1993 Florida State vs. Notre Dame football game, Aftermath
In the polls that were released on the subsequent Monday, both schools simply swapped positions. Notre Dame was now #1 while Florida State slipped to #2.


1993 Florida State vs. Notre Dame football game, Aftermath
The following week, the Irish faced #12 Boston College in their regular season finale at home. A win would have likely assured Notre Dame would keep the #1 ranking and earn themselves a shot at the national championship when bowl season began. Instead, Boston College got out to a twenty-one point lead in the fourth quarter and, despite a major rally by Notre Dame to take the lead late in the contest, won 41-39 on a field goal as time  expired. The loss dropped Notre Dame to fourth in the polls, and they later fell to fifth before rising once again at the end of the season.


1993 Florida State vs. Notre Dame football game, Aftermath
Meanwhile, later that same day, Florida State defeated North Carolina State 62-3. Reclaiming the top spot in the polls with the resounding victory, the Seminoles closed out the regular season with a win in their annual rivalry game against Florida, finishing as Notre Dame did with one loss.


1993 Florida State vs. Notre Dame football game, Aftermath
When the season concluded, both teams were invited to a Bowl Coalition game. Notre Dame, finishing the season ranked fourth in the polls, was selected to play against #7 Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. Top ranked Florida State was paired against undefeated and second ranked Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.


1993 Florida State vs. Notre Dame football game, Aftermath
Notre Dame defeated Texas A&M, 24-21, while Florida State beat Nebraska 18-16. When the final polls were released the next morning, Florida State was voted national champion by both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ polls. Notre Dame received twelve first place votes in the AP and twenty-five in the coaches’ poll respectively.


1993 Football League Cup Final
The 1993 Football League Cup Final took place on 18 April 1993 at Wembley Stadium, and was played between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday. Arsenal won 2–1 in normal time, in what was the first of three Wembley finals between the two sides that season; Arsenal and Wednesday also met in the FA Cup Final of that year (which went to a replay), the only time this has ever happened in English football.


1993 Football League Cup Final
The match was the first match in which any European clubs had used squad numbers and player names on their shirts. On this occasion, as in the FA Cup final and replay that year, players wore individual numbers which were retained for the FA Cup finals. Coincidentally, the first occurrence of players wearing numbered shirts came on 25 August 1928, when Arsenal and Chelsea wore numbered shirts in their matches against The Wednesday (renamed Sheffield Wednesday soon after) and Swansea Town, respectively. Squad numbers became compulsory for Premier League clubs from August 1993.


1993 Football League Cup Final
In the game, Wednesday's John Harkes scored the opener in the 8th minute, before Paul Merson equalised for Arsenal. Merson then set up Steve Morrow for the winner. In the celebrations after the match, Arsenal skipper Tony Adams attempted to pick up Morrow and parade him on his shoulders, but Adams slipped and Morrow awkwardly hit the ground. He broke his arm and had to be rushed to hospital. Unable to receive his winner's medal on the day, he was eventually presented with it before the start of the FA Cup Final the following month.


1993 Football League Cup Final, Match details
Match rules:90 minutes30 minutes extra-time if necessaryReplay if scores still levelTwo named substitutes, both of whom may be used


1993 Football League Cup Final, Road to Wembley, Arsenal
Round 2, 2nd Leg: 1–1 Campbell at The Old Den (Arsenal win 3–1 on penalties)


1993 Football League Cup Final, Road to Wembley, Arsenal
Semi-final, 1st Leg : Crystal Palace 3–1 Smith (2), Wright at Selhurst Park


1993 Football League Cup Final, Road to Wembley, Sheffield Wednesday
Round 2, 1st Leg : Hartlepool United 3–0 Bright, Watson, Wilson at Hillsborough Stadium


1993 Football League Cup Final, Road to Wembley, Sheffield Wednesday
Round 2, 2nd Leg: 2–2 Bright, Warhurst at Victoria Park


1993 Football League Cup Final, Road to Wembley, Sheffield Wednesday
Round 3: Leicester City 7–1 Bart-Williams, Bright (2), Hirst, Watson (2), Worthington at Hillsborough Stadium


1993 Football League Cup Final, Road to Wembley, Sheffield Wednesday
Round 4: QPR 4–0 Bright, Hirst, Nilsson, Palmer at Hillsborough Stadium


1993 Football League Cup Final, Road to Wembley, Sheffield Wednesday
Round 5: Ipswich Town 1–1 John Sheridan at Portman Road


1993 Football League Cup Final, Road to Wembley, Sheffield Wednesday
Semi-final, 1st Leg : Blackburn Rovers 4–2 Harkes, John Sheridan, Warhurst (2) at Ewood Park


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final
The 1993 Football League First Division play-off Final was an association football match which was played on 31 May 1993 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Leicester City and Swindon Town. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the 1992–93 Football League First Division, the second tier of English football, to the Premier League.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final
The top two teams in the Football League First Division gained automatic promotion to the Premiership, while the teams placed from third to sixth in the table took part in play-off semi-finals;  Swindon Town ended the season in fifth position while Leicester City finished sixth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 1993–94 season in the Premiership. Winning the game was estimated to be worth around £5 million to the successful team.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final
Swindon took a 3–0 lead as they scored three goals in eleven minutes either side of half time. Glenn Hoddle, Swindon's player-manager, opened the scoring late in the first half and early second-half goals from Craig Maskell and Shaun Taylor made it 3–0 after 53 minutes. Leicester's Julian Joachim scored four minutes later, and with further goals from Steve Walsh and Steve Thompson, the score was level at 3–3. With six minutes of the match remaining, the referee David Elleray awarded Swindon a penalty which was converted by Paul Bodin, securing a 4–3 victory. The win saw Swindon promoted to the top tier of English football for the first time in their club's 73-year League history.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final
Four days after the match, Hoddle was confirmed as player-manager at Chelsea. In their following season, Swindon finished bottom of the Premiership and were relegated back to the second tier having conceded a record 100 goals. Leicester ended their next season in fourth place in the First Division and secured promotion to the Premiership with a 2–1 win over Derby County in the play-off final.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Swindon Town finished the regular 1992–93 season in fifth place in the Football League First Division, the second tier of the English football league system, one place ahead of Leicester City. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Premiership and instead took part in the play-offs, along with Portsmouth (who finished third) and Tranmere Rovers (who finished fourth), to determine the third promoted team. Swindon finished twelve points behind West Ham United (who were promoted in second place) and twenty behind league winners Newcastle United. Leicester City ended the season level on points with Swindon but with an inferior goal difference.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Swindon Town faced Tranmere Rovers in their play-off semi-final and the first leg was played at the County Ground, Swindon, on 16 May 1993. Swindon took the lead within two minutes of the kick-off when a cross from Nicky Summerbee was headed past Eric Nixon in the Tranmere goal by his own defender Steve Vickers. The lead was doubled a minute later when Nixon mishandled a shot from Ross MacLaren, allowing Dave Mitchell to score.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Route to the final
A John Aldridge goal in the fourth minute was disallowed for a push on Glenn Hoddle, but Craig Maskell halved Tranmere's deficit in the 27th minute. John Morrissey scored Swindon's third on 58 minutes, and the match ended 3–1. The second leg of the semi-final was played three days later at Prenton Park. Swindon took the lead on 30 minutes, with a goal from John Moncur following a through ball from Martin Ling. Just before half time, Mark Proctor levelled the game with a volley. Pat Nevin then scored after the Swindon goalkeeper Fraser Digby dropped a cross. Maskell equalised before Hoddle fouled Morrissey to concede a penalty. Kenny Irons scored from the spot, but Swindon held on; despite losing the match 3–2, they progressed to the final with a 5–4 aggregate victory.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Leicester City's play-off semi-final opponents were Portsmouth and the first leg took place on 16 May 1993. The match was hosted at Nottingham Forest's home stadium, the City Ground, as Leicester's Filbert Street was undergoing redevelopment. The game, described by Paul Weaver in The Guardian as "dreadful", was "partially redeemed by a stunning goal" from Julian Joachim, a second-half substitute for Leicester. It was the only goal of the game which ended 1–0. The second leg was played at Fratton Park three days later and was goalless at half time.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Six minutes into the second half, Portsmouth took the lead when Alan McLoughlin scored from a George Lawrence header. Within two minutes Leicester had equalised when Ian Ormondroyd found the target following a deflected shot from David Oldfield. Steve Thompson then put Leicester ahead in the 69th minute with a shot from the edge of the penalty area beating the Portsmouth goalkeeper Alan Knight. Three minutes later, Bjørn Kristensen levelled the score once more with an 18-yard (16 m) curling shot into the far corner of the Leicester goal. The game ended 2–2, and ensured Leicester a 3–2 aggregate victory.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Background
This was Leicester's second appearance in the First Division play-off final: they had lost 1–0 to Blackburn Rovers in the previous season's final. They had played in the second tier of English football since they were relegated from the First Division in the 1986–87 season. Swindon had beaten Gillingham 2–0 in a replay after the 1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, which was played over two legs, had ended 2–2 on aggregate. Swindon had played in the second tier since that promotion.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Background
They had also won a play-off final at Wembley Stadium when they beat Sunderland 1–0 in the 1990 Football League Second Division play-off Final. However, the club's promotion was overturned by the Football League as a result of financial irregularities. As a result, Swindon were relegated to the Third Division, but that decision was later overturned on appeal. As such, Swindon were aiming to be promoted to the top flight of English football for the first time in the 73-year League history of the club.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Background
Leicester's top scorer during the regular season was Steve Walsh with fifteen goals in all competitions, followed by Joachim and David Lowe on twelve. Maskell had scored the most goals for Swindon with twenty-one in all competitions, while Mitchell had scored fifteen. In the matches played between both sides during the regular season, Leicester had won their home game 4–2 in December 1992, while the return fixture at the County Ground the  following April ended in a 1–1 draw.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Background
The referee for the match was David Elleray of Harrow on the Hill. Prior to the match, there had been considerable speculation over the future of Swindon's player-manager Hoddle who had been linked with Premiership clubs Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. He was able to select a full-strength squad as he had been able to persuade the Australia national soccer team to release Mitchell from the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification – OFC Second Round fixture against New Zealand. Hoddle also selected Moncur, who had sustained bruised ribs against Tranmere, in preference to Micky Hazard.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Background
The Leicester manager Brian Little named Joachim in the starting line-up in preference to Lowe, in a 4–4–2 formation described in the Staffordshire Sentinel as "imaginative", pairing 18-year-old Joachim in attack alongside Walsh. Prior to the match, Little suggested: "I don't think it would be right to go into the game hoping to keep things tight to start with". According to Deloitte, the match was worth £5 million to the promoted club through increases in matchday, commercial and broadcasting income. Former player Alan Hudson, writing in the Staffordshire Sentinel, believed Swindon to be favourites to win the match. McLoughlin, who scored the winning goal for Swindon in the 1990 play-off final, also suggested that his former club would defeat Leicester.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
The match kicked off in sunny conditions in front of a Wembley crowd of 73,802. Although Swindon dominated possession during the early stages of the first half, they were unable to convert any chances. Cutting in from the left wing, a Paul Bodin cross was cleared by Leicester to deny Mitchell. Summerbee was shown a yellow card for a foul as Leicester sought to increase pressure on Swindon, and although Digby failed to hold onto a Joachim cross, he successfully parried it away. Despite Leicester's higher tempo, it was Swindon who took the lead three minutes before half time. A backheel from Maskell found Hoddle whose shot curled past Kevin Poole in the Leicester goal. It was his first goal since the opening day of the season, and his ninth goal at Wembley.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
Two minutes after the break, Maskell doubled Swindon's lead. After a one-two with Moncur, he struck the ball into the goal inside the far post. In the 53rd minute, Shaun Taylor made it 3–0 with a header after Poole was hesitant to claim the ball. Walsh struck over the bar before, four minutes later, Joachim scored his fourteenth goal of the season after converting a rebound off the post of the Swindon goal.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
In the 68th minute, a cross beyond the far post was passed back across the box, over Digby, and was headed in by Walsh to make it 3–2. Author Dick Mattick suggested that at this point in the game, "panic set in" for Swindon and Leicester started "cutting swathes through the [Swindon] Town defence". Thompson completed Leicester's comeback a minute later after scoring with a low shot. Swindon's Ling then saw his strike saved by Poole, before Taylor's header was cleared off the line by Leicester.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
Mitchell's shot was then smothered before the referee awarded Swindon a penalty in the 84th minute: Hoddle played a 50-yard (46 m) pass to substitute Steve White who fell in the Leicester penalty area after contact with both Poole and Colin Hill. Elleray adjudged it to have been a foul, and Bodin stepped up to take the spot kick. Despite a "nonchalant" run-up, his carefully taken strike beat Poole to his left. No further goals were scored, the match ended 4–3 and Swindon were promoted to the Premiership.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
Trevor Haylett, writing in The Independent, described the match as an "absolute cracker" and that the late penalty was "the last act of a heart-stopping drama". Little was stoic about the late penalty award: "I was surprised it was given ... But I'm not going to change the decision, am I?" Referencing Leicester's defeat in the 1992 play-off final as a result of a penalty, he added: "It's almost the same speech as last year". The match was deemed "a minor English classic climaxing the domestic season" by Russell Thomas of The Guardian.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
He went on to suggest that Swindon's 73-year journey to the top flight of English football was "completed with a flourish worthy of one of the country's most pleasing teams". Clive Baskerville wrote in the Reading Evening Post that the spectators were "entertained by a standard of football rarely seen [that] season". He also suggested that Hoddle should be considered as the next England national football team manager. The Evening Herald in Dublin reported that it was an "extraordinary play-off final". In 2009, Eurosport listed it as the 94th best association football match of all-time.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
Hoddle noted that it was his proudest moment in football, stating: "To take a club up that has never been in the top flight and in these circumstances is a great feeling". He pointed out: "We have sold something like £2 million worth of players in two years and this year we have spent just £100,000 in a swap deal for Craig Maskell". After the game, Hoddle refused to be drawn on his future with Swindon, saying "I want people tomorrow to read about Swindon's promotion, not Glenn Hoddle ... I'm under contract to Swindon, so there's no question to answer". Referring to Swindon's cancelled promotion in 1990, he reflected: "We've wiped the slate clean after three years". Hoddle's assistant John Gorman noted: "It's fantastic, unbelievable. I won promotion at Carlisle but there's no comparison".


