1991 Formula One World Championship

1991 FIA Formula One
World Championship

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The 1991 Formula One season was the 42nd FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 10, 1991, and ended on November 3 after sixteen races.

Season summary

File:Sivestone Ticket.jpg

Ticket to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, 14th July 1991

A classic F1 season, which saw close racing and excitement from beginning to end. Ayrton Senna won his third and final F1 World Championship in 1991. 1991 was arguably the Brazilian's greatest season in Formula One. Senna won seven races, and kept out of trouble for the entire season.

Nelson Piquet won the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix, and this turned out to be his final F1 victory.

Five drivers made their F1 debuts in 1991:-

Mika Häkkinen (USA GP); Mark Blundell (USA GP); Michael Schumacher (Belgian GP); Fabrizio Barbazza; Alessandro Zanardi;

Jean Alesi joined Ferrari, and partnered Alain Prost. Alain was fired by the Ferrari team towards the end of the season, after speaking out against them. Riccardo Patrese had a good 1991 season, with victories in the Mexican GP and Portuguese GP. Riccardo spoke about feelings of "tranquility" when he was racing in 1991, and on several occasions he outperformed his highly rated team mate. Nigel Mansell returned to Williams, after spending two years at Ferrari. He was initially outperformed by Patrese, but Nigel improved considerably by the season's end. 1991 was the last season to feature "sticky" qualifying tyres, which were made of an ultra high grip rubber compound. These tyres only gave one lap of good performance before they deteriorated.

Michael Schumacher's debut was controversial. A Mercedes sports car driver, he debuted for Jordan at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix after regular driver Bertrand Gachot was imprisoned in the UK for using CS gas on a London taxi driver during an argument. Mercedes paid Jordan £150,000 to take Schumacher on as they wished him to gain Formula One experience ahead of Mercedes planned arrival in the series in 1993 with Sauber. The young German qualified 7th, beating his team mate Andrea de Cesaris and matching the team's best performance of the season. Although he retired on the opening lap of the race with clutch problems, Schumacher had done enough to attract other teams.

Jordan had an agreement in principle with Mercedes for Schumacher to join them for the rest of the season, but had not signed a contract. On learning this, Benetton moved rapidly to offer a contract, which was signed before the next race, the 1991 Italian Grand Prix. Jordan launched a challenge in the UK courts, but lost their case. Benetton driver Roberto Moreno won a case in the Italian courts to keep the seat intended for Schumacher, but, according to Eddie Jordan and Ian Philips, accepted a payment of $500,000 to give up his seat. He appeared in a Jordan car at the Italian race.

1991 saw the last V12 engined car winning the F1 Constructor's Championship, in the form of the McLaren MP4/6 Honda. The Coloni F1 team failed to qualify for any of the 16 rounds. They disappeared at the end of the season, but the Coloni C4s would briefly re-appear during the 1992 Championship, with the Andrea Moda team.

