Mansell, driving a Williams-Renault, secured pole position by nearly half a second from Senna in the McLaren-Honda. The achievement was Mansell's fourteenth pole of the season, surpassing the record of thirteen set by Senna in both 1988 and 1989. Their respective teammates, Riccardo Patrese and Gerhard Berger, qualified third and fourth. Michael Schumacher in the Benetton and Jean Alesi in the Ferrari completed the third row. The remainder of the top ten comprised Andrea de Cesaris in the Tyrrell, Martin Brundle in the second Benetton, Érik Comas in the Ligier, and Mika Häkkinen in the Lotus. Nicola Larini started from the back of the grid.
A first-lap collision between Olivier Grouillard's Tyrrell and Pierluigi Martini's Dallara removed both drivers before the opening lap was complete. The top six at the end of lap one were Mansell, Senna, Patrese, Berger, Schumacher, and Alesi. Senna kept close to Mansell and attempted to pass the Williams on lap 8, but was unable to find a way through. Maurício Gugelmin spun out and crashed by lap 9.
The decisive moment arrived on lap 19 at the Mistral hairpin. Senna moved to overtake Mansell but drove into the rear of the Williams, eliminating both from the race. Patrese took the lead in the remaining Williams from lap 20, under sustained pressure from Berger. Berger tried to pass Patrese on the outside but ran wide. He pitted for fresh tyres on lap 35; Schumacher, leading the Benetton, pitted five laps later and rejoined four seconds behind Berger.
During the pit-stop cycle, Brundle passed Alesi for third. Patrese appeared set for victory, holding a twenty-second lead over Berger by the end of lap 50, but his engine failed on lap 51. Berger assumed the lead and held it through the remaining 31 laps, taking his eighth career win by less than a second from a hard-charging Schumacher. The final top six order was Berger, Schumacher, Brundle, Alesi, Thierry Boutsen, and Stefano Modena in the Jordan.
Jordan scored their only point of the season through Modena's sixth-place finish. Boutsen, who had won the Australian Grand Prix in 1989, took his only points of the 1992 season, which were also the last championship points of his career. Benetton's double podium meant they had scored points in every round of the season, a feat not achieved by any team since Lotus in 1963.
The race carried the weight of multiple endings. Mansell had intended it to be his final Formula One start before moving to IndyCars for 1993. It was the last Grand Prix for the March F1 team. Among the drivers, Brundle moved to Ligier for 1993, Berger returned to Ferrari, and Patrese joined Benetton, making this their final race with their 1992 teams. For Jan Lammers, Stefano Modena, Maurício Gugelmin, and Olivier Grouillard, Adelaide 1992 was the last Formula One race of their careers.
Most significantly, the race was McLaren's final event using Honda engines until 2015. Honda ceased full factory involvement in Formula One after this race, though the Mugen arm of the company continued in the sport. Honda returned to Formula One in 2000 as an engine supplier to BAR.