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| 1992 Belgian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 12 of 16 in the1992 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 30 August 1992 | ||
| Official name | L Grand Prix de Belgique | ||
| Location | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Francorchamps,Wallonia,Belgium | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 6.940 km (4.312 miles) | ||
| Distance | 44 laps, 305.341 km (189.730 miles) | ||
| Weather | Overcast, brief rain mid-race | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:50.545 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Michael Schumacher | Benetton-Ford | |
| Time | 1:53.791 on lap 39 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Benetton-Ford | ||
| Second | Williams-Renault | ||
| Third | Williams-Renault | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1992 Belgian Grand Prix was aFormula One motor race held atSpa-Francorchamps on 30 August 1992. It was the twelfth race of the1992 Formula One World Championship.[1] The 44-lap race was won byMichael Schumacher, driving aBenetton-Ford. This was the first Grand Prix win for a German driver sinceJochen Mass at the1975 Spanish Grand Prix, and the first of an eventual record 91 Grand Prix wins for Schumacher (since eclipsed byLewis Hamilton in 2020). New World ChampionNigel Mansell finished second in hisWilliams-Renault with teammateRiccardo Patrese third, thus securing the Constructors' Championship for Williams. Schumacher's win, which was the first full-length Grand Prix won by a German sinceWolfgang von Trips's last win at the1961 British Grand Prix, marked the last time aFormula One car to win a Grand Prix while sporting a H-patternmanual gearbox.[2] This race also marked Ferrari's 500th start in a World Championship event as a team,[3][nb 1] and the last race forAndrea Moda.[4]
There was no pre-qualifying session at this race after theBrabham team did not arrive due to financial problems and the impending sale of the team. This left thirty cars, the maximum allowed in the main qualifying sessions.[5]Emanuele Naspetti made his Grand Prix debut for theMarch team, replacingPaul Belmondo.[5]
Ligier driverÉrik Comas was injured and briefly knocked unconscious in a heavy crash during practice on Friday and was advised by doctors not to drive again over the weekend, so he was withdrawn from qualifying.Ayrton Senna encountered Comas's car on the race track, stopped to help him, and cut off the car's engine to reduce the risk of fire. Comas later credited this with likely having saved his life.[6]Gerhard Berger had a 160mph crash down the hill in the wet during practice on the entrance to Eau Rouge with the back of the car catching fire, although he was uninjured.[5]
Aside from Comas, the other three non-qualifiers includedMinardi driverChristian Fittipaldi, returning after four races missed through injury. Also failing to qualify were the twoAndrea Moda cars, this being the first time both cars had been present in the main qualifying sessions.Roberto Moreno could only manage 28th fastest, over five seconds slower than Fittipaldi, withPerry McCarthy 29th after he went off the track at the 170mphEau Rouge section. McCarthy reported to his team that the car's steering had jammed, and that he suspected thesteering rack was flexing. Team bossAndrea Sassetti replied that the team already knew the rack was faulty because it had previously been fitted to Moreno's car, and he had reported the same problem. McCarthy quit the team after the Friday qualifying session. Moreno was a sole entry in a wet Saturday qualifying session.Sassetti was subsequently arrested in the paddock on Saturday afternoon on allegations of forging documents and fraud.[5][7][8]
At the start before La Source,Gerhard Berger failed to get away from sixth position and retired after an immediate transmission problem which put him out straight away. Mansell attacked and passed Senna at the end of the second lap with Patrese following suit. Then it began to rain and almost everybody pitted for wets. In the early stages of the race, Senna showed strong pace, briefly leading from the Williams. Then, when rain fell and the other front-runners made pit stops for rain tyres, the Brazilian gambled on the rain stopping and thus stayed out. He pitted late and rejoined down in 12th as Alesi went out with a puncture after colliding with Mansell at La Source.Ivan Capelli suffered a dramatic engine failure on lap 26 as he went straight off into the gravel trap at Blanchimont whilst battling Herbert for sixth position.[12]
By the timeThierry Boutsen spun off on lap 28, the track was beginning to dry, which meant Senna's gamble had failed, and the subsequent pit stop dropped him back down to twelfth. He then made a charge through the field, passingMika Häkkinen'sLotus for fifth on the penultimate lap.Johnny Herbert retired once again with engine problems on lap 43, and was classified 13th. Schumacher took his first Grand Prix win forBenetton by a comfortable margin over both the Williamses of Mansell and Patrese after they both suffered engine problems in the closing laps (Mansell with a broken exhaust). The Williams duo were able to finish second and third ahead of Brundle in the other Benetton, Senna in the remaining McLaren and Häkkinen in the remaining Lotus securing the final point. Eighteen cars were classified as finishers, the highest number for the season.[12] In what was his 18th race a year after his debut in 1991, Schumacher achieved his first Grand Prix win, the first of 91 career wins, and the first of a record six-Belgian Grand Prix wins.[13][14][15]
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| Previous race: 1992 Hungarian Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1992 season | Next race: 1992 Italian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1991 Belgian Grand Prix | Belgian Grand Prix | Next race: 1993 Belgian Grand Prix |