Drivers and Constructors

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1991 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	No	Driver	Test Driver(s)
Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren	MP4/6	Honda RA121E 3.5 V12	G	1	Ayrton Senna	Allan McNish Jonathan Palmer Stefan Johansson Roberto Moreno Emanuele Pirro Mark Blundell
					2	Gerhard Berger
Braun Tyrrell Honda	Tyrrell	020	Honda RA101E 3.5 V10	P	3	Satoru Nakajima	Johnny Herbert Volker Weidler
					4	Stefano Modena
Canon Williams Team	Williams	FW14	Renault RS3 3.5 V10	G	5	Nigel Mansell	Mark Blundell Damon Hill
					6	Riccardo Patrese
Motor Racing Developments Ltd.	Brabham	BT60Y	Yamaha OX99 3.5 V12	P	7	Martin Brundle	n/a
					8	Mark Blundell
Footwork Grand Prix International	Footwork	FA11C FA12	Porsche 3512 3.5 V12 Ford DFR 3.5 V8	G	9	Michele Alboreto	n/a
					10	Alex Caffi
						Stefan Johansson
Team Lotus	Lotus	102B	Judd EV 3.5 V8	G	11	Mika Häkkinen	Johnny Herbert
					12	Julian Bailey
						Johnny Herbert
						Michael Bartels
Fondmetal F1 SpA	Fondmetal	FA1M-E Fomet-1	Ford DFR 3.5 V8	G	14	Olivier Grouillard	Marco Greco
						Gabriele Tarquini
Leyton House Racing	Leyton House	CG911	Ilmor 2175A V10	G	15	Mauricio Gugelmin	n/a
					16	Karl Wendlinger
						Ivan Capelli
Automobiles Gonfaronaise Sportive	AGS	JH25 JH25B JH27	Ford DFR 3.5 V8	G	17	Gabriele Tarquini	n/a
						Olivier Grouillard
					18	Stefan Johansson
						Fabrizio Barbazza
Camel Benetton Ford	Benetton	B190B B191	Ford HB5 3.5 V8	P	19	Roberto Moreno	n/a
						Michael Schumacher
					20	Nelson Piquet
Scuderia Italia SpA	Dallara	191	Judd GV 3.5 V10	P	21	Emanuele Pirro	n/a
					22	Jyrki Järvilehto
Minardi Team	Minardi	M191	Ferrari 037 3.5 V12	G	23	Pierluigi Martini	n/a
					24	Gianni Morbidelli
						Roberto Moreno
Ligier Gitanes	Ligier	JS35 JS35B	Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12	G	25	Thierry Boutsen	Emmanuel Collard
					26	Érik Comas
Scuderia Ferrari SpA	Ferrari	642 642/2 643	Ferrari 037 3.5 V12	G	27	Alain Prost	Gianni Morbidelli Andrea Montermini Dario Benuzzi
						Gianni Morbidelli
					28	Jean Alesi
Larrousse F1	Lola	LC91	Ford DFR V8	G	29	Éric Bernard	n/a
						Aguri Suzuki
					30	Bertrand Gachot
Coloni Racing Srl	Coloni	C4	Ford DFR V8	G	31	Pedro Chaves	n/a
						Naoki Hattori
Team 7UP Jordan	Jordan	191	Ford HB4 V8	G	32	Bertrand Gachot	n/a
						Michael Schumacher
						Roberto Moreno
						Alessandro Zanardi
					33	Andrea de Cesaris
Modena Team SpA	Lambo	291	Lamborghini 3512 V12	G	34	Nicola Larini	Mauro Baldi Marco Apicella
					35	Eric van de Poele

Season review

Round	Race	Date	Location	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
1	United States Grand Prix	March 10	Phoenix	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Honda	Report
2	Brazilian Grand Prix	March 24	Interlagos	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Honda	Report
3	San Marino Grand Prix	April 28	Imola	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Honda	Report
4	Monaco Grand Prix	May 12	Monaco	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Honda	Report
5	Canadian Grand Prix	June 2	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve	Nelson Piquet	Benetton-Ford	Report
6	Mexican Grand Prix	June 16	Hermanos Rodriguez	Riccardo Patrese	Williams-Renault	Report
7	French Grand Prix	July 7	Magny-Cours	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Renault	Report
8	British Grand Prix	July 14	Silverstone	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Renault	Report
9	German Grand Prix	July 28	Hockenheimring	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Renault	Report
10	Hungarian Grand Prix	August 11	Hungaroring	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Honda	Report
11	Belgian Grand Prix	August 25	Spa-Francorchamps	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Honda	Report
12	Italian Grand Prix	September 8	Monza	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Renault	Report
13	Portuguese Grand Prix	September 22	Estoril	Riccardo Patrese	Williams-Renault	Report
14	Spanish Grand Prix	September 29	Catalunya	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Renault	Report
15	Japanese Grand Prix	October 20	Suzuka	Gerhard Berger	McLaren-Honda	Report
16	Australian Grand Prix	November 3	Adelaide	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Honda	Report

1991 Constructors Championship final standings

Place	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	Points	Wins	Podiums	Poles
1	McLaren-Honda	MP4/6	Honda RA121E	G	139	8	18	10
2	Williams-Renault	FW14	Renault RS3	G	125	7	17	6
3	Ferrari	F1-91 F1-91B	Ferrari 037	G	55.5		8
4	Benetton-Ford	B190B B191	Ford HBA5 Ford HBA6	P	38.5	1	3
5	Jordan-Ford	191	Ford HBB4	G	13
6	Tyrrell-Honda	020	Honda RA109E	P	12		1
7	Minardi-Ferrari	M191	Ferrari 037	G	6
8	Dallara-Judd	F191	Judd GV	P	5		1
9	Brabham-Yamaha	BT59Y BT60Y	Yamaha OX99	P	3
10	Lotus-Judd	102B	Judd EV	G	3
11	Lola-Ford	LC91	Ford DFR	G	2
12	Leyton House-Ilmor	CG911	Ilmor 2175A	G	1
13	Lambo-Lamborghini	291	Lamborghini 3512	G
14	Fondmetal-Ford	FA1ME-90	Ford DFR	G
15	Ligier-Lamborghini	JS35 JS35B	Lamborghini 3512	G
16	Coloni-Ford	C4	Ford DFR	G
17	AGS-Ford	JH25B JH27	Ford DFR	G
18	Footwork-Porsche Footwork-Ford	A11C FA12	Porsche V12 Ford DFR	G

