The last victory of a great partnership: Ayrton Senna and Honda crushed the competition in several occasions on racetracks around the world from 1987 to 1992. The 1992 Monza Grand Prix was the Brazilian’s last victory aboard a car with the Japanese engine. Also at this Italian Grand Prix, Senna met Martin Brundle on the podium for the first time since they were rivals in F3, where they played exciting duels.
Senna started the race facing a challenge: he had to use a spare car. His regular one had issues with the new active suspension, which was rival Williams’ greatest advantage in 1992. The “Lion” started the race at the pole-position. Senna had a hard time keeping his second place due to Jean Alesi’s pressure. Ayrton braked at the last second and held back the Frenchman after the first turn.
Patrese managed to overtake Alesi during the first few laps and started chasing the Brazilian. The Williams’ Renault engine proved itself superior and the Italian overtook Senna at the main-straight braking point.
The fight for first place was on, since the Britton slowed down and let the Italian get closer, ceding the lead 20 laps in. From then on, Mansell stayed right behind his teammate, making it look like he could pass him at any moment, while Senna remained in third, trying to catch up.
The odds of Ayrton Senna winning seemed minimal, but both Williams failed, allowing the three-time champion to beat the weekend’s front-runners. Nigel Masell retired with electrical problems in the 43rd lap. Ricardo Patrese lost power three laps before the finish, slowing down to a crawl. The Brazilian rocketed towards a victory, but not before fighting tooth and nail with Martin Brundle’s and Michael Schumacher’s Benettons.
On the podium, he was both happy and nostalgic. Content with winning the 36th Grand Prix in his career, but saddened with the Honda announcement, to whom he dedicated his triumph. It was Ayrton’s third and final win in the ‘92 season.
Thanks to the points scored by Senna and Berger (in 4th place), McLaren achieved an historic feat: the team passed Ferrari in total F1 points. The Italian team had 1.744,5 points, while McLaren now boasted 1.755,5.
