Golden GP - a look back
Senna won in what was one of the best tactical races in F1 history
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Friday, 21, Aug 2009 08:00
By Adam Leveridge
The 1993 formula one season saw a major shake-up of drivers. There were a number of retirements at the end of the previous year, leaving room for the new breed to talent to move up from the lower classes to the pinnacle of motorsport.
Nigel Mansell opted not to defend his world championship title with Williams and moved on to racing in the US Indycar series.
Alain Prost returned to the sport, signing with Williams as Mansell's replacement alongside British rookie Damon Hill, who would appear on the podium in only his second race of the season in Brazil.
Uncertainty also surrounded McLaren, as Ayrton Senna was apprehensive about signing with the British team when they lost their engine supply deal with Honda.
Senna eventually decided to sign on a race-by-race basis and was partnered up with Indycar racer Michael Andretti for most of the season, until Mika Hakkinen, who had impressed with Lotus in 1991 and 1992, took over.
Going into the European grand prix, which was hosted by the Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire, Senna led the standings over Prost, but it was the Williams Renault driver who was tipped to dominate the third round of the 1993 season.
British rookie Hill in the second Williams was also expected to perform well at his home circuit after securing a second place at the previous grand prix in Brazil, and was even tipped to secure his first career win at Donington.
The Williams pairing started the race from the front row of the grid with Prost on pole, ahead of the Benetton of Michael Schumacher third and Senna in the first of the McLarens in fourth.
The top four got away well from the start, but it was Karl Wendlinger in the black Sauber who got the best launch, moving up ahead of Schumacher.
As the field tiptoed into the damp Redgate corner for the first time, Senna got hounded by the rest of the field and fell back down the order.
The Brazilian immediately set about clawing his way back - setting up Wendlinger for a pass as the pack streaked down through the Craner Curves - diving around the outside of the Austrian in treacherous conditions at the Old Hairpin.
As soon as Wendlinger was out of the way, Senna immediately went after Hill who had managed to hold on to second place at the start.
The Brazilian wasted no time and performed a well-timed lunge up the inside of the Williams Renault driver as the pair negotiated McLean's corner on lap one.
The first retirements of the race came on the opening lap, when the quick starting Wendlinger collided with Michael Andretti at Coppice corner, sending the McLaren into the gravel.
At this point in the season Andretti had yet to finish a race.
Towards the end of the opening lap, Senna had closed the gap to his arch nemesis Prost and made a well-executed move up the inside of the Frenchman at the Melbourne hairpin to snatch the lead.
Unlike Prost, Senna was clearly enjoying the tricky conditions and he proceeded to pull away from the Williams driver, who was now being hassled by Hill.
Astonishingly, in his maiden F1 season, Rubens Barrichello in the Jordan had climbed up to fourth position ahead of Jean Alesi's Ferrari and Schumacher's Benetton.
Having been drenched by a rain shower before the start of the race, the circuit continued to dry out and Martin Brundle in the Ligier was the first of the runners to react to the ever-improving conditions by pitting for a set of slicks.
Unfortunately for Brundle, it proved to be too early to change on to dry tyres and the Brit span out from the race on his out-lap from the pits while under braking for The Esses.
But the lap times continued to fall and Prost began to reel in Senna again.
Hill was the first of the front-runners to pit for slicks; the Williams team performing a flawless pit-stop and getting the Brit out on a clear piece of track.
The race leader immediately followed Hill's example, pitting one lap later for dry tyres in an attempt to retain his diminishing five-second advantage over his championship challenger.
Prost took over as race leader for one lap, until he made his first stop of the afternoon.
The Frenchman's stop went smoothly and the Williams crew managed to get their driver out of the pits in 7.3 seconds, although this wasn't enough for Prost to leapfrog Senna.
On lap 20 the rain began to fall again. Prost decided to gamble on a new set of wet tyres and dived into the pits at the first available opportunity.
Michael Schumacher then demonstrated how treacherous the conditions were becoming by beaching his Benetton in the gravel on lap 21.
Senna on the other hand, remained on slicks for the time being and was still lapping over a second quicker than Prost on the wet tyres.
Hill then pitted on lap 25, promoting Barrichello up to second place, but Prost was soon climbing all over the Brazilian's Jordan.
The Renault's superior power proved to be ineffective in the moist conditions, but Prost kept his cool and the perfect opportunity to pass the young Brazilian eventually came as the pair streaked down the Craner Curves and into the Old Hairpin.
At this very moment, Senna decided to bite the bullet and pit to take on wets.
The McLaren driver exited the pits in clear air following a smooth stop, and retained a 13.7 second cushion over his nearest challenger who was now pulling away fro Barrichello at a rate of knots.
On lap 34, the gap between the leaders had diminished to just over seven seconds.
By this time the track was almost bone dry and Prost was the first to react to the change in conditions by fitting slick tyres.
Senna followed suit the next time around, but a problem fitting the right-rear wheel nut meant the Brazilian lost chunks of time, allowing Prost to cruise past and into the lead of the race once again.
By the time McLaren had released Senna, the Williams driver had built up a lead of seven seconds.
Barrichello remained in a magnificent third place at half distance, three seconds ahead of Hill who was being trailed by Alesi, Johnny Herbert and Riccardo Patrese.
Responding to Prost's new found speed Senna set a new fastest lap, reeling in the Williams by seven-tenths of a second per lap.
The rain then started to fall again and, as always, Prost was the first to jump.
As before, Senna opted to stay out on slicks, retaking the lead from Prost.
This proved to be the right decision, as the rain stopped just as quickly as it had started and Prost was forced to return to the pits immediately to change back to dry tyres.
The stop effectively destroyed the race for the Frenchman, as he stalled his car when leaving his pit box.
The Williams crew tried frantically to get the Renault engine started, but the car was jammed in gear and it took over 40 seconds to get the car back out on track.
Prost eventually got going again, but any chance of winning the race had completely evaporated - along with the puddles of water.
Senna now had a lead of 1m 12s over his fellow Brazilian Barrichello and looked to be well on his way to his 38th career victory and his second consecutive win of the 1993 season.
Prost was lapped by his rookie team-mate Hill on lap 54, but was forced into the pits again to tighten a loose wheel.
On lap 55 Senna entered the pits, expecting the McLaren team to be ready with a new set of wet tyres.
But unbelievably the team weren't expecting the Brazilian for another lap, so Senna drove straight through the pit-lane and back on to the circuit, before entering the pits again the next time around.
Hill leapfrogged Barrichello for second place during the final round of pit stops, not that this mattered because Barrichello would throw away any chance of a podium finish by beaching his car in the gravel. A bitter blow for the Brazilian.
From this point onwards, Senna could cruise home to victory. McLaren read the race perfectly and helped the Brazilian to win one of the best tactical races in F1 history.
Hill crossed the finish line to take second place and Prost took advantage of Barrichello's misfortune to clinch the third and final place on the podium.
This impressive strategic victory meant Senna led the championship going into the San Marino grand prix at Imola.
Prost remained in second place, 12 points behind the McLaren driver, but Hill had managed to close the gap to his team-mate in the drivers' championship and was now within two points of the Frenchman.
In the constructors' standings, McLaren and Williams were tied for first place with 26 points, their closest challenger Lotus sitting in third with just seven points.
Prost would clinch a total of seven race wins in 1993 and would go on to be crowned world champion at the end of the season with 99 points compared to Senna's 73.