engine refused to fire on the parade lap and he had to start at the back. At the start, Prost got squeezed out by the McLarens and Alesi, with Alesi getting ahead of the McLarens with Senna ahead of Häkkinen. Alesi led Senna, Häkkinen, Prost, Schumacher and Berger.

The top six stayed together but the Williamses and Schumacher were on a one-stop strategy unlike the McLarens and Ferraris. On lap 20, Senna's engine blew as Alesi, Häkkinen and Schumacher pitted, with Alesi losing out to both. This left Prost leading from Blundell, Hill, Häkkinen, Schumacher and Alesi. Schumacher passed Häkkinen on lap 25 and pulled away. Prost would stop on lap 29 but Schumacher would rejoin ahead. When Hill stopped as well, Schumacher was leading from Prost, Häkkinen, Hill, Alesi and Berger.

On lap 33, Häkkinen crashed into the wall at the last corner. Three laps later, Berger's suspension failed dramatically at the exit of the pitlane, sending him across the start-finish straight, being nearly hit by a Footwork. Blundell crashed from sixth on lap 52 as Prost began to hassle Schumacher. However, second place was enough for Prost to win the championship, so the French driver did not take any risks. Patrese was fifth but he too crashed on lap 64 into the Footwork of Derek Warwick forcing both drivers to retire. Schumacher had a minor off but still just kept his lead. Schumacher won from new World Champion Prost, Hill, Alesi, Wendlinger and Brundle.

With only two more races to go, Prost was the World Champion with 87 points but there was battle for second between Hill, Senna and Schumacher. Hill was second with 62, Senna was third with 53 and Schumacher was fourth with 52. Behind, Patrese was fifth with 20, Alesi was sixth with 13, Brundle was seventh with 12 and Herbert was eighth with 11. In the Constructors Championship, Williams were the World Champions with 149 points but there was a battle for second between Benetton with 72 and McLaren with 60. Ferrari were fourth with 23.

Race classification

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
15 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 711:32:46.309610
22 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Williams-Renault 71+ 0.98226
30 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Damon Hill Williams-Renault 71+ 8.20614
427 Flag of France.svg Jean Alesi Ferrari 71+ 1:07.60553
529 Flag of Austria.svg Karl Wendlinger Sauber 70+ 1 lap132
625 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle Ligier-Renault 70+ 1 lap111
730 Flag of Finland.svg JJ Lehto Sauber 69+ 2 laps12 
824 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 69+ 2 laps19 
923 Flag of Brazil.svg Christian Fittipaldi Minardi-Ford 69+ 2 laps24 
1019 Flag of France.svg Philippe Alliot Larrousse-Lamborghini 69+ 2 laps20 
1120 Flag of France.svg Érik Comas Larrousse-Lamborghini 68+ 3 laps22 
124 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris Tyrrell-Yamaha 68+ 3 laps17 
1314 Flag of Brazil.svg Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 68+ 3 laps15 
1422 Flag of Italy.svg Luca Badoer Lola-Ferrari 68+ 3 laps26 
159 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Footwork-Mugen-Honda 63Collision9 
166 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Benetton-Ford 63Collision7 
Ret11 Flag of Portugal.svg Pedro Lamy Lotus-Ford 61Spun off18 
Ret12 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert Lotus-Ford 60Spun off14 
Ret26 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mark Blundell Ligier-Renault 51Collision10 
Ret21 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Lola-Ferrari 38Gearbox25 
Ret28 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger Ferrari 35Suspension/accident8 
Ret7 Flag of Finland.svg Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Ford 32Accident3 
Ret10 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Aguri Suzuki Footwork-Mugen-Honda 27Gearbox16 
Ret8 Flag of Brazil.svg Ayrton Senna McLaren-Ford 19Engine4 
Ret3 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 12Spun off21 
Ret15 Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Naspetti Jordan-Hart 8Engine23 
Source: [5]

Championship standings after the race

References

  1. Henry, Alan (25 September 1993). "Prost quits, Senna shifts, Hill stays". The Guardian . London. p. 21.
  2. "Portuguese Grand Prix – Qualifying 1". Formula1.com. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  3. "Portuguese Grand Prix – Qualifying 2". Formula1.com. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  4. "1993 Portuguese Grand Prix Classification Qualifying". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  5. "1993 Portuguese Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Portugal 1993 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
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1993 Italian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1993 season
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1993 Japanese Grand Prix
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1992 Portuguese Grand Prix
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1994 Portuguese Grand Prix