Mansell wins at last, Senna dies at Imola, Schumacher revives Ferrari and the Flying Finn takes back-to-back titles.
Alain Prost left McLaren for Ferrari at the end of 1989 but the move did nothing to dampen his rivalry with Ayrton Senna. Once again the championship was decided in Japan and once again there was a collision between the two. This time they only made it as far as the first corner before coming together, forcing both to retire and handing Senna the title. A year later Senna would admit he’d taken Prost out deliberately after being incensed when the pole position he occupied was moved to the dirty side of the track.
Prost and Ferrari were nowhere in 1991 while Senna won his third and final title with McLaren. Throughout the season the Williams-Renault of Nigel Mansell had been a constant thorn in McLaren’s side, but unreliability prevented them from making a proper challenge. In Belgium a young Michael Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut for Jordan, qualifying seventh. By the time of the next race he had been poached by Benetton.
Williams sorted their reliability issues for 1992 and Mansell won the championship comfortably. Prost had decided to take a sabbatical after leaving Ferrari before the end of the 1991 season on unhappy terms. Mansell also left Formula 1 after his title win, opting to move to the American CART series.
The offer of a Williams for 1993 was enough to tempt Prost back and he renewed his battle with Senna. Despite being in an inferior car Senna produced some remarkable performances, none better than in the European Grand Prix at Donington Park. In the wet he took his McLaren from fifth at the first corner to lead by the end of the opening lap. In the end he won by a huge distance while the rest trailed round in his wake. Even his brilliance was not enough to stop Prost from taking his fourth World Championship.
Prost did retire at the end of 1993 while Senna finally got his hands on a Williams, the team which had given him his first Formula 1 test in 1983. The opening two races were won by Michael Schumacher and Benetton while Senna struggled to get to grips with the Williams. The next stop was Imola for the San Marino Grand Prix. What unfolded was the blackest weekend in Formula 1 history.
The relief when Rubens Barrichello survived a huge accident on the Friday quickly turned to despair the following day. Formula 1 newcomer Roland Ratzenberger became the first driver to die at a Grand Prix meeting since Riccardo Paletti in 1982. The Austrian’s Simtek suffered a wing failure at maximum speed and ploughed into a concrete wall. Ayrton Senna commandeered an official car and drove to the scene of the accident where he was led away in tears by his friend Sid Watkins, the Formula 1 doctor.
On race day the unthinkable happened. Senna, leading the race, inexplicably failed to negotiate an easy left-hand curve taken at around 200 mph. Once again the car struck an unprotected concrete wall. A few hours later it was confirmed that the greatest driver of his era had died. In the cockpit of the Williams an Austrian flag was found which Senna had been carrying in tribute to Ratzenberger.
Schumacher clinched his first title in Australia after a collision with championship contender Damon Hill, but it was a hollow victory. The events of Imola had overshadowed the rest of the season.
Benetton switched to Renault power for 1995 and Schumacher won his second title. The Canadian Grand Prix produced one of the most popular victories the sport has seen. The ever spectacular Jean Alesi won the first and, incredibly, only Grand Prix of his career. Driving a red number 27 Ferrari just like his hero Gilles Villeneuve, and on the circuit named after him, it was an extremely emotional win.
Giancarlo Baghetti’s record of being the only person to win their first Grand Prix was very nearly equalled by Jacques Villeneuve at the 1996 season opener in Melbourne. The son of Gilles Villeneuve, he had moved from CART to join Williams and immediately showed his potential, only to be slowed late in the race with an oil leak. A season long battle with Damon Hill saw Hill emerge as champion, becoming the first son of a world champion to do so. Schumacher had moved to Ferrari where he set about rebuilding the struggling team.
By 1997 Schumacher and Ferrari were a threat and the title came down to the race at Jerez. Qualifying was extraordinary with Schumacher, Villeneuve and Frentzen all recording the same time to within one thousandth of a second. In the race Schumacher made a clumsy attempt to take out Villeneuve and prevent him from winning the title. Schumacher was disqualified from the championship while Villeneuve savoured the victory.
In 1998 Schumacher was again a main contender but was beaten to the title by Mika Hakkinen in a McLaren. Hakkinen had started his Formula 1 career at Lotus in 1991 before moving to McLaren. After struggling with uncompetitive cars for many years and surviving a near fatal accident in 1995 he’d finally been given a car worthy of his talent.
Hakkinen won again in 1999, with Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine in second place. Schumacher’s championship assault had been halted by a leg-breaking crash at Silverstone so all attention switched to Irvine. Despite the colourful Irishman’s best efforts the Hakkinen/McLaren combination proved just too strong.
