Frank Williams' team had a clear advantage at virtually every Grand Prix circuit. The Patrick Head and Adrian Newey-designed Williams FW14B chassis powered by the legendary V10 Renault engine.
Ricardo Patrese, in qualifying for his 234th Grand Prix, took full advantage of his remarkable 1992 Williams Grand Prix car. Actually, it was in Mansell's "T-car" that Patrese set his best qualifying time. The Italian qualified his FW14B alongside Mansell on the front row, 0.6 seconds ahead of Senna's McLaren-Honda.
Patrese and Mansell led the way into a nail-biting first corner scramble. Patrese made the better start but Mansell came out ahead at the other end. Senna nearly ran into the #6 Williams but Patrese escaped tragedy, for the time being! The Williams teammates settled into a pace that the competition couldn't match.
With Mansell running in the lead, Patrese was doing his all to make it a Williams-Renault 1-2 finish but just couldn't pressure Senna into a mistake
Senna and Schumacher opted to run the race without pitting, mixing up the field a bit when both Williams' stopped for fresh tires. Patrese was trapped behind Schumacher for a few laps but got by into third. Once past, Patrese set a series of fastest laps as he clawed at the 7.6-second gap to Senna, with 7 laps to go. Though he made up the distance rapidly, the Brazilian was unflappable, covering every angle, leaving it up to Patrese to pull out a defiant pass. Several lock-ups later, and on the final lap, Patrese lost the rear and ended his race in the grass. The dramatic end to the day dropped the #6 Williams to a final classified of 8th place, but the battle was number one with the fans!
"This is not the result I would have liked", said the incredibly experienced Patrese after his desperate passing attempt resulted in a last lap spin.
