1989 Brazilian Grand Prix

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1989 Brazilian Grand Prix
Race 1 of 16 in the 1989 Formula One World Championship
Autodromo de Jacarepagua 1978-1995.png
Race details
Date26 March 1989
Official name XVIII Grande Prêmio do Brasil
Location Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet
Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.031 km (3.126 miles)
Distance 61 laps, 306.891 km (190.693 miles)
Weather Very hot, dry, sunny
Pole position
Driver McLaren-Honda
Time 1:25.302
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Williams-Renault
Time 1:32.507 on lap 47
Podium
First Ferrari
Second McLaren-Honda
Third March-Judd
Lap leaders
  • 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro on 26 March 1989. It was the first race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.

Contents

The 61-lap race was won by Englishman Nigel Mansell, driving a Ferrari, with Frenchman Alain Prost second in a McLaren-Honda and local driver Maurício Gugelmin third in a March-Judd. It was the first time that a car with a semi-automatic gearbox won the race. Mansell had joked that he had booked an early flight home as he did not expect to win, and during the podium ceremony he cut his hand whilst lifting the trophy. [1]

Qualifying

Pre-qualifying report

Several teams were required to participate in the Friday morning pre-qualifying sessions during 1989, in order to reduce the field to thirty cars for the main qualifying sessions on Friday afternoon and Saturday. At the midway point of the season, the pre-qualifying group was to be reassessed, with the more successful, points-scoring teams being allowed to avoid pre-qualifying, and unsuccessful teams being required to pre-qualify from mid-season onwards.

At this first Grand Prix of 1989 in Brazil, five cars were allowed to progress. The AGS team had expanded from one car to two, and their first car, to be driven by Philippe Streiff, was not required to pre-qualify. However, the Frenchman had been paralysed in a midweek testing crash at the circuit, which ended his career. He was not replaced for the Grand Prix weekend, allowing an extra car to progress from the pre-qualifying session.

The FIRST team withdrew before the event, as the car had failed a mandatory FIA pre-season crash test. This left thirteen cars participating in the session. They included the two Brabhams, as the team had not participated in 1988, and the new Onyx team with their two-car entry. Also included were the two Zakspeeds and the two Osellas. This left five other cars: the sole single-car entry from EuroBrun, and the second cars of the four teams expanding from one car to two for 1989, namely AGS, Coloni, Dallara and Rial.

During the session, the two Brabhams of Martin Brundle and Stefano Modena were considerably faster than the other entrants, securing a comfortable 1–2. Third was the EuroBrun driven by debutant Swiss driver Gregor Foitek, and fourth was the Osella of Nicola Larini. The fortunate fifth fastest runner, who also went through to qualifying on this occasion, was Zakspeed's Bernd Schneider. [2]

Missing out in sixth was Alex Caffi in the Dallara, ahead of veteran Piercarlo Ghinzani in the other Osella. Another newcomer, German driver Volker Weidler was eighth in the Rial, with Pierre-Henri Raphanel's Coloni ninth, ahead of Joachim Winkelhock, also competing in Formula One for the first time, in the AGS. Eleventh was the second Zakspeed of Aguri Suzuki, with the Onyx drivers a little way adrift at the bottom of the time sheets, having had little time to test their new car. Stefan Johansson was faster than his Belgian team-mate Bertrand Gachot, the other driver in the session to make his Formula One debut, but was still over seven seconds slower than Brundle's time. [2]

Pre-qualifying classification

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
17 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle Brabham-Judd 1:27.764
28 Flag of Italy.svg Stefano Modena Brabham-Judd 1:28.147+0.383
333 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Gregor Foitek EuroBrun-Judd 1:29.604+1.840
417 Flag of Italy.svg Nicola Larini Osella-Ford 1:29.679+1.915
534 Flag of Germany.svg Bernd Schneider Zakspeed-Yamaha 1:30.417+2.653
621 Flag of Italy.svg Alex Caffi Dallara-Ford 1:30.747+2.983
718 Flag of Italy.svg Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Ford 1:31.150+3.386
839 Flag of Germany.svg Volker Weidler Rial-Ford 1:31.964+4.200
932 Flag of France.svg Pierre-Henri Raphanel Coloni-Ford 1:32.019+4.255
1041 Flag of Germany.svg Joachim Winkelhock AGS-Ford 1:32.982+5.218
1135 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Aguri Suzuki Zakspeed-Yamaha 1:33.079+5.315
1236 Flag of Sweden.svg Stefan Johansson Onyx-Ford 1:35.232+7.468
1337 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Gachot Onyx-Ford 1:37.932+10.168

