ALL ABOUT FORMULA 1
REVIEWS OF ALL SEASONS
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WILLIAMS 92/93, THE MOST DOMINANT CAR IN F1
The Williams FW 15 driven by Alain Prost and Damon Hill is considered by many to be the best car in F1 history.
ADVANCED ELECTRONICS OF THE FW 14 B AND FW 15
In 1991, the Williams FW 14 had a better race pace than the McLaren, but Mansell's problems took away his chances of winning the title. But in 1992, the FW 14B underwent a definitive evolution, with an increase in the power of the Renault engine and the introduction of several electronic devices that placed it far above the other cars on the grid.
1) Renault V10 engine:
In 1992, Renault started the season with a new 800 HP engine running on special ELF gasoline. Only at the 1992 Canadian GP did Honda bring a super 805 HP engine and Renault lost out on the more powerful engine. But we must make it clear that Renault's V10 had an advantage over the Honda V12 because of its reduced size with one less row of cylinders and lower fuel consumption.
In 1993, with Honda's withdrawal from F1 and the ban on special gasoline, the Renault engine was the most powerful throughout the season, with 780 HP, compared to the 730/720/685 HP of the Ford Cosworth engine, i.e., an advantage of at least 50 HP in power over Benetton and McLaren, which were its main competitors.
2) Electronic throttle (Fly by wire):
It eliminated the need for cables, allowing the engine's intake butterfly to open electronically and thus harmoniously transfer engine power to the wheels. There were different settings for the intake butterfly opening speed for dry, damp or wet tracks.
3) Launch and Traction Control:
Launch Control allowed starts without slipping so that the tires could traction on the asphalt as efficiently as possible. CT helped the driver on curves to prevent tires from losing traction on the asphalt, saving tires and making the exit from a curve as grippy as possible.
4) Active Suspension:
It helped to keep the car's floor as horizontal as possible in relation to the ground, raising the front of the car when braking and lowering it when accelerating, in order to optimize the car's aerodynamics. In addition, on curves, it changed the suspension geometry to lower the center of gravity, optimizing cornering speed without the need for aerodynamic support.
5) ABS brakes:
It prevented the brakes from locking up, especially on tracks with little grip, so that the car could brake more effectively. In rainy races, this system is essential for the car's performance.
6) Automatic transmission:
Automatically changed gears when downshifting and upshifting at the right RPM, in order to minimize acceleration losses when changing gears. Together with the electronic accelerator, it created a "punta taco" effect for the driver.
COMPARISON WITH OTHER DOMINANT CARS
Every now and then, there are cars that dominate F1, but to this day, there has never been a car like the 1992 and 1993 Williams, which were around 2 seconds faster in qualifying than any other car on the grid. Incredibly, even with this dominance, their drivers were unable to win every race each year.
The drivers of the FW 14B and FW 15 were unable to extract the full performance of the car, due to driving errors and because there was tough competition from two brilliant drivers: Ayrton Senna (McLaren) and Michael Schumacher (Benetton), two of the fastest drivers in F1 history. If it weren't for this, Williams could have won 30 of the 32 races in those two seasons.
It is important to know that the car's performance is the result of the CAR's performance plus the DRIVER's performance, so the fact that a car did not win every race in the season does not mean that it was not dominant. Just as brilliant drivers overvalue their cars, drivers at the beginning (Hill) or end of their careers (Patrese and Prost) undervalue these cars. This fact must be taken into account in this analysis.
We will have to use some criteria to know if the car was the best or not, and depending on the number of races in which the car was the best, we will know how dominant it was in that respective season. Here are the 3 criteria:
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Reliability of the car in races,
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Car speed and consistency in racing,
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Speed of the car in Qualifyings.
Alfa Romeo 1950
The 1950 Alfa Romeo was the first dominant F1 car, with 3 great drivers: Fangio, Farina and Fagioli. The Alfa was about 1.6s to 2.0s faster than any car on the track. But we have to take into account that Formula 1 was a new category, and some teams (Ferrari and Maserati) were still in development. Besides that, at that time the driver made a difference and had to explore the limits of driving over the car's performance.
In this period in 6 races, Alfa Romeo achieved:
6 Victories (100%)
6 Poles 3 Hat-tricks
4 One-two starts
4 One-two finishes
FERRARI 1952/1953
The Ferrari 1952/1953 was the second dominant car in F1, achieving 5 one-two finishes, 3 first places (France/52, Holland/52 and Switzerland/53) and 4 first places (German GP/52 and Holland GP/53). But let's face it, Fangio's absence in 1952, due to a serious accident at the beginning of the year, facilitated Ferrari's dominance, so much so that in 1953 when Fangio returned to F1, he was runner-up.
