1993 Formula One season

The 1993 Formula One season was the 44th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1993 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on 14 March 1993 and ended on 7 November after sixteen races. Alain Prost won his fourth Drivers' Championship, and Williams-Renault retained the Constructors' Championship, their sixth in all.

The 1993 Formula One calendar saw the return of the European Grand Prix after a nine-year absence since 1984; the race was held at Donington Park, the only time it has hosted an F1 race; this race was to replace the Pacific Grand Prix at the Autopolis circuit in Japan after a deal to hold a race there fell through. The only exit was the Mexican Grand Prix, after seven years at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City since 1986. due to safety concerns with the circuit's very bumpy surface.

This season was significant in F1 history as it was the height of electronics technology use; this year saw perhaps the most advanced and sophisticated Formula One cars ever built competing in this season. For example, the championship winning Williams-Renault FW15C (perhaps the most advanced car that season) had in addition to its highly advanced hydraulically and electronically controlled active suspension a plethora of electronics aboard, including anti-lock brakes, fly-by-wire controls, traction control, a semi-automatic gearbox that could be switched over to fully automatic, power steering, highly sophisticated on-board telemetry, pneumatic valve springs in the engine, and even a "push to pass" system that made overtaking easier for drivers Alain Prost and Damon Hill- this system had the active suspension raise the back of the car at speed and raised the engine up 300 revs so the car would be faster down the straights due to a slight lack of downforce than before- one could say this was a precursor to DRS. Williams also tested a continuously variable transmission but this system was banned as well, and the Benetton team tested a 4-wheel steering system late in the season, but was never used in any races. Nearly all cars in 1993 had an active suspension system, which kept the car's ride height consistent all throughout a lap, which made the aerodynamics of the car far more effective. Although widely considered not to be a driver aid, this system and all the aforementioned systems except for telemetry and pneumatic valve springs were banned for the 1994 season.

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