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
On the evening of 2 June, a bus-top parade through the town was held during which thousands of fans held aloft banners "in a final plea to the management duo" to remain with the club. Winning goal-scorer Bodin was forced to miss the celebration as he joined up with the Wales national football team who were playing a World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands. MacClaren, Hazard and Brian Marwood were also absent, having left to go on holiday.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
Club chairman Ray Hardman confirmed that although a two-hour board meeting had taken place prior to the parade, Hoddle's position had not been discussed. Four days after the match, Hoddle was confirmed as player-manager at Chelsea. Gorman had initially resigned, alongside Hoddle, but was persuaded to stay by Hardman after being offered the manager's position. Hoddle was unrepentant, and offered no apology for his departure: "It was a very sad day when I left Swindon and it was a very emotional decision to make ...


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
you have to do hard things that are right for yourself and [Chelsea manager] is the right job for me ... I thought it was time to move on". In his first season with the London club, he led Chelsea to 14th position in the league and an appearance at Wembley in the 1994 FA Cup Final where they lost 4–0 to Manchester United.


1993 Football League First Division play-off Final, Post-match
In their following season, Swindon finished bottom of the Premiership and were relegated back to the second tier. Their drop back to the Second Division was confirmed after a 4–2 home defeat to Wimbledon on 24 April 1994. By the end of the season, they had conceded 100 goals, which, as of 2020, is a Premier League record. Leicester ended their next season in fourth place in the First Division, and qualified for the play-offs. They defeated Tranmere Rovers in the semi-final before securing promotion to the Premiership with a 2–1 win over Derby County, their East Midlands rivals, in the play-off final.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final
The 1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final was a football match played on 30 May 1993 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Port Vale and West Bromwich Albion to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Second Division to the First Division. The top two teams of the 1992–93 Football League Second Division season gained automatic promotion to the First Division, while those placed from third to sixth place in the table took part in play-offs; the winners of the play-off semi-finals competed for the final place for the 1993–94 season in the First Division.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final
West Bromwich Albion had no experience of the play-offs before 1993, while Port Vale had won promotion through the third tier play-offs after winning the 1989 play-off final. In the semi-finals, Port Vale defeated Stockport County and West Bromwich Albion beat Swansea City. A Wembley Stadium crowd of more than 53,000 people watched the final, which was refereed by Roger Milford. The match finished with a comprehensive 3–0 victory for West Bromwich Albion, all three goals coming in the second half. Port Vale defender Peter Swan was sent off on the hour mark for bringing down Bob Taylor, who had been through on goal. Andy Hunt, Nicky Reid and Kevin Donovan went on to score for West Bromwich Albion, to take their team into the second tier of the Football League.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final
West Bromwich Albion ended the following season in 21st place in the First Division, above the relegation zone on goal difference. Port Vale's next season saw them secure promotion in second place in the Second Division, three points above the play-offs and one point behind the league champions.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Port Vale had finished the regular 1992–93 season in third place in the Second Division, the third tier of the English football league system, one place ahead of West Bromwich Albion. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic promotion places to the First Division and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Port Vale had finished one point behind Bolton Wanderers (who were promoted in second place) and four points behind league winners (and Potteries derby rivals) Stoke City; they had drawn both their games with Bolton and lost both their games with Stoke. West Bromwich Albion finished four points behind Port Vale.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Port Vale's opponents for the play-off semi-final were Stockport County and the first match of the two-legged tie was played at Edgeley Park in Stockport. Jim Gannon converted a fifth-minute penalty, only for Dean Glover to level the scores at 1–1 on 24 minutes, with the game ending in a draw. The return leg was held at Vale Park three days later and Martin Foyle's 84th-minute strike went unanswered to give Port Vale a 2–1 aggregate victory. On 22 May, Port Vale would also beat Stockport 2–1 in the 1993 Football League Trophy final at Wembley Stadium. Paul Kerr put Port Vale ahead, before Bernie Slaven made it two before half-time. Striker Kevin Francis pulled one back for Stockport but Port Vale held on for another 2–1 victory.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
West Bromwich Albion faced Swansea City in their semi-final play-off, and the first match of the two-legged tie was played at Vetch Field, Swansea. West Bromwich Albion lost the match 2–1 after Andy McFarlane and Martin Hayes scored twice in the 20 minutes after the second half kick-off, only for McFarlane to give the visitors a lifeline with an own goal on 72 minutes. The second leg was played three days later at The Hawthorns, West Brom's home ground. Andy Hunt and Ian Hamilton put the home side in control of the tie with goals on 10 and 20 minutes, and no further goals ensured West Bromwich Albion of a 3–2 aggregate victory.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Background
This was West Bromwich Albion's first attempt to be promoted via the play-offs. Port Vale had won promotion through the third tier play-offs after winning the 1989 play-off final. West Bromwich Albion had scored 88 goals in the 1992–93 season, more than any other team in the Second Division; 30 of these goals came from the division's top scorer Bob Taylor. West Bromwich Albion had dropped into the third tier of the English Football League for the first time in their history in 1991 and recorded their lowest ever finish of seventh in the third tier in the 1991–92 season.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Background
Port Vale had been relegated out of the second tier in 1992 and were looking for an immediate return. In the two league matches played between the clubs during the regular season, Port Vale won both matches: 1–0 away in October 1992 and 2–1 at home the following February. The referee for the match was Roger Milford, representing the Gloucestershire County Football Association, who was described as "the players' friend" as he was yet to send a player off in the 1992–93 season. Port Vale team coach driver David Durber sat on the squad bench for the match as manager John Rudge had run out of his allocated tickets. Port Vale took 11,000 supporters to Wembley, who were heavily outnumbered by the 42,300 West Bromwich Albion supporters.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
The first half finished goalless, with Port Vale showing patience and possession according to The Independent reporter Phil Shaw. West Bromwich Albion were starting to apply pressure early in the second half and Kevin Donovan came close to opening the scoring with a bicycle kick. Port Vale also had a 53rd-minute cross-cum-shot by Ian Taylor tipped over the bar by Tony Lange. Paul Musselwhite denied Donovan and Paul Raven after Bob Taylor exploited Port Vale defender Peter Swan's lack of pace.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
Swan fouled Taylor on 60 minutes and his subsequent dismissal proved to be the turning point in the match; it also meant that he became the third Englishman to be sent off at Wembley, after Kevin Keegan and Lee Dixon. Andy Hunt scored the game's opening goal on 66 minutes, and would make his loan spell from Newcastle United into a permanent transfer for a fee of £100,000 later in the week.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
Hunt had capitalised with a header from a goalmouth scramble when Gary Strodder's header was blocked by a combination of Musselwhite and the crossbar, and Taylor's cross was knocked on to Hunt by Nicky Reid. Reid scored his first goal for West Bromwich Albion with an 18-yard (16 m) strike on 82 minutes after being assisted by Donovan, who countered a Port Vale attack by running past the halfway line. Reid repaid Donovan by setting him up for West Bromwich Albion's final goal from 6 yards (5.5 m) on 90 minutes, with the game ending 3–0 to West Bromwich Albion.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Post-match
West Bromwich Albion manager Osvaldo Ardiles had secured his fourth success at Wembley as a player and manager, and said that: "This is the best place in the world to win, but when you lose it looks empty and dirty. Here, the winner takes all." The victory was estimated to win his club £2 million from season-ticket sales and TV rights. Port Vale manager John Rudge said that: "You can't ask much more of a team than to get 89 points, which would have won us the Championship last year. It's a cruel game." Speaking in 2018, Bob Taylor described the feeling of "massive relief" and how "the parties ensued afterwards ... my memory’s a bit fuzzy, but we stopped off halfway through at some hotel, had a few drinks there, and then carried on back. It went on into the daylight hours."


