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The XXXVIII Sega European Grand Prix, otherwise known as the 1993 European Grand Prix, was the third round of the 1993 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire, UK, on the 11 April 1993.[1] The race would see Ayrton Senna claim what was is widely regarded as his greatest victory, battling torrential rain and changeable conditions.[1]

The trip to Donington Park would mark the return of the European Grand Prix to the F1 calendar, which had last been staged at Brands Hatch in 1985.[1] The concept returned after the proposed Asian Grand Prix at Autopolis failed to materialise, resulting in an April trip to the centre of the United Kingdom.[1]

Qualifying would see Alain Prost duel for pole position with Williams-Renault teammate Damon Hill, with the former emerging ahead.[1] Michael Schumacher was best of the rest in his updated Benetton-Ford Cosworth, with Senna starting in fourth for McLaren-Ford Cosworth.[1]

The race itself would be heralded by heavy rain, with the entire field starting on wet tyres.[1] Prost duly eased away to claim an early lead ahead of Hill, while Schumacher was so focused on keeping Senna at bay into the first corner that he allowed the new Sauber of Karl Wendlinger to slither its way through to third.[1]

That sparked what would go down in history as one of the greatest opening laps in F1 history, with Senna sweeping past Schumacher through Redgate, before slithering ahead of Wendlinger at the Craner Curves.[1] The Brazilian then dived past Hill as they hit the brakes for Coppice Corner, before reeling in Prost down the back straight to lunge past the #2 Williams into the Melbourne Hairpin.[1]

With that Senna was away, as behind Wendlinger and Senna's teammate Michael Andretti smashed into one-another.[1] That promoted Rubens Barrichello into the top four, the Brazilian having passed Schumacher on the opening lap, while Prost and Hill retained second and third.[1]

Once the rain passed the circuit quickly began to dry, with the first stops for slicks coming on lap ten, with Prost briefly leading when Senna made his stop.[1] However, moments after the Frenchman made his stop the rain would return, prompting him to abandon second in favour of another set of wets.[1]

Hill followed his teammate in, while Senna held out for four laps before he made his stop, only for the rain to stop again and the lead trio to stop for slicks.[1] This time, however, Senna's pitcrew would cost the Brazilian twenty seconds, handing the lead back to Prost.[1]

However, just as the field got their tyres up to temperature the rain once again began to pound the circuit, prompting Prost and Hill to sweep into the pits once more.[1] Senna, in-contrast, would gamble on the rain passing as quickly as it had before, and hence opted not to stop to regain the lead.[1]

That ultimately proved to be the right call, for no sooner had Prost and Hill rejoined then they were sent back into the pits for slick tyres.[1] This time it was Prost who had the issue, losing a full lap after stalling, while Barrichello moved into second, opting to stay out on wets in hopes of seeing the rain return.[1]

The rain did indeed return, although by that staged the young Brazilian had burned through his wets and stopped for slicks.[1] Senna, meanwhile, would sweep into the pits, only to see that his pitcrew were not ready to make the change.[1] He duly shot through the pitlane, recording fastest lap as he did so, only for the rain to stop midway through the next lap resulting in Senna deciding to stay out.[1]

For one final time the rain would return, with everyone, including Senna, swapping to wets for a final fling.[1] Senna duly powered home to claim victory, almost a full lap ahead of Hill, while Barichello was denied a brilliant third place late on by a fuel pressure issue, handing the final podium spot to Prost.[1]

Background[]

Victory for Ayrton Senna saw the Brazilian move to his familiar lead position in the Championship, leaving his home race six clear of former leader Alain Prost. Their closest challenger after the opening two rounds was Damon Hill, with the Brit tied on six points with compatriot Mark Blundell. Michael Schumacher, meanwhile, would round out the top five, with ten drivers on the board after the opening two races.

