The was the 43th
FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on
March 1 ,
1992 , and ended on
November 8 after sixteen races.
This season was dominated by the Williams Renault team. The Williams FW14B car literally blew away the opposition for the majority of the season.
Nigel Mansell won nine Grand Prix during the season, setting a record that wouldn't be matched until 1995. Mansell won the Driver's Championship at the
Hungarian Grand Prix . 1992 was to be Nigel's last full F1 season. He went to
Indycars in 1993, joining the
Newman Haas team.
Riccardo Patrese didn't have a strong season, and he only won a single race, at Suzuka. Patrese was very much a number two driver in 1992, handing victory to Mansell at the
French Grand Prix . The Williams Renault team had a significant car advantage and superior reliability. The other teams did less testing than Williams, and Mansell wondered if the other teams gave up!
Alain Prost had a sabbatical year, after being fired from
Ferrari at the end of 1991. In 1992 he occupied his time by doing commentary for a French TV station. Alain tested for
Ligier in 1992, and he secretly wanted to buy the French team. He would eventually buy the team in 1997.
It was a tough year for
Ayrton Senna and the McLaren team. The Honda V12 was no longer the most powerful engine in F1, and to make matters worse they started the 1992 season with an updated version of the 1991 car - the MP4/6B. The car was not a match for the cutting-edge Williams FW14B, and the 1992 car didn't make its debut until the
Brazilian Grand Prix . The new MP4/7 suffered from reliability issues. This was proven at the Brazilian Grand Prix, when both cars retired from the race within the first two laps! However, the MP4/7 McLaren improved during the season, but it was never a true match for the Williams. Senna was thinking about moving to Williams, and his old rival Prost had signed with the team for 1993. Prost allegedly blocked the team's efforts to sign the Brazilian. Senna was infuriated, and called Prost a coward in a press conference at Estoril. 1992 was
Gerhard Berger 's final season with McLaren. The Austrian wanted to move out of Senna's shadow. Berger won the Canadian and Australian Grand Prix, before moving to Ferrari for 1993. Honda bowed out of F1 at the end of the season, but returned a few years later.
Benetton's
Michael Schumacher won his first ever Grand Prix at
Spa Francorchamps . This was to be the beginning of record-breaking career for the German, who would go on to win the 1994 and 1995 F1 World Championships with Benetton, plus five championships with Ferrari (2000-2004). Schumacher's team mate Martin Brundle had the best season of his F1 career. He finished on the podium at the
British Grand Prix , and put in some good performances. Schumacher had the edge on Brundle, and Brundle didn't get a Benetton drive for 1993.
Ferrari were in a mess in 1992.
Jean Alesi and
Ivan Capelli were given poor equipment, which was well off the pace. The car's reliability wasn't particularly good, either. Alesi put in some good performances, even though he retired ten times! Capelli looked poor, and was replaced for 1993.
Debutants in 1992 included
Paul Belmondo ,
Damon Hill ,
Emanuele Naspetti ,
Andrea Chiesa ,
Ukyo Katayama , and
Christian Fittipaldi .
Giovanna Amati and
Perry McCarthy tried their hand at F1 in 1992, but failed to qualify in mediocre equipment.
The
Andrea Moda team were simply appalling. There were rumours that
Perry McCarthy 's car arrived at the
Spanish Grand Prix without an engine. The team were so poor that they couldn't afford a powerplant! McCarthy's car "participated" in the Friday practice session. The car was seen creeping along the downward-sloping pitlane, before grinding to a halt on a level section of tarmac. Perry did no more "driving" in the race meeting!
The following
Teams and
Drivers competed in the
1992 FIA Formula One World Championship .
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