| 1993 French Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 16 in the1993 Formula One World Championship | |||
.svg) | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 4 July 1993 | ||
| Official name | Rhône-Poulenc Grand Prix de France | ||
| Location | Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours Magny-Cours,France | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.250 km (2.651 miles) | ||
| Distance | 72 laps, 306.000 km (190.892 miles) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:14.382 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Michael Schumacher | Benetton-Ford | |
| Time | 1:19.256 on lap 47 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||
| Second | Williams-Renault | ||
| Third | Benetton-Ford | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1993 French Grand Prix was aFormula One motor race held atMagny-Cours on 4 July 1993. It was the eighth race of the1993 Formula One World Championship.
The 72-lap race was won by home favouriteAlain Prost, driving aWilliams-Renault, after he started from second position. Prost's British teammateDamon Hill finished second, having started frompole position and led the first 26 laps, with GermanMichael Schumacher third in aBenetton-Ford. With Prost's Brazilian rivalAyrton Senna finishing fourth in hisMcLaren-Ford, Prost extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship to 12 points.
The race marked Prost's 100th Formula One podium, making him the first driver to achieve the milestone.[1] It was also the last Grand Prix forFabrizio Barbazza.[2]
This was the first race to feature BBC commentary from Jonathan Palmer, replacing James Hunt after his death following the Canadian Grand Prix. Palmer would partner Murray Walker until the conclusion of the 1996 season when the television rights went to ITV for 1997.
With local heroAlain Prost taking pole position in all of the previous seven races, there was a massive turnout for qualifying where theWilliams were usually dominant. The Williams did take 1-2 in qualifying, but it wasDamon Hill who took his first Formula One pole, 0.142 seconds ahead of Prost. TheLigier team, in its home race, filled the second row withMartin Brundle ahead ofMark Blundell, and thus completed a 1-2-3-4 forRenault-powered cars.Ayrton Senna in theMcLaren andJean Alesi in theFerrari were on the third row,Michael Schumacher in theBenetton andRubens Barrichello in theJordan made up the fourth, and theLarrousse team, also contesting its home race, took up the fifth withÉrik Comas ahead ofPhilippe Alliot. For the fourth time in five races,Michele Alboreto came last in hisLola and thus failed to qualify.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |  Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | 1:15.051 | 1:14.382 | |
| 2 | 2 |  Alain Prost | Williams-Renault | 1:15.725 | 1:14.524 | +0.142 |
| 3 | 25 | Martin Brundle | Ligier-Renault | 1:16.847 | 1:16.169 | +1.787 |
| 4 | 26 | Mark Blundell | Ligier-Renault | 1:16.834 | 1:16.203 | +1.821 |
| 5 | 8 |  Ayrton Senna | McLaren-Ford | 1:16.782 | 1:16.264 | +1.882 |
| 6 | 27 | Jean Alesi | Ferrari | 1:16.825 | 1:16.662 | +2.280 |
| 7 | 5 | Michael Schumacher | Benetton-Ford | 1:16.720 | 1:16.745 | +2.338 |
| 8 | 14 | Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Hart | 1:17.345 | 1:17.168 | +2.786 |
| 9 | 20 | Érik Comas | Larrousse-Lamborghini | 1:18.180 | 1:17.170 | +2.788 |
| 10 | 19 | Philippe Alliot | Larrousse-Lamborghini | 1:18.230 | 1:17.190 | +2.808 |
| 11 | 29 |  Karl Wendlinger | Sauber | 1:17.650 | 1:17.315 | +2.933 |
| 12 | 6 |  Riccardo Patrese | Benetton-Ford | 1:17.675 | 1:17.362 | +2.980 |
| 13 | 10 |  Aguri Suzuki | Footwork-Mugen-Honda | 1:17.441 | 1:17.518 | +3.059 |
| 14 | 28 | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1:18.741 | 1:17.456 | +3.074 |
| 15 | 9 | Derek Warwick | Footwork-Mugen-Honda | 1:19.180 | 1:17.598 | +3.216 |
| 16 | 7 |  Michael Andretti | McLaren-Ford | 1:18.585 | 1:17.659 | +3.277 |
| 17 | 11 | Alessandro Zanardi | Lotus-Ford | 1:18.331 | 1:17.706 | +3.324 |
| 18 | 30 |  JJ Lehto | Sauber | 1:19.252 | 1:17.812 | +3.430 |
| 19 | 12 | Johnny Herbert | Lotus-Ford | 1:17.862 | 1:18.104 | +3.480 |
| 20 | 15 |  Thierry Boutsen | Jordan-Hart | 1:18.685 | 1:17.997 | +3.615 |
| 21 | 3 | Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:20.553 | 1:19.143 | +4.761 |
| 22 | 22 | Luca Badoer | Lola-Ferrari | 1:21.931 | 1:19.493 | +5.111 |
| 23 | 23 | Christian Fittipaldi | Minardi-Ford | 1:19.968 | 1:19.519 | +5.137 |
| 24 | 24 | Fabrizio Barbazza | Minardi-Ford | 1:21.113 | 1:19.691 | +5.309 |
| 25 | 4 | Andrea de Cesaris | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:21.024 | 1:19.856 | +5.474 |
| DNQ | 21 | Michele Alboreto | Lola-Ferrari | 1:22.106 | 1:20.130 | +5.748 |
| Sources:[3][4][5] | ||||||
At the start, the top five stayed the same while Schumacher got ahead of Alesi. Hill led from Prost, Brundle, Blundell, Senna and Schumacher.
The Williams pulled away while Brundle pulled away from Blundell who was holding up Senna and Schumacher. However, this ended when Blundell was pushed off the road and into retirement on lap 21 as he attempted to lap de Cesaris. It was time for the mid-race stops during which Prost got ahead of Hill and Senna and Schumacher closed up on Brundle.
During the second stops, Prost stayed ahead - just by two-tenths while Senna and Schumacher got ahead of Brundle. Schumacher passed Senna when the two were going through traffic and pulled away. Prost won with Hill right behind to make it a Williams 1-2 ahead of Schumacher, Senna, Brundle and Andretti.
Thus, at the halfway stage of the season, Prost led the World Championship with 57 points. Senna was a further 12 points behind in second with 45, Hill was third with 28, Schumacher was fourth with 24, Brundle fifth with 9, Blundell sixth with 6, Herbert seventh with 6 and Lehto eighth with 5. There were no real battles in the Constructors Championship with Williams comfortably leading with 85 points with McLaren 37 points behind in second with 48. Benetton were third with 29 and Ligier were fourth with 15.
By winning the race, Prost became the first Formula One driver to reach 100 career podiums.
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| Previous race: 1993 Canadian Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1993 season | Next race: 1993 British Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1992 French Grand Prix | French Grand Prix | Next race: 1994 French Grand Prix |
