Formula One motor race
Motor car race
The
1992 Belgian Grand Prix
was a
Formula One
motor race held at
Spa-Francorchamps
on 30 August 1992. It was the twelfth race of the
1992 Formula One World Championship
.
[1]
The 44-lap race was won by
Michael Schumacher
, driving a
Benetton
-
Ford
. This was the first Grand Prix win for a German driver since
Jochen Mass
at the
1975 Spanish Grand Prix
, and the first of an eventual record 91 Grand Prix wins for Schumacher (since eclipsed by
Lewis Hamilton
in 2020). New World Champion
Nigel Mansell
finished second in his
Williams
-
Renault
with teammate
Riccardo Patrese
third, thus securing the Constructors' Championship for Williams. Schumacher's win, which was the first full-length Grand Prix won by a German since
Wolfgang von Trips
's last win at the
1961 British Grand Prix
, marked the last time a
Formula One car
to win a Grand Prix while sporting a H-pattern
manual gearbox
.
[2]
This race also marked Ferrari's 500th start in a World Championship event as a team,
[3]
[nb 1]
and the last race for
Andrea Moda
.
[4]
Pre-race
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There was no pre-qualifying session at this race after the
Brabham
team did not arrive due to financial problems and the impending sale of the team. This left thirty cars, the maximum allowed in the main qualifying sessions.
[5]
Emanuele Naspetti
made his Grand Prix debut for the
March
team, replacing
Paul Belmondo
.
[5]
Qualifying
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Qualifying report
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Ligier
driver
Erik Comas
was injured and briefly knocked unconscious in a heavy crash during practice on Friday and was advised by doctors not to drive again over the weekend, so he was withdrawn from qualifying.
Ayrton Senna
encountered Comas's car on the race track, stopped to help him, and cut off the car's engine to reduce the risk of fire. Comas later credited this with likely having saved his life.
[6]
Gerhard Berger
had a 160mph crash down the hill in the wet during practice on the entrance to Eau Rouge with the back of the car catching fire, although he was uninjured.
[5]
Aside from Comas, the other three non-qualifiers included
Minardi
driver
Christian Fittipaldi
, returning after four races missed through injury. Also failing to qualify were the two
Andrea Moda
cars, this being the first time both cars had been present in the main qualifying sessions.
Roberto Moreno
could only manage 28th fastest, over five seconds slower than Fittipaldi, with
Perry McCarthy
29th after he went off the track at the 170mph
Eau Rouge
section. McCarthy reported to his team that the car's steering had jammed, and that he suspected the
steering rack
was flexing. Team boss
Andrea Sassetti
replied that the team already knew the rack was faulty because it had previously been fitted to Moreno's car, and he had reported the same problem. McCarthy quit the team after the Friday qualifying session. Moreno was a sole entry in a wet Saturday qualifying session.
Sassetti was subsequently arrested in the paddock on Saturday afternoon on allegations of forging documents and fraud.
[5]
[7]
[8]
Qualifying classification
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Race
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Race report
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At the start before La Source,
Gerhard Berger
failed to get away from sixth position and retired after an immediate transmission problem which put him out straight away. Mansell attacked and passed Senna at the end of the second lap with Patrese following suit. Then it began to rain and almost everybody pitted for wets. In the early stages of the race, Senna showed strong pace, briefly leading from the Williams. Then, when rain fell and the other front-runners made pit stops for rain tyres, the Brazilian gambled on the rain stopping and thus stayed out. He pitted late and rejoined down in 12th as Alesi went out with a puncture after colliding with Mansell at La Source.
Ivan Capelli
suffered a dramatic engine failure on lap 26 as he went straight off into the gravel trap at Blanchimont whilst battling Herbert for sixth position.
[12]
By the time
Thierry Boutsen
spun off on lap 28, the track was beginning to dry, which meant the Brazilian's gamble had failed, and the subsequent pit stop dropped him to twelfth. He then made a charge through the field, passing
Mika Hakkinen
's
Lotus
for fifth on the penultimate lap.
Johnny Herbert
retired once again with engine problems on lap 43, and was classified 13th. Schumacher took his first Grand Prix win for
Benetton
by a comfortable margin over both the Williamses of Mansell and Patrese after they both suffered engine problems in the closing laps (Mansell with a broken exhaust). The Williams duo were able to finish second and third ahead of Brundle in the other Benetton, Senna in the remaining McLaren and Hakkinen in the remaining Lotus securing the final point. Eighteen cars were classified as finishers, the highest number for the season.
[12]
In what was his 18th race a year after his debut in 1991, Schumacher achieved his first Grand Prix win, the first of 91 career wins, and the first of a record six-Belgian Grand Prix wins.
[13]
[14]
[15]
Race classification
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Championship standings after the race
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- Bold text
indicates the World Champions.
- Drivers' Championship standings
|
- Constructors' Championship standings
|
- Note
: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
Notes
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References
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Further reading
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