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Post-match
West Bromwich Albion spent nine more seasons outside the top division but avoided a return to the third tier. Instead, after narrowly avoiding relegation the next season, they steadily improved until achieving promotion to the Premier League by finishing second in the 2001–02 season. Port Vale won promotion as runners-up in the following season, and spent the next six seasons in the second tier. But after a high of eighth in 1996–97 they returned to the third tier for the new millennium after relegation at the end of the 1999–2000 season.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Post-match
Ardiles left West Bromwich Albion to return to manage Tottenham Hotspur in 1993, before heading abroad in 1995; he ended up coaching in places as varied as Croatia, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Argentina. Rudge was controversially sacked in 1999 and decided sixteen years as a manager was enough, instead choosing to become Director of Football at local rivals Stoke City. Bob Taylor had continued success at West Bromwich Albion before spending 1998 to 2000 with Bolton Wanderers, only to return to The Hawthorns to help the club to reach the Premier League in 2002.


1993 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Post-match
Andy Hunt stayed with West Bromwich Albion until 1998 when he signed for Charlton Athletic, retiring in April 2000 at age 30 due to illness; he later emigrated to Belize. Nicky Reid left the club in 1997 to become player-manager of Sligo Rovers, but things did not go well for him and he returned to England to become a physiotherapist at various clubs. Kevin Donovan also left in 1997 and moved to Grimsby Town, also scoring for them in the 1998 Second Division play-off final; he continued to maintain links to Grimsby Town after retiring.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final
The 1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final was an association football match which was played on 29 May 1993 at Wembley Stadium, London, between York City and Crewe Alexandra. It was to determine the fourth and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Third Division to the Second Division. The top three teams of the 1992–93 Football League Third Division, Cardiff City, Wrexham and Barnet, gained automatic promotion to the Second Division, while those placed from fourth to seventh place in the table took part in play-offs. The winners of the play-off semi-finals competed for the final place for the 1993–94 season in the Second Division. The losing semi-finalists were Walsall and Bury who had been defeated by Crewe Alexandra and York City respectively.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final
Allan Gunn was the referee for the match which was played in front of an attendance of 22,416. After a 0–0 draw at full-time, the match went into extra time, and York took the lead through a Gary Swann goal. However, Dave McKearney scored a penalty kick after Steve Tutill was adjudged to have handled the ball a minute before the end of time so the match had to be resolved in a penalty shootout. York won the shoot-out 5–3, with Gareth Whalley's spot kick being saved by York City's goalkeeper Dean Kiely.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final
York City's next season saw them finish in fifth position in the Second Division and qualify for the play-offs where they lost in the semi-finals 1–0 on aggregate to Stockport County. Crewe Alexandra ended their following season in third place in the Third Division and gained automatic promotion to the Second Division for the 1994–95 season.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
York City finished the regular 1992–93 season in fourth position in the Third Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system, two places and five points ahead of Crewe Alexandra. Both therefore missed out on the three automatic places for promotion to the Second Division and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the fourth promoted team. York City finished four points behind Barnet (who were promoted in third place), five behind Wrexham (who were promoted in second place) and eight behind league winners Cardiff City.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
York City's opponents in their play-off semi-final were Bury, with the first match of the two-legged tie being played at Gigg Lane in Bury on 16 May 1993. The York City goalkeeper Dean Kiely made a number of saves in the first half, including two shots from David Adekola and a header from Liam Robinson. After Kiely had made further saves from both Roger Stanislaus and Derek Ward, his Bury counterpart Gary Kelly twice prevented Paul Barnes from scoring and the match ended 0–0. The second leg took place three days later at Bootham Crescent in York. After a goalless first half, Gary Swann scored his first goal for York City with a header in the 59th minute to secure a 1–0 victory for his side and progression to the final with the same aggregate score.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Crewe Alexandra faced Walsall in the other semi-final with the first leg being held at Gresty Road in Crewe on 16 May 1993. In the 19th minute, Tony Naylor opened the scoring with a right-footed strike into the top-left corner of the Walsall goal. Seven minutes before half-time, a cross from Charlie Ntamark evaded Crewe defender Gus Wilson and was rolled into the Crewe goal by Mike Cecere to equalise for Walsall. Within a minute, Crewe retook the lead when a cross-field pass from Rob Edwards found Naylor who hit the ball beyond Mark Gayle to make it 2–1.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Phil Clarkson extended Crewe's lead four minutes into the second half when he shot from close range after intercepting a Gareth Whalley backpass. A minute later Ashley Ward passed to Edwards who scored to make it 4–1. In the 84th minute, Naylor relayed Clarkson's pass to Ward who scored to make the final score 5–1. The second leg was played three days later at the Bescot Stadium in Walsall.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Wayne Clarke gave the home side the lead in the 18th minute from their first corner but Crewe equalised in the 31st minute: Gayle saved an angled strike from Chris Marsh but the ball fell to Naylor who scored. Three minutes before half-time, Naylor scored his second after running onto a pass from Steve Walters and shooting from around 25 yards (23 m). With thirteen minutes of the match remaining, Naylor's shot from the left touchline struck the Walsall crossbar and Ward converted to make it 3–1. Martin O'Connor reduced the deficit the following minute with a 30-yard (27 m) strike but Naylor scored his third in the 88th minute and the match ended 4–2 to Crewe who progressed to the final with a 9–3 aggregate victory.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Background
Crewe Alexandra were making their second appearance in the play-offs having lost in the semi-finals the previous season 4–2 on aggregate to Scunthorpe United. They had played in the fourth tier of English football for the previous two seasons having been relegated there in the 1990–91 season. York City had not participated in the play-offs before this year and had played in the Third Division since relegation in the 1987–88 season. Both matches between the sides during the regular season ended in 3–1 home wins: York City were victorious in November 1992 at Bootham Crescent and Crewe Alexandra won at Gresty Road the following March. This was York City's first match at Wembley Stadium.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Background
Alan Little had taken over from John Ward as manager of York City in March 1993 when Ward left to join Bristol Rovers. Little's older brother Brian was manager of Leicester City who were competing in the First Division play-off final two days later. The referee for the match was Allan Gunn. As both teams usually played in the same coloured kit, there was a coin toss to determine which side would wear their change strip: York won and wore red shirts while Crewe wore blue.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
The match kicked off around 2:30 p.m. on 29 May 1993 at Wembley Stadium in front of a crowd of 22,416. Dave McKearney saw an early chance to score go wide of the York goal before Crewe goalkeeper Mark Smith held a shot from Jon McCarthy. Steve Walters then struck a shot after interplay between Naylor and Ward, but Kiely caught the ball. Mark Smith then caught a header from Ian Blackstone following a cross from Paul Atkin, before denying a cross-cum-shot from Barnes.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
A mistake from Crewe's Neil Lennon allowed Tony Canham to shoot from the edge of the penalty area but the attempt went over the crossbar. Swann then struck the ball over the Crewe goal before York's Wayne Hall prevented Ward from shooting. Towards the end of the first half, Crewe's Shaun Smith's 20-yard (18 m) strike went wide of the goal before Barnes struck an off-target shot. The half ended 0–0.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
Neither side made any changes to their playing personnel during the interval and early in the second half, Canham once again took advantage of an error from Lennon but his shot was too high. Andy McMillan was then shown the yellow card for a foul on Naylor whose subsequent strike hit the post. In the 65th minute, Naylor had kicked the ball into the York net but it was disallowed as the linesman had flagged for offside. Five minutes later, Crewe made their first substitution of the game with Andy Woodward coming on to replace Edwards. Naylor then missed at further chances to score and in the last minute of regular time, McCarthy capitalised on a slip by Stewart Evans to run clear with the ball only to shoot over the Crewe crossbar and the game ended 0–0, sending the final into extra time.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
Fourteen minutes into the first half of the additional period, Barnes flicked the ball onto Swann who ran onto it and struck it into the Crewe goal, according to Frank McGhee of The Observer, "as though scoring were the easiest thing in the world", making it 1–0 to York. Clarkson then came on for Walters in Crewe's second substitution. Three minutes into the second half, York made their first change with Paul Stancliffe being replaced by Steve Tutill.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Summary
With a minute of extra time remaining, Tutill was adjudged to have handballed a cross from McKearney who scored the subsequent penalty to level the score at 1–1 and ensured the match was to be decided by a penalty shootout. York took the first of the penalties, and the first five spot kicks were converted. Whalley then saw his penalty saved by Kiely to his left-hand side. It was to be the only miss of the shootout and York won 5–3 to secure promotion to the Second Division.


