1990 French Grand Prix

Last updated
1990 French Grand Prix
Race 7 of 16 in the 1990 Formula One World Championship
Paul Ricard 1986.png
Race details
Date8 July 1990
Official name Rhône-Poulenc Grand Prix de France
Location Paul Ricard
France
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 3.813 km (2.369 miles)
Distance 80 laps, 305.040 km (189.543 miles)
Weather Hot, dry, sunny
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:04.402
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Ferrari
Time 1:08.012 on lap 64
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Leyton House-Judd
Third McLaren-Honda
Lap leaders
  • 1990 French Grand Prix

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.

Contents

The race almost saw one of the most remarkable upsets in Formula One history with the Leyton House Racing team of Italian driver Ivan Capelli and Brazilian driver Maurício Gugelmin running first and second for an extended period of the race in their Leyton House CG901s. French driver Alain Prost claimed the lead late in the race to take the win in his Ferrari 641 by eight seconds over Capelli. Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna finished third in his McLaren MP4/5B.

The win, Prost's third for the season, marked Ferrari's 100th race victory in Formula One, and closed the gap to championship points leader Senna to just three points. [1] [2]

Qualifying

Pre-qualifying report

In the Friday morning pre-qualifying session, it was a return to the top two places for the Larrousse-Lola drivers, their fourth 1–2 of the season. Éric Bernard was over a second faster than his team-mate Aguri Suzuki, who in turn was seven tenths faster than the next fastest driver. For the first time this season, at their home race, both AGS drivers pre-qualified, with Gabriele Tarquini third and Yannick Dalmas fourth. It was the first successful pre-qualification for Tarquini this season, and only the second for Dalmas. [3]

In fifth place, missing out by just under seven hundredths of a second, was Olivier Grouillard in the sole Osella, the first time he had failed to pre-qualify in 1990. Sixth was Roberto Moreno in his EuroBrun, some way adrift of Grouillard and nearly five seconds off Bernard's pace. It was the second time this season Moreno had failed to pre-qualify. Seventh, and much closer to his team-mate this time, was Claudio Langes in the other EuroBrun. The other two runners were not remotely competitive; Bertrand Gachot suffered an engine failure on his first lap in his Coloni, still with the heavy, fragile and underpowered Subaru engine, [4] while Bruno Giacomelli failed to leave the pits in the Life. [3]

Pre-qualifying classification

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
129 Flag of France.svg Éric Bernard Lola-Lamborghini 1:05.165
230 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Aguri Suzuki Lola-Lamborghini 1:06.505+1.340
317 Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini AGS-Ford 1:07.232+2.067
418 Flag of France.svg Yannick Dalmas AGS-Ford 1:08.151+2.986
514 Flag of France.svg Olivier Grouillard Osella-Ford 1:08.219+3.054
633 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Roberto Moreno EuroBrun-Judd 1:09.885+4.720
734 Flag of Italy.svg Claudio Langes EuroBrun-Judd 1:10.368+5.203
831 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Gachot Coloni-Subaru 4:02.465+2:57.300
939 Flag of Italy.svg Bruno Giacomelli Life no time

Qualifying report

Nigel Mansell took pole position from Gerhard Berger and Ayrton Senna being followed by Alain Prost, Alessandro Nannini fifth, Riccardo Patrese sixth, Ivan Capelli seventh followed by Thierry Boutsen in eighth, Nelson Piquet in ninth and Maurício Gugelmin tenth.

Qualifying classification

PosNoDriverConstructorQ1Q2Gap
12 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Ferrari 1:04.4021:04.871
228 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger McLaren-Honda 1:05.3501:04.512+0.110
327 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda 1:04.5491:08.886+0.147
41 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Ferrari 1:04.7921:04.781+0.379
519 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Nannini Benetton-Ford 1:05.6701:05.009+0.607
66 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Williams-Renault 1:05.0591:05.394+0.657
716 Flag of Italy.svg Ivan Capelli Leyton House-Judd 1:06.3841:05.369+0.967
85 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Boutsen Williams-Renault 1:05.4461:06.394+1.044
920 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Nelson Piquet Benetton-Ford 1:05.6401:05.744+1.238
1015 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Maurício Gugelmin Leyton House-Judd 1:05.8181:06.446+1.416
1129 Flag of France.svg Éric Bernard Lola-Lamborghini 1:05.9101:05.852+1.450
1226 Flag of France.svg Philippe Alliot Ligier-Ford 1:05.9801:06.866+1.578
134 Flag of France.svg Jean Alesi Tyrrell-Ford 1:06.0841:06.200+1.682
1430 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Aguri Suzuki Lola-Lamborghini 1:06.1001:06.158+1.598
153 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Satoru Nakajima Tyrrell-Ford 1:06.9991:06.563+2.161
1611 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Lotus-Lamborghini 1:06.6241:07.031+2.222
1712 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Donnelly Lotus-Lamborghini 1:06.6471:07.248+2.245
189 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Arrows-Ford 1:06.8471:07.239+2.445
1925 Flag of Italy.svg Nicola Larini Ligier-Ford 1:07.2241:06.856+2.444
208 Flag of Italy.svg Stefano Modena Brabham-Judd 1:06.9371:06.943+2.535
2122 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris Dallara-Ford 1:09.7271:07.137+2.735
2210 Flag of Italy.svg Alex Caffi Arrows-Ford 1:07.4961:07.207+2.805
2323 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 1:07.3151:07.333+2.913
2421 Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Pirro Dallara-Ford 1:07.6871:07.692+3.285
257 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Brabham-Judd 1:07.7331:08.532+3.331
2618 Flag of France.svg Yannick Dalmas AGS-Ford 1:08.6301:07.926+3.524
2724 Flag of Italy.svg Paolo Barilla Minardi-Ford 1:08.0081:08.592+3.606
2817 Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini AGS-Ford 1:09.1761:08.147+3.745
2935 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Gregor Foitek Onyx-Ford 1:08.7941:08.232+3.830
3036 Flag of Finland.svg JJ Lehto Onyx-Ford 1:08.9541:08.487+4.085

