The dry patch lasted three full seasons and 49 races. At the time, it seemed inconceivable that McLaren - the superpower with which first Niki Lauda, then emphatically Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, bestrode Formula 1 - should have fallen so low.
Today, after a win drought that is now well over double the length and shows absolutely no sign of being quenched, the mid-1990s seem just a blip. Perspectives have changed.
The loss of Honda at the end of 1992 triggered McLaren's downfall, although Senna led a valiant charge with customer Ford power in '93. The ill-advised shotgun marriage with Peugeot lasted all but a season, before Ron Dennis cracked the deal that would regenerate his company. It would take three years, but the partnership with Mercedes-Benz would prove bountiful. And it was with this car that it first bore fruit.