The 1992 Japanese Grand Prix (formally the XVIII Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Suzuka on 25 October 1992. It was the fifteenth race of the 1992 Formula One World Championship.
| 1992 Japanese Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 15 of 16 in the 1992 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 25 October 1992 | ||
| Official name | XVIII Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.860 km (3.641[1] miles) | ||
| Distance | 53 laps, 310.580 km (192.985 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry, warm, cloudy | ||
| Attendance | 332,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:37.360 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Nigel Mansell | Williams-Renault | |
| Time | 1:40.646 on lap 44 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||
| Second | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Third | Benetton-Ford | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
The 53-lap race was won by Italian driver Riccardo Patrese, driving a Williams-Renault. It was Patrese's sixth and final Grand Prix victory, and the last win for an Italian driver for over a decade, until Giancarlo Fisichella won the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix. Austrian Gerhard Berger finished second in a McLaren-Honda, with Englishman Martin Brundle third in a Benetton-Ford.
Pre-race
editTwo driver changes took place before the race: Ferrari replaced Ivan Capelli with their test driver Nicola Larini, while Karl Wendlinger left March to join Sauber's preparatory program ahead of the Swiss team's debut in 1993. His place was taken by Jan Lammers, making his first F1 start for over 10 years.[3]
Qualifying
editQualifying report
editIn qualifying, Williams' Nigel Mansell took his 13th pole position of the season, equalling the record set by Ayrton Senna in 1988 and 1989. Team-mate Riccardo Patrese was alongside him on the front row, while the McLarens of Senna and Gerhard Berger filled the second row. Michael Schumacher in the Benetton was fifth, followed by the two Lotuses of Johnny Herbert and Mika Häkkinen. The top ten was completed by Érik Comas in the Ligier, Andrea de Cesaris in the Tyrrell and Thierry Boutsen in the second Ligier.
Qualifying classification
edit| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Nigel Mansell
|
Williams-Renault | 1:37.360 | 2:07.703 | no time | |
| 2 | 6 |  Riccardo Patrese
|
Williams-Renault | 1:38.219 | 2:13.971 | +0.859 | |
| 3 | 1 |  Ayrton Senna
|
McLaren-Honda | 1:38.375 | no time | +1.015 | |
| 4 | 2 |  Gerhard Berger
|
McLaren-Honda | 1:40.296 | no time | +2.936 | |
| 5 | 19 |  Michael Schumacher
|
Benetton-Ford | 1:40.922 | 11:12.418 | +3.562 | |
| 6 | 12 | Johnny Herbert
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:41.030 | no time | +3.670 | |
| 7 | 11 |  Mika Häkkinen
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:41.415 | no time | +4.055 | |
| 8 | 26 |  Érik Comas
|
Ligier-Renault | 1:42.187 | no time | +4.827 | |
| 9 | 4 | Andrea de Cesaris
|
Tyrrell-Ilmor | 1:42.361 | no time | +5.001 | |
| 10 | 25 |  Thierry Boutsen
|
Ligier-Renault | 1:42.428 | no time | +5.068 | |
| 11 | 28 | Nicola Larini
|
Ferrari | 1:42.488 | no time | +5.128 | |
| 12 | 23 | Christian Fittipaldi
|
Minardi-Lamborghini | 1:42.617 | no time | +5.257 | |
| 13 | 20 | Martin Brundle
|
Benetton-Ford | 1:42.626 | no time | +5.266 | |
| 14 | 24 | Gianni Morbidelli
|
Minardi-Lamborghini | 1:42.627 | 2:10.260 | +5.267 | |
| 15 | 27 | Jean Alesi
|
Ferrari | 1:42.824 | no time | +5.464 | |
| 16 | 10 |  Aguri Suzuki
|
Footwork-Mugen-Honda | 1:43.029 | no time | +5.669 | |
| 17 | 32 | Stefano Modena
|
Jordan-Yamaha | 1:43.117 | 2:19.944 | +5.757 | |
| 18 | 29 | Bertrand Gachot
|
Venturi-Lamborghini | 1:43.156 | no time | +5.796 | |
| 19 | 22 | Pierluigi Martini
|
Dallara-Ferrari | 1:43.251 | no time | +5.891 | |
| 20 | 30 | Ukyo Katayama
|
Venturi-Lamborghini | 1:43.488 | 5:40.775 | +6.128 | |
| 21 | 3 | Olivier Grouillard
|
Tyrrell-Ilmor | 1:43.941 | no time | +6.581 | |
| 22 | 21 | JJ Lehto
|
Dallara-Ferrari | 1:44.037 | no time | +6.677 | |
| 23 | 16 |  Jan Lammers
|
March-Ilmor | 1:44.075 | no time | +6.715 | |
| 24 | 9 | Michele Alboreto
|
Footwork-Mugen-Honda | 1:44.149 | 2:25.413 | +6.789 | |
| 25 | 33 | Maurício Gugelmin
|
Jordan-Yamaha | 1:44.253 | no time | +6.893 | |
| 26 | 17 | Emanuele Naspetti
|
March-Ilmor | 1:47.303 | no time | +9.943 | |
| Source:[4][5][6] | |||||||
Race
editRace report
editMansell made a fast start and at the end of the first lap led Patrese by three seconds. Senna held on to third before becoming the race's first retirement on lap 3 with an engine failure. Meanwhile, Larini, who had qualified 11th, stalled on the grid and fell to last, while Boutsen's gearbox failed on lap 4. Olivier Grouillard in the second Tyrrell spun off and crashed at Spoon curve on lap 7.
Berger made an early pit stop and rejoined the race in sixth place, behind Schumacher and the two Lotuses. On lap 13, Schumacher retired with gearbox failure, his only mechanical retirement of the year; Herbert's gearbox also failed two laps later. After the mid-race pit stops for tyres, Mansell retained a comfortable lead over Patrese, while Berger moved ahead of Häkkinen into third and Martin Brundle, who had only qualified 13th in the second Benetton, moved up to fifth ahead of Comas and de Cesaris. Maurício Gugelmin in the second Jordan had also spun off the track and crashed at 130R leaving debris on the track by lap 23.
On lap 36, Mansell slowed and Patrese moved ahead. The following lap, Comas retired with an engine failure. The two Venturi Larousse cars collided at the chicanes as they were both on lap 40 at the time as Bertrand Gachot hit his Japanese teammate Ukyo Katayama and went off into the gravel trap, who managed to carry on and pit in for fresh tyres (despite making contact). On lap 45, both Mansell and Häkkinen suffered engine failures of their own; this moved Berger and Brundle into second and third respectively. Patrese cruised to his sixth and final Grand Prix victory, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Berger with Brundle a further minute back; the top six was completed by de Cesaris, Jean Alesi in the second Ferrari and Christian Fittipaldi, who scored his first point in Formula One and the only point of the season for the Minardi team.
Race classification
editChampionship standings after the race
edit- Bold text indicates the World Champions.
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
edit- ^ "1992 Japanese Grand Prix | Motorsport Database".
- ^ "Formula 1 Honda Japanese Grand Prix 2022 – Media Kit" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ^ "Jan Lammers - Biography". Formula One Rejects. Archived from the original on 21 March 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 1". formula1.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 2". formula1.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - OVERALL QUALIFYING". formula1.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "1992 Japanese Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Japan 1992 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- Henry, Alan (1992). AUTOCOURSE 1992-93. Hazleton Publishing. ISBN 0-905138-96-1.