First
World Circuit Championship
My first Grand Prix season! I have been practicing hard and have shown considerable potential. In a
dream scenario, both Bob Mikels and I got a call from Ron Dennis and were invited to be team-mates
on the McLaren-Honda team. Driving for the top team in Formula One carries a lot of responsibility!
Both McLaren and Honda are expecting nothing less than the World Championship. The pressure is
on!
United States Grand Prix
Phoenix
Round 1 of 16
FINISH 1st
FASTEST LAP 2nd
QUALIFYING Had four untroubled runs.
RACE Caused an accident and bottleneck at the first corner after the start. Came out unscathed in first place. Led from there to the finish with Nigel Mansell closing. I wondered how long it was going to take me to even get any points at this level. I never thought I would get a win in my first race, although the first corner accident made the win somewhat controversial.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Wyant 10, (2) Mansell 6, (3) Prost 4, (4) Nakajima 3, (5) Schumacher 2, (6) Martini 1
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) McLaren 10, (2) Williams 6, (3) Ferrari 4, (4) Tyrrell 3, (5) Benetton 2
Brazilian Grand Prix
Interlagos
Round 2 of 16
FINISH 23rd
FASTEST LAP 3rd
QUALIFYING Off-course a lot. Having trouble at the tricky uphill double right-hander called Feradura. Set pole time on a lap that I didn't think was that good. My first pole position!
RACE Was somewhat slow off the line at the start. Was holding fifth and closing on fourth place when I had two off-course excursions on the last lap. Bob's win made it two wins in the first two races for McLaren-Honda. A good start to the season!
DRIVER POINTS (1) Wyant 10, Mikels 10, (3) Mansell 6, Patrese 6, (5) Prost 4, Alesi 4
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) McLaren 20, (2) Williams 12, (3) Ferrari 8, (4) Benetton 7, (5) Tyrrell 3
San Marino Grand Prix
Imola
Round 3 of 16
FINISH DNF
FASTEST LAP 24th
QUALIFYING Never could get into a rhythm.
RACE A wet race! Fell to eighteenth at the start. Worked my way past shunts to 10th. Spun at the uphill right-hand bend before Piratella on the second lap and was hit by Martin Brundle and was out of the race.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mansell 16, (2) Mikels 14, (3) Wyant 10, Alesi 10, (5) Patrese 8, (6) Prost 7
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) McLaren 24, Williams 24, (3) Ferrari 17, (4) Benetton 7, (5) Tyrrell 3
Monaco Grand Prix
Monte Carlo
Round 4 of 16
FINISH 2nd
FASTEST LAP 1st
QUALIFYING Had fast run on first set of tires. Too much traffic on the other runs.
RACE Fell to fifth in the early going, but worked my way back. A hard race on this very demanding circuit! Got my first fastest lap of the race.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mansell 20, (2) Patrese 18, (3) Mikels 17, (4) Wyant 16, (5) Alesi 10, (6) Prost 9
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) Williams 38, (2) McLaren 33, (3) Ferrari 19, (4) Benetton 7, (5) Tyrrell 7
Canadian Grand Prix
Montreal
Round 5 of 16
FINISH DNF
FASTEST LAP N/A
QUALIFYING A good first run. Had traffic and crashes on the other runs, including a crash in pit lane!
RACE A disaster. Got hit in the back on the first lap and then was involved in a traffic jam in the pit entrance. This left me pointing directly at my pit. I couldn't find reverse gear and after 30 seconds, the simulation took me out of the race. Team-mate Bob won the race and has taken over the World Championship lead.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mikels 27, (2) Patrese 21, (3) Mansell 20, (4) Wyant 16, (5) Prost 13, (6) Alesi 10
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) McLaren 43, (2) Williams 41, (3) Ferrari 23, (4) Benetton 9, (5) Jordan 8
Mexican Grand Prix
Mexico City
Round 6 of 16
FINISH 1st
FASTEST LAP 1st
QUALIFYING Astonishing first run which gets me pole position and my quickest lap ever!
