1990 Belgian Grand Prix

Last updated
1990 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 11 of 16 in the 1990 Formula One World Championship
Spa 1996.jpg
Race details
Date26 August 1990
Location Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium [1]
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 6.940 km (4.312 [2] miles)
Distance 44 laps, 301.172 km (187.136 miles)
Weather Dry
Pole position
Driver
 McLaren-Honda
Time 1:50.365
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Ferrari
Time 1:55.087 on lap 38
Podium
First
 McLaren-Honda
Second
 Ferrari
Third
 McLaren-Honda
Lap leaders
  • 1990 Belgian Grand Prix

The 1990 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 26 August 1990. It was the eleventh race of the 1990 Formula One World Championship. The race was the 48th Belgian Grand Prix. It was the 36th to be held at Spa-Francorchamps and the seventh since the circuit was extensively redeveloped in 1979. The race was held over 44 laps of the seven kilometre circuit for a race distance of 301 kilometres.

Contents

Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna claimed his fifth race victory for the season in his McLaren MP4/5B taking a four-second win over the Ferrari 641 driven the reigning world champion, Frenchman Alain Prost. It was Senna's fourth victory in the Belgian Grand Prix, and his third in succession. Senna's Austrian team mate Gerhard Berger finished third, while further back Maurício Gugelmin scored a point for the Leyton House team.

Three attempts were made to start the race, the first two being red-flagged after collisions. Aguri Suzuki's Lola LC90 was eliminated after the first start, Paolo Barilla's Minardi M190 after the second.

Off-track, Nigel Mansell was rumoured to be reconsidering his prior announcement to retire, and he was strongly linked with Williams. He had demanded undisputed number one status as a driver, and various assurances from engine supplier Renault, which Frank Williams had told him were impossible. [3]

The Onyx team pulled out of Formula One before the weekend of the race, for financial reasons, having competed at this level for a season and a half. [4]

Qualifying

Pre-qualifying report

With the withdrawal of the Onyx team, Ligier were relieved of the requirement to pre-qualify, and returned to the main qualifying pool. They had only been required to pre-qualify twice, which both cars did comfortably on both occasions.

Therefore there was slightly less pressure on the other entrants in the pre-qualifying session. Olivier Grouillard was fastest in the Osella, the second time he had been top of the Friday morning time sheets, and the first time since round six in Mexico. Second fastest was Yannick Dalmas in the AGS, his fifth successful pre-qualification of the season from eleven attempts. Third fastest was Bertrand Gachot in the improving Coloni, and this was the first time in 1990 that he had pre-qualified. Fourth was Gabriele Tarquini in the other AGS, his fourth pre-qualification this season. [4]

Missing the cut in fifth and sixth positions were the EuroBruns of Roberto Moreno and Claudio Langes. The margin of failure was fairly narrow however, with Moreno 0.36 seconds behind Tarquini, and Langes just over a second further behind. Bruno Giacomelli was slowest again in the Life, with the L190 refusing to start until the closing stages of the session. The car managed five slow laps before an electrical failure. "Nothing impressive," Giacomelli stated. He also announced that work was restarting on the chassis to allow a Judd CV V8 engine to be fitted by round 13 in Portugal, in place of the disastrous in-house W12. [5]

Pre-qualifying classification

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
114 Flag of France.svg Olivier Grouillard Osella-Ford 1:57.941—
218 Flag of France.svg Yannick Dalmas AGS-Ford 1:58.339+0.398
331 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Gachot Coloni-Ford 1:59.130+1.189
417 Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini AGS-Ford 1:59.910+1.969
533 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Roberto Moreno EuroBrun-Judd 2:00.270+2.329
634 Flag of Italy.svg Claudio Langes EuroBrun-Judd 2:01.405+3.464
739 Flag of Italy.svg Bruno Giacomelli Life 2:19.445+21.504

Qualifying report

The two McLarens were on the front row, with Senna ahead of Berger. Prost in the Ferrari was third ahead of Boutsen and the second Ferrari of Mansell.

