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.

1993 Portuguese Grand Prix
Race 14 of 16 in the 1993 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 26 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 United Kingdom Damon Hill Williams-Renault
Time 1:14.859 on lap 68
Podium
First Benetton-Ford
Second Williams-Renault
Third Williams-Renault
Lap leaders

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.

Background

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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

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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

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Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
1 0   Damon Hill Williams-Renault 1:12.290 1:11.494
2 2   Alain Prost Williams-Renault 1:11.683 1:12.762 +0.189
3 7   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Ford 1:12.956 1:12.443 +0.949
4 8   Ayrton Senna McLaren-Ford 1:12.954 1:12.491 +0.997
5 27   Jean Alesi Ferrari 1:13.682 1:13.101 +1.607
6 5   Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 1:13.403 1:14.135 +1.909
7 6   Riccardo Patrese Benetton-Ford 1:14.206 1:13.863 +2.369
8 28   Gerhard Berger Ferrari 1:14.159 1:13.933 +2.439
9 9   Derek Warwick Footwork-Mugen-Honda 1:15.200 1:14.388 +2.894
10 26   Mark Blundell Ligier-Renault 1:14.591 1:14.577 +3.083
11 25   Martin Brundle Ligier-Renault 1:14.779 1:14.708 +3.214
12 30   JJ Lehto Sauber 1:14.978 1:14.833 +3.339
13 29   Karl Wendlinger Sauber 1:15.016 1:15.070 +3.522
14 12   Johnny Herbert Lotus-Ford 1:15.831 1:15.183 +3.689
15 14   Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 1:15.479 1:15.433 +3.939
16 10   Aguri Suzuki Footwork-Mugen-Honda 1:15.968 1:15.491 +3.997
17 4   Andrea de Cesaris Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:16.072 1:15.904 +4.410
18 11   Pedro Lamy Lotus-Ford 1:17.198 1:15.920 +4.426
19 24   Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 1:15.942 1:16.323 +4.448
20 19   Philippe Alliot Larrousse-Lamborghini 1:16.777 1:16.144 +4.650
21 3   Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:16.655 1:16.186 +4.692
22 20   Érik Comas Larrousse-Lamborghini 1:16.417 1:16.998 +4.923
23 15   Emanuele Naspetti Jordan-Hart 1:17.845 1:16.566 +5.072
24 23   Christian Fittipaldi Minardi-Ford 1:16.651 1:16.864 +5.157
25 21   Michele Alboreto Lola-Ferrari 1:17.778 1:17.118 +5.624
26 22   Luca Badoer Lola-Ferrari 1:19.064 1:17.739 +6.245
Sources:[2][3][4]

Race report

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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

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5   Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford 71 1:32:46.309 6 10
2 2   Alain Prost Williams-Renault 71 + 0.982 2 6
3 0   Damon Hill Williams-Renault 71 + 8.206 1 4
4 27   Jean Alesi Ferrari 71 + 1:07.605 5 3
5 29   Karl Wendlinger Sauber 70 + 1 lap 13 2
6 25   Martin Brundle Ligier-Renault 70 + 1 lap 11 1
7 30   JJ Lehto Sauber 69 + 2 laps 12  
8 24   Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 69 + 2 laps 19  
9 23   Christian Fittipaldi Minardi-Ford 69 + 2 laps 24  
10 19   Philippe Alliot Larrousse-Lamborghini 69 + 2 laps 20  
11 20   Érik Comas Larrousse-Lamborghini 68 + 3 laps 22  
12 4   Andrea de Cesaris Tyrrell-Yamaha 68 + 3 laps 17  
13 14   Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Hart 68 + 3 laps 15  
14 22   Luca Badoer Lola-Ferrari 68 + 3 laps 26  
15 9   Derek Warwick Footwork-Mugen-Honda 63 Collision 9  
16 6   Riccardo Patrese Benetton-Ford 63 Collision 7  
Ret 11   Pedro Lamy Lotus-Ford 61 Spun off 18  
Ret 12   Johnny Herbert Lotus-Ford 60 Spun off 14  
Ret 26   Mark Blundell Ligier-Renault 51 Collision 10  
Ret 21   Michele Alboreto Lola-Ferrari 38 Gearbox 25  
Ret 28   Gerhard Berger Ferrari 35 Suspension/accident 8  
Ret 7   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Ford 32 Accident 3  
Ret 10   Aguri Suzuki Footwork-Mugen-Honda 27 Gearbox 16  
Ret 8   Ayrton Senna McLaren-Ford 19 Engine 4  
Ret 3   Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 12 Spun off 21  
Ret 15   Emanuele Naspetti Jordan-Hart 8 Engine 23  
Source:[5]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Bold text indicates the World Champions.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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  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. ^ a b "Portugal 1993 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.


Previous race:
1993 Italian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1993 season
Next race:
1993 Japanese Grand Prix
Previous race:
1992 Portuguese Grand Prix
Portuguese Grand Prix Next race:
1994 Portuguese Grand Prix