1991 USA Grand Prix

 1991 USA Grand Prix

Racing data
1st of 16 races in the 1991 Formula 1 World Championship
Surname:	Iceberg USA Grand Prix
Date:	March 10, 1991
Place:	Phoenix
Course:	Phoenix Street Circuit
Length:	299.7 km in 81 laps of 3.7 km
Planned:	303.4 km in 82 laps of 3.7 km
Weather:	cloudy but warm
Spectator:	~ 35,000
Pole position
Driver:	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda
Time:	1: 21.434 min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Jean Alesi	Ferrari
Time:	1: 26.758 min (lap 49)
Podium
First:	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda
Second:	Alain Prost	Ferrari
Third:	Nelson Piquet	Benetton-Ford

The 1991 USA Grand Prix took place on March 10th in Phoenix and was the first race of the 1991 Formula 1 World Championship .

Reports

background

For the third time, the US Grand Prix took place on the street circuit in Phoenix, for the second time in a row as the season opener. Compared to the two previous years, the eastern section of the route had been changed and thus shortened by a few meters.

Teams McLaren , Benetton , Footwork , Leyton House , Minardi and Larrousse retained their respective driver pairings from the previous year. On the other hand, there were some changes in the area of ​​engines. From then on, McLaren-Honda used a twelve-cylinder engine instead of the V10 unit from the previous year. Arrows got their new V12 engines from Porsche , Minardi got support from Ferrari and Leyton House was fitted out by Ilmor .

Jean Alesi moved from Tyrrell to Scuderia Ferrari, where he took over from Nigel Mansell , who, contrary to his announcement made during the British Grand Prix in 1990 , did not end his career, but returned to Williams , where he replaced Thierry Boutsen , who moved to Ligier and there Teammate of debutant Érik Comas became. Stefano Modena , whose former cockpit of the financially troubled Brabham team was occupied by Martin Brundle , who is returning to Formula 1 , took Alesi's place with the Tyrrell team, which had both the new main sponsors Braun and Epson and Honda as the new engine supplier . His teammate was the newcomer Mark Blundell . The debutant Mika Häkkinen and Julian Bailey , who returned to Formula 1 after a two-year break, competed for Team Lotus .

The former Osella team was continued under the name Fondmetal . Olivier Grouillard was retained as a regular driver. Completely new to the entry list were the 7Up sponsored team Jordan Grand Prix with Bertrand Gachot and Andrea de Cesaris as drivers and the Modena team supported by Lamborghini with Nicola Larini and the newcomer Eric van de Poele . Due to financial difficulties at AGS , efforts were made to merge the team with Larrousse, but this was not implemented. Gabriele Tarquini and Stefan Johansson started for AGS . Coloni started with the debutant Pedro Chaves , BMS Scuderia Italia with Emanuele Pirro and JJ Lehto .

Most of the teams started the new season with newly developed cars. Only a few competed with only modified vehicles from the previous year.

training

As 34 vehicles were registered for the race weekend, a pre-qualification had to be carried out on Friday morning, just like at most of the Grand Prix of the two previous years. The four slowest pilots who were excluded from the rest of the weekend were identified. In addition to the new teams Jordan and Modena, the drivers from BMS, Coloni and Fondmetal had to take part.

The reigning world champion Ayrton Senna qualified for the pole position in front of vice world champion Alain Prost and the two Williams FW14s of Riccardo Patrese and Nigel Mansell. This was followed by Nelson Piquet ahead of Jean Alesi, Gerhard Berger and Roberto Moreno .

run

Senna achieved an undisputed start-to-finish victory. Prost followed him up to the 45th lap in second place, but then fell back to seventh place due to a pit stop. By the 70th lap he made it back to second place and defended it against Piquet, who completed the race on Pirelli tires without changing between them. Using a similar strategy, the two Tyrrell drivers Stefano Modena and Satoru Nakajima finished fourth and fifth, respectively, ahead of Aguri Suzuki , who received the last point of the day. In contrast to the previous year , Lola was included in the constructors' world championship and thus received one point, although it was still a customer vehicle for the Larrousse team.