Qualifying classification

PosNoDriverConstructorQ1Q2Gap
127 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda 1:52.2781:50.365—
228 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger McLaren-Honda 1:51.2111:50.948+0.583
31 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Ferrari 1:51.8411:51.043+0.678
45 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Boutsen Williams-Renault 1:54.0241:51.902+1.537
52 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Ferrari 1:52.6011:52.267+1.902
619 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Nannini Benetton-Ford 1:55.8001:52.648+2.283
76 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Williams-Renault 1:54.2601:52.703+2.338
820 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Nelson Piquet Benetton-Ford 1:53.6891:52.853+2.488
94 Flag of France.svg Jean Alesi Tyrrell-Ford 1:54.1161:52.885+2.520
103 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Satoru Nakajima Tyrrell-Ford 1:55.7981:53.468+3.103
1130 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Aguri Suzuki Lola-Lamborghini 1:55.2941:53.523+3.158
1216 Flag of Italy.svg Ivan Capelli Leyton House-Judd 1:55.0121:53.783+3.418
138 Flag of Italy.svg Stefano Modena Brabham-Judd 1:57.0141:53.916+3.551
1415 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Maurício Gugelmin Leyton House-Judd 1:54.4971:54.120+3.755
1529 Flag of France.svg Éric Bernard Lola-Lamborghini 1:56.2131:54.251+3.886
1623 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 1:56.0741:54.312+3.947
1721 Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Pirro Dallara-Ford 1:56.2391:54.595+4.230
1811 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Lotus-Lamborghini 1:56.2461:55.068+4.703
1910 Flag of Italy.svg Alex Caffi Arrows-Ford 1:56.5621:55.199+4.834
2022 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris Dallara-Ford 1:56.9231:55.261+4.896
2125 Flag of Italy.svg Nicola Larini Ligier-Ford 1:57.4711:55.278+4.913
2212 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Donnelly Lotus-Lamborghini 1:56.6661:55.304+4.939
2314 Flag of France.svg Olivier Grouillard Osella-Ford 1:57.7701:55.334+4.969
247 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Brabham-Judd 1:58.0341:55.668+5.303
2524 Flag of Italy.svg Paolo Barilla Minardi-Ford 1:57.2211:55.859+5.494
269 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Arrows-Ford 1:57.2551:56.055+5.690
2726 Flag of France.svg Philippe Alliot Ligier-Ford no time1:56.118+5.753
2817 Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini AGS-Ford 1:58.2931:57.566+7.201
2918 Flag of France.svg Yannick Dalmas AGS-Ford 1:58.9951:57.704+7.339
3031 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Gachot Coloni-Ford no time1:58.520+8.155

Race

Race report

The first start had seen two incidents. The first of them saw Nelson Piquet in the Benetton push the Ferrari 641 of Nigel Mansell off the track. In the second of the incidents, the Tyrrell of Satoru Nakajima collided with the Brabham of Stefano Modena, which caused the race to be stopped.

The second start had seen Senna's McLaren take the lead with the Williams of Thierry Boutsen slicing his way into second place from fourth, whilst rival Alain Prost had dropped down to fifth place after starting third. However, there was another first lap accident when the Minardi of Paolo Barilla crashed heavily at Eau Rouge, leaving debris all over the track in that area and causing the race to be stopped again.

The third start, however, had proven to be cleaner, as Senna held on to the lead ahead of teammate Gerhard Berger, Prost, Boutsen, Patrese and Alessandro Nannini in the leading Benetton. Mansell in the second Ferrari went into the pits on lap 11 with handling problems. He was able to rejoin the race but retired eight laps later. Meanwhile back up front, Prost took second ahead of Berger but then pitted for tyres. The margin between Senna and Prost was only two seconds when they made their second pit stops for fresh tyres. Both the Williams cars of Patrese and Boutsen were soon forced to retire with gearbox problems by lap 22. The pit stops of Senna and Prost had allowed Nannini (who was once again planning to go the full race distance without a pit stop) to take second place. Prost was able to overtake Nannini and Berger attempted to do the same thing but was unable to pass until lap 41 when Nannini ran wide at La Source, which allowed Berger to take third place from the Italian. Ayrton Senna took his fifth win of the season by 3.5 seconds over Prost, whilst the rest of the top six were rounded out by teammate Berger, Nannini, Piquet in the second Benetton and Mauricio Gugelmin in the Leyton House.

Race classification

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
127 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda 441:26:31.99719
21 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Ferrari 44+ 3.55036
328 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger McLaren-Honda 44+ 28.46224
419 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Nannini Benetton-Ford 44+ 49.33763
520 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Nelson Piquet Benetton-Ford 44+ 1:29.65082
615 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Maurício Gugelmin Leyton House-Judd 44+ 1:48.851141
716 Flag of Italy.svg Ivan Capelli Leyton House-Judd 43+ 1 lap12
84 Flag of France.svg Jean Alesi Tyrrell-Ford 43+ 1 lap9
929 Flag of France.svg Éric Bernard Lola-Lamborghini 43+ 1 lap15
1010 Flag of Italy.svg Alex Caffi Arrows-Ford 43+ 1 lap19
1111 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Lotus-Lamborghini 43+ 1 lap18
1212 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Donnelly Lotus-Lamborghini 43+ 1 lap22
139 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Arrows-Ford 43+ 1 lap26
1425 Flag of Italy.svg Nicola Larini Ligier-Ford 42+ 2 laps21
1523 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 42+ 2 laps16
1614 Flag of France.svg Olivier Grouillard Osella-Ford 42+ 2 laps23
178 Flag of Italy.svg Stefano Modena Brabham-Judd 39Engine13
Ret7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Brabham-Judd 36Electrical24
Ret22 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris Dallara-Ford 27Engine20
Ret5 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Boutsen Williams-Renault 21Transmission4
Ret2 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Ferrari 19Handling5
Ret6 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Williams-Renault 18Gearbox7
Ret21 Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Pirro Dallara-Ford 5Water leak17
Ret3 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Satoru Nakajima Tyrrell-Ford 4Engine10
Ret30 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Aguri Suzuki Lola-Lamborghini 0Accident11
Ret24 Flag of Italy.svg Paolo Barilla Minardi-Ford 0Accident25
DNQ26 Flag of France.svg Philippe Alliot Ligier-Ford
DNQ17 Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini AGS-Ford
DNQ18 Flag of France.svg Yannick Dalmas AGS-Ford
DNQ31 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Gachot Coloni-Ford
DNPQ33 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Roberto Moreno EuroBrun-Judd
DNPQ34 Flag of Italy.svg Claudio Langes EuroBrun-Judd
DNPQ39 Flag of Italy.svg Bruno Giacomelli Life
Source: [6]