In this period, in 15 races, Ferrari achieved:
14 victories (93%)
13 pole positions
6 hat-tricks
7 one-two starts
9 one-two finishes.
MCLAREN 1988/1989
The 1988 and 1989 McLaren (MP 4/4 and MP 4/5 models) was also a dominant car. However, in some races it wasn't the best car, but the talent of Senna and Prost made these cars seem much better than they really were, but it is undeniable that it was the dominant car in about 75% of the races in those seasons.
In this period, in 32 races, McLaren achieved:
25 victories (78%)
29 pole positions
5 hat-tricks
23 one-two starts
14 one-two finishes
WILLIAMS 1996/1997
The 1996 Williams is a forgotten car, but it was the dominant car of the 1996 season, but neither Hill nor Villeneuve knew how to get everything out of the car, and it seemed that if they had been more qualified drivers they would have won all the races that season.
The 1997 Williams was also a dominant car, but with a much lower reliability rating than the 1996 model. Frentzen had a series of problems and bad luck, and Villeneuve drove in a "win or wall" style, missing the chance to score many more points than he did. This created the impression that this car was not as good.
In this period of 33 races, Williams achieved:
20 victories (61%)
23 pole positions
4 hat-tricks
13 one-two starts
6 one-two finishes
FERRARI 2002/2004
The Ferrari in 2002 and 2004 was also the dominant car in alternating periods, but on some tracks they were not the best car, so they were unable to win all the races with Schumacher and Barrichello.
In this period of 35 races, Ferrari achieved:
30 victories (86%)
22 poles
10 hat-tricks
10 one-two starts
17 one-two finishes
RED BULL 2010/2011/2013
The Red Bull in 2010, 2011 and 2013 were also dominant cars, but in some races the competition was better. Apart from that, Mark Webber was a good driver, but he lacked a lot in race pace, which is why he was not runner-up in those years, despite having super competitive cars at his disposal.
In this period, in 54 races, Red Bull achieved:
33 victories (61%)
42 pole positions
5 hat-tricks
19 one-two starts
10 one-two finishes
MERCEDES 2014/2015/2016/2019/2020
When the regulations changed to hybrid engines, Mercedes dominated F1, but it was not total dominance, as on some tracks they had breakdowns and problems.
In this period, in 97 races, Mercedes achieved:
79 victories (61%)
78 pole positions
14 hat-tricks
58 one-two starts
45 one-two finishes
Red Bull 2022/2023
In 2022, Red Bull was the dominant car, but let's be fair that in 2022 in some races the Dutchman did not have the best car, but he still managed to win races.
In 2023 he had the best car in every race except the Singapore GP, a dominance very similar to the 1992 Williams, but the difference in practice between the 2023 Red Bull and the other cars was proportionally much smaller than the 1992 Williams for the other cars.
In this period, in 43 races, Red Bull achieved:
36 victories (84%)
23 pole positions
8 hat-tricks
2 one-two starts
11 one-two finishes
The 1992 Williams FW 14 B of Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese
WHY WERE THE FW 14B AND FW 15 SO GOOD?
The FW 14B and FW 15 had electronic devices that made the cars much faster, such as: active suspension, automatic transmission, electronic accelerator, and traction control. And not only that, these devices corrected driving errors. In other words, "overdrive" was not a problem in these cars.
But of course, if the driver made a major driving error, such as entering a curve 50 km/h faster than the speed limit or missing the braking point by 100 meters, the electronic devices would not be able to correct an error of this magnitude.
This car was made for the "Nigel Mansell style of driving" and he was the driver who benefited most from these devices.
WILLIAMS 1992 DOMINANCE:
The 1992 Williams won 10 races of the season, but in 4 other races they had the best car and did not win because of driver errors (Monaco, Canada, Hungary) or by accident (Australia). Only in the Belgian GP and Italian GP, the FW 14B was not the best car of the season, because of technical problems with the car, despite having taken pole.
GP Monaco 1992
Williams made a one-two on the starting grid, but Senna jumped from 3rd to 2nd at the start, and during the race he was lucky that Nigel Mansell crashed into the guard rail and punctured a tire, so the Englishman made an extra stop to change tires and Senna ended up winning the race. If it weren't for the Englishman's mistake, Williams would have easily won this race.
GP Canada 1992
In Canada, Honda came with its new 805 HP super engine and closed the gap to Williams. This small improvement by McLaren allowed Senna to take pole position by just 1 tenth of a second over Nigel Mansell. In the race, the Lion crashed, Senna and Patrese broke down, causing the victory to fall into Gerhard Berger's lap. Judging by Williams' race pace, it was clear that Williams was still better than McLaren and Mansell would have won the race if it weren't for the crash.
GP Hungary 1992
In this race the FIA banned the use of special gasolines (ELF and Shell), and the Renault engine with this new regulation lost more power than the Honda engine, and this made the difference between Williams and McLaren decrease, despite the FW 14B continuing to be the best car.
Williams did a one-two on the grid, but Senna jumped to 2nd at the start, holding off Mansell for much of the race. Patrese took the lead and opened up a 27-second gap on Senna, until the Italian made a mistake and went off the track and then retired. Meanwhile, Mansell was stuck behind Senna and then Berger, losing time without being able to catch Senna. The Brazilian won the race, but Williams was clearly in the better position.
If Mansell hadn't gotten off to a bad start or Patrese hadn't spun when he was 27 seconds ahead of Senna, one of the Williams would have won that race.
GP Belgium 1992
Mansell took pole position, with two geniuses Senna and Schumacher in 2nd and 3rd places. Patrese had some problem in the practice sessions and started in 4th place. The race unfolded on a wet track and dried out at the end. Senna made a mistake in using slick tires in the wet. Schumacher slid off the track because his wet tires were already worn out and so he was the first to switch to slick tires. He benefited from this and won the race.
It should be noted that Schumacher only won because both Williams had exhaust failures (Source: FS Yearbook 1992 pg 138) and slowed down at the end of the race. If it weren't for the Williams' problem, Mansell would have won.
GP Italian 1992
Mansell took pole position, with Senna in 2nd place, but the Williams had gearbox problems (FS Yearbook 1992 pg 144) and retired, and Senna ended up winning with the Benettons completing the podium. Because of the Williams' breakdowns, I believe that McLaren was better in this race, even though Senna also won with a problem in the car (broken exhaust).
GP Australian 1992
Mansell took pole position, with Senna in 2nd place. The Brazilian, who was a street track specialist, put pressure on the Lion, and both drivers exchanged faster laps, but on lap 19 the Brazilian hit the back of the Williams and both drivers retired. The victory ended up falling into Gerhard Berger's lap, since Patrese retired, but under normal circumstances Nigel Mansell would have won this race, even if Senna's McLaren had been close to Williams in this race.
TRAINING DOMINANCE
In 1989 Mansell and Berger raced in the same car (Ferrari) and in 1992 the result was very different:
Starts in 1989: Mansell 7 x 7 Berger (0.1s Mansell)
Starts in 1992: Mansell 16 x 0 Berger (2.0s Mansell)
FINAL RESULT (RACE BY RACE)
In the other races not mentioned above, the FW 14B was, indisputably, the best car on the track.
Williams 14 x 2 Competition (McLaren and Benetton)
Senna got pole in Canada, thanks to the new Honda engine and a fantastic lap from the Brazilian, but overall in the season's races, in the QUAIFYINGS Williams was on average 2.0s faster than McLaren.
WILLIAMS 1993 DOMINANCE:
Williams won 10 races in the season in 1993, but unlike the previous year, Williams had the dominant car in 100% of the races in the season, but the fact that Damon Hill was a learning driver and Alain Prost was at the end of his career made it seem like they didn't have the best car in F1.
GP Brazilian 1993
Williams took a one-two on the starting grid by a 2-second difference, but Prost crashed when it started to rain, and that eliminated him from the race. Senna, with his enormous talent, won the race taking advantage of the fact that Damon Hill was adapting to the slightly wet track conditions with slick tires. If Prost had been on the track, he would have inevitably won this race. If Prost hadn't spun, given the distance he was ahead of Senna and with Damon Hill as his squire, the Frenchman would certainly have won that race.
GP European 1993
In the dry, Williams took a one-two on the starting grid by a 2-second difference, but in the wet, Senna's enormous talent made all the difference in this race in the rain. Prost was still traumatized by his mistake in the Brazilian GP and had a lackluster race. Senna won, but Williams was better. This can be proven, because when the rain started to stop, Williams started to go much faster than McLaren.
GP Monaco 1993
Williams was better this time by just 1 second, and Benetton, which was making its debut in the CT in this race, was better than McLaren, meaning the English team was the 3rd strongest team in F1. Senna only won this race because Prost jumped the start and had to do stop and go, due to Schumacher's breakdown, and Damon Hill's lack of competence.
GP Portugal 1993
In this race, McLaren showed clear improvements to the car, with aerodynamic changes, but Williams was still better and made its 12th one-two start. But Hill had a problem on the warm-up lap and started last, Senna's McLaren broke down and Schumacher in the Benetton won, because Prost only needed 2nd place to be the champion and he didn't try to overtake the German.