According to the rule, according to which a race was only allowed to last a maximum of two hours, the decision was made after 81 of 82 planned laps.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Honda Marlboro McLaren	1	Ayrton Senna	McLaren MP4 / 6	Honda RA121E 3.5 V12	G
	2	Gerhard Berger
Brown Tyrrell Honda	3	Satoru Nakajima	Tyrrell 020	Honda RA101E 3.5 V10	P
	4th	Stefano Modena
Canon Williams team	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams FW14	Renault RS3 3.5 V10	G
	6th	Riccardo Patrese
Motor Racing Developments	7th	Martin Brundle	Brabham BT59Y	Yamaha OX99 3.5 V12	P
	8th	Mark Blundell
Footwork Grand Prix International	9	Michele Alboreto	Arrows A11C	Porsche 3512 3.5 V12	G
	10	Alex Caffi
Team Lotus	11	Mika Hakkinen	Lotus 102B	Judd EV 3.5 V8	G
	12	Julian Bailey
Fund metal	14th	Olivier Grouillard	Fund metal FA1M-E	Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8	G
Leyton House Racing	15th	Maurício Gugelmin	Leyton House CG911	Ilmor 2175A 3.5 V10	G
	16	Ivan Capelli
AGS Racing	17th	Gabriele Tarquini	AGS JH25	Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8	G
	18th	Stefan Johansson
Camel Benetton Ford	19th	Roberto Moreno	Benetton B190B	Ford Cosworth HB5 3.5 V8	P
	20th	Nelson Piquet
BMS Scuderia Italia	21st	Emanuele Pirro	Dallara 191	Judd GV 3.5 V10	P
	22nd	JJ Lehto
Minardi team	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi M191	Ferrari 037 3.5 V12	G
	24	Gianni Morbidelli
Ligier Gitanes	25th	Thierry Boutsen	Ligier JS35	Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12	G
	26th	Érik Comas
Scuderia Ferrari SpA	27	Alain Prost	Ferrari 642	Ferrari 037 3.5 V12	G
	28	Jean Alesi
Larrousse F1	29	Eric Bernard	Lola LC91	Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8	G
	30th	Aguri Suzuki
Coloni Racing	31	Pedro Chaves	Coloni C4		G
Team 7Up Jordan	32	Bertrand Gachot	Jordan 191	Ford Cosworth HB4 3.5 V8	G
	33	Andrea de Cesaris
Modena team	34	Nicola Larini	Lambo 291	Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12	G
	35	Eric van de Poele