Championship standings after the race

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 Australian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1987 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Adelaide on 15 November 1987. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1987 Formula One World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 German Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1988 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 24 July 1988 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim. It was the ninth race of the 1988 Formula One World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Hungarian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 7 August 1988 at the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was the tenth race of the 1988 Formula One World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Spanish Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1988 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 2 October 1988 at the Circuito Permanente de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera. It was the fourteenth race of the 1988 Formula One World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 Mexican Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1989 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City on 28 May 1989. The race, contested over 69 laps, was the fourth race of the 1989 Formula One season and was won from pole position by Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Honda, with Riccardo Patrese second in a Williams-Renault and Michele Alboreto third in a Tyrrell-Ford.

The 1989 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on 18 June 1989. It was the sixth race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 French Grand Prix</span> Formula One motor race held in 1989

The 1989 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on 9 July 1989. It was the seventh race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 British Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1989 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 16 July 1989. It was the eighth race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 German Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1989 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Hockenheimring on 30 July 1989. The race was won by Ayrton Senna, ahead of Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 Hungarian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Hungaroring on 13 August 1989. It was the tenth race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 Belgian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1989 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 27 August 1989. It was the eleventh race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 Australian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1989 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Adelaide on 5 November 1989. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 Mexican Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1990 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on 24 June 1990. It was sixth race of the 1990 Formula One World Championship, the 14th Mexican Grand Prix and the fifth since the Mexico City circuit returned to the Formula One calendar in 1986. It was held over 69 laps of the 4.4 kilometre circuit for a race distance of 305 kilometres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 French Grand Prix</span> 7th round of the 1990 Formula One season

The 1990 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on 8 July 1990. It was the seventh race of the 1990 Formula One World Championship. It was the 68th French Grand Prix and the 14th and last to be held at Paul Ricard until the 2018 French Grand Prix. It was held over 80 laps of the four kilometre circuit for a race distance of 305 kilometres. This race was held the same day as the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final in Rome, Italy, but that event took place later in the day from this Grand Prix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 German Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1990 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Hockenheimring on 29 July 1990. It was the ninth race of the 1990 Formula One World Championship. The race was the 52nd German Grand Prix and the 14th to be held at the Hockenheimring. It was the 39th and last Formula One Grand Prix to be held in West Germany prior to its re-unification with East Germany. The race was held over 45 laps of the seven kilometre circuit for a race distance of 306 kilometres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 Hungarian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1990 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Hungaroring on 12 August 1990. It was the tenth race of the 1990 Formula One World Championship. The race was the sixth Hungarian Grand Prix and the fifth to be held at the Hungaroring. It was held over 77 laps of the 3.97-kilometre (2.47 mi) circuit for a race distance of 305.5 kilometres (189.8 mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 Spanish Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1990 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jerez on 30 September 1990. It was the fourteenth race of the 1990 Formula One World Championship, and the fifth and last Spanish Grand Prix to be held at Jerez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 Formula One World Championship</span> 44th season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1990 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 44th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1990 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1990 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a sixteen-race series that commenced on 11 March and ended on 4 November. Ayrton Senna won in controversial circumstances the Drivers' Championship for the second time, and McLaren-Honda won their third consecutive Constructors' Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 Formula One World Championship</span> 43rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1989 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 43rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It began on 26 March and ended on 5 November. Alain Prost won his third Drivers' Championship, and McLaren won the Constructors' Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 Formula One World Championship</span> 41st season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 41st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1987 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1987 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a sixteen-race series that commenced on 12 April and ended on 15 November. The World Championship for Drivers was won by Nelson Piquet, and the World Championship for Constructors by Williams-Honda. The season also encompassed the Jim Clark Trophy and the Colin Chapman Trophy, which were respectively contested by drivers and constructors of Formula One cars powered by naturally aspirated engines.

References

  1. ↑ "1990 Belgian GP". Motor Sport . Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. ↑ "1995 Belgian Grand Prix | Motorsport Database".
  3. ↑ Taylor, Simon (December 2009). "Lunch with... Nigel Mansell". Motorsport Magazine. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 Walker, Murray (1990). Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year. Hazleton Publishing. pp. 95–102. ISBN   0-905138-82-1.
  5. ↑ "Motoring News". 30 August 1990.
  6. ↑ "1990 Belgian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Belgium 1990 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
Previous race:
1990 Hungarian Grand Prix 		FIA Formula One World Championship
1990 season 		Next race:
1990 Italian Grand Prix
Previous race:
1989 Belgian Grand Prix 		Belgian Grand Prix Next race:
1991 Belgian Grand Prix
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.