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Post-match
The Crewe manager Dario Gradi was convinced that Whalley was going to convert his penalty: "I would have put my house, even my mother's house, on him scoring". However, he was confident that Whalley would improve as a consequence of his experience: "I don't feel sorry for him, its part of being a professional footballer. In a way, he will benefit from this. It will make him tougher."


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Post-match
The York City captain Stancliffe was one of the first people to commiserate with Whalley: "I told him that whatever I said was not going to help, but he had to keep his chin up and hope to get another crack next year. Having the opposition talk to him was probably the last thing he wanted, but you have to try."


1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Post-match
York City's next season saw them finish in fifth position in the Second Division and qualify for the play-offs where they lost in the semi-finals 1–0 on aggregate to Stockport County. Crewe Alexandra ended their following season in third place in the Third Division and gained automatic promotion to the Second Division for the 1994–95 season.


1993 Football League Trophy Final
The 1993 Football League Trophy Final was a football match between Port Vale and Stockport County on 22 May 1993 at Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 1992–93 Football League Trophy, the 10th season of what had previously been called the Associate Members' Cup, a cup competition for teams from the Second Division and Third Division of the Football League (the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system). Stockport were beaten finalists in the 1992 Associate Members' Cup final, whereas it was Port Vale's first final in the competition and first appearance at Wembley.


1993 Football League Trophy Final
Both sides had to advance past a group stage and then four knock-out rounds to reach the final, though Vale were one of four teams drawn at random to receive byes past the group stage. Vale then came from behind in extra-time to beat Fulham in the second round, eased past Northampton Town, beat Potteries derby rivals Stoke City, and finally overcame Exeter City over two legs. Stockport County made short work of Chesterfield and Chester City in the group stages, before reaching the final with wins over Hartlepool United, Bradford City, Chesterfield (again) and Wigan Athletic. Both teams had competed in the Second Division play-off semi-finals earlier in the week, with Port Vale winning the tie 2–1 on aggregate.


1993 Football League Trophy Final
Port Vale won the match 2–1 with Paul Kerr and Bernie Slaven putting them two goals up at half-time and a 66th-minute strike from Kevin Francis proving to be little more than a consolation. The introduction of second-half substitute Andy Preece had turned the game in County's favour, with Vale having the better of the play and chances before his arrival.


1993 Football League Trophy Final
Slaven was named by Sky TV as man of the match, having provided Kerr with the assist for the opening goal on 4 minutes and then scoring the game's decisive goal after first beating three defenders on the 37 minute mark. Vale would go on to lose to West Bromwich Albion in the play-off final eight days later, but would secure an automatic promotion place the following season. For Stockport the loss would prove to be the third Wembley defeat in the space of four years; they would go on to lose in the 1994 Second Division play-off final, having lost a 1992 play-off final and the 1992 Associate Members' Cup final.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Route to the final
The Football League Trophy is a football competition for clubs in the third and fourth tier of the English Football League. Due to the creation of the Premier League in 1992, the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system were called the Second Division and Third Division. The final was scheduled a week before the play-off finals and only three days after the play-off semi-finals. The tournament was split into two sections: North and South, with Stockport County coming through the north section and Port Vale through the southern section.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Route to the final
The first round consisted of seven groups of three teams in each section, with two clubs in each section receiving byes. Port Vale were fortunate enough to receive a bye into the second round. The area finals were two legged games, home and away, with the winners of each section going into the overall final.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Route to the final, Port Vale
Port Vale received a bye for the first round and so did not take part in the group stages. In the second round they had a home tie with Fulham on 12 January; the visitors were difficult opponents, having held the Vale to a 0–0 draw at Vale Park on the opening day of the 1992–93 league season. The match went into extra-time and Fulham then scored to hold a 3–2 lead, however a brace from Dean Glover turned the tie around and gave Vale a 4–3 victory. They then faced struggling Third Division side Northampton Town in the quarter-finals, also at home. Vale recorded a 4–2 win over the "Cobblers", with Peter Swan, Mark Smith, Paul Kerr and Ray Walker scoring a goal each.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Route to the final, Port Vale
In the area semi-finals they had to overcome Potteries derby rivals Stoke City – who would go on to be crowned Second Division champions – in front of a crowd of 22,267 at the Victoria Ground on 3 March. Stoke had won the league encounter at the Victoria Ground back in October by two goals to one, with the return fixture due to the played at the end of March.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Route to the final, Port Vale
The two clubs had also met in the first round of the FA Cup in November, drawing 0–0 at the Victoria Ground, before Vale won the replay 3–1 thanks for a brace from Martin Foyle; the game was best remembered for a patch of mud however, which stopped a certain goal from Dave Regis from levelling the score at 2–2.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Route to the final, Port Vale
The Football League Trophy tie was therefore the fourth of five meeting between the two sides that season; Mark Stein missed a first-half penalty for the "Potters", Robin van der Laan scored the only goal of the game in the second half and later said "the goal has to go down as one of my most important strikes".