In the Constructors Championship, meanwhile, it was a tie for the lead, with Williams-Renault and McLaren-Ford Cosworth ending the weekend level on sixteen points. Third, meanwhile, would be occupied by Ligier-Renault, already ten off the lead duo, while Benetton-Ford Cosworth and Lotus-Ford Cosworth completed the top five. Those two were similarly tied on four points apiece, with eight constructors having already scored in 1993.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1993 European Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
0 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Canon Williams Team Williams FW15C Renault RS5 3.5 V10 G
2 France Alain Prost United Kingdom Canon Williams Team Williams FW15C Renault RS5 3.5 V10 G
3 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Tyrrell Racing Organisation Tyrrell 020C Yamaha OX10A 3.5 V10 G
4 Italy Andrea de Cesaris United Kingdom Tyrrell Racing Organisation Tyrrell 020C Yamaha OX10A 3.5 V10 G
5 Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom Camel Benetton Ford Benetton B193B Ford Cosworth HBA7 3.5 V8 G
6 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Camel Benetton Ford Benetton B193B Ford Cosworth HBA7 3.5 V8 G
7 United States Michael Andretti United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/8 Ford Cosworth HBE7 3.5 V8 G
8 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/8 Ford Cosworth HBE7 3.5 V8 G
9 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Footwork Mugen Honda Footwork FA14 Mugen-Honda MF351HB 3.5 V10 G
10 Japan Aguri Suzuki United Kingdom Footwork Mugen Honda Footwork FA14 Mugen-Honda MF351HB 3.5 V10 G
11 Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Team Lotus Lotus 107B Ford Cosworth HBD6 3.5 V8 G
12 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Team Lotus Lotus 107B Ford Cosworth HBD6 3.5 V8 G
14 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Sasol Jordan Jordan 193 Hart 1035 3.5 V10 G
15 Belgium Thierry Boutsen Ireland Sasol Jordan Jordan 193 Hart 1035 3.5 V10 G
19 France Philippe Alliot France Larrousse F1 Larrousse LH93 Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12 G
20 France Érik Comas France Larrousse F1 Larrousse LH93 Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12 G
21 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy BMS Lola Scuderia Italia Lola T93/30 Ferrari 040 3.5 V12 G
22 Italy Luca Badoer Italy BMS Lola Scuderia Italia Lola T93/30 Ferrari 040 3.5 V12 G
23 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi M193 Ford HBC6 3.5 V8 G
24 Italy Fabrizio Barbazza Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi M193 Ford HBC6 3.5 V8 G
25 United Kingdom Martin Brundle France Ligier Gitanes Blondes Ligier JS39 Renault RS5 3.5 V10 G
26 United Kingdom Mark Blundell France Ligier Gitanes Blondes Ligier JS39 Renault RS5 3.5 V10 G
27 France Jean Alesi Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari F93A Ferrari 041 3.5 V12 G
28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari F93A Ferrari 041 3.5 V12 G
29 Austria Karl Wendlinger Switzerland Team Sauber F1 Sauber C12 Sauber 2175A 3.5 V10 G
30 Finland JJ Lehto Switzerland Team Sauber F1 Sauber C12 Sauber 2175A 3.5 V10 G
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Friday Qualifying[]

