The 1992 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Kyalami circuit in Midrand, South Africa on 1 March 1992. It was the opening round of the 1992 Formula One season and was contested over 72 laps. It was the 32nd South African Grand Prix, the 22nd as part of the World Championship, and remains the second-last to have been held. Nigel Mansell dominated the weekend in his new Williams FW14, taking pole position, fastest lap and leading every lap of the race en route to victory for his second Grand Chelem. Mansell's team-mate, Riccardo Patrese, asserted the dominance of the car by completing a 1-2 finish. Ayrton Senna completed the podium for the McLaren team.
| 1992 South African Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 16 in the 1992 Formula One World Championship | |||
 Circuit Kyalami in South Africa | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 1 March 1992 | ||
| Official name | Yellow Pages South African Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Kyalami Circuit Gauteng, South Africa | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.261 km (2.648 miles) | ||
| Distance | 72 laps, 306.792 km (190.66 miles) | ||
| Weather | Hot, dry and dull | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:15.486 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Nigel Mansell | Williams-Renault | |
| Time | 1:17.578 on lap 70 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||
| Second | Williams-Renault | ||
| Third | McLaren-Honda | ||
Formula One returned to post-apartheid South Africa which had not hosted a Grand Prix since the controversial 1985 event, held during Premier P.W. Botha's state of emergency. It returned to a new Kyalami circuit, which had a different layout and the circuit used part of the old layout.
Report
Qualifying
Mansell took pole position by almost three-quarters of a second from Senna, and set a lap time over 1.5 seconds faster than his team-mate Patrese. Senna completed the front-row in an updated MP4/6B as the 1992 chassis would not be ready until the Brazilian Grand Prix, the third race of the season. Nevertheless, Berger also managed to set a time quicker than that of Patrese's meaning he started the race from third position, and the Italian in fourth. Jean Alesi's Ferrari was the only other car capable of staying within two seconds of Mansell, as the Frenchman secured a fifth place grid slot on the same row as Michael Schumacher in his Benetton, starting only his first full season. Karl Wendlinger had done well to position his March up in seventh place, when his team-mate Paul Belmondo could only muster 27th place. Wendlinger was ahead of Schumacher's team-mate Martin Brundle, who had qualified eighth, and the other Ferrari of Ivan Capelli, who was ninth. Andrea de Cesaris completed the top ten in his Tyrrell in a time over three behind Mansell's.
Race
The race was a fairly uneventful start to the season as Mansell lead the race from lights to flag. Even Patrese, who turned out to be Mansell's closest challenger for the victory, finished a distant 25 seconds behind him. Senna drove well to ensure he remained in the podium places with a 1991 car, as did Schumacher, who gained from his qualifying position to complete the race in fourth place. Berger finished in fifth place and nearly 40 seconds behind his team-mate; he was the last driver to finish the race on the lead lap. Johnny Herbert finished in sixth place and took the final point for Lotus.
Classification
Qualifying
Race
Notes
- First race: Andrea Chiesa, Paul Belmondo, Giovanna Amati, Ukyo Katayama, March
- The McLaren team used the updated MP4/6B in this and the next race instead of the MP4/7A as it was not ready.
- The Coloni team had been purchased by the Andrea Moda group and took the 1991 Coloni C4 to South Africa and both cars ran but were excluded. The cars were driven by Alex Caffi and Enrico Bertaggia.
- Andrea Moda owner Andrea Sassetti was also informed that he had to pay a $100,000 fee to enter his new team but argued that he should not have to pay as he had purchased an existing team. He was forced to pay although the March and Fondmetal teams did not have to pay this when they purchased existing teams.
- The South African Grand Prix returned for the first time since 1985, the race in 1985 was also won by Nigel Mansell driving a Williams-Honda. Gerhard Berger who finished 5th in this race for McLaren also finished in 5th place in 1985 when driving for Arrows.
- Mansell, Berger, Riccardo Patrese, Ayrton Senna, Michele Alboreto, Thierry Boutsen, Pierluigi Martini and Martin Brundle were the only drivers who had raced in the previous South African Grand Prix 7 seasons earlier.
- Every team with points in the Constructors' Championship was British.
Standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- "The Official Formula 1 website". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2007.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Henry, Alan (1992). AUTOCOURSE 1992-93. Hazleton Publishing. ISBN 0-905138-96-1.