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Route to the final, Port Vale
They then needed to get past Exeter City over two legs to reach the tournament final, a team they had drawn 2–2 with back in September at Burslem. The home leg took place first on 16 March, where a penalty from Kerr on 16 minutes was cancelled out by a long-range strike from Danny Bailey 21 minutes later; Steve Moran missed a chance to give Exeter the lead in the second half, before Ian Taylor headed in a Kevin Kent cross on 74 minutes to give Vale a 2–1 lead to defend at St James Park.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Route to the final, Port Vale
Opposition manager Alan Ball said that: "Port Vale played all the football so I am absolutely delighted that we go into the next game only one down". The away leg was over a month later on 21 April, and seemed to be heading for extra-time when Exeter took the lead on the hour mark, only for new signing Bernie Slaven to level the match at 1–1 on 73 minutes. After the game Port Vale manager John Rudge said that: "On a night like this, all you are looking for is the result and the lads have managed to do that – and I am proud of them." Port Vale advanced into the final with a 3–2 aggregate victory.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Route to the final, Stockport County
Stockport County were placed in group six of the northern section, along with Chesterfield and Chester City. County picked up a 3–0 win over Third Division Chesterfield at Saltergate and a 2–0 win at home to Chester, who would go on to finish bottom of the Second Division. Stockport therefore went into the next round as group winners, with Chesterfield also qualifying after they beat Chester 1–0 to claim second-place. On 12 January, Stockport recorded a 1–0 home victory over Second Division club Hartlepool United. They faced a challenging fixture for the area quarter-finals in Second Division play-off chasers Bradford City at Valley Parade, but progressed with a 4–3 victory. County faced Chesterfield again in the semi-finals, and won 2–1 to this time eliminate them from the competition.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Route to the final, Stockport County
In the area finals they drew Wigan Athletic, who would end the season relegated out of the Second Division. The first leg was at Springfield Park on 16 March, and Wigan won 2–1. Stockport needed to turn the tie around the following month at Edgeley Park and succeeded with a 2–0 win to advance into the tournament final with a 3–2 aggregate victory.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Pre-match
The final was the third time the two clubs had met in seven days. Vale had edged out Stockport 2–1 on aggregate in the Second Division play-off semi-finals. They had drawn 1–1 at Stockport's Edgeley Park, Glover the scorer for the "Valiants", before Foyle scored the only goal of the return leg at Vale Park. This meant that Vale would return to Wembley seven days after the Football League Trophy final to take on West Bromwich Albion in the play-off final.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Pre-match
The two teams had also met in the league earlier in the season, playing out a goalless draw at Vale Park in August, whilst Stockport had won 2–0 at Edgeley Park in February. The match was to be the second Football League Trophy final in two years to see Stockport line up against a Stoke-on-Trent team, as they lost the previous year's final 1–0 to Stoke City. The 1992 final was the only time either club had ever reached a Football League Trophy final. It was the first time Port Vale had visited Wembley Stadium. The match took place on 22 May, two days after Arsenal defeated Sheffield Wednesday in the 1993 FA Cup final.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Pre-match
Port Vale had a reputation as a team that liked to play football on the ground, whereas Stockport had a more direct style. The referee was David Elleray, a Premier League and FIFA listed official. Port Vale's Swan was a doubt for the game after struggling with injury, as was veteran midfielder Ray Walker, and though Swan managed to start the game, Walker was ruled out. The midfield remained one of Vale's strong points though as Taylor and Van der Laan were in fine form, with Kerr linking strikers Slaven and Foyle up front. The Vale defence was also solid, with goalkeeper Paul Musselwhite lined up behind an experienced defence that included captain Dean Glover and Neil Aspin.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Match summary, First-half
Stockport had the first chance, only to have Chris Beaumont denied by a well timed tackle from Swan. Kerr then struck the opening goal of the game in the 4th-minute; Slaven started the movement as he collected a loose ball in the centre of the park and hit a through ball past Dave Miller and Lee Todd for Kerr to sprint on and slot home his fourteenth of the season. Van der Laan continued the Valiants spell of pressure, hitting a shot just wide of the goal not long after.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Match summary, First-half
In the 37th-minute Vale doubled their lead when Glover put in a cross, which Foyle turned into the path of Slaven, who burst past three defenders before he directed it to the left of the helpless Neil Edwards. Before the half-time whistle came, Jim Gannon earned the first yellow card of the game.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Match summary, Second-half
Vale nearly had the game wrapped up before Stockport got back into the game; four minutes after the restart Kerr set Andy Porter free, Porter beat Edwards but Mick Wallace saved the day at the expense of a corner. Substitute Andy Preece was effective right from his introduction, allowing 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Kevin Francis more room up front. Francis forced the ball from Vale keeper Musselwhite's hands and forced him into a double save.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Match summary, Second-half
The mounting pressure from County paid dividends in the 66th minute; on-loan player Peter Duffield guided a ball into the box, which Francis directed it over Musselwhite's head and into the net. Sensing a chance of an equaliser, Stockport stepped up the pace, frustrating their opposition. Kerr was booked for a trip on Peter Ward and in the six minutes of injury-time Swan and Francis went into the book for pushing, after Francis fouled Musselwhite.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Match summary, Post-match
Port Vale manager John Rudge said that: "In the last 20 minutes I was sitting on the edge of my seat because our legs seemed to go. I thought we were in control until then but when they scored they put us under a lot of pressure and we had to hang on." The team stayed overnight in Watford and then returned to have an open top bus for a tour of the north of Stoke-on-Trent, which was attended by thousands of supporters.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Match summary, Post-match
Joan Walley, MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, tabled a motion in Parliament to congratulate Port Vale on their win and applaud Stockport County for their efforts. Swan and Slaven both claimed to have been named man of the match in their respective autobiographies, with Slaven specifically recalling that Sky TV's match summariser Lennie Lawrence had selected him for the honour; ironically the players would also come to blows during a training session later in 1993.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Match summary, Post-match
Port Vale were estimated to have made more than £200,000 from the cup run. The following week Vale were defeated 3–0 at Wembley and so both clubs remained in the Second Division, though 1993–94 saw Vale promoted as runners-up. Stockport finished fourth in the league, up from their sixth-place finish in 1992–93, they beat York City by the odd goal in the play-off semi-finals, but tasted defeat at Wembley once again as Burnley won the final 2–1. County finally joined Vale in the First Division with automatic promotion in the 1996–97 season. In 2001 Vale lifted the Football League Trophy for a second time.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Match summary, Post-match
For John Rudge it was to be his first and last cup trophy in his sixteen years in charge at Vale, though he continued to bring the club success in the league, taking them to eighth in the second tier in 1996–97, their highest post-war position. Rudge was dismissed in controversial fashion in January 1999. Danny Bergara stepped down as County manager after one more season at the helm, he held a number of management positions before his death in July 2007. Vale's Paul Kerr and Bernie Slaven were nearing the end of their careers.


1993 Football League Trophy Final, Match summary, Post-match
Kerr had brief spells with Leicester City and Wycombe Wanderers and Slaven joined Darlington before both men left the professional game in 1995. Stockport's slightly more youthful Kevin Francis enjoyed a longer career in the game, leaving the club in January 1995 he spent time with numerous clubs as well as earning two caps for Saint Kitts and Nevis in 1998. County's Jim Gannon would find great success as Stockport manager, before taking the reins at Port Vale in 2011 for a controversial stint as manager which ended in his sacking after just 74 days, the shortest appointment in the club's history.


1993 Football League play-offs
The Football League play-offs for the 1992–93 season were held in May 1993, with the finals taking place at Wembley Stadium in London. The play-off semi-finals were played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League First Division and Football League Second Division and the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th placed teams in the Football League Third Division table. The winners of the semi-finals progressed through to the finals, with the winner of these matches gaining promotion for the following season.


1993 Football League play-offs, Background
The Football League play-offs have been held every year since 1987. They take place for each division following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing below the automatic promotion places.


1993 Football League play-offs, First Division
Portsmouth, whose top scorer Guy Whittingham had found the net 42 times in Division One, only missed out on automatic promotion on goal difference. Fourth placed Tranmere Rovers had recorded the highest finish of their history and had yet to play in the top flight of English football. Swindon Town, who finished fifth, had won the playoff final three years earlier but promotion was then withdrawn due to financial irregularities. The last playoff place went to the previous season's beaten finalists, Leicester City.


1993 Football League play-offs, First Division
In the end, it was Leicester and Swindon who went through to the final. Swindon took a 3-0 lead before Leicester clawed back to make it 3-3, only for Paul Bodin to score the winner and deliver top flight football to Swindon for the first time in their history.


1993 Football League play-offs, First Division
Glenn Hoddle's impressive two-year spell as player-manager of Swindon attracted attention of bigger clubs, and soon after this famous victory he was appointed player-manager of Chelsea, while losers Leicester had now been beaten in all of their six appearances at Wembley.


1993 Fordham Rams football team
The 1993 Fordham Rams football team was an American football team that represented Fordham University during the 1993 NCAA Division I-AA football season. For the fourth straight year, Fordham finished last in the Patriot League.


1993 Fordham Rams football team
In their eighth and final year under head coach Larry Glueck, the Rams compiled a 1–10 record. Mike Costanzo and John Strauss were the team captains.


1993 Fordham Rams football team
The Rams were outscored 315 to 145. Their 1–4 conference record placed last in the six-team Patriot League standings.


1993 Fordham Rams football team
Fordham played its home games at Jack Coffey Field on the university's Rose Hill campus in The Bronx, in New York City.


1993 Formula One Indoor Trophy
The 1993 Formula One Indoor Trophy took place on December 4–5 at the Bologna Motor Show. The winner was Rubens Barrichello in a Jordan-Hart.


1993 Formula One World Championship
The 1993 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 47th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1993 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1993 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a sixteen-race series that commenced on 14 March and ended on 7 November. Alain Prost won his fourth and final Drivers' Championship, and Williams-Renault won their second consecutive Constructors' Championship, the sixth in all for Williams.


1993 Formula One World Championship
The 1993 season saw the return of the European Grand Prix to the calendar after eight years; the race, held at Donington Park, replaced the Pacific Grand Prix at the Autopolis circuit in Japan after a deal to hold a race there fell through. The Mexican Grand Prix left the calendar for the second time after seven years, due to safety concerns surrounding the very bumpy surface of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez; it would not return until 2015.


1993 Formula One World Championship
1993 marked the height of the use of electronics technology in Formula One, with perhaps the most advanced and sophisticated F1 cars ever built. The championship-winning Williams car, the FW15C, featured hydraulically and electronically-controlled active suspension, power steering, anti-lock brakes, fly-by-wire controls, traction control, a semi-automatic gearbox that could be switched over to fully-automatic, highly sophisticated onboard telemetry, pneumatic valve springs in the engine, and even a push-to-pass system that, at least in theory, made overtaking easier. Williams also tested a continuously variable transmission, while Benetton-Ford tested a four-wheel steering system late in the season. Nearly all cars in 1993 had an active suspension system, which kept the car's ride height consistent throughout a lap, making the aerodynamics of the car more efficient and effective. All these systems would be banned for 1994, except for the on-board telemetry, pneumatic valve springs, and power steering.


1993 Formula One World Championship
In addition to winning his fourth Drivers' Championship, Prost achieved his 50th F1 victory at the British Grand Prix, becoming the first driver to reach this milestone. His fierce rival, Ayrton Senna, finished runner-up in the championship after winning five races for McLaren-Ford; these included his home race in Brazil, the European Grand Prix in wet conditions, and, for the fifth year in succession and sixth time in all, the Monaco Grand Prix. Prost's Williams teammate, Damon Hill, took his first F1 victory in Hungary; two further victories gave him third in the championship.


