Memorable racecars: 1992 Williams-renault FW14B

As 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell set out in his autobiography, no sport in the world requires so many elements to come together for you to become world champion. Simply being the best driver isn’t enough. The manufacturer needs to exhibit technological mastery of that year’s regulations, the engine supplier must be at the absolute top of its game and the team must gel perfectly in preparing all aspects of the car. In 1992, all these elements came together for Nigel Mansell driving the sublime Williamsrenault FW14B. 1992 was also the year this author fell in love with Formula 1, watching the white, blue and yellow-liveried cars trounce the opposition and take a one-two finish at the start of the season at Kyalami. From there, the FW14B romped to a record season. Mansell won the first five races on the trot and clinched the drivers’ championship as early as the Hungarian Grand Prix. At the time, it was the most crushing run to a championship the sport had seen.

In an era of minimal technical regulation, the Williams-renault FW14B was radical and groundbreaking in every possible aspect (some would argue to the detriment of the spectacle of racing). It featured a semi-automatic gearbox (far more reliable than it had been in ’91); the car’s active suspension had been perfected by Paddy Lowe to ensure the aerodynamic platform remained optimal around an entire lap; there was traction control to eliminate wheelspin; and for a brief period even anti-lock brakes. The screaming 3,5-litre V10 Renault engine was the class of the field. Such was the superiority of the Williams-renault car that almost all of its technical innovations were eventually banned. You’re only as strong as your weakest link in F1. According to Nigel Mansell, in 1992 with the FW14B, there simply was no weak link.