RACE A good race, if somewhat controversial. While leading, I started a fracas on the second lap by inadvertently spinning Riccardo Patrese off in front of the field at the end of the long main straight while trying to protect my lead. My fastest lap was almost as good as my qualifying lap. Had Alain Prost hounding me all the way to the finish. My first "triple." Pole position, the win and fastest race lap! Team manager Frank Williams was not at all happy with my incident with Patrese.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mikels 29, (2) Wyant 26, (3) Mansell 24, (4) Patrese 21, (5) Prost 19, (6) Alesi 11
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) McLaren 55, (2) Williams 45, (3) Ferrari 30, (4) Benetton 12, (5) Jordan 8
French Grand Prix
Magny-Cours
Round 7 of 16
FINISH 5th
FASTEST LAP 5th
QUALIFYING Another astonishing first run producing the pole and my quickest lap ever. This is my third pole position in a row!
RACE I got blown off. I had to force my way into the points. I seem to be very slow through the long right-hand Estoril Bend.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mikels 35, (2) Prost 29, (3) Wyant 28, (4) Patrese 25, (5) Mansell 24, (6) Alesi 11, de Cesaris 11
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) McLaren 63, (2) Williams 49, (3) Ferrari 40, (4) Benetton 13, (5) Jordan 11
British Grand Prix
Silverstone
Round 8 of 16
FINISH 8th
FASTEST LAP 10th
QUALIFYING I did the best I could do. I know there is some speed there somewhere.
RACE Got passed by a couple of cars in the beginning and passed a few cars. Never did get up into the points. I need more practice here. Having a lot of trouble at Stowe and Becketts.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mikels 38, (2) Mansell 34, (3) Patrese 31, Prost 31, (5) Wyant 28, (6) Alesi 15
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) McLaren 66, (2) Williams 65, (3) Ferrari 46, (4) Benetton 14, (5) Jordan 11
German Grand Prix
Hockenheim
Round 9 of 16
FINISH DNF
FASTEST LAP N/A
QUALIFYING Not bad. I'm having trouble driving and shifting the gears. The high-speed third chicane is difficult for me.
RACE A short race. I was fighting for third when I was nudged from behind approaching the second chicane on the first lap and crashed out. Bob won the race and extended his World Championship lead.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mikels 48, (2) Mansell 40, (3) Patrese 35, (4) Prost 33, (5) Wyant 28, (6) Alesi 18
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) McLaren 76, (2) Williams 75, (3) Ferrari 51, (4) Benetton 15, (5) Jordan 11
Hungarian Grand Prix
Budapest
Round 10 of 16
FINISH 23rd
FASTEST LAP 11th
QUALIFYING A very difficult circuit for me. I'm slow everywhere here. Just can't seem to get a handle on it!
RACE Crummy race. Got up to 11th at the start, then had to pit to fix the front wing after flying off the road on the fast uphill left-hander at the end of the back straight. Drove frantically after that, pulling away from Erik Comas. All for 23rd place.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mikels 51, (2) Mansell 46, (3) Patrese 45, (4) Prost 35, (5) Wyant 28, (6) Alesi 22
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) Williams 91, (2) McLaren 79, (3) Ferrari 51, (4) Benetton 15, (5) Jordan 11
Belgian Grand Prix
Spa-Francorchamps
Round 11 of 16
FINISH 24th
FASTEST LAP 17th
QUALIFYING Got to within two-tenths of my best time ever. A difficult circuit for me. I'm just not fast here.
RACE Managed to get up to 11th at one point, but fell off the road twice in the last lap. Another problem circuit for me. Having trouble at the double left-hander at Pouhon and the fast right-hander at Les Fagnes. Team-mate Bob has lost the Championship lead.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mansell 56, (2) Mikels 54, (3) Patrese 51, (4) Prost 35, (5) Wyant 28, (6) Alesi 26
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) Williams 107, (2) McLaren 82, (3) Ferrari 61, (4) Benetton 16, (5) Jordan 13
Italian Grand Prix
Monza
Round 12 of 16
FINISH 18th
FASTEST LAP 8th
QUALIFYING Set my best ever lap time. I like this circuit.
