The 1993 F1 Season: Prost’s Fourth Title and Senna’s Last Win

1993 was a year of ‘lasts’ in Formula 1, with Alain Prost securing his final championship and reigniting his iconic rivalry with Ayrton Senna.

1993 F1: The Final Round of Prost and Senna’s Rivalry

In 1993, Williams dominated their competitors, giving Alain Prost a significant advantage in the championship. Prost’s remarkable talent was showcased many times on the track, ultimately leading him to win the world championship.

That year, Williams paired Prost with Damon Hill, who won his first Formula 1 race.. The long-standing rivalry between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna continued. However, the underperformance of the McLaren team limited Senna’s ability to compete effectively.

Before the Start

The season began with some uncertainty, particularly regarding Williams’s participation. The Grove-based team had submitted their bid late for the 1993 Championship, and not all teams agreed to grant them a waiver to allow him to race. However, Williams ultimately gained approval, although it came with complaints from the other teams.

That year also marked the departure of Honda from the Formula 1 scene after ten seasons. This was due to the high costs, which became unaffordable for the Japanese manufacturer. McLaren paid the highest price. The team, previously supplied freely by Honda, now had to make a deal of 16 million dollars to receive the Ford engines.

Even their top driver, Ayrton Senna, did not seem to be comfortable with the work done on the new car. He had often thought of leaving the team that year. While he tried to make contact with Williams, Alain Prost was able to stop him.

The Frenchman had decided to return to Motorsport with Williams and vetoed Senna as a teammate. The Brazilian was therefore forced to stay with the McLaren, which did not allow him to demonstrate all of his skills.

That year, the FIA did not implement any significant changes to the cars. However, to reduce their speed, particularly at the entrance of corners, they decreased both the width of the cars and the tyres to get less grip.

The Beginning of the 1993 F1 Season

Alain Prost achieved the first pole position of the season, ahead of Senna. Despite this, in the race, the Frenchman started badly and was overtaken by the Brazilian.

The latter, already on the fourth lap, had to say goodbye to any hope of victory after a suspension problem that slowed him down a lot. Prost, after a long fight between the two, managed to overtake him and win the race.

In Brazil, it was Senna who took advantage of a mistake made by Prost that forced him to retire. Thus Senna, on a wet track where he always managed to exalt his abilities, passed Demon Hill and embarked towards victory, taking the championship lead, six points ahead of Prost.

Donington is remembered as one of the best races of the Brazilian driver, who moved from fifth to first place during the penultimate turn of the first lap. He maintained that lead for the entire race, lapping nearly all the drivers on the grid, except for Hill, who finished in second place but was over a minute behind.

Prost VS Senna

However, the technical problems of McLaren became increasingly debilitating for Senna. He had to withdraw at Imola due to a hydraulic failure problem that did not allow him to continue. Prost won the race and began to close the gap in the ranking with his opponent.

The standings changed in Spain after an incident at the start when the lights mistakenly turned yellow instead of green. As a result, Prost secured another victory, with Senna finishing behind him. Senna had to contend with a determined challenge from Michael Schumacher throughout the race.

In Monaco, the tables turned. Despite starting from pole position, Alain Prost did not succeed in achieving the result he hoped for. The Frenchman was penalized with a stop-and-go of 10 seconds for moving too early at the start. In addition, when leaving the pits, his engine went out.

When he managed to start again he was 22nd, a lap behind the head of the group. Senna took advantage of this problem to win the race and return to the lead in the World Championship.

The Turning Point in the Championship Battle

Canada saw Prost take the lead in the standings by five points, a position he maintained throughout the season. After a fight on track with his teammate Hill, the Williams driver won the race. Senna’s McLaren was hit by an alternator failure, which prevented the Brazilian from continuing.

After three consecutive victories for the Frenchman in France, the UK, and Germany, it was up to Hill to prove his skills in Hungary.

While his teammate had stopped on the formation lap and started last, Hill still brought a victory to Williams. It was his first win in his career, one he was able to repeat at the other two grands prix.

During the Portugal Grand Prix, Prost announced that he would retire from racing at the end of the year. Although winning the race would have been the best way for him to secure the title, Michael Schumacher had other ideas.

The German driver successfully overtook Prost for first place. However, finishing second place was enough for the Williams driver to win the 1993 F1 driver’s championship.

In the last few races, Senna challenged Williams for victory again. In Japan, the Brazilian won ahead of Prost, replicating the same result in Australia.

This allowed him to achieve a second-place finish in the World Drivers’ Championship. He was also able to greet his old friend-rival on the podium. The victory in Australia marked Senna’s last win in Formula 1. It was a season where he demonstrated his best skills despite the challenges experienced.

A Year of “Last Times”

Looking back, 1993 was a year of “lasts” in Formula 1. It marked the final race for Alain Prost, who won his last World Championship that year.

It was also the last time Ayrton Senna drove for McLaren, a team that had helped him achieve historic success. This season saw him secure his final victory alongside his longtime rival, who had made his career both challenging and thrilling.

As the season progressed, F1 began to transform. The grid welcomed young talents like Mika Hakkinen while bidding farewell to the legendary champions who had become history in the sport.