Classifications

Qualifying

Item	driver	constructor	Pre-qualification		1. Qualification training		2. Qualification training		begin
			time	Ø speed	time	Ø speed	time	Ø speed
01	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	-	-	1: 23.530	159.464 km / h	1: 21.434	163.568 km / h	01
02	Alain Prost	Ferrari	-	-	1: 24.507	157.620 km / h	1: 22.555	161.347 km / h	02
03	Riccardo Patrese	Williams-Renault	-	-	1: 24.726	157.213 km / h	1: 22.833	160.805 km / h	03
04th	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Renault	-	-	1: 25.277	156.197 km / h	1: 23.218	160.062 km / h	04th
05	Nelson Piquet	Benetton-Ford	-	-	1: 25.026	156.658 km / h	1: 23.384	159.743 km / h	05
06th	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	-	-	1: 23.519	159.485 km / h	1: 23.805	158.940 km / h	06th
07th	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	-	-	1: 25.914	155.039 km / h	1: 23.742	159.060 km / h	07th
08th	Roberto Moreno	Benetton-Ford	-	-	1: 25.170	156.393 km / h	1: 23.881	158.796 km / h	08th
09	Emanuele Pirro	Dallara-Judd	1: 28.288	150.870 km / h	1: 24.876	156.935 km / h	1: 24.792	157.090 km / h	09
10	JJ Lehto	Dallara-Judd	1: 28.792	150.014 km / h	1: 26.765	153.518 km / h	1: 24.891	156.907 km / h	10
11	Stefano Modena	Tyrrell Honda	-	-	1: 25.065	156.586 km / h	1: 25.557	155.686 km / h	11
12	Martin Brundle	Brabham-Yamaha	-	-	1: 27.184	152.780 km / h	1: 25.385	155.999 km / h	12
13	Mika Hakkinen	Lotus Judd	-	-	1: 27.976	151.405 km / h	1: 25.448	155.884 km / h	13
14th	Bertrand Gachot	Jordan Ford	1: 30.304	147.502 km / h	1: 27.568	152.110 km / h	1: 25.701	155.424 km / h	14th
15th	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ferrari	-	-	1: 25.815	155.218 km / h	1: 25.715	155.399 km / h	15th
16	Satoru Nakajima	Tyrrell Honda	-	-	1: 26.058	154.779 km / h	1: 25.752	155.332 km / h	16
17th	Nicola Larini	Lambo Lamborghini	1: 30.244	147.600 km / h	1: 27.761	151.776 km / h	1: 25.791	155.261 km / h	17th
18th	Ivan Capelli	Leyton House-Ilmor	-	-	1: 54.845	115.982 km / h	1: 26.121	154.666 km / h	18th
19th	Eric Bernard	Lola Ford	-	-	1: 27.446	152.323 km / h	1: 26.425	154.122 km / h	19th
20th	Thierry Boutsen	Ligier-Lamborghini	-	-	1: 27.984	151.391 km / h	1: 26,500	153.988 km / h	20th
21st	Aguri Suzuki	Lola Ford	-	-	1: 26.987	153.126 km / h	1: 26.548	153.903 km / h	21st
22nd	Gabriele Tarquini	AGS-Ford	-	-	1: 27.164	152.815 km / h	1: 26.851	153.366 km / h	22nd
23	Maurício Gugelmin	Leyton House-Ilmor	-	-	1: 26.865	153.341 km / h	1: 26.875	153.324 km / h	23
24	Mark Blundell	Brabham-Yamaha	-	-	1: 30.061	147.900 km / h	1: 26.915	153.253 km / h	24
25th	Michele Alboreto	Arrows Porsche	-	-	1: 29.067	149.550 km / h	1: 27.015	153.077 km / h	25th
26th	Gianni Morbidelli	Minardi Ferrari	-	-	1: 27.625	152.011 km / h	1: 27.042	153.030 km / h	26th
DNQ	Érik Comas	Ligier-Lamborghini	-	-	1: 28.904	149.825 km / h	1: 27.159	152.824 km / h	-
DNQ	Alex Caffi	Arrows Porsche	-	-	1: 29.388	149.013 km / h	1: 27.519	152.196 km / h	-
DNQ	Stefan Johansson	AGS-Ford	-	-	1: 29.857	148.236 km / h	1: 27.753	151.790 km / h	-
DNQ	Julian Bailey	Lotus Judd	-	-	1: 30.758	146.764 km / h	1: 28.570	150.390 km / h	-
DNPQ	Andrea de Cesaris	Jordan Ford	1: 30.937	146.475 km / h	-	-	-	-	-
DNPQ	Pedro Chaves	Coloni-Ford	1: 31.113	146.192 km / h	-	-	-	-	-
DNPQ	Olivier Grouillard	Fond metal Ford	1: 32.126	144.585 km / h	-	-	-	-	-
DNPQ	Eric van de Poele	Lambo Lamborghini	1: 37.046	137.254 km / h	-	-	-	-	-