Race

Race report

In one of the most remarkable turnarounds in Grand Prix history the Leyton House cars of Ivan Capelli and Maurício Gugelmin ran first and second for almost two-thirds of the race. Neither car had qualified for the previous race in Mexico, but on the smooth surface of Paul Ricard with its 1.1 km long Mistral Straight the team were able to exploit their highly efficient aerodynamic package, as well as being the only team to attempt to race without stopping for fresh tyres. Gugelmin stopped while third late in the race on whilst Capelli led until three laps from home when his engine encountered problems and dropped to second.

Berger took the lead at the start followed by pole sitter Mansell, Senna, Nannini, Patrese, Prost, Boutsen, Piquet and Jean Alesi. Later in the race when the leaders pitted, Capelli took the lead being followed by teammate Gugelmin. Prost overtook Gugelmin on lap 54 and Gugelmin's engine blew on lap 57. Mansell was in 8th position battling for 7th with the McLaren of Gerhard Berger after his second pit-stop, but was eventually forced to retire on lap 73 with engine troubles (Mansell would be classified 18th). Alessandro Nannini overtook Senna for third place but eventually retired 3 laps after Mansell with electrical problems (Nannini would be classified 16th). Prost overtook Capelli for the lead on lap 77 of 80 and went on to win in front of his home crowd at the last French Grand Prix held at Paul Ricard before the race was moved to Magny-Cours in 1991 for many years until it eventually returned to Paul Ricard in 2018.

Prost's win was the 42nd of his career, his third French Grand Prix in succession, his fifth French GP overall (and his fourth at Paul Ricard), and the 100th Grand Prix victory for Ferrari. Prost won ahead of Capelli, Senna, Piquet, Berger and Patrese rounding out the top 6. It would also prove to be the third and last podium finish for Ivan Capelli and the only podium finish for the Leyton House Racing team.

Race classification

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
11 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Ferrari 801:33:29.60649
216 Flag of Italy.svg Ivan Capelli Leyton House-Judd 80+ 8.62676
327 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda 80+ 11.60634
420 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Nelson Piquet Benetton-Ford 80+ 41.20793
528 Flag of Austria.svg Gerhard Berger McLaren-Honda 80+ 42.21922
66 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Williams-Renault 80+ 1:09.35161
730 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Aguri Suzuki Lola-Lamborghini 79+ 1 lap14
829 Flag of France.svg Éric Bernard Lola-Lamborghini 79+ 1 lap11
926 Flag of France.svg Philippe Alliot Ligier-Ford 79+ 1 lap12
109 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Arrows-Ford 79+ 1 lap18
1111 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Lotus-Lamborghini 79+ 1 lap16
1212 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Martin Donnelly Lotus-Lamborghini 79+ 1 lap17
138 Flag of Italy.svg Stefano Modena Brabham-Judd 78+ 2 laps20
1425 Flag of Italy.svg Nicola Larini Ligier-Ford 78+ 2 laps19
157 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Brabham Brabham-Judd 77+ 3 laps25
1619 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Nannini Benetton-Ford 75Electrical5
1718 Flag of France.svg Yannick Dalmas AGS-Ford 75+ 5 laps26
182 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Ferrari 72Engine1
DSQ22 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris Dallara-Ford 78Underweight21
Ret3 Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Satoru Nakajima Tyrrell-Ford 63Gearbox15
Ret15 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Maurício Gugelmin Leyton House-Judd 58Engine10
Ret23 Flag of Italy.svg Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 40Electrical23
Ret4 Flag of France.svg Jean Alesi Tyrrell-Ford 23Differential13
Ret10 Flag of Italy.svg Alex Caffi Arrows-Ford 22Suspension22
Ret5 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Thierry Boutsen Williams-Renault 7Engine8
Ret21 Flag of Italy.svg Emanuele Pirro Dallara-Ford 7Brakes24
DNQ24 Flag of Italy.svg Paolo Barilla Minardi-Ford
DNQ17 Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Tarquini AGS-Ford
DNQ35 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Gregor Foitek Onyx-Ford
DNQ36 Flag of Finland.svg JJ Lehto Onyx-Ford
DNPQ14 Flag of France.svg Olivier Grouillard Osella-Ford
DNPQ33 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Roberto Moreno EuroBrun-Judd
DNPQ34 Flag of Italy.svg Claudio Langes EuroBrun-Judd
DNPQ31 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Gachot Coloni-Subaru
DNPQ39 Flag of Italy.svg Bruno Giacomelli Life
Source: [5]

Championship standings after the race

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References

  1. "Murray's Memories: 1990 French GP – Leyton House v Ferrari". BBC Sport. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  2. Walsh, Fergal (19 June 2023). "Where F1 teams claimed their 100th grand prix win". Motorsport Week. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  3. 1 2 Walker, Murray (1990). Murray Walker's Grand Prix Year. Hazleton Publishing. pp. 63–70. ISBN   0-905138-82-1.
  4. "Motoring News". 11 July 1990.
  5. "1990 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 "France 1990 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
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1990 Mexican Grand Prix
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