Australian GP 1990

Australian GP, 1990

There was no change to the entry between the Japanese and Australian GPs but there was lots of controversy after the collision between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost (the second one in two years) in Japan. FISA announced plans for a special enquiry into safety after Ferrari threatened to withdraw from F1 unless sanctions were taken against dangerous driving. On the race track the McLarens were ahead with Senna on pole ahead of Gerhard Berger. The two Ferraris of Nigel Mansell and Prost were next and then came Jean Alesi's Tyrrell ahead of the Williams of Riccardo Patrese, the two Benettons of Nelson Piquet and Roberto Moreno, Thierry Boutsen's Williams and Pierluigi Martini in his Minardi.

At the start Senna went into the lead with Berger second but on the second lap Gerhard accidentally hit his ignition switch and by the time he had put it back on again he had lost second place to Mansell. Piquet made quick progress passing Prost on lap six and Berger three laps later. Mansell chased up to Senna and the pair fought until lap 43 when Mansell went up an escape road. He later pitted and dropped to fifth, leaving Piquet in second place. Prost finally moved ahead of Berger to take third place. Mansell caught and passed Berger on lap 57 and five laps later this became third place when Senna had a gearbox glitch and slid off into a tyre barrier. Piquet was leading but Mansell closed in fast, passing Prost and rushing up behind the Benetton as the laps ticked away. Mansell made one desperate lunge for the lead on the last lap, almost hitting the back of the Benetton but Piquet stayed ahead to win. Prost was third with Berger fourth, Boutsen fifth and Patrese sixth.

POSNODRIVERENTRANTLAPSTIME/RETIREMENTQUAL POS
20 Nelson Piquet Benetton-Cosworth  81 1h49m44.570s  
Nigel Mansell Ferrari  81 1h49m47.699s  
Alain Prost Ferrari  81 1h50m21.829s  
28 Gerhard Berger McLaren-Honda  81 1h50m31.432s  
Thierry Boutsen Williams-Renault  81 1h51m35.730s  
Riccardo Patrese Williams-Renault  80  
19 Roberto Moreno Benetton-Cosworth  80  
Jean Alesi Tyrrell-Cosworth  80  
23 Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Cosworth  79  10 
10 25 Nicola Larini Ligier-Cosworth  79  12 
11 26 Philippe Alliot Ligier-Cosworth  78  19 
12 Stefano Modena Brabham-Judd  77  17 
13 14 Olivier Grouillard Osella-Cosworth  74  22 
21 Emanuele Pirro Dallara-Cosworth  68 Electrics 21 
27 Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda  61 Accident 
17 Gabriele Tarquini AGS-Cosworth  58 Engine/oil Fire 26 
12 Johnny Herbert Lotus-Lamborghini  57 Clutch 18 
Satoru Nakajima Tyrrell-Cosworth  53 Accident 13 
16 Ivan Capelli Leyton House-Judd  46 Throttle Jammed 14 
11 Derek Warwick Lotus-Lamborghini  43 Gearbox 11 
15 Mauricio Gugelmin Leyton House-Judd  27 Brakes/spin 16 
22 Andrea de Cesaris Dallara-Cosworth  23 Electrics 15 
29 Eric Bernard Lola-Lamborghini  21 Gear Selection 13 
24 Paolo Barilla Minardi-Cosworth  20 Gearbox 20 
David Brabham Brabham-Judd  18 Spin  25 
30 Aguri Suzuki Lola-Lamborghini  Differential 24 
nq Michele Alboreto Arrows-Cosworth    27 
nq 18 Yannick Dalmas AGS-Cosworth    28 
nq 10 Alex Caffi Arrows-Cosworth    29 
nq 31 Bertrand Gachot Coloni-Subaru    30