run

Item	driver	constructor	Round	Stops	time	begin	Fastest lap	Failure reason
01	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	81	1	2: 00: 47.828	01	1: 27.153
02	Alain Prost	Ferrari	81	1	+ 16,322	02	1: 26.845
03	Nelson Piquet	Benetton-Ford	81	0	+ 17.376	05	1: 26.965
04th	Stefano Modena	Tyrrell Honda	81	0	+ 25.409	11	1: 27.983
05	Satoru Nakajima	Tyrrell Honda	80	0	+ 1 lap	16	1: 28.227
06th	Aguri Suzuki	Lola Ford	79	0	+ 2 rounds	21st	1: 28.993
07th	Nicola Larini	Lambo Lamborghini	78	1	+ 3 rounds	17th	1: 29.877
08th	Gabriele Tarquini	AGS-Ford	77	0	+ 4 rounds	22nd	1: 30.242
09	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ferrari	75	0	DNF	15th	1: 29.356	Gearbox damage
10	Bertrand Gachot	Jordan Ford	75	0	DNF	14th	1: 28.975	Engine failure
11	Martin Brundle	Brabham-Yamaha	73	0	+ 8 rounds	12	1: 30.472
12	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	72	0	DNF	06th	1: 26.758	Gearbox damage
-	Mika Hakkinen	Lotus Judd	59	1	DNF	13	1: 29.072	Engine failure
-	Riccardo Patrese	Williams-Renault	49	0	DNF	03	1: 27.450	Gearbox damage
-	Roberto Moreno	Benetton-Ford	49	0	DNF	08th	1: 28.044	collision
-	Michele Alboreto	Arrows Porsche	41	0	DNF	25th	1: 30.077	Gearbox damage
-	Ivan Capelli	Leyton House-Ilmor	40	0	DNF	18th	1: 29,201	Gearbox damage
-	Thierry Boutsen	Ligier-Lamborghini	40	0	DNF	20th	1: 29.310	Electrical damage
-	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	36	0	DNF	07th	1: 28.286	Fuel pressure drop
-	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Renault	35	0	DNF	04th	1: 28.502	Gearbox damage
-	Maurício Gugelmin	Leyton House-Ilmor	34	0	DNF	23	1: 29.505	Gearbox damage
-	Mark Blundell	Brabham-Yamaha	32	0	DNF	24	1: 31.092	accident
-	Emanuele Pirro	Dallara-Judd	16	0	DNF	09	1: 29.910	Gearbox damage
-	Gianni Morbidelli	Minardi Ferrari	15th	0	DNF	26th	1: 31.631	Gearbox damage
-	JJ Lehto	Dallara-Judd	12	0	DNF	10	1: 31.435	Clutch damage
-	Eric Bernard	Lola Ford	04th	0	DNF	19th	1: 31.732	Engine failure

World Cup stands after the race

The first six of the race got 10, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point (s) respectively.

Driver ranking

Item driver constructor Points 01  Ayrton Senna McLaren Honda 10 02  Alain Prost Ferrari 6th 03  Nelson Piquet Benetton-Ford 4th

Item driver constructor Points 04th  Stefano Modena Tyrrell Honda 3 05  Satoru Nakajima Tyrrell Honda 2 06th  Aguri Suzuki Lola Ford 1

Constructors' championship

Item constructor Points 01  McLaren Honda 10 02  Ferrari 6th 03  Tyrrell Honda 5

Item constructor Points 04th  Benetton-Ford 4th 05  Lola Ford 1

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Training" ( Memento of the original from December 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Motorsportarchiv.de; accessed on December 10, 2013)  
2. ^ "Report" (accessed December 10, 2013)
3. ↑ "World Cup stands" ( Memento of the original from June 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Motorsportarchiv.de; accessed on December 10, 2013)  

Web links

Commons : 1991 USA Grand Prix  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Race result on the official Formula 1 website
• Race result on "Motorsportarchiv.de"