1993 Formula 1 Season Review
Damon Hill Narrowly Missed Scoring a Maiden F1 Grand Prix Win
Dec 31, 2008
Between the 1993 Canadian and French Grands Prix came the news that James Hunt had dies suddenly from a heart attack. The Englishman was a well known figure in Formula 1, having won the World Championship with McLaren in 1976. After his racing career ended Hunt started a long relationship with the BBC, commentating on Formula 1 alongside Murray Walker. His opinions were often brutally honest, irrespective of whom they offended. In his 2002 autobiography, “Unless I’m Very Much Mistaken”, published by Harper Willow, Walker paid tribute to his colleague and friend;
“Like all of us James was a mixture but at heart he was an endearing, good and honest man.”
Prost Wins Formula 1 Races at Magny-Cours and Silverstone
Magny-Cours was the home circuit of the Ligier team, and it showed in qualifying for the French Grand Prix. Martin Brundle set the third quickest time, with team-mate Mark Blundell one place behind. At the front it was Damon Hill starting from his first Formula 1 pole, and Alain Prost. Ayrton Senna started from fifth on the grid.
Hill maintained the lead at the start, and the Ligier drivers also got away well. Blundell’s race was ruined when he was forced off the track while trying to lap Andrea De Cesaris’s errant Tyrrell.
Hill seemed destined for his first Grand Prix victory, until a slow pit stop allowed Prost into the lead. Brundle, in the other Ligier, was eventually passed by both Senna and Michael Schumacher. Prost kept his lead until the end, with Hill crossing the finish line less than one second behind. Schumacher was fourth and Senna fifth, despite having clashed with Derek Warwick’s Footwork. Brundle held on for fifth place, while Michael Andretti had reason to celebrate after moving from 16th on the grid to sixth at the flag.
At Silverstone Hill very nearly scored his second pole position, but Prost narrowly edged his team-mate out. Schumacher started from third, with Senna fourth. At the start Hill got ahead of Prost, as did Senna who moved from fourth to second. The Brazilian fought a brief but intense battle with Prost before the Frenchman decisively claimed second position.
Schumacher also made it past Senna, while further up the road Prost closed on Hill. A safety car period occurred following an accident involving Luca Badoer, which bunched the entire field up. Hill kept his composure and continued to lead until an engine failure robbed him of victory in his home Grand Prix. Prost took his 50th Formula 1 win, followed by Schumacher in second and Riccardo Patrese in third. Johnny Herbert was the highest placed British driver in fourth, while Senna was classified fifth after running out of fuel (a fate which also befell him at the 1991 British Grand Prix). Derek Warwick scored the final World Championship point.
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