1993 Formula One World Championship
At the end of the season, Prost retired from Grand Prix racing, bringing to an end an era in which he and Senna had largely dominated the sport, winning a combined 76 races between 1985 and 1993 and seven of the nine championships in that time. Senna would take Prost's place at Williams, only to lose his life three races into the 1994 season.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Drivers and constructors
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1993 FIA Formula One World Championship. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Goodyear.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Calendar, Calendar changes
The Mexican Grand Prix was removed from the calendar for the second time after seven years, due to safety concerns surrounding the very bumpy surface of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Calendar, Calendar changes
The Asian Grand Prix was scheduled to debut on 11 April at the Autopolis circuit in Japan to replace the Mexican Grand Prix. However, these plans failed to materialise and the race was cancelled.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Calendar, Calendar changes
The European Grand Prix was added as a replacement for the cancelled Asian Grand Prix, the race was held at Donington Park.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Calendar, Calendar changes
The San Marino Grand Prix and Spanish Grand Prix swapped places on the calendar so that the Spanish round followed the San Marino Grand Prix.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Pre-season
1993 saw a major shake-up of drivers, especially among the top teams. Across the grid a number of experienced drivers retired or moved to other series and new faces emerged.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Pre-season
In all, only seven drivers who lined up on the grid in South Africa were with the same team they had been with the previous year: Senna, Schumacher, Alesi, Herbert, de Cesaris, Suzuki and Fittipaldi.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Pre-season
The worldwide recession of the early 1990s had taken its toll: the Brabham, Andrea Moda and Fondmetal teams had failed to complete the 1992 season, while March formally withdrew at the beginning of the 1993 season. Thus, there were only 13 teams on the grid at the opening race of 1993, in South Africa. In addition, numerous car number changes had taken place:


