1993 Japanese Grand Prix

This is the complete race as broadcast on LIVE TV.

Alain Prost left the McLaren Team at the end of the 1991 season, and with that his bitterness against
his rival teammate Ayrton Senna. Prost sat out the entire 1992 season, but was lured out of retirement
by Williams and their controversial new car that had traction control, and an innovative suspension that
adjusted for track conditions. With these new technological advancement, Prost would capture the
1993 World Championship by the time of the Portugal Grand Prix, the race before this Japanese
Grand Prix. Prost announced he would retire permanently at the end of the 1993 season, and Senna
had made a decision to leave McLaren to replace Prost. But in the last two races of the season (Japan
and Australia), with Prost retiring for good, Senna wanted to make a statement against his nemesis,
and show who was the better driver.

At the start of the race, Senna is off and running as he leads Prost and Hakkinen, but the incredible
stability of the Williams car allows Prost to regain the lead, much to the frustration of Senna. Michael
Schumacher makes contact with Damon Hill, another bitter rivalry in the making between two great
drivers. The first pit stops had begun when it started to rain, but it was not wet enough for a tire
change. In these conditions, with a slick track, Senna shows his incredible driving ability. He quickly
closes up on Prost. As the rain continued, Prost, Senna and Hakkinen all stopped for a change to wet
tires. Prost’s stop was slow and Senna takes the lead.

As the rain subsided and the track dried out, Senna and Prost again battled for the lead, and the gap
closed dramatically when they came up to pass two cars battling for fifth place, Damon Hill and Eddie
Irvine. Irvine greatly annoyed Senna with his behavior and after the race the two came to blows. The
leaders eventually cleared the slower cars and soon pitted for slicks. The order at the front was set
with Senna leading home Prost and Hakkinen to score his 40th and McLaren’s 103rd victory, equaling
Ferrari’s record of Grand Prix wins.

This video is in a modified letterbox format to maintain clarity. The video is not as smooth as some of
our other races, but the footage is clear. This is a spliced broadcast between Eurovision and the BBC.
As Eurovision goes to break, the footage changes over to BBC with Murray Walker and James Hunt on
commentary, and it continues back and forth. This splicing allows you to see the entire race, without
missing a minute of the coverage. Also has the post race interview with Senna.