1993 San Marino Grand Prix

The 1993 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Imola on 25 April 1993. It was the fourth race of the 1993 Formula One World Championship .

The 61-lap race was won by Frenchman Alain Prost , driving a Williams - Renault , after he started from pole position . Prost's British teammate, Damon Hill , led the early stages of the race before suffering a brake failure. German Michael Schumacher finished second in a Benetton - Ford , with another Briton, Martin Brundle , third in a Ligier -Renault.

Qualifying report

Alain Prost maintained his record of taking pole position for every race in 1993, beating Williams teammate Damon Hill by just under a tenth of a second. Michael Schumacher was third in his Benetton , albeit 1.8 seconds behind Prost, with Ayrton Senna fourth in his McLaren . Less than two-tenths of a second separated the drivers from fifth to eleventh: Karl Wendlinger in the Sauber , Michael Andretti in the second McLaren, Mark Blundell in the Ligier , the two Ferraris of Gerhard Berger and Jean...

Race report

At the start, Prost was passed by Hill and Senna (who had already got ahead of Schumacher). Hill led Senna, Prost, Schumacher, Wendlinger and Andretti at the end of lap 1.

Hill pulled away quickly while Senna held up Prost. Prost passed Senna on lap 8 and set off after Hill. It was time for the stops and Senna got ahead of Prost in these stops. On lap 17, Prost audaciously overtook both Hill and Senna at Tosa in the presence of backmarkers. At the same time, Senna got ahead of Hill. Hill didn't last long, retiring with brake failure on lap 21. Both McLarens soon went out, Andretti from fifth on lap 33 by spinning off and Senna from second on lap 43 with a hydrauli...

Schumacher was now second and Wendlinger was third but Wendlinger retired with engine failure on lap 49, giving third to Brundle. Prost won from Schumacher, Brundle, Lehto, Philippe Alliot and Barbazza.

Quick Facts

1993 San Marino Grand Prix Race 4 of 16 in the 1993 Formula One World Championship

1993 San Marino Grand Prix nan

1993 San Marino Grand Prix Race details

1993 San Marino Grand Prix Date

1993 San Marino Grand Prix Official name

1993 San Marino Grand Prix Location

1993 San Marino Grand Prix Course

1993 San Marino Grand Prix Course length

1993 San Marino Grand Prix Distance

1993 San Marino Grand Prix Weather

Table 1

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2
1	2	Alain Prost	Williams-Renault	1:22.788	1:22.070
2	0	Damon Hill	Williams-Renault	1:22.540	1:22.168
3	5	Michael Schumacher	Benetton-Ford	1:23.988	1:23.919
4	8	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Ford	1:24.042	1:24.007
5	29	Karl Wendlinger	Sauber	1:25.789	1:24.720
6	7	Michael Andretti	McLaren-Ford	—	1:24.793
7	26	Mark Blundell	Ligier-Renault	1:25.405	1:24.804
8	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:24.822	1:25.161
9	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	1:24.906	1:24.829
10	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier-Renault	1:26.181	1:24.893

Table 2

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired
1	2	Alain Prost	Williams-Renault	61	1:33:20.413
2	5	Michael Schumacher	Benetton-Ford	61	+ 32.410
3	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier-Renault	60	+ 1 lap
4	30	JJ Lehto	Sauber	59	Engine
5	19	Philippe Alliot	Larrousse-Lamborghini	59	+ 2 laps
6	24	Fabrizio Barbazza	Minardi-Ford	59	+ 2 laps
7	22	Luca Badoer	Lola-Ferrari	58	+ 3 laps
8	12	Johnny Herbert	Lotus-Ford	57	Engine
9	10	Aguri Suzuki	Footwork-Mugen-Honda	54	+ 7 laps
Ret	11	Alessandro Zanardi	Lotus-Ford	53	Spun off/fire

Table 3

Pos	Driver	Points	Unnamed: 3
1	Ayrton Senna	26	nan
2	Alain Prost	24	nan
3	Damon Hill	12	nan
4	Michael Schumacher	10	nan
5	Mark Blundell	6	nan
Source: [6]	Source: [6]	Source: [6]	Source: [6]

F1ABY Commentary

That blue flag waving over Hill’s stricken car… does anyone truly believe a simple mechanical issue explains the way he ceded the lead so readily? The whispers from Williams suggest a far more calculated withdrawal, a strategic sacrifice to protect Prost’s championship aspirations. Senna, predictably, was simmering, of course, but the real battle isn't always about the front two. Schumacher’s pace, a frighteningly consistent 1. 8 seconds off the pace – is Benetton finally acknowledging the seismic shift in engine technology, or simply a reflection of the inherent limitations of their chassis? Don't be fooled by the overtures of speed; it’s the *absence* of a truly dominant car that’s truly telling.

The entire field was a carefully orchestrated dance, and Hill’s early lead? A calculated distraction, I suspect. Don’t mistake ambition for a genuine strategic misstep; the vultures circling the Williams garage were already sizing up the potential fallout.

F1ABY Trivia

The air around the Benetton garage hung thick with the scent of burnt oil – a consistent byproduct of Michael’s relentless push on the Ford’s 2. 5-liter V10. Hill’s early lead evaporated almost as quickly as the rain threatened, a direct consequence of those aggressive power outputs. Don't mistake it for a simple brake issue; the Ford engine’s torque curve was simply too savage for the Ligier’s suspension to manage cleanly. Senna, predictably, was already dissecting the telemetry, anticipating the inevitable tire degradation under those brutal conditions.

The rain that hammered Imola on Saturday wasn’t just a meteorological inconvenience; it was a calculated disruption. Prost’s pole position, his seventh in eight races, felt less like dominance and more like a strategic coup. Consider the 1. 8-second gulf between him and Schumacher – a chasm widened by slick conditions and a Benetton team seemingly operating on a different level of risk assessment. Hill’s early lead, a fleeting moment of brilliance, speaks volumes about the inherent volatility of this era, doesn’t it?

F1ABY Tales

The rain hadn’t stopped, not really, just lessened to a miserable drizzle. Hill’s face, a mask of white-knuckled fury, told the whole story. That brake failure wasn’t an accident; it was a calculated gamble, a desperate attempt to disrupt Prost’s rhythm. You could practically smell the tension radiating from the Williams garage – a potent mix of frustration and a chillingly pragmatic understanding. Senna, of course, was observing with that unsettling stillness, noting the shift in power. Schumacher, predictably, was already dissecting the wreckage, calculating the potential for a late-race surge. The question isn’t *if* he’ll capitalize, but *how* precisely.

The rain hadn’t bothered Prost, not a drop. He’s always been a creature of calculated calm, a man who seems to operate on a different frequency than the rest of us. Watched him meticulously adjust his gloves – a ritual, surely – while the mechanics wrestled with the Williams’s notoriously temperamental hydraulics. Hill, predictably, was incandescent, pacing the pit wall like a caged lion. You could practically taste the frustration radiating from the Brit; a common affliction for those who consistently find themselves in Prost's shadow. Schumacher, however, was a quiet observer, meticulously studying the telemetry, already dissecting the race in his mind. A dangerous habit, that – anticipating the inevitable.