1992 Mexican Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 16 in the 1992 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Date | 22 March 1992 | ||
| Official name | XV Gran Premio de México | ||
| Location | Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.421 km (2.758 mi) | ||
| Distance | 69 laps, 305.049 km (190.299 mi) | ||
| Weather |
Scattered Clouds 27 °C (81 °F)[1] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:16.346 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Gerhard Berger | McLaren-Honda | |
| Time | 1:17.711 on lap 60 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||
| Second | Williams-Renault | ||
| Third | Benetton-Ford | ||
The 1992 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mexico City on 22 March 1992. It was the second round of the 1992 Formula One season. The race was won by Nigel Mansell ahead of his teammate Riccardo Patrese, with Michael Schumacher achieving his first of an eventual 155 podiums in Formula One. It was also the last time the race was held on the circuit until its rebirth in 2015, where the circuit saw several changes including the banked Peraltada corner being changed and the new stadium section becoming the new final part of the track.
Summary
Background
On February 20, 1992 Mexico city officials put out a smog alert due to the dangerous air pollution levels in the city. Alerts mandated restrictions on operating heavy motorized equipment. The Mexican Grand Prix committee had to delay work paving sections of the track.[2] During Friday's practice Ayrton Senna hit one of the bumps in the Esses, crashed his McLaren, and injured his leg, but was fit for qualifying. Alex Caffi and Enrico Bertaggia again hoped to race for the Andrea Moda team here (formerly known as Coloni before being taken over by Andrea Sassetti) but were awaiting new cars so did not compete.
Qualifying
This was the first time that neither Brabham made the grid. Stefano Modena had to start from the pit lane. Nigel Mansell was obliged to switch to the spare Williams FW14B car for qualifying but this did not faze him and he went pole alongside teammate Riccardo Patrese.
Race
Nigel Mansell dominated the race straight from the pole position, finishing the race 12 seconds ahead of Patrese and 21 seconds ahead of Michael Schumacher.
Classification
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 |  Nigel Mansell |
Williams-Renault | 1:16.346 | 1:16.648 | — |
| 2 | 6 |  Riccardo Patrese |
Williams-Renault | 1:17.908 | 1:16.362 | +0.016 |
| 3 | 19 |  Michael Schumacher |
Benetton-Ford | 1:17:554 | 1:17.292 | +0.946 |
| 4 | 20 | Martin Brundle |
Benetton-Ford | 1:18.937 | 1:18.588 | +2.242 |
| 5 | 2 | Gerhard Berger |
McLaren-Honda | 1:18.604 | 1:18.589 | +2.243 |
| 6 | 1 |  Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda | 1:23.063 | 1:18.791 | +2.445 |
| 7 | 21 |  JJ Lehto |
Dallara-Ferrari | 1:19.982 | 1:19.111 | +2.765 |
| 8 | 33 | Maurício Gugelmin |
Jordan-Yamaha | 1:20.246 | 1:19.355 | +3.009 |
| 9 | 22 | Pierluigi Martini |
Dallara-Ferrari | 1:19.767 | 1:19.378 | +3.032 |
| 10 | 27 |  Jean Alesi |
Ferrari | 1:21.434 | 1:19.417 | +3.071 |
| 11 | 4 | Andrea de Cesaris |
Tyrrell-Ilmor | 1:19.423 | 1:24.117 | +3.077 |
| 12 | 12 | Johnny Herbert |
Lotus-Ford | 1:20.450 | 1:19.509 | +3.163 |
| 13 | 29 | Bertrand Gachot |
Larrousse-Lamborghini | 1:21.656 | 1:19.743 | +3.397 |
| 14 | 15 | Gabriele Tarquini |
Fondmetal-Ford | 1:20.386 | 1:19.769 | +3.423 |
| 15 | 32 | Stefano Modena |
Jordan-Yamaha | 1:19.957 | 1:20.469 | +3.611 |
| 16 | 3 | Olivier Grouillard |
Tyrrell-Ilmor | 1:20.709 | 1:19.961 | +3.615 |
| 17 | 23 | Christian Fittipaldi |
Minardi-Lamborghini | 1:20.042 | 1:20.202 | +3.696 |
| 18 | 11 | Mika Häkkinen |
Lotus-Ford | 1:20.145 | 1:20.390 | +3.799 |
| 19 | 16 | Karl Wendlinger |
March-Ilmor | 47:56.613 | 1:20.200 | +3.854 |
| 20 | 28 | Ivan Capelli |
Ferrari | 1:20.223 | 1:21.120 | +3.877 |
| 21 | 24 | Gianni Morbidelli |
Minardi-Lamborghini | 1:21.019 | 1:20.227 | +3.881 |
| 22 | 25 | .svg.png){kind=small} Thierry Boutsen |
Ligier-Renault | 1:20.709 | 1:20.395 | +4.049 |
| 23 | 14 |  Andrea Chiesa |
Fondmetal-Ford | 1:21.902 | 1:20.845 | +4.499 |
| 24 | 30 |  Ukyo Katayama |
Larrousse-Lamborghini | 1:22.188 | 1:20.935 | +4.589 |
| 25 | 9 | Michele Alboreto |
Footwork-Mugen-Honda | 1:21.396 | 1:21.064 | +4.718 |
| 26 | 26 | Érik Comas |
Ligier-Renault | 1:21.122 | 1:21.963 | +4.776 |
| 27 | 10 | Aguri Suzuki |
Footwork-Mugen-Honda | 1:21.617 | 1:21.187 | +4.841 |
| 28 | 17 | Paul Belmondo |
March-Ilmor | 1:23.508 | 1:21.504 | +5.158 |
| 29 | 7 | Eric van de Poele |
Brabham-Judd | 1:22.937 | 1:22.197 | +5.851 |
| 30 | 8 | Giovanna Amati |
Brabham-Judd | — | 1:25.052 | +8.706 |
Race
Notes
- Lap leaders: Nigel Mansell 69 (1-69)
- First podium: Michael Schumacher
- This was the last time that the McLaren team used the MP4/6B, as the new MP4/7A car was ready for the next race.
- This was the last Mexican Grand Prix until it was revived in 2015. The Hermanos Rodriguez circuit had a reputation for being very bumpy, and by this point the bumps on the track had decayed even further, the decline of Mexico City itself with increasing crowding and pollution problems made the event look bad for Formula One's glamorous image at the time.
Championship standings after the race
|
|
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- ↑ "History | Weather Underground". Wunderground.com. Retrieved 2013-10-26.
- ↑ "Gray haze makes people sick: Mexico city smog worsens". Ellensburg Daily Record. Associated Press. February 20, 1992. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
- ↑ "1992 Mexican Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- Henry, Alan (1992). AUTOCOURSE 1992-93. Hazleton Publishing. ISBN 0-905138-96-1.
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