1992 First Big Success

But this time he drove more than 500 metres. On lap 30 he was running in third place, ahead of him were the two Williams pilots Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese and behind him was his Benetton team mate Martin Brundle. Then a moment of shock: Brundle put pressure on Michael, who had his hands full in order to keep him behind. His visor permanently steamed up and before Stavelot it happened – Michael missed the corner and drove onto the gravel. Brundle overtook. Michael was lucky that he could continue, managed to get back on track and only lost one position.

For Whom The Bell Tolls

Then came Michael’s big moment. While driving behind Bundle he noticed that his tyres were worn-out and already formed bubbles. Michael reacted right away because he knew that same set-up plus same manner of driving equals same wear and tear. So he pitted, his tyres were changed and he took the lead. The two Williams pilots fell behind because of a misunderstanding via the radio and technical problems. But Michael could have been faster anyway. He posted the fastest lap time on lap 40.

After 44 laps, one hour, 36 minutes, 10 seconds and 721 thousandths Michael was the first who crossed the finishing line. During the following years 90 moments exactly like that one followed. “It was kind of funny because I only won because of a mistake”, Michael remembers. “It was obvious that my tyres would look similar to Martin’s and I remember that it flashed through my mind: I have to pit now. This decision was worth its weight in gold, because after that I lead by five seconds. Insofar my team mate helped me to win this race. It was a great feeling up there.”

Great consistency in podium finishes

But Michael’s second Formula 1 season had already started before that. Position four at the season opener in South Africa, in Mexico he was among the top3 and also two weeks later in Brazil he stood on the podium – both times beat by the two superior Williams pilots. In Barcelona he stroke again: Michael became second for the first time, only Nigel Mansell in his Williams was faster than Michael in his new Benetton B192.

In Canada Michael became second again. He kept scoring points, unfortunately was not able to finish the races in San Marino and France but then became third at his home debut at Hockenheim. He was not lucky in Hungary but won the next race in Belgium and drove onto the podium in Italy. Apart from the four times he did not finish the race, the Portugal GP is the only race where Michael did not score any points because he became seventh. At the season final in Australia he became second and finished the season in third with 53 points, only three points behind Riccardo Patrese in his superior Williams and one point ahead of Ayrton Senna.

Courtesy by motorsport-magazin.com