Saturday Qualifying[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1993 European Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
Q1 Q2
1 2 France Alain Prost United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:24.467 1:10.458
2 0 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:24.014 1:10.762 +0.304s
3 5 Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 1:26.264 1:12.008 +1.550s
4 8 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth 1:23.976 1:12.107 +1.649s
5 29 Austria Karl Wendlinger Switzerland Sauber 1:26.805 1:12.738 +2.280s
6 7 United States Michael Andretti United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth 1:26.859 1:12.739 +2.281s
7 30 Finland JJ Lehto Switzerland Sauber 1:25.469 1:12.763 +2.305s
8 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Ferrari 1:25.971 1:12.862 +2.404s
9 27 France Jean Alesi Italy Ferrari 1:25.699 1:12.980 +2.522s
10 6 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 1:27.273 1:12.982 +2.524s
11 12 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth 1:27.173 1:13.328 +2.870s
12 14 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Jordan-Hart 1:26.557 1:13.514 +3.056s
13 11 Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth 1:28.782 1:13.560 +3.102s
14 9 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Footwork-Mugen-Honda 1:28.096 1:13.664 +3.206s
15 19 France Philippe Alliot France Larrousse-Lamborghini 1:28.648 1:13.665 +3.207s
16 23 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:28.065 1:13.666 +3.208s
17 20 France Érik Comas France Larrousse-Lamborghini 1:29.310 1:13.970 +3.512s
18 3 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:29.851 1:14.121 +3.663s
19 15 Belgium Thierry Boutsen Ireland Jordan-Hart 1:28.701 1:14.246 +3.788s
20 24 Italy Fabrizio Barbazza Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:27.275 1:14.274 +3.816s
21 26 United Kingdom Mark Blundell France Ligier-Renault 1:27.302 1:14.301 +3.843s
22 25 United Kingdom Martin Brundle France Ligier-Renault 1:26.788 1:14.306 +3.848s
23 10 Japan Aguri Suzuki United Kingdom Footwork-Mugen-Honda 1:30.107 1:14.927 +4.469s
24 21 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Lola-Ferrari 1:30.049 1:15.322 +4.864s
25 4 Italy Andrea de Cesaris United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:29.177 1:15.417 +4.959s
DNQ 22 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Lola-Ferrari 1:31.178 1:15.641 +5.183s
Source:[3][4][5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Alain Prost
Damon Hill ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Michael Schumacher
Ayrton Senna ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Karl Wendlinger
Michael Andretti ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 JJ Lehto*
Gerhard Berger ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Jean Alesi
Riccardo Patrese ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Johnny Herbert
Rubens Barrichello ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Alex Zanardi
Derek Warwick ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Philippe Alliot
Christian Fittipaldi ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Érik Comas
Ukyo Katayama ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Thierry Boutsen
Fabrizio Barbazza ______________
Row 11 ______________ 21
22 Mark Blundell
Martin Brundle ______________
Row 12 ______________ 23
24 Aguri Suzuki
Michele Alboreto ______________
Row 13 ______________ 25
26 Andrea de Cesaris
______________
  • * Lehto would start the race from the pitlane.[5]

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 1993 European Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 8 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth 76 1:50:46.570 4 10
2 0 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Williams-Renault 76 +1:23.199 2 6
3 2 France Alain Prost United Kingdom Williams-Renault 75 +1 Lap 1 4
4 12 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth 75 +1 Lap 11 3
5 6 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 74 +2 Laps 10 2
6 24 Italy Fabrizio Barbazza Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 74 +2 Laps 20 1
7 23 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 73 +3 Laps 16
8 11 Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth 72 +4 Laps 13
9 20 France Érik Comas France Larrousse-Lamborghini 72 +4 Laps 17
10* 14 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Jordan-Hart 70 Fuel pressure 12
11 21 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Lola-Ferrari 70 +6 Laps 24
Ret 9 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Footwork-Mugen-Honda 66 Gearbox 14
Ret 15 Belgium Thierry Boutsen Ireland Jordan-Hart 61 Throttle 19
Ret 4 Italy Andrea de Cesaris United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 55 Gearbox 25
Ret 27 France Jean Alesi Italy Ferrari 36 Gearbox 9
Ret 10 Japan Aguri Suzuki United Kingdom Footwork-Mugen-Honda 29 Gearbox 23
Ret 19 France Philippe Alliot France Larrousse-Lamborghini 27 Collision 15
Ret 5 Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 22 Spin 3
Ret 26 United Kingdom Mark Blundell France Ligier-Renault 20 Spin 21
Ret 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Ferrari 19 Suspension 8
Ret 30 Finland JJ Lehto Switzerland Sauber 13 Handling 7
Ret 3 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 11 Clutch 18
Ret 25 United Kingdom Martin Brundle France Ligier-Renault 7 Spin 22
Ret 29 Austria Karl Wendlinger Switzerland Sauber 0 Collision 5
Ret 7 United States Michael Andretti United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth 0 Collision 6
DNQ 22 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Lola-Ferrari
Source:[6]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Barrichello was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[6]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Ayrton Senna would leave Donington Park with a well enhanced Championship lead after the opening three rounds, ending the weekend on 26 points. That meant that the Brazilian was twelve clear of closest challenger and arch-rival Alain Prost, meaning Senna could already afford to miss a race and still retain his lead. Elsewhere, Damon Hill had retained third ahead of Mark Blundell, while Johnny Herbert completed the top five.

