1993 Belgian Grand Prix
| 1993 Belgian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 12 of 16 in the 1993 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | August 29, 1993 | ||
| Official name | LI Grand Prix de Belgique | ||
| Location | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 6.940 km (4.312 miles) | ||
| Distance | 44 laps, 305.341 km (189.730 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny and clear | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:47.571 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Alain Prost | Williams-Renault | |
| Time | 1:51.095 on lap 41 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||
| Second | Benetton-Renault | ||
| Third | Williams-Renault | ||
The 1993 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on August 29, 1993. It was the twelfth round of the 1993 Formula One season. Damon Hill scored a second successive victory. Alain Prost was leading the race and looked set to win, but a miscommunication during his second pitstop cost him time and he dropped behind Hill and Michael Schumacher. Williams' 1-3 finish clinched the Constructors' Championship for them.
Lotus driver Alex Zanardi was withdrawn from the meeting following a huge crash in Friday practice, which ultimately ended his season. In the race itself, his team-mate Johnny Herbert scored the team's final points. Local driver Thierry Boutsen retired from Formula One following the race.
Qualifying
In Belgium, the grid was similar to Hungary with Williamses 1-2 in qualifying, Prost taking pole ahead of Hill, Schumacher, Alesi, Senna and Suzuki.
Race
At the start, Senna got ahead of both Schumacher and Alesi with Alesi also getting by Schumacher. The order at the end of lap 1 was: Prost, Senna, Hill, Alesi, Schumacher and Suzuki.
Alesi retired then with suspension troubles on lap 4, releasing Schumacher. Schumacher then set off after Senna and went to the grass to pass him on lap 10. The first stops did not change anything, with Prost leading from Hill, Schumacher, Senna, Suzuki and Herbert. Suzuki's gearbox failed on lap 15 and he retired. Prost had troubles during his second stop, and when Hill and Schumacher had made theirs, they were ahead.
Prost smashed the lap record on lap 41 in his chase of Schumacher, but he found out that he was just a tenth quicker and settled for third. Hill won, wrapping up the Constructors Championship for Williams with Schumacher and Prost close behind ahead of Senna, Herbert and Patrese.
Thus, with three-quarters of the season gone, Prost was a full 28 points ahead and could sense the championship, having 81 points to Senna's 53. Hill was third with 48, Schumacher was fourth with 42, Patrese was fifth with 18, Brundle was sixth with 11, Herbert was seventh with 11 and Blundell was eighth with 10. In the Constructors Championship, Williams were World Champions with 129 points ahead of Benetton who were second with 60, McLaren close behind in third with 56 and Ligier a surprising fourth with 21 - their best performance in some years.
Classification
Standings after the race
- Bold Text indicates World Champions.
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- "The Official Formula 1 website". Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- Henry, Alan (1993). AUTOCOURSE 1993-94. Hazleton Publishing. ISBN 1-874557-15-2.