1991 F1 Season
Senna and McLaren Started the Grand Prix Season with a Win
The 1990 Formula 1 World Championship had been decided in highly controversial circumstances at Suzuka. For the second year running Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost collided in a title deciding accident. The rivalry was expected to carry on into 1991, but Senna would have a new challenger to deal with.
New Teams and Drivers in Formula 1
McLaren retained the same driver line-up for 1991, with Gerhard Berger partnering reigning champion Senna. Ferrari had a new car, designated the 642, and Prost had a new team-mate. Jean Alesi fulfilled a childhood ambition by signing to drive for the Scuderia after several eye-catching performances in a Tyrrell the previous season.
Nigel Mansell, after announcing his decision to retire at the 1990 British Grand Prix, changed his mind. In 1991 he would drive for Williams, alongside veteran Riccardo Patrese. Roberto Moreno, who had stepped in to replace an injured Alessandro Nannini at the end of 1990, was kept on by Benetton to partner Nelson Piquet. Lotus gave a promising young Finn called Mika Hakkinen his Grand Prix debut.
There was an exciting new team in the World Championship for 1991. Irishman Eddie Jordan, who had an excellent record in lower formulae, made the step up to Grand Prix racing. The team’s tidy Ford powered Jordan 191 chassis was painted vivid green and proved to be one of the revelations of the year.
The Footwork team had high hopes for the season after securing an exclusive supply of Porsche V12 engines, but the unit proved to be overweight and unreliable. Tyrrell would use Honda engines during the season, while the beleaguered Brabham team ran with Yamaha units. The small Minardi team managed to agree a deal with Ferrari to use their V12 in 1991. They had two talented drivers in Pierluigi Martini and Gianni Morbidelli.
Champion Senna Wins Phoenix Formula 1 Race
The 1991 Formula 1 season started in America, around the street circuit laid out in Phoenix, Arizona. Senna claimed pole position, with his nemesis Prost joining him on the front row. The new Williams showed great potential, as Patrese qualified third and Mansell fourth. Alesi, on his Ferrari debut, started from sixth.
The race was a walkover for Senna and McLaren. Prost stayed in touch with the Brazilian for a while, but eventually had to pit for tyres and dropped back. He eventually recovered to finish second. Piquet finished third for Benetton in last year’s car. Behind him came the two Honda powered Tyrrell drivers, with Stefano Modena fifth and Satoru Nakajima sixth.
Roberto Moreno, 1991 US Grand Prix
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