In the Constructors Championship it had been another dead-heat between Williams-Renault and McLaren-Ford Cosworth, with the two British squads leaving Donington with 26 points apiece. It was the latter who led the Championship, however, having registered two wins to Williams' one, before a nineteen point gap back to the team in third. That team would be former F1 giants Lotus-Ford Cosworth, who found themselves a point clear of Benetton-Ford Cosworth and Ligier-Renault.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Brazil Ayrton Senna 26
2 France Alain Prost 14
3 United Kingdom Damon Hill 12
4 United Kingdom Mark Blundell 6
5 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert 6 ▲1
6 Germany Michael Schumacher 4 ▼1
7 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 3
8 Finland JJ Lehto 2
9 Italy Riccardo Patrese 2 ▲8
10 Italy Alex Zanardi 1
11 Austria Gerhard Berger 1 ▼2
12 Italy Fabrizio Barbazza 1 ▲5
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth 26 ▲1
2 United Kingdom Williams-Renault 26 ▼1
3 United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth 7 ▲2
4 France Ligier-Renault 6 ▼1
5 United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 6 ▼1
6 Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 4
7 Switzerland Sauber 2
8 Italy Ferrari 1

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 'European GP, 1993', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2019), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr535.html, (Accessed 25/07/2019)
  2. 'Brazil 1993: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1993/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 25/07/2019)
  3. 'SEGA European Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1993/races/592/europe/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 25/07/2019)
  4. 'SEGA European Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1993/races/592/europe/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 25/07/2019)
  5. 5.0 5.1 'Europe 1993', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1993/europe/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 25/07/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 'Europe 1993: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1993/europe/classement.aspx, (Accessed 25/07/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 '1993 European GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1993&gp=European%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 25/07/2019)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 '3. Europe 1993', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1993/europe.aspx, (Accessed 25/07/2019)
V T E Promotional Trophy
Races 197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
V T E Europe European Grand Prix
Circuits Brands Hatch (1983, 1985), Nürburgring (1984, 1995–1996, 1999–2007), Donington (1993), Jerez (1994, 1997), Valencia (2008–2012), Baku (2016) Baku City Circuit
Races 19501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969–19711972197319741975197619771978–19821983198419851986–1992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013–20152016
Non-Championship Races 192319241925192619271928192919301931–1946194719481949
V T E 1993 Formula One Season
Teams Williams • Tyrrell • Benetton • McLaren • Footwork • Lotus • Jordan • Larrousse • Lola • Minardi • Ligier • Ferrari • Sauber
Engines Ferrari • Ford • Hart • Lamborghini • Mugen-Honda • Renault • Sauber • Yamaha
Drivers Hill • 2 Prost • 3 Katayama • 4 De Cesaris • 5 Schumacher • 6 Patrese • 7 Andretti • 7 Häkkinen • 8 Senna • 9 Warwick • 10 A. Suzuki • 11 Zanardi • 11 Lamy • 12 Herbert • 14 Barrichello • 15 Capelli • 15 Boutsen • 15 Apicella • 15 Naspetti • 15 Irvine • 19 Alliot • 19 T. Suzuki • 20 Comas • 21 Alboreto • 22 Badoer • 23 Fittipaldi • 23 Gounon • 24 Barbazza • 24 Martini • 25 Brundle • 26 Blundell • 27 Alesi • 28 Berger • 29 Wendlinger • 30 Lehto
Other Drivers Coulthard • McNish • Montermini • Verstappen
Cars Williams FW15C • Tyrrell 020C • Tyrrell 021 • Benetton B193 • Benetton B193B • McLaren MP4/8 • Footwork FA13B • Footwork FA14 • Lotus 107B • Jordan 193 • Larrousse LH93 • Lola T93/30 • Minardi M193 • Ligier JS39 • Ferrari F93A • Sauber C12
Tyres Goodyear
Races South Africa • Brazil • Europe • San Marino • Spain • Monaco • Canada • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • Portugal • Japan • Australia
See also 1992 Formula One Season • 1994 Formula One Season • Category
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