The championship was again decided at the final round in Japan where once again the two protagonists where Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. This time the McLaren driver shunted the Ferrari rival's car off the track at the first corner. Fortunately, neither was hurt, but the fall out from this dangerous manoeuvre would rumble on for some months.

Senna edged Prost by six wins to five, whilst a rejuvenated Nelson Piquet scored two wins for Benetton, whilst Mansell, Patrese and Boutsen took a win apiece.

The Grand Prix career of Alessandro Nannini came to and abrupt end when he was involved in a helicopter accident, whilst the promising Martin Donnelly was very indeed lucky to survive a violent accident at Jerez.

Winning Driver	Ayrton Senna
Winning Constructor	McLaren - Honda

Honda introduced a V12 engine and in the hands of Ayrton Senna it proved good enough to help the Brazilian to a third World championship. However, Renault's rise to the top was building momentum, with Nigel Mansell back in the Williams fold to spearhead their challenge once again. The doughty Brit scored five wins and his team mate Riccardo Patrese added another two for good measure. Gerhard Berger gained his first McLaren victory whilst Nelson Piquet took his 23rd and final Grand Prix win before opting out of Formula 1.

Impressive newcomers to the grid were Jordan whose very attractive machine embarrassed more than a few well-heeled competitors as the season progressed. Less successful were Footwork who had to abandoned their over-heavy Porsche V12 in favour of Cosworth power after just six races.

Two newcomers who were to reach the very top of the sport made their debuts. Mika Häkkinen began at Lotus whilst Michael Schumacher made a very assured debut at Spa for Jordan before being snapped up by Benetton.

After an unhappy second season Prost left Ferrari abruptly and decided to take a sabbatical year in 1992.

For the first time in thirty years the points scoring system was amended, with the winner being awarded ten points for a win instead of nine.

Winning Driver	Ayrton Senna
Winning Constructor	McLaren - Honda

Nigel Mansell won eight of the opening ten races in his Williams-Renault and was crowned World Champion in August with five rounds of the season remaining. His team mate Riccardo Patrese was runner-up, whilst the ever more impressive Michael Schumacher achieved his first Grand Prix win at Spa before taking third place in the driver rankings.

Honda bowed out of racing after helping to power Williams and then McLaren to six consecutive constructor titles between 1986 and 1991. Pirelli also left Formula 1 once more, leaving Goodyear to supply the entire field in 1993.

Early season interest focused on the attempts of lady driver Giovanna Amati to qualify an uncompetitive Brabham. After three unsuccessful attempts, her place was taken by a young driver eager to make his mark by the name of Damon Hill.

Max Mosley becomes president of the FIA.

Winning Driver	Nigel Mansell
Winning Constructor	Williams - Renault

Champion Nigel Mansell did not defend his crown and defected to Indy Car racing after Alain Prost was lured back into Formula 1 by Frank Williams. The little Frenchman continued the team's run of success taking seven wins on his way to a fourth World Championship. He was ably backed by Damon Hill (who scored three successive wins Hungary, Belgium and Italy) and demonstrated admirable temperament for a rookie in a front-line team. Only the sublime talent of Ayrton Senna threatened the Williams duopoly with the Brazilian scoring five wins in his final year at McLaren.

Max Mosley introduced a series of changes to reduce costs and improve safety as cars sported narrower tyres and smaller wings. The use of a safety car was introduced to enable stricken cars to be removed from dangerous trackside positions.

The motoring world was stunned by the death of former Champion James Hunt who died suddenly after a heart attack at the age of 45.

Winning Driver	Alain Prost
Winning Constructor	Williams - Renault

The season was overshadowed by the terrible events at Imola when Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna were killed in separate accidents. After the Brazilian's death, and a serious accident to Karl Wendlinger at Monaco, traction control and other electronic driver aids were banned and hasty alterations were made at some circuits in an attempt to reduce speeds.

Michael Schumacher emerged as the man to inherit Senna's mantle as the man to beat and became Germany's first ever World Champion. In a riveting finale to the season the title was won in controversial circumstances at Adelaide. Schumacher, after hittingthe wall contrived to collide with his main rival Damon Hill ensured that the title was his by just a single point. Between them, the pair won fourteen of the sixteen races, leaving Gerhard Berger  (Ferrari) and Nigel Mansell (Williams) with just one win each.

