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The 1990 Australian Grand Prix, otherwise known as the LV Foster's Australian Grand Prix, was the sixteenth and final round of the 1990 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Adelaide Street Circuit in South Australia on the 4 November 1990.[1] The race, which was the 500th World Championship Grand Prix to be held, would see Nelson Piquet sweep to victory for Benetton-Ford Cosworth.[1]

The final round of the 1990 campaign was heralded by the fallout after the title deciding Japanese Grand Prix, where a collision between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna had settled the Championship in the latter's favour.[1] Ferrari, in protest of the Brazilian's actions, threatened to withdraw from F1 unless FISA conducted an investigation into dangerous driving, after Senna effectively said that he would instigate a crash between himself and Senna in Japan.[1]

Away from the political battles and it was Senna who secured pole position for the finale, beating McLaren-Honda teammate in another duel for top spot.[1] Nigel Mansell was best of the rest for Ferrari ahead of his teammate Prost, while Jean Alesi got his Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth ahead of the two Williams-Renaults and Benettons.[1]

Senna duly aced his start to break away at the head of the field, leaving Berger to fend off the Ferrari challenge for second.[1] Behind, Piquet made an excellent start to jump Riccardo Patrese