Collision at the Loews

On lap 12 of the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher (Benetton) tried to pass Jean Alesi (Ferrari) for fourth place in the Loews Hairpin… the two collided (picture-above), and an electrical box was damaged in Alesi’s car. The French ace continued in fifth for another 16 laps with Schumacher now ahead of him, before the damage forced him to retire.

The 78-lap race was won by Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Honda, but it should have been an easy victory for championship leader Nigel Mansell who took pole position in his Williams-Renault and led comfortably until lap 71, when he suspected he had a puncture and made a pitstop for new tyres.

He emerged behind Senna, and despite all his efforts and a much quicker car, the Brazilian prevailed for 0.2 seconds. It was Senna’s fifth Monaco Grand Prix win, equalling Graham Hill, and Nigel Mansell finished a close second and was never going to win the prestigious race.