History of Formula One - Dominance of McLaren and Williams

Dominance of McLaren and Williams

See 1984 season, 1985 season, 1986 season, 1987 season, 1988 season, 1989 season, 1990 season, 1991 season, 1992 season and 1993 season.

With controversy at last left behind, the Formula One teams flourished through the remainder of the 1980s and into the 1990s. Despite the overwhelming dominance of two teams—McLaren and Williams—this period is regarded (perhaps ironically) as one of the brightest spots in F1's 50 year history.

Niki Lauda, coming out of retirement for a hefty sum in 1982, pipped his teammate Alain Prost to the title in 1984 by a mere half point, the closest ever finish in Formula One history. That half point in itself was controversial in that it came at the rain-shortened Grand Prix of Monaco, which resulted in half points, too. Prost won that race, but rookie Ayrton Senna made the stronger impression in his Toleman car, finishing 2nd and rapidly closing on Prost (while the young German Stefan Bellof in the inferior non-turbocharged Tyrrell raced from the back of the field to 3rd and might even have taken the win, running faster than both Prost and Senna and with Senna reputed to have terminal suspension damage after an earlier incident). It was the start of a rivalry between the two men that would continue for nearly a decade. But in the early years, Prost held the advantage, driving for the McLaren team with the Porsche-built TAG turbo engine which took three world titles in a row.

1986 provided another close finish. The Honda-powered Williams cars of Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell looked untouchable, but too often they took points from each other, allowing McLaren's Prost to stay in touch. Although Williams easily won the Constructor's Championship that year, it wasn't until the season-ending Grand Prix of Australia that the Driver's title was decided, Prost making the most of both Williams drivers tyre problems. 1987 saw the Williams grow only stronger, with Piquet driving more consistent races to take his 3rd title ahead of Mansell.

1987 also saw the return of atmospheric engines to Formula One, after the turbo-only year of 1986. Capacity was increased to 3.5 litres, and the turbo engines were restricted in boost pressure and fuel capacity to limit their effect, with a total ban to be introduced in 1989. Nevertheless, while turbo engines lasted, they dominated, Williams winning easily in 1987, and McLaren returning to form in 1988 with the super-team of Prost and Senna winning 15 of 16 races, a record unmatched today. It was Senna who emerged the victor, claiming the first of his 3 World Titles.

In 1989, turbos were banned, but the dominance of McLaren continued for the next 3 seasons, Prost winning the title in 1989, Senna in 1990 and 1991. The championship was marred however by the fierce rivalry between the two men, culminating in a pair of clashes at the Japanese Grands Prix of 1989 and 1990. They both dominated Formula One from 1988 to 1990, winning 37 of the 48 Grand Prix staged and each scoring almost twice as many points as the third-place driver in those championships. In 1989 Prost 'closed the door' on his overtaking team mate while Senna later freely admitted to deliberately driving into Prost in the 1990 race, drawing stiff condemnation from all quarters of Formula One. Senna, however, was more concerned with the threat (and opportunity) afforded by the resurgent Williams, now powered by Renault, which were to dominate Formula One for the next 7 years.

It was more than Renault engines, however, which allowed Williams and later Benetton to dominate Formula One from 1992 to 1997. Refuelling at pit stops was reintroduced turning each race into a series of sprints – as a result the race strategy became as important as the driver's ability. In the early 1990s, teams started introducing electronic driver aids, whose use spread rapidly. Active suspension, (pioneered by Lotus in 1987), semi-automatic gearboxes (Ferrari in 1989), and traction control (Williams in 1991) became essential to compete. Some of these technologies were borrowed from contemporary road cars. Others were primarily developed for the track and later made their way to the showroom. All enabled cars to reach higher and higher speeds, provided the teams were willing to spend the money. The FIA, due to complaints that technology was determining the outcome of races more than driver skill, banned many such aids in 1994. However, many observers felt that the ban on driver aids was a ban in name only as the FIA did not have the technology or the methods to eliminate these features from competition. Even this controversy didn't diminish the pleasure British fans of the sport felt in 1992, when Nigel Mansell finally won the title, after a decade of trying, nor French fans in 1993 when Alain Prost took his 4th Championship, both drivers piloting Williams cars.

Lightweight television cameras attached to the cars became common in the early 1990s (following an American network TV practise actually pioneered in Australia). As well as boosting audience figures this also made the sport more attractive to sponsors beyond the traditional cigarette companies. Safety improvements also meant that the major car manufacturers were more inclined to attach themselves to teams on a rolling basis.

1994, then, seemed ripe to produce a stunning season. Ayrton Senna had moved to Williams to replace Prost, who retired from the sport. Young German driver Michael Schumacher had Ford power for his Benetton. McLaren had high hopes for its new Peugeot engine, and Ferrari were looking to erase the dismal memories of the last 3 years with Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi. The season was stunning, but for all the wrong reasons.