1991 Drivers Championship final standings

Pos Driver USA BRA SMR MON CAN MEX FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR ESP JPN AUS Points 1 Senna 1 1 1 1 Ret 3 3 4 7 1 1 2 2 5 2 1 96 2 Mansell Ret Ret Ret 2 6 2 1 1 1 2 Ret 1 DSQ 1 Ret 2 72 3 Patrese Ret 2 Ret Ret 3 1 5 Ret 2 3 5 Ret 1 3 3 5 53 4 Berger Ret 3 2 Ret Ret Ret Ret 2 4 4 2 4 Ret Ret 1 3 43 5 Prost 2 4 DNS 5 Ret Ret 2 3 Ret Ret Ret 3 Ret 2 4 34 6 Piquet 3 5 Ret Ret 1 Ret 8 5 Ret Ret 3 6 5 11 7 4 26.5 7 Alesi 12 6 Ret 3 Ret Ret 4 Ret 3 5 Ret Ret 3 4 Ret Ret 21 8 Modena 4 Ret Ret Ret 2 11 Ret 7 13 12 Ret Ret Ret 16 6 10 10 9 de Cesaris DNPQ Ret Ret Ret 4 4 6 Ret 5 7 13 7 8 Ret Ret 8 9 10 Moreno Ret 7 13 4 Ret 5 Ret Ret 8 8 4 Ret 10 16 8 11 Martini 9 Ret 4 12 7 Ret 9 9 Ret Ret 12 Ret 4 13 Ret Ret 6 12 Järvilehto Ret Ret 3 11 Ret Ret Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 12 4 13 Gachot 10 13 Ret 8 5 Ret Ret 6 6 9 DNQ 4 14 Schumacher Ret 5 6 6 Ret Ret 4 15 Nakajima 5 Ret Ret Ret 10 12 Ret 8 Ret 15 Ret Ret 13 17 Ret Ret 2 16 Häkkinen Ret 9 5 Ret Ret 9 DNQ 12 Ret 14 Ret 14 14 Ret Ret 19 2 17 Brundle 11 12 11 DSQ Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret 9 13 12 10 5 DNQ 2 18 Pirro Ret 11 DNPQ 6 9 DNPQ DNPQ 10 10 Ret 8 10 Ret 15 Ret 7 1 19 Blundell Ret Ret 8 Ret DNQ Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret 6 12 Ret Ret DNPQ 17 1 20 Capelli Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 8 17 Ret 1 21 Bernard Ret Ret Ret 9 Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret DNQ Ret DNPQ 1 22 Suzuki 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret DNQ DNQ Ret DNQ Ret DNQ 1 23 Bailey DNQ DNQ 6 DNQ 1 24 Morbidelli Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret 7 Ret 11 Ret 13 Ret 9 9 14 Ret 6 0.5 25 Gugelmin Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret 7 Ret Ret 11 Ret 15 7 7 8 14 0 26 Boutsen Ret 10 7 7 Ret 8 12 Ret 9 17 11 Ret 16 Ret 9 Ret 0 27 Herbert DNQ 10 10 14 7 Ret Ret 11 0 28 Larini 7 DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ Ret 16 DNQ 16 DNQ DNQ DNQ Ret 0 29 Comas DNQ Ret 10 10 8 DNQ 11 DNQ Ret 10 Ret 11 11 Ret Ret 18 0 30 Tarquini 8 Ret DNQ Ret DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNQ 12 11 DNPQ 0 31 Zanardi 9 Ret 9 0 32 van de Poele DNPQ DNPQ 9 DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ 0 33 Caffi DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNPQ DNPQ DNQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ 10 15 0 34 Grouillard DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ Ret Ret DNPQ DNPQ DNQ 10 Ret DNPQ DNPQ 0 35 Alboreto Ret DNQ DNQ Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret DNQ DNQ DNPQ DNQ 15 Ret DNQ 13 0 36 Wendlinger Ret 20 0 — Johansson DNQ DNQ Ret DNQ DNQ DNQ 0 — Chaves DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ 0 — Barbazza DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ DNPQ 0 — Bartels DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ 0 — Hattori DNPQ DNPQ 0 Pos Driver USA BRA SMR MON CAN MEX FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR ESP JPN AUS Points In Australian Grand Prix half points were awarded as the race was stopped after 14 out of 81 laps due to torrential rain. References

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX)