German GP 1992

German GP, 1992

Germany had not had a top Formula 1 racer for over 15 years and so there were huge crowds at Hockenheim to watch Michael Schumacher in action. After less than a year in F1 he was highly-competitive but with the Williams-Renault domination in the summer of 1992 there was little chance that he would win in Germany. The field was as it had been in Britain and so was the grid with the order being Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese followed by the two McLaren-Hondas of Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger. Schumacher was sixth behind Jean Alesi's Ferrari. The top 10 was completed by the two Ligier-Renaults of Erik Comas and Thierry Boutsen, Martin Brundle's Benetton and Karl Wendlinger's March-Ilmor. Ivan Capelli was again off the pace in the second Ferrari, qualifying 12th behind Johnny Herbert's Lotus.

Patrese made the best start but as they braked for the first chicane Mansell took the lead and began to pull away. Patrese settled down for a lonely run to second place. Thus it was that the top teams ran in sequence: the two Williams-Renaults followed by McLaren (Senna-Berger), Benetton (Schumacher-Brundle), Ferrari (Alesi and the fast-starting Capelli), Ligier (Comas-Boutsen) and Lotus (Hakkinen-Herbert). While most of the cars pitted Senna decided to run non-stop and he was ahead when the Williams-Renaults stopped. Berger was dropped from contention with a slow stop and then a misfire.

Mansell chased after Senna and in his eagerness to get in the lead again ran over the second part of the Ostkurve chicane and had the momentum to pass Senna before the third chicane. Schumacher had also decided to run without a stop and so he was third with Patrese fourth followed by non-stoppers Brundle, Alesi and Comas. Capelli and the Lotus drivers had all retired with engine troubles.

Schumacher held off Patrese but eventually had to give way although he regained the place on the last lap when Patrese spun off while challenging Senna for second place. He was classified eighth. Brundle was fourth with Alesi fifth and Comas sixth.

Mansell's eighth win in 10 races equalled Senna's record for the most wins in a season and the Englishman needed only one more victory to clinch the World Championship as he had more than double the points of his nearest challenger.

POSNODRIVERENTRANTLAPSTIME/RETIREMENTQUAL POS
1 5 Nigel Mansell Williams-Renault  45 1h18m22.032s  1 
2 1 Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda  45 1h18m26.532s  3 
3 19 Michael Schumacher Benetton-Cosworth  45 1h18m56.494s  6 
4 20 Martin Brundle Benetton-Cosworth  45 1h18m58.991s  9 
5 27 Jean Alesi Ferrari  45 1h19m34.639s  5 
6 26 Erik Comas Ligier-Renault  45 1h19m58.530s  7 
7 25 Thierry Boutsen Ligier-Renault  45 1h19m59.212s  8 
8r 6 Riccardo Patrese Williams-Renault  44 Spin 2 
9 9 Michele Alboreto Footwork-Mugen Honda  44  17 
10 21 JJ Lehto Dallara-Ferrari  44  21 
11 22 Pierluigi Martini Dallara-Ferrari  44  18 
12 24 Gianni Morbidelli Minardi-Lamborghini  44  26 
13 17 Paul Belmondo March-Ilmor  44  22 
14 29 Bertrand Gachot Venturi Larrousse-Lamborghini  44  25 
15 33 Mauricio Gugelmin Jordan-Yamaha  43  23 
16 16 Karl Wendlinger March-Ilmor  42  10 
r 15 Gabriele Tarquini Fondmetal-Cosworth  33 Engine 19 
r 4 Andrea de Cesaris Tyrrell-Ilmor  25 Engine 20 
r 12 Johnny Herbert Lotus-Cosworth  23 Engine 11 
r 28 Ivan Capelli Ferrari  21 Engine 12 
r 11 Mika Hakkinen Lotus-Cosworth  21 Misfire 13 
r 2 Gerhard Berger McLaren-Honda  16 Misfire 4 
r 3 Olivier Grouillard Tyrrell-Ilmor  8 Engine Overheating 14 
r 30 Ukyo Katayama Venturi Larrousse-Lamborghini  8 Accident 16 
r 10 Aguri Suzuki Footwork-Mugen Honda  1 Spin 15 
r 23 Christian Fittipaldi Minardi-Lamborghini  1 Clutch 24 
nq 32 Stefano Modena Jordan-Yamaha    27 
nq 7 Eric van de Poele Brabham-Judd    28 
nq 14 Andrea Chiesa Fondmetal-Cosworth    29 
nq 8 Damon Hill Brabham-Judd    30 
npq 34 Roberto Moreno Andrea Moda-Judd    31 
exc 35 Perry McCarthy Andrea Moda-Judd   Missed Weight Check 32