Qualifying report

Ayrton Senna took pole position in qualifying ahead of Riccardo Patrese, making a record-breaking 177th appearance at a Grand Prix, and Gerhard Berger in the new Ferrari 640, which featured the first semi-automatic gearbox in Formula One. For Patrese it was actually his first front row start since he started second at the 1983 European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, a gap of 81 races. On his debut for Ferrari, Berger's teammate Nigel Mansell qualified sixth. After the race Mansell joked that he was so convinced of his new car's unreliability that he had booked an early flight home. [3]

Johnny Herbert (Benetton) and Olivier Grouillard (Ligier) both qualified for their first Formula One races.

Qualifying classification

PosNoDriverTeamQ1Q2Gap
11 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda 1:26.2051:25.302
26 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Williams-Renault 1:26.1727:12.732+0.870
328 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger Ferrari 1:26.2711:26.394+0.969
45 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Boutsen Williams-Renault 1:27.3671:26.459+1.157
52 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost McLaren-Honda 1:27.0951:26.620+1.318
627 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Ferrari 1:27.2491:26.772+1.470
716 Flag of Italy.svg Ivan Capelli March-Judd 1:27.5251:27.035+1.733
89 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Arrows-Ford 1:27.9371:27.408+2.106
911 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Nelson Piquet Lotus-Judd 1:28.4231:27.437+2.135
1020 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert Benetton-Ford 1:27.6261:27.754+2.324
1119 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Nannini Benetton-Ford 1:28.3941:27.865+2.563
1215 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Maurício Gugelmin March-Judd 1:27.9561:28.581+2.654
137 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle Brabham-Judd 1:29.1381:28.274+2.972
148 Flag of Italy.svg Stefano Modena Brabham-Judd 1:28.6211:28.942+3.319
1522 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris Dallara-Ford 1:29.0051:29.206+3.703
1623 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 1:30.0771:29.435+4.133
1738 Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner Rial-Ford 1:30.4601:29.455+4.153
183 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jonathan Palmer Tyrrell-Ford 1:30.4431:29.573+4.271
1917 Flag of Italy.svg Nicola Larini Osella-Ford 1:31.3411:30.146+4.844
204 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:32.2601:30.255+4.953
2112 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Satoru Nakajima Lotus-Judd 1:30.9421:30.375+5.073
2226 Flag of France.svg Olivier Grouillard Ligier-Ford 1:30.4101:30.666+5.108
2324 Flag of Spain.svg Luis Pérez-Sala Minardi-Ford 1:30.7021:30.643+5.341
2410 Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Cheever Arrows-Ford 1:30.6571:31.068+5.355
2534 Flag of Germany.svg Bernd Schneider Zakspeed-Yamaha 1:32.3461:30.861+5.559
2630 Flag of France.svg Philippe Alliot Lola-Lamborghini 1:31.8721:31.009+5.707
2729 Flag of France.svg Yannick Dalmas Lola-Lamborghini 1:32.4111:31.260+5.958
2825 Flag of France.svg René Arnoux Ligier-Ford 1:34.2321:31.376+6.074
2933 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Gregor Foitek EuroBrun-Judd 1:31.7911:53.570+6.489
3031 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Roberto Moreno Coloni-Ford 1:32.5611:34.894+7.259

Race

Race report

At the start, Nicola Larini was disqualified for an illegal start. Mansell became the first man since Mario Andretti in 1971 to win on his Formula One debut for Ferrari, a feat that was not matched until Kimi Räikkönen won for Ferrari at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix. It was also the first race ever to be won by a car with a semi-automatic gearbox. Mansell cut his hands on the trophy following the race. [4] He was joined on the podium by McLaren's Alain Prost and March's Maurício Gugelmin, making his first and only appearance on the podium. Johnny Herbert, still recovering from his horrifying Formula 3000 crash at Brands Hatch six months earlier, finished 4th on his Formula 1 debut for Benetton, 1.123 seconds behind Gugelmin and 7.748 seconds in front of teammate Alessandro Nannini who finished 6th.

The hard luck of the story of the race was Arrows driver Derek Warwick. There was a problem fitting a rear wheel during his second stop for tyres which lost him over 25 seconds. He eventually finished in fifth place, less than 18 seconds behind Mansell suggesting that the pit stop may have cost Warwick and Arrows their maiden Grand Prix victories.

