Formula De: 1992 Gran Premio do Brasil

For Christmas, my dear wife got me some goodies from Eureka... including some of their spiffing little Formula One cars designed for use with Formula De. I'd had a bonkers idea to paint some more of these in some classic liveries - I chose the 1992 championship season as it featured some of my favourite liveries ever - notably the Williams FW14B driven by Mansell and Patrese, and the McLaren MP4/7A of Senna and Berger. Both are essentially "mobile fag packets" (the Williams with Camel branding and the McLaren with Marlboro) and while I understand why we don't (and can't) see this anymore, I still love the look.

Anyway, we started the 1992 season with the Brazilian Grand Prix and the grid lined up like this: Williams (N. Mansell, Conscript Greg B.), McLaren (A. Senna, me), Benetton B192 (M. Schumacher, Conscript Frederick), and Ferrari F92A (J. Alesi, Conscript Dave V.).

We set up for a three-lap race and freely allowed allocation of points to the different elements of the car. Pitstops were not mandatory though and this would prove a strategic element for some...

Off the start I was just able to nip past Greg. Dave and Frederick were driving a bit more conservatively and Greg and I had pulled out a bit of a gap.

Ford and Renault powerplants screaming as we raced past the grandstand...

By the end of the first lap Greg had pulled ahead a bit but I (as Senna) was desperate to get back in front...

We pick up the action here on lap two and a late-braking lunge at the Williams into Descido do Lago, that I almost pulled off...

...only to spin at the exit. Unfortunately this was due to a bit of miscalculation on my part, as I forgot to include the (default) Brake and Tire points I had on the car. Oh well.

Meanwhile Dave and Frederick were in a close battle for third place.

Greg pits at the end of lap two.

Picking up the action starting lap three, Greg is well ahead. Dave and I also pitted and a strategic error by the McLaren pit crew (ahem) allowed the Ferrari and Benetton to catch up...

Nose to tail entering Curva do Sol!!

Nearing the end of the final lap, some hot rolling and judicious car abuse had gotten me within sight of Greg!

...while behind, Dave had stretched out a lead of his own over Frederick.

Unfortunately for Senninha, Mansell got the "big ball" (the 30-sided die!) going and pulled away from the McLaren. We finished in that order - Greg crossing the line well ahead of me, Dave and Frederick.

Championship points after one round:

1. N. Mansell (Williams, Greg B.)          10 pts
2. A. Senna (McLaren, Dallas)                 6 pts
3. J. Alesi (Ferrari, Dave V.)                     4 pts
4. M. Schumacher (Benetton, Frederick)  3 pts

Of course, in the historical result, Mansell won the race with his teammate Patrese finishing second. Schumacher finished third and Alesi fourth, while Senna retired.

I'm hoping we can complete a seven-race season over the year. I also have boards for Monaco, France, Italy (Monza!), Portugal, Japan and Australia, which would make a decent season. I'm also busying myself painting some of the other runners - so far I've also done the Lotus, Footwork, and Tyrrell cars, so we can accommodate more competitors for sure.