RACE Stupidly drove into the back of my team-mate Bob at the first chicane after the start. Pitted to fix the front wing and collided with Bob again in the pits. The simulation didn't indicate he was there. Drove a lonely race after that. After the race, team manager Ron Dennis had harsh words for me! Bob had been only two points behind in the Championship until now. Rivals Williams-Renault have just scored their third consecutive one-two finish.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mansell 66, (2) Patrese 57, (3) Mikels 54, (4) Prost 39, (5) Alesi 29, (6) Wyant 28
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) Williams 123, (2) McLaren 82, (3) Ferrari 68, (4) Benetton 17, (5) Jordan 13
Portugese Grand Prix
Estoril
Round 13 of 16
FINISH 20th
FASTEST LAP 1st
QUALIFYING Produced my quickest time ever which got me the pole. Had maybe an even better lap going on my last set of tires, but crashed into a Ligier exiting the final turn.
RACE I did it again! Fell off the road at the third corner and clobbered Bob, taking him out of the race again. I'm not learning patience. I did manage to set the fastest lap of the race, but that was Insignificant compared to Ron's wrath! Williams-Renault have secured the Constructor's Championship, producing a rare smile from Frank.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mansell 76, (2) Patrese 57, (3) Mikels 54, (4) Prost 43, (5) Alesi 35, (6) Wyant 28
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) Williams 133, (2) McLaren 82, (3) Ferrari 78, (4) Benetton 19, (5) Jordan 16
Spanish Grand Prix
Barcelona
Round 14 of 16
FINISH 8th
FASTEST LAP 16th
QUALIFYING Another circuit that's difficult for me. I did however set my quickest time ever here.
RACE Managed to finish. Had another couple of comings-together with Bob, this time without any physical damage. Just the loss of positions. Ron Dennis wants to see me. He wants me to understand that my antics in the last three races have taken Bob out of the Championship, allowed Williams-Renault to win the Constructor's Championship as well as allowing Ferrari to move past us into second place!
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mansell 80, (2) Patrese 67, (3) Mikels 55, (4) Prost 46, (5) Alesi 41, (6) Wyant 28
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) Williams 147, (2) Ferrari 87, (3) McLaren 83, (4) Benetton 19, (5) Jordan 16
Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka
Round 15 of 16
FINISH 21st
FASTEST LAP 7th
QUALIFYING Need more practice here. I had good laps going, but would fall of the road particularly at First Curve and Spoon Curve, both of which are difficult double-apex corners.
RACE Made up some positions at the start, but was manhandled at the esses. Got caught up in a shunt just before the pit entrance and had to have my front wing fixed. Bob's win puts him within striking distance of Riccardo Patrese for second place in the Championship. Bob gets his first "triple." Pole position, the win and fastest lap.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mansell 84, (2) Patrese 69, (3) Mikels 65, (4) Prost 49, (5) Alesi 47, (6) Wyant 28
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) Williams 153, (2) Ferrari 96, (3) McLaren 93, (4) Benetton 19, (5) Jordan 17
Australian Grand Prix
Adelaide
Round 16 of 16
FINISH 5th
FASTEST LAP 3rd
QUALIFYING Did my quickest lap ever. Tangled with a Williams at the end of Brabham straight on my last run.
RACE Got manhandled at the start. These guys show no mercy! Held fourth for awhile, fell back to sixth but recovered one position. Held the fastest lap for awhile. My first points in nine races.
DRIVER POINTS (1) Mansell 90, (2) Patrese 79, (3) Mikels 65, (4) Prost 53, (5) Alesi 50, (6) Wyant 30
CONSTRUCTOR POINTS (1) Williams 169, (2) Ferrari 103, (3) McLaren 95, (4) Benetton 19, (5) Jordan 18
I had the speed, but not the patience. I'm learning that being able to produce one blindingly quick lap
isn't anywhere near enough to compete for the World Championship! In my First season, I
managed two wins although both had some controversy. I caused a big problem at Phoenix by being too
aggressive at the first corner after the start. At Mexico, I made a move on Riccardo Patrese while
defending my lead at the end of the long main straight. This spun him off in front of the field, causing a
big problem. Perhaps the Phoenix error was my fault. However, at Mexico City, I felt it was more
Patrese's fault. My biggest mistakes were at Monza and Estoril where I crashed my team-mate Bob out
at a time when he was challenging for the Championship. However, two wins, five pole positions and an
overall sixth in the Championship were far more than I was expecting.