1993 Formula One World Championship, Pre-season, Rule changes
Two changes were made to the qualifying system at the second race of the season in Brazil. The first limited all drivers to 12 laps each in both qualifying sessions. The second was a reduction in the number of cars allowed to start for the race from 26 to 25.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Pre-season, Rule changes
This came about as a result of there being only 26 cars in total: after it was originally decided that only the fastest 24 would be permitted to start the race, the teams unanimously agreed to raise this number to 25, to ensure that every team could qualify at least one car.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Pre-season, Rule changes
The revision to this second change mainly benefitted BMS Scuderia Italia: after Ivan Capelli's Jordan was the non-qualifier in Brazil, the next seven races saw Michele Alboreto or Luca Badoer come 26th in qualifying and thus fail to make the grid (Alboreto five times and Badoer twice). As a consequence, the teams unanimously agreed to allow all 26 cars to qualify again prior to the German Grand Prix. The 12-lap limit, however, lasted for almost a decade, until the end of the 2002 season.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Pre-season, Rule changes
There were also two changes implemented to the cars in order to reduce cornering speeds. The first was the reduction of the cars' track, from 2,150 mm (7 ft 1 in) to 2,000 mm (6 ft 7 in); the second was a reduction in rear tyre width from 18 in (457 mm) to 15 in (381 mm), and in front tyre width from  13 in (330 mm) to  11 in (279 mm), so as to provide less grip than the previously wide rear and front slicks.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 1: South Africa
The season began in Kyalami, where Prost took pole position ahead of Senna in second. Prost had a poor start and with Senna and Hill overtaking him. Hill spun in front of Prost and lost position, while Prost let Schumacher through into second position. Senna led ahead of Schumacher by the end of the first lap.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 1: South Africa
Prost overtook Schumacher for second place on lap 13. On lap 18 Prost attempted to overtake Senna, but Senna took the defensive inside line. However, on lap 25 Prost overtook Senna for the lead, whilst Schumacher passed Senna for second position. Shortly after Senna and Schumacher pitted with Senna rejoining ahead.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 1: South Africa
Schumacher attempted to overtake Senna on lap 40 but came into contact with Senna's car and spun, retiring him from the race. Patrese was holding third position when he spun on lap 47 as Fittipaldi passed Lehto. Prost won the race with Senna in second position, Blundell in third, Fittipaldi in fourth and Lehto in fifth.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 1: South Africa
This was the final South African Grand Prix to date.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 2: Brazil
Brazilian qualifying ended with a Williams front row, with Prost on pole and Hill in second. Senna qualified in third, with Schumacher in fourth and Andretti in fifth. Senna got ahead of Hill at the beginning of the race as behind him Andretti collided with Berger after being challenged by Wendlinger. Andretti then hit the barriers launching him directly over Berger's car, both drivers were uninjured. This meant that they both retired from the race, as did Brundle and Barbazza.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 2: Brazil
On lap 4 Patrese retired due to suspension failure. Whilst Prost extended his lead, Senna was under pressure from Hill who overtook him for second place on lap 11. On lap 25 Senna was given a stop-go penalty after overtaking a backmarker under yellow flags, which meant he re-entered the race behind Schumacher. Heavy rain then caused many drivers to spin with Fittipaldi and Prost retiring. Fittipaldi spun on lap 30 and as he was returning to the track Prost crashed into him. After the accident the safety car was brought out with Hill leading the race.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 2: Brazil
As the track began to dry out drivers stopped for dry tyres and during Schumacher's pit-stop his car fell off its jack. Schumacher rejoined the race behind Senna with Herbert and Blundell gaining pace. Shortly after Senna overtook Hill for first position and quickly began to pull away. Behind him Schumacher and Alesi were given stop-go penalties for overtaking under a yellow flag. Schumacher re-entered the race in fifth position and Alesi in ninth. Schumacher quickly overtook Blundell and Herbert to finish third. Senna won his first race of the season, with Hill in second position, followed by Schumacher, Herbert, Blundell and Alessandro Zanardi. Zanardi’s 6th place would be his only points finish in Formula One.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 3: Europe
After a deal to host a race at the newly constructed Autopolis circuit in Japan fell through, it was replaced with the European Grand Prix, which was held at the historic Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom, this being the first time this circuit had hosted Grand Prix cars since the late 1930s. Williams qualified 1–2 for the second race in a row, Prost once again taking pole position. Schumacher took third, Senna fourth and Wendlinger in fifth. The race began in damp conditions with Schumacher blocking Senna meaning that they both lost time to Wendlinger, who took third. During the following lap Senna overtook four cars in quick succession to lead the race. Senna took Schumacher in the third corner, Wendlinger at Craner Curves, Hill at Coppice Corner and then Prost at the Melbourne Hairpin.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 3: Europe
Behind Senna, Schumacher passed Wendlinger quickly, but when Andretti tried to overtake Wendlinger he crashed straight into him, meaning that they both retired from the race. This accident meant that Andretti had retired from his third consecutive race due to collision damage. As the track began to dry the drivers pitted for dry tyres. Lehto retired from fifth position on lap 14 because of handling problems. Berger moved up to fifth but also retired on lap 22 due to suspension problems. As it started to rain again drivers pitted for wet tyres. Schumacher decided to stay out, but crashed out from the lead due to that decision. As the track began to dry again drivers pitted once again, with Senna suffering problems meaning that the lost twenty seconds in the pit-stop, in which time Prost retook the lead.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 3: Europe
As the rain began to fall yet again the Williams pitted for wet tyres, with Senna staying out on dry tyres. Senna's decision proved correct as the track began to dry quickly. Prost suffered a problem in the pits when the Williams pitted for dry tyres. This pushed him down into fourth position, a full lap behind Senna. As it began to rain for the fourth time, Barrichello pitted, losing his second-place position to Hill. Barrichello quickly retired due to fuel pressure problems. Senna won the race (by over one minute) with Hill in second and Prost in third.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 4: San Marino
In San Marino Williams occupied the first two positions on the grid, with Prost taking his fourth consecutive pole position. Schumacher qualified third, Senna in fourth and Wendlinger in fifth. As the race began Prost was overtaken by Hill and Senna, Senna easily getting past Schumacher. By the end of the first lap Hill was leading, followed by Senna, Prost, Schumacher and Wendlinger.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 4: San Marino
Hill pulled away whilst Prost was stuck behind Senna. Prost overtook Senna on lap 8 and set off in pursuit of Hill. Soon it was time for pit stops with Senna passing Prost. On lap 17 Prost overtook both Hill and Senna whilst battling backmarkers. Senna also got ahead of Hill. Soon after, on lap 21, Hill retired with brake failure. As the race progressed both McLaren cars retired from the race with Andretti spinning out from fifth position on lap 33 and ten laps later Senna retired with a hydraulic failure. Alesi, who managed to take Andretti's fifth position soon spun off because of a clutch failure.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 4: San Marino
Schumacher had made it up to second position with Wendlinger close behind; however, Wendlinger retired on lap 49 with engine failure. Prost won the race with Schumacher in second, Brundle in third, Lehto in fourth and Alliot in fifth.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 5: Spain
In Spain Prost once again out-qualified Hill who was in second position on the grid. In third was Senna, fourth was Schumacher and Patrese took fifth position. Hill had an exceptionally good start to the race, overtaking his pole position teammate. By the end of the first lap Hill was comfortably in the lead followed by Prost, Senna, Schumacher and Patrese.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 5: Spain
Hill and Prost had built up a large lead by lap 11 and continued to move ahead through the field during the pit stops. Hill even managed to extend his lead over Prost, whilst Schumacher was beginning to challenge Senna. Schumacher attempted an overtaking manoeuvre on Senna, but instead left the track, going over a sand trap. He lost fifteen seconds, but crucially not his race position. As Hill began to close in on Prost, after losing position, Prost's Williams began to handle oddly and on lap 41 Hill retired from the race due to engine failure.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 5: Spain
The following lap Wendlinger retired from the race due to problems with his fuel system. Prost took his third victory of the season, followed by Senna, Schumacher, Patrese and Andretti.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 6: Monaco
At the Monaco Grand Prix Prost took pole once again, but his teammate, Hill, only managed to qualify in fourth position, failing to out-qualify Schumacher in second and Senna in third. Blundell was forced off the track at Sainte Devote with suspension damage in the second Ligier before he eventually crashed out by lap 4 as the first retirement. By the end of the first lap there was no change in position at the front of the grid with Prost leading, Schumacher in second, Senna third, Hill fourth and Alesi fifth.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 6: Monaco
Shortly after Prost was penalised for jumping the start and was issued with a stop-go penalty by the stewards. He entered the pits on lap 12 and then stalled his car when he exited the pits. By the time he was out of the pits again he was in seventeenth position and a lap down. Schumacher was now comfortably in the lead and pulling away as Alesi allowed his teammate Berger to pass him. By lap 33 Schumacher had slowed down considerably and then retired from the race with a hydraulics problem in a cloud of smoke. Behind him however Prost was easily making his was back through the field.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 6: Monaco
As cars started pitting there was no change in order of the race leaders. However Prost had now managed to get himself into seventh position. He gained another place shortly after as Patrese retired on lap 54 with an engine failure. Prost then passed Fittipaldi for fifth position. Herbert crashed out in the second Lotus with gearbox problems that he was having for more 20 laps (subsequently). On lap 71 Berger attempted to overtake Hill and ended up making contact. Hill quickly rejoined the race but Berger was forced to retire. Senna won his third race of the season, followed by Hill in second, Alesi third, Prost fourth and Fittipaldi fifth.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 7: Canada
For the only North American race in Montreal, Williams qualified first and second, with Prost taking pole position yet again. The Benettons of Schumacher and Patrese took third and fourth positions and the two Ferraris of Berger and Alesi taking fifth and sixth. Hill had a good start and beat Prost off the line, the Benettons were slow to start and were overtaken by Berger and Senna (Senna had qualified eight). By the end of the first lap Hill was leading followed by Prost, Berger, Senna and Schumacher.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 7: Canada
On the second lap Senna overtook Berger to take third position. On lap 6 Prost took the lead from Hill. Shortly after Schumacher passed Berger and five laps later so did teammate Patrese. By lap 15 Prost was leading followed by Hill, Senna, Schumacher and Patrese.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 7: Canada
During the pit stops Hill encountered a problem and his pace slowed allowing Senna and Schumacher to pass him. This gave Schumacher the opportunity to chase down Senna for second position. Senna, with Schumacher closing in fast, suffered an electrical failure, meaning he had to retire from the race. The race was won by Prost (celebrating his fourth win of the season) followed by Schumacher, Hill, Berger and Brundle, the first of a four-win streak which would see him distance himself from Senna in the battle for the championship.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 8: France
At the French Grand Prix there was a huge turnout of fans to see French driver Prost take his eighth consecutive pole position. However it was Hill that took pole position with Prost in second. Behind the Williams 1–2 were the two Ligiers of Brundle and Blundell with Senna taking fifth position on the grid. As the race started Schumacher managed to pass Alesi to get into sixth position with no change in order to the top five drivers.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 8: France
The Williams cars pulled away from the rest of the pack with Brundle also pulling away from Blundell, who was keeping up Senna and Schumacher. However, on lap 21 Blundell spun off under pressure from Senna and had to retire. During the mid-race pit stops Prost managed to get ahead of Hill as Senna and Schumacher closed the gap behind Brundle.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 8: France
During the second set of pit stops Prost was still leading, albeit by two-tenths of a second and Senna and Schumacher overtook the Ligier of Brundle. Shortly after Schumacher passed Senna in traffic and began to pull away. Prost won the race followed by Hill, Schumacher, Senna and Brundle.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 8: France
At this point in the season (halfway through) Prost was leading the World Championship with 57 points. Senna was in second with 45 points. In third place was Hill with 28 points. Schumacher took fourth place with 24 points, and Brundle was in fifth place with 9 points. In the Constructors' Championship Williams were easily ahead of McLaren with 85 points compared to their 48. Benetton were third with 29 points, and Ligier were fourth with 15.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 9: Britain
As Nigel Mansell had retired from Formula One the previous year, the British crowd were mainly rooting for Damon Hill, considering his good start to the season. The Williams cars took their usual positions on the grid, 1–2, with Prost in pole position and Hill in second. Fellow Brit Martin Brundle took sixth position on the grid with Patrese in fifth, Senna in fourth and Schumacher in third. As the race began Hill managed to get ahead of Prost and Senna got ahead of Schumacher. A very enthusiastic home crowd cheered as Hill completed the first lap in first position followed by Senna, Prost, Schumacher and Patrese.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 9: Britain
Andretti spun off at Copse on the first lap ending his race immediately, while Hill was extending his lead both Prost and Schumacher were unable to pass Senna. Prost finally managed to overtake on the ninth lap, but Hill's lead at this point was over five seconds. On lap 13 Schumacher overtook Senna for third position and quickly pulled away from the Brazilian. Prost managed to close in on Hill, narrowing the gap to three seconds during the mid-race pit stops.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 9: Britain
Shortly after, Badoer retired with electrical failure, bringing out the Safety Car and reducing the three second gap between the Williams drivers to no gap at all. Two laps after the Safety Car Hill's engine blew, meaning he had to retire from the race. Fellow Brit Brundle's gearbox failed on lap 54.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 9: Britain
On the final lap of the race Senna retired for the third consecutive season at Silverstone as his McLaren ran out of fuel. Prost took his sixth win of the season and the fiftieth of his career. In second position was Schumacher, Patrese third, fourth was Johnny Herbert (one of only three remaining Brits in the race) and Senna was classified fifth.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 10: Germany
Williams took the front row of the grid in Hockenheim with Prost in Pole Position. Schumacher took third followed by Senna and Blundell. Prost had a poor start with Hill easily passing him as the lights went out. Senna also had a poor start, spinning, sending him to the back of the grid. He almost immediately gained a place however when Brundle also spun, at the chicane. Hill led by the end of the first lap followed by Schumacher, Prost, Blundell and Patrese.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 10: Germany
Prost picked up speed after his poor start, passing Schumacher on lap 6. By lap 9 he was near Hill. However behind him Berger attempted to overtake Suzuki ending in a collision with Suzuki spinning off. The Marshals waved yellow flags and Hill slowed down slightly. Prost saw and opportunity and overtook Hill for the lead. Shortly after he was given a stop-go penalty for overtaking under yellow flag conditions, sending him down the grid and into fifth position, where he was struck from behind by Benetton of Patrese. Meanwhile, Senna was making good progress through the pack following his spin at the beginning.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 10: Germany
Unlike the rest of the cars on the track Senna and the two Williams did not pit meaning Hill had a fifteen-second lead over Prost, with Senna up to seventh. The Brazilian soon passed Berger for sixth position and then three laps later Patrese for fifth. By the penultimate lap Prost was seven second behind Hill when his left rear tyre punctured spinning him out and bringing his retirement from the race. Prost won his seventh and final race of the season. Schumacher finished second followed by Blundell, Senna and Patrese.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 11: Hungary
Prost secured pole in Hungary followed by teammate Hill. Schumacher took third position on the grid followed by Senna and Patrese. On the parade lap Prost stalled meaning that he had to start the race from the back of the grid. Schumacher had a poor start to the race and was quickly passed by Senna, Berger and Patrese. By the end of the first lap Hill was leading followed by Senna, Berger, Patrese and Schumacher.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 11: Hungary
Schumacher attempted to overtake Patrese on lap 4, but in the process spun, sending him down to tenth. Both McLaren cars were suffering with throttle problems and as Andretti slowed down in front of Schumacher on lap 16 he spun again forcing him down into fourteenth position, just behind Prost who was making his way back up the field. On lap 18 Senna was forced to retire with throttle problems. As cars pitted, Schumacher and the two Williams stayed out, closing the gap between Hill, Prost and Schumacher. By the end of this lap Hill was leading, followed by Patrese, Prost, Schumacher and Berger.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 11: Hungary
Shortly after Prost began suffering problems with his rear wing, forcing him to pit, rejoining the race seven laps behind. On lap 23 Alesi spun off and hit armco barrier over the gravel trap and retired whilst trying to lap backmarkers and Patrese let Schumacher past him. This put Schumacher into second place, however three laps later he had to retire because of fuel pump problems. Berger pitted from third and rejoined the race fifth, but quickly overtook Brundle and then Warwick to reclaim third position. Hill won the race, his first ever Formula One victory. Patrese finished in second followed by Berger, Warwick and Brundle.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 12: Belgium
Williams took another grid 1–2 with Prost out qualifying Hill again. Schumacher qualified third, Alesi fourth and Senna fifth. At the beginning of the race Schumacher suffered another poor start allowing Alesi and Senna to pass him. By the end of the first lap Prost was leading followed by Hill, Senna, Alesi and Schumacher.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 12: Belgium
On lap 4 Alesi was forced to retire because of problems with his suspension, allowing Schumacher to take fourth position. He then set off after Senna and overtook him on lap 10 by going on the grass to get around him. The first wave of pit stops did not change the order at the front of the pack with Prost still leading, followed by Hill, Schumacher, Senna and Suzuki. On lap 15 Suzuki's gearbox failed and he had to retire from the race. Prost had trouble in the pits during his second stop meaning that Senna and Schumacher rejoined the race ahead of him.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 12: Belgium
On lap 41 Prost beat the lap record while he was chasing down Schumacher discovering that since he was only one-tenth-of-a-second quicker he couldn't chase the other two down and thus had to settle for third. Hill won the race, ending the Constructors' Championship, with Schumacher second, Prost third, Senna fourth, and Herbert fifth.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 12: Belgium
The Belgian Grand Prix was three quarters of the way through 1993's calendar and Prost was leading the World Championship with 81 points. Senna was second with 54 points, Hill was third with 48 points, Schumacher was fourth with 42 points, and Patrese was fifth with 18 points. As a result of this race Williams had won the Constructors' Championship with 129 points ahead of Benetton with 60, and McLaren with 56 points.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 13: Italy
As usual the two Williams cars took the front two positions on the grid at Monza, with Prost again out qualifying Hill. Alesi qualified third, Senna fourth and Schumacher fifth. As the lights went out Alesi managed to get ahead of Hill and as Senna tried to do the same there was contact sending Senna into ninth place and Hill into tenth. Midway through the lap Schumacher took second position from Alesi and as they finished the first lap Prost was in the lead, followed by Schumacher, Alesi, Berger and Hebert.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 13: Italy
At the end of lap 8 Prost was still leading ahead of his two main championship rivals Senna and Hill, who were both outside of the points. As Senna tried to take sixth position from Brundle they collided and the accident retired both of them from the race. Hill had gained two places as a result of the collision and was now in sixth. He gained a further two places when Johnny Herbert spun out into the tyre barrier at Parabolica on lap 15 and Berger's suspension failed on the following lap. On lap 18 he passed Alesi and on lap 22 Schumacher's engine failed. Blundell had also hit the barrier at Parabolica like Herbert and retired with a right rear puncture just after pitting by lap 21. This left Hill in second position, five seconds behind Prost.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 13: Italy
At the end of lap 48, five from the end, Prost still led Hill by two seconds, and looked set to seal his fourth Drivers' Championship. But on lap 49, the Frenchman's engine failed. This allowed Hill to take his third consecutive win, with Alesi in a fine second, Andretti third, Wendlinger fourth and Patrese fifth.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 14: Portugal
Two major news stories broke as Formula One descended on Estoril, Portugal. Firstly Alain Prost announced that after only a year back in the sport that he would retire at the end of the 1993 season. Secondly Michael Andretti had been fired from McLaren after a very poor performance during the season (his podium finish in Italy was notwithstanding). Mika Häkkinen, the team's test driver, would be his replacement. Häkkinen would stay with the team until his retirement in 2001 after nine years.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 14: Portugal
The Williams cars qualified in their usual 1–2 position, but this time it was Hill that was in Pole Position with Prost in second. For his first race at McLaren Häkkinen qualified third ahead of Senna in fourth and Alesi in fifth. Despite being on Pole Position, Hill stalled his car during the parade lap and had to start the race from the back of the grid. As the lights went out Prost was overtaken by Alesi and the two McLarens with Alesi ahead of Senna and Senna ahead of Häkkinen. By the end of the first lap Alesi was in the lead followed by Senna, Häkkinen, Prost and Schumacher.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 14: Portugal
The top five stayed close together, however the two Williams's cars and Schumacher were on a one-stop strategy unlike the McLarens and the Ferraris. On lap 20, whilst Alesi, Häkkinen and Schumacher were in the pits, Senna's engine blew, meaning he had to retire from the race. Alesi lost position to Häkkinen and Schumacher during the pit stop. This left Prost leading ahead of Blundell, Hill, Häkkinen, and Schumacher. The German passed Häkkinen on lap 25 and began to pull away. Prost stopped on lap 29, however Schumacher rejoined the race ahead of him. When Hill stopped Schumacher was leading followed by Prost, Häkkinen, Hill and Alesi.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 14: Portugal
On lap 33 Häkkinen crashed into the wall at the last corner, and on lap 36 Berger's suspension failed. Blundell crashed out of the race from sixth position on lap 52 as Prost began to make a move on Schumacher. Second place, however, was all Prost needed to win the championship so he decided not to take any risks. Patrese was doing well in fifth position but on lap 64 he also crashed out of the race. Schumacher had a minor incident but continued, so he could keep the lead. Schumacher won his second Grand Prix Race (the first being the Belgian Grand Prix the year before). Prost finished second, making him the 1993 Formula One World Champion. Hill finished third, Alesi fourth, and Wendlinger fifth.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 14: Portugal
With only two races to follow the Portuguese Grand Prix, Prost, with a 34-point lead over Senna, was crowned the 1993 Formula One World Champion (his fourth World Championship). There was however still a battle for second position between Hill, Senna, and Schumacher. Hill was second with 62 points, Senna third with 53, Schumacher fourth with 52 and Patrese fifth with 20 points. Williams had already won the Constructors' Championship at the Belgian Grand Prix, but again there was still a battle for second between Benetton (72 points) and McLaren (60 points). Ferrari was fourth with 23 points.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 14: Portugal
Backmarker team Scuderia Italia withdrew from Formula One after this race.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 15: Japan
Prost took pole position at the Suzuka circuit in Japan. Senna had qualified second, Häkkinen third, Schumacher fourth and Berger fifth. Disappointingly Hill only managed to qualify sixth. At the beginning of the race Senna managed to pass Prost and Berger overtook Schumacher. Eddie Irvine (the fifth driver to occupy Jordan's second seat that year) managed to overtake Hill and then Schumacher. Hill briefly overtook Schumacher but the German very quickly regained his place. Senna was leading by the end of the first lap followed by Prost, Häkkinen, Berger and Irvine. Schumacher passed Irvine on the second lap with Hill passing him two laps later.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 15: Japan
Schumacher and Hill then closed in on Berger. At the end of lap 9 the three cars came out of the final chicane nose to tail as Hill passed Schumacher on the main straight to take fifth position. On lap 11 Hill got a very good run at overtaking Berger going into the chicane. Berger took the inside line and Hill tried to overtake on the outside, but had to give up on the move.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 15: Japan
Schumacher having stayed on the inside was unable to stop in time and ended up hitting Hill's right rear tyre damaging his left front suspension and resulting in his retirement from the race. Hill came out of the accident unscathed and managed to make up a place on the following lap when Berger pitted.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 15: Japan
At the front of the pack Prost had taken the lead when Senna pitted. Shortly after it began to rain, which was a major advantage for Prost and those drivers that hadn't pitted, as they would only have to do one less stop. Senna began to catch Prost as the track became wet and on lap 21 as the rain became heavier Senna overtook the Frenchman on the approach to the Spoon Curve. At the end of the lap Senna's lead was over two seconds and the pair pitted for wet tyres.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 15: Japan
Senna pulled away rapidly and by lap 27 his lead was over thirty seconds. Prost then left the track at the first corner, but was able to rejoin the race behind Senna, one lap down. Unable to lap Hill Senna was re-passed by Irvine, who had already been lapped, but was chasing Hill for fourth position. Irvine, who was also still on wets, challenged Hill going into the first corner, but was unable to complete the move, whilst Senna was being held up by the pair. Senna lost fifteen seconds behind the pair once he had forced his way through. At the end of lap 42 both Senna and Prost pitted for Slicks and Senna's lead was back up to twenty-four seconds.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 15: Japan
Behind, Barrichello passed Irvine during the stop for wet tyres. On lap 41 Berger's engine failed resulting in his retirement. With four laps to go and battling Warwick for sixth position he ran into the back of him forcing Warwick to retire. Irvine managed to continue and scored a point in his first race. His debut was marred slightly by the events of the post-race meeting where he and Senna exchanged strong words and Senna punched him. Senna won the race followed by Prost in second, Häkkinen in third which was his first ever podium finish, Hill fourth, Barrichello's fifth-place finish was the best of his career to that point, with Irvine finishing sixth in his debut Formula One race.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 16: Australia
The last race of the 1993 season took place in Adelaide, South Australia. If Williams took pole position at this race they would have been on pole for the entire season, however in Adelaide it was Senna that started the race in pole position. Prost was second on the grid, Hill third, Schumacher fourth and Häkkinen fifth. As the race started the top four stayed in the same order, however Berger jumped Häkkinen for fifth position.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 16: Australia
While Senna started to pull away slightly the two Williams and Schumacher stayed close together. Schumacher passed Hill on lap 8 and then set about passing Prost. He had to pit early, on lap 15, and rejoined fourth. However, his engine failed five laps later. During the first set of pit stops Häkkinen was slow and Alesi and Brundle managed to get ahead of him. Nine laps after Schumacher retired due to engine failure Häkkinen was forced to do the same.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 16: Australia
During the second set of pit stops Senna kept his ten-second lead whilst Alesi managed to get ahead of Berger and Patrese passed Brundle. On lap 61 Hill attempted to overtake Prost by surprise for second place. However, as Prost moved over to block him Hill had to back off and ended up spinning, losing time but not his position. Patrese was set to finish sixth in his 256th and final race, but his fuel pressure dropped on the final lap. Senna won the final race of the season, with Prost finishing second in his final Formula One race. Hill finished third, followed by Alesi in fourth and Berger in fifth.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Race-by-race, Round 16: Australia
At the end of the season Prost finished his one-year return to Formula One with the World Championship and 99 career points. His rival, Senna, finished second with 73 points. In third was Hill with 69 points. Fourth was Schumacher with 52 points. Fifth place in the championship went to Patrese, who had earned 20 points. Williams dominated the Constructors' Championship throughout the year finishing first with 168 points. This was double the points of McLaren who finished second.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Season review, Points scoring system
Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each race as follows:


1993 Formula One World Championship, Season review, World Drivers' Championship standings
† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Season review, World Constructors' Championship standings
Points are calculated as the sum of the points for the drivers of each team.


1993 Formula One World Championship, Season review, Non-championship event results
The 1993 season also included a single event which did not count towards the World Championship, the Formula One Indoor Trophy at the Bologna Motor Show.


1993 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season
The 1993 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was the fourth season of the team in the American Professional Soccer League. It was the club's twenty-seventh season in professional soccer. This year, the team finished in sixth place in the regular season. They did not make it to the playoffs.


1993 Foster's Cup
The 1993 AFL Foster's Cup was the Australian Football League pre-season cup competition played in its entirety before the 1993 season began.


1993 Four Corners hantavirus outbreak
The 1993 Four Corners hantavirus outbreak was an outbreak of hantavirus that caused the first known human cases of hantavirus disease in the United States. It occurred within the Four Corners region – the geographic intersection of the U.S. states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona –  of the southwestern part of the country in mid-1993. This region is largely occupied by Native American tribal lands, including the Hopi, Ute, Zuni, and Navajo reservations, from which many of the cases were reported.


1993 Four Corners hantavirus outbreak
The virus killed 13 people — half of those it infected, for a mortality rate of 50%.