Warwick's Arrows teammate Eddie Cheever collapsed after exiting his car following the collision involving the Zakspeed of Bernd Schneider that ended his race. Arrows actually had to modify Cheever's car after he failed the FIA safety check where a driver had five seconds to be able to exit their car. The new Ross Brawn designed Arrows A11 was a tight fit for the tall American and he had trouble fitting into the car before practice. Schneider, whose car carried the new Yamaha V8 engine, only got into the race after Philippe Streiff's crash and the FIA had allowed five pre-qualifiers to enter the main field instead of four. Schneider did not qualify for another race until the season's penultimate round in Japan some seven months later. His new teammate Aguri Suzuki ultimately failed to qualify for all 16 rounds of the 1989 season.

This was the last Formula One race at Jacarepaguá and in Rio de Janeiro. From 1990, the Brazilian Grand Prix would be held at a shortened Interlagos in São Paulo, the home town of Ayrton Senna, where it is today.

Race classification

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
127 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Ferrari 611:38:58.74469
22 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost McLaren-Honda 61+ 7.80956
315 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Maurício Gugelmin March-Judd 61+ 9.370124
420 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Herbert Benetton-Ford 61+ 10.493103
59 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Arrows-Ford 61+ 17.86682
619 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Nannini Benetton-Ford 61+ 18.241111
73 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jonathan Palmer Tyrrell-Ford 60+ 1 lap18
812 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Satoru Nakajima Lotus-Judd 60+ 1 lap21
926 Flag of France.svg Olivier Grouillard Ligier-Ford 60+ 1 lap22
104 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 59+ 2 laps20
111 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda 59+ 2 laps1
1230 Flag of France.svg Philippe Alliot Lola-Lamborghini 58+ 3 laps26
1322 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris Dallara-Ford 57+ 4 laps15
1438 Flag of Germany.svg Christian Danner Rial-Ford 56Gearbox17
Ret6 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Williams-Renault 51Alternator2
Ret10 Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Cheever Arrows-Ford 37Collision24
Ret34 Flag of Germany.svg Bernd Schneider Zakspeed-Yamaha 36Collision25
Ret7 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Brundle Brabham-Judd 27Halfshaft13
Ret16 Flag of Italy.svg Ivan Capelli March-Judd 22Suspension7
Ret11 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Nelson Piquet Lotus-Judd 10Fuel system9
DSQ17 Flag of Italy.svg Nicola Larini Osella-Ford 10Illegal start19
Ret8 Flag of Italy.svg Stefano Modena Brabham-Judd 9Halfshaft14
Ret5 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Boutsen Williams-Renault 3Engine4
Ret23 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 2Chassis16
Ret28 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger Ferrari 0Collision3
Ret24 Flag of Spain.svg Luis Pérez-Sala Minardi-Ford 0Collision23
DNQ29 Flag of France.svg Yannick Dalmas Lola-Lamborghini
DNQ25 Flag of France.svg René Arnoux Ligier-Ford
DNQ33 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Gregor Foitek EuroBrun-Judd
DNQ31 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Roberto Moreno Coloni-Ford
DNPQ21 Flag of Italy.svg Alex Caffi Dallara-Ford
DNPQ18 Flag of Italy.svg Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Ford
DNPQ39 Flag of Germany.svg Volker Weidler Rial-Ford
DNPQ32 Flag of France.svg Pierre-Henri Raphanel Coloni-Ford
DNPQ41 Flag of Germany.svg Joachim Winkelhock AGS-Ford
DNPQ35 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Aguri Suzuki Zakspeed-Yamaha
DNPQ36 Flag of Sweden.svg Stefan Johansson Onyx-Ford
DNPQ37 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Gachot Onyx-Ford
Source: [5]

Championship standings after the race

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References

  1. "Brazil 1989: 'Il Leone' roars to win on Ferrari debut". 8 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 Walker, Murray (1989). Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year. First Formula Publishing. pp. 13–20. ISBN   1-870066-22-7.
  3. Benson, Andrew (7 October 2009). "Pick your classic Brazilian Grand Prix". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  4. "Do you remember when Mansell cut his hands on the podium?". F1 Racing. No. 141. Derwent Howard. December 2008. p. 39.
  5. "1989 Brazilian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Brazil 1989 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
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