Monaco 1982 and 1992, crazy ends of the race!
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40 years already – Monaco 1982: an end signed Hitchcock
Photo credit – F1 image capture
The 1982 Monaco Grand Prix comes after that of Belgium where Gilles Villeneuve tragically died. It is therefore in a heavy atmosphere that the F1 circus arrives in the principality, to this is also added the political tensions between the president of the FIA, Jean-Marie Balestre, and the manufacturers on the background of a project to limit engine consumption. turbo.
On the engine side, Renault is innovating by introducing electronic injection which transforms the diamond-shaped V6 Turbo. Until now, the turbo response time and its lack of flexibility proved disastrous in Monaco, a winding circuit where the French single-seaters were always suffering. But all that is in the past! Arnoux took pole position ahead of Ricardo Patrèse’s Brabham-Ford, while Alain Prost, hampered by…Arnoux, was only 4th.
Arnoux takes off at the start and largely leads the race, until the 15th lap when a touch at the entrance to the swimming pool sends him into a spin. Although having recovered his single-seater, he stalled and had to retire. Alain Prost recovers the lead and is ahead of Patrèse, Pironi and De Cesaris. The pack of “furious” rolls grouped then Prost takes the lead little by little, counting up to 8 seconds in advance. But as the 60th lap approached, the rain began to fall, especially on the upper part of the circuit, towards the Casino.
Prost begins to wave to race direction, but the grand prix continues. On lap 74, a few loops from the end, at the exit of the chicane after the tunnel (which happened quickly at the time), when going over the gas, Prost was surprised. The Renault suddenly stalls and hits the slide head-on violently before bouncing violently on the other side. The Frenchman gets a good “whiplash” on the way, while a wheel continues its way towards the fences. It is abandonment.
Patrèse recovered the lead…but he slid and spun on the 75th lap, at the Loews hairpin! Disaster ! Helped by the marshals, he manages to restart his engine but Pironi and De Cesaris have passed…
Last tour. Pironi starts this final loop in the lead, but drives in slow motion. And in the tunnel, it is at a standstill! incredible ! The humidity caused a short circuit on the ignition of his Ferrari! On the pit wall, the Ferrari staff waited for the Frenchman…in vain. De Cesaris should recover the lead and spin on his Alfa Romeo towards a first victory… but he is stopped at the Casino! Out of gas ! disaster for the Italian.
Finally, it is Patrèse, saved in extremis from his error two laps earlier, who wins, in the most total confusion. Some attribute the victory to Mansell, who finished the race in a cannonball and had passed Pironi at the start of the last lap, but the Englishman was in fact a lap behind…
Patrèse thus won its first victory in a daunting finale. A nice revenge for the Italian, who had been vilified by his pairs four years earlier. Reputed to be tough and rough on the track, Patrèse had been accused of having caused the pileup at the start of the 1978 Monza Grand Prix which had led to the death of Ronnie Peterson. Thrown out by a large part of the pilots of the moment, he had suffered a suspension race and had seen his reputation duly attached. A real rebirth!
30 years already – Monaco 1992: Unmistakable Senna
1992 is the Williams-Renault year, as well as that of its star driver, Nigel Mansell. The FW14B, combined with the French V10 and its formidable electronic aids, is an unbeatable war machine. Mansell finally seems to be able to claim this title which has eluded him on several occasions. Having totally taken the lead over his teammate Patrèse, the fiery mustachioed won the first five races of the year! For his part, the defending champion, Ayrton Senna, can only see the damage: his McLaren-Honda is not at the level of the Williams-Renault and lacks reliability. The Brazilian has three retirements and only two small podiums.
Senna seems resigned to what is nevertheless “his” grand prix, which he has won 4 times in a row since 1988. Nevertheless, the Williams-Renault are once again imperial. Mansell takes his sixth pole in six races, smashes the circuit record and becomes the first driver to exceed the average speed of 150 km/h in the Principality. Patrèse is second while “Magic” has to settle for 3rd time, more than a second behind Mansell.
On Sunday, the race looks like a health walk. On lap 70, Mansell was 30 seconds ahead of Senna. English should finally win this course that has always eluded him. The mass is said … but applies, Mansell seems to be worried. He catches a sudden boarding under the tunnel, then fails to brake at the chicane and pulls straight. The Englishman returns to his stand. His mechanics did not detect anything abnormal and replaced the tires in about ten seconds because the right rear wheel was recalcitrant. When Mansell resumed the track, Senna had passed for four seconds!
With his new tyres, Mansell goes on the hunt, while Senna has to deal with worn tyres. In just a few laps, the Williams combined the delay on the McLaren. At the start of the 76th and penultimate lap, Mansell was huddled in Senna’s rear wing and was going to try everything to overtake him. He zigzags and tries to intimidate his opponent. Price and dry shifts at the tobacconist, at the exit of the tunnel, in the rise of the Casino or at La Rascasse, Mansell stamps his feet and looks for the opening, but Senna uses all his science to close the doors and block the trajectories. For three rounds, it’s a ruthless street fight. Mansell harasses the Brazilian but can’t find an opening. Senna won by just two tenths, after defending his place tooth and nail. He signed his 5th victory in the Principality, equaling Graham Hill’s record. Annoyed, disillusioned and exhausted, Mansell leaves his monopalace and collapses on the ground. He will need the help of marshals to reach the podium. Victory eluded her as she held out her arms to him. A battle of giants!
to summarize
The 1982 Monaco Grand Prix had a totally incredible end, transcended by a twisted scenario. Ten years later, the Senna-Mansell duel in the principality contributed its stone to the building of the legend “Magic” Senna.