Winning Driver	Michael Schumacher
Winning Constructor	Williams - Renault

Another round of rule changes on the grounds of safety brought a reduction in engine size to 3 litres and the fully stepped bottoms to the cars. There were plenty of changes amongst the teams as well, with Renault supplying Benetton and Williams. Mercedes-Benz after two years with Sauber stepped up their program in cementing a partnership with McLaren.

On track, Michael Schumacher's second title was won in convincing fashion taking nine wins from the seventeen races. The Williams pair of trailed behind, although Damon Hill managed another four wins and David Coulthard scored his first success in Portugal.

Also recording their maiden wins were Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi who took emotional wins at Silverstone and Montreal respectively. Nigel Mansell's Grand Prix career ended with a whimper after a swift parting of the ways with McLaren.

Mika Häkkinen was fortunate that prompt action by the trackside safety team in Adelaide saved his life after a heavy practice accident. Happily the Finn would recover fully to make a swift return to Australia at the beginning of 1996.

Winning Driver	Michael Schumacher
Winning Constructor	Benetton - Renault

Michael Schumacher took on the massive challenge of reviving the fortunes of Ferrari, and for the time being a championship challenge would be beyond his reach. He did however win three races in his first year at Maranello, including a stupendous victory in front of the Tifosi at Monza.

This left the Williams-Renault pair of Damon Hill and new team mate, Indy Car champion Jacques Villeneuve, to fight out the championship between them. The Englishman's experience undoubtedly counted winning eight races to the French-Canadian's four. It was a bitter-sweet year for Hill who was replaced by Williams with the unproven German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen for the 1997.

Monaco provided the season's only other winner and it was a pleasant surprise to see Olivier Panis take his only Grand Prix victory. This was to be the ninth last for Ligier.

Winning Driver	Damon Hill
Winning Constructor	Williams - Renault

With Damon Hill out of the title equation, it was Jacques Villeneuve who carried the fight to Michael Schumacher with the now potent Ferrari. Once again, the title was to be decided controversially at the final round as the German attempted to push the Williams star off the track. Ironically it was the Ferrari that came off second best and bounced into retirement. It became almost as a side issue that the winner of the race was Mika Häkkinen, finally breaking his duck after 96 races.

Earlier in the year McLaren emerged from their long period out of the winner's circle with their first victories in the post-Senna era, David Coulthard taking a win in Melbourne (and later another at Monza). The season saw a final win for Benneton's Gerhard Berger in the German Grand Prix and in an astonishing performance, Damon Hill very nearly won the Hungarian Grand Prix for Arrows when his Bridgestone-shod car had the beating of the field.

Winning Driver	Jacques Villeneuve
Winning Constructor	Williams - Renault

New regulations featured narrower track cars and grooved tyres that were meant to curb lap times. In the event, the tyre war between Bridgestone and Michelin only helped to keep things much as they were. A new Concorde Agreement was signed which helped give stability to the eleven competing teams.

It was a year that featured some thrilling racing with Mika Häkkinen and McLaren-Mercedes   proving to be the combination to beat. The Flying Finn outscored Michael Schumacher by eight wins to six, the crumbs being picked up by David Coulthard and Damon Hill. For Hill it was an emotional triumph at Spa as he guided Eddie Jordan 's car to its first win in the wet conditions.

For Ken Tyrrell, having sold his team to British American Racing, it was the end of an illustrious racing career as he retired from competition at season's end.

Winning Driver	Mika Häkkinen
Winning Constructor	McLaren - Mercedes

Formula 1 was riding on a high of both financial investment and global interest was at an all time high.

Mika Häkkinen retained his championship crown, helped by the mid-season accident to his main adversary Michael Schumacher. The German's title hopes were dashed when he broke his leg in a shunt at Sivlverstone, and it was Ferrari's number two Eddie Irvine who pushed the Finn all the way to the final round. Ferrari's consolation was to achieve their first Constructors Championship since 1983.

The Jordan team were the surprise packet of the season with Heinz-Harald Frentzen finally fulfilling his potential to record wins in France and Italy. In contrast, the form of his team mate Damon Hill dipped alarmingly, and the 1996 Champion opted for retirement.

The adage that money alone cannot guarantee success, was never found to be truer than at BAR, who failed to score a single point, despite having Jacques Villeneuve on the payroll. Indeed the steady progress at Stewart Grand Prix brought its reward when Johnny Herbert brought the team a first win at the Nürburgring in the European Grand Prix.

Winning Driver	Mika Häkkinen
Winning Constructor	Ferrari