GP Japanese 1993
Williams was better again, but this time with the title decided, the team did not improve its car and the competition (McLaren, Benetton and Ferrari) caught up with Williams. The race was in the rain and Senna made a difference in the transition from dry to wet track and his enormous talent in the rain.
Williams continued to be the best car, but Damon Hill had a poor race in the rain, coming under pressure from Eddie Irvine in the Jordan, and Alain Prost had a very conservative race.
GP Australian 1993
In this race, the gap between Williams and McLaren was small, and Senna managed to take pole position, in a situation with almost no fuel in the tank. In the race, Senna, a street track specialist, maintained consistency and regularity and managed to stay ahead of the Williams and won the race, but the Williams was still the best car on the track. If anyone has any doubts, just look at Mika Hakkinen, who was a better driver than Damon Hill, who couldn't even keep up with the English driver.
DOMINANCE IN TRAINING
iIn 1988 and 1989 Senna and Prost raced in the same car (McLaren) and in 1993 in different cars:
Starts in 88/89: Senna 28 x 4 Prost (0.6s Senna)
Starts in 1993: Prost 15 x 1 Senna (1.4s Prost)
FINAL RESULT (RACE BY RACE)
In the other races not mentioned above, the FW 15 was, indisputably, the best car on the track.
Williams 16 x 0 competition (Benetton and McLaren).
The Williams FW 15 was the best car in 100% of the races. Senna got pole position in Australia with a fantastic lap with little fuel in the tank. But overall in the season in QUAIFYINGS Williams was on average 2.0s faster than McLaren, as we can conclude by analyzing the data above.
The link in the image above is the START YOUR ENGINES CHANNEL video that explains Williams' CVT gearbox well.
WILLIAMS F1'S BANNED CVT GEARBOX
In June 1993, Williams tested a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) gearbox with David Coulthard, and this gearbox made the Williams FW 15C go 1 second faster per lap than the conventional gearbox, and this was because Coulthard was a rookie driver, still learning and much less talented than Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost.
The advantage of this gearbox was to keep the engine speed within the ideal torque range, but of course the system would need to be developed, as it would increase the engine's heat generation, requiring larger radiators and increasing fuel consumption. In addition, the system generates more internal heat for the gearbox itself, requiring a radiator just for the CVT. All of this would generate more weight in the car, so the speed gain with the CVT gearbox is inconclusive.
As the system proved to be 1 second faster, it could be used in practice in a two or three lap situation. For the race situation the car would return to the conventional gearbox system. Regardless of this the FIA banned the use of this device, otherwise Williams' dominance could be even greater.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0lWdUXwVJs
Of the 4 Williams drivers, Nigel Mansell was the only one who reached the car's limits.
WHY WILLIAMS APPEARED TO BE LESS DOMINANT THAN IT WAS
The 1992 and 1993 Williams were the best cars in history, but their dominance seemed to have been less superior because their drivers' performance was below the car's speed. In addition, two F1 geniuses (Senna at McLaren and Schumacher at Benetton) were always on the lookout to win races if the Williams drivers failed.
Patrese did very badly in 1992, he was almost 1 second (on average) slower than Mansell with the same car in practice. In 1993, he transferred to Benetton and lost 16-0 to Schumacher in qualifying. In fact, Riccardo was already at the end of his career since 1992, and he didn't even come close to Williams' limit.
Prost did well in 1993, got 13 pole positions, won 7 races and was champion, but his performance was nowhere near his performance in 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989 and 1990, when the Frenchman had excellent seasons. In 1988, for example, he was proportionally much better than in 1993, scoring even more points without discards. If there are still any doubts, just look at the fact that in 1993 Senna won 5 races and the Frenchman won 7 races in a much better car. In fact, the Frenchman was also at the end of his career, and did enough to be champion, and never drove the car to its limits.
Damon Hill did reasonably well. But in the races that required the most talent from the driver, he did not show performance that matched the performance of the car. On tracks like Interlagos, Monaco, Montreal and Suzuka, he had average performances. In fact, the FW 15's electronics made Damon Hill's driving approach that of Alain Prost, and this made it seem like the Englishman had much more talent than he actually did.
Nigel Mansell was the only one who extracted 100% from the car in most of the 1992 races, but he still made mistakes like in the 1992 Monaco and 1992 Canadian GPs and even suffered a crash from Senna in Australia 1992. The Lion could have won 12 or 13 races that year, and then people would see more easily that the FW 14B was a super dominant car.