| 1992 German Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 16 in the1992 Formula One World Championship | |||
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| Race details | |||
| Date | 26 July 1992 | ||
| Official name | Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland | ||
| Location | Hockenheimring Hockenheim,Baden-Württemberg,Germany | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 6.815 km (4.251 miles) | ||
| Distance | 45 laps, 306.675 km (191.313 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:37.960 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Riccardo Patrese | Williams-Renault | |
| Time | 1:41.591 on lap 36 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||
| Second | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Third | Benetton-Ford | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1992 German Grand Prix was aFormula One motor race held at theHockenheimring inHockenheim,Germany on 26 July 1992. It was the tenth race of the1992 Formula One World Championship.
The 45-lap race was won frompole position by BritonNigel Mansell, driving aWilliams-Renault, with BrazilianAyrton Senna second in aMcLaren-Honda and local driverMichael Schumacher third in aBenetton-Ford.
The Ostkurve chicane was modified for this race from a quick left-right gap into a turning sequence, after there were safety concerns with the chicane the previous year, whenÉrik Comas had a major accident there in his Ligier.
The Friday morning pre-qualifying session again followed the familiar pattern, with theAndrea Moda cars failing to pre-qualify.Gabriele Tarquini was fastest in the session forFondmetal, just ahead ofLarrousse driverBertrand Gachot. Just over eight tenths of a second slower was Gachot's team-mateUkyo Katayama, with Fondmetal'sAndrea Chiesa, back in the newerGR02, the fourth and final pre-qualifier.
Andrea Moda'sRoberto Moreno was fifth fastest as usual, although on this occasion he was much closer to Chiesa, just 0.376 of a second slower despite an engine failure.[1]Perry McCarthy had managed one lap and was slowest, but his time was deleted after he missed a weightcheck and was excluded.[1]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Gabriele Tarquini | Fondmetal-Ford | 1:45.518 | — |
| 2 | 29 |  Bertrand Gachot | Venturi-Lamborghini | 1:45.766 | +0.248 |
| 3 | 30 |  Ukyo Katayama | Venturi-Lamborghini | 1:46.599 | +1.081 |
| 4 | 14 |  Andrea Chiesa | Fondmetal-Ford | 1:48.502 | +2.984 |
| 5 | 34 |  Roberto Moreno | Andrea Moda-Judd | 1:48.878 | +3.360 |
| EX | 35 |  Perry McCarthy | Andrea Moda-Judd | — | — |
Nigel Mansell qualified on pole position, ahead ofRiccardo Patrese andAyrton Senna.Stefano Modena,Eric van de Poele,Andrea Chiesa andDamon Hill were the four drivers who did not qualify for the race. For Chiesa, it proved to be the last time he took part in a Grand Prix event, as he was replaced for the next race at the Fondmetal team by van de Poele.
At the start, Mansell took an early lead from teammate Patrese, with Senna in third. Mansell made a scheduled pitstop and quickly caught Senna, who chose to run the race without a pitstop. Aguri Suzuki spun off at the Sachs Kurve on lap 2. Ukyo Katayama also retired after spinning off only seven laps later, andGerhard Berger retired in the pits with electrical problems on lap 17 as he had a long stop for tyres. On lap 19, Mansell cut the corner at the OstKurve chicane, exited faster, and passed Senna on the following straight. Mansell was not penalised. Meanwhile further back, Ivan Capelli retired with engine trouble on lap 22, as did both the Lotus cars ofMika Häkkinen andJohnny Herbert, retiring with the same problems by lap 24.
On the last lap,Riccardo Patrese spun off whilst trying to pass Ayrton Senna for second position. He was ultimately classified in eighth position. Mansell held on for the race victory, ahead of Senna in second, whose McLaren car ran out of fuel shortly after crossing the finish line and Michael Schumacher in third.
Mansell tied the record from Ayrton Senna in 1988 for most wins in a season with eight, accomplished in only ten races.
Ayrton Senna dropped out of title contention at this race, although it seemed inevitable that only Mansell would be Driver's Champion anyway – he clinched the title at the next race inHungary.
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| Previous race: 1992 British Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1992 season | Next race: 1992 Hungarian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1991 German Grand Prix | German Grand Prix | Next race: 1993 German Grand Prix |
