Ayrton Senna won the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, while Eddie Irvine and Rubens Barrichello scored their first F1 points and Mika Häkkinen claimed his debut podium.
Key Facts
- Race winner
- Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Ford)
- Number of laps
- 53 laps
- Championship round
- 15th of 16 (penultimate race)
- Cars entered
- 24 cars
- F1 debuts
- Eddie Irvine, Jean-Marc Gounon, Toshio Suzuki
- Häkkinen result
- Third place (first career podium)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1993 Formula One season was nearing its close, with only one race remaining after Japan. BMS Scuderia Italia had withdrawn from the championship before the event, reducing the field to just 24 entered cars. Alain Prost qualified on pole position, starting ahead of Ayrton Senna in second.
The 53-lap race at Suzuka on 24 October 1993 was won by Senna from second on the grid, with Prost finishing second and Häkkinen third in his first career podium. Jordan drivers Barrichello and Irvine finished fifth and sixth for their first championship points. Three drivers made their Formula One debuts at this race.
Following the race, Senna punched Irvine in a post-race altercation after Irvine unlapped himself during the contest. Häkkinen's podium marked an early milestone in what would become a championship-winning career. Irvine's debut points signalled the arrival of a future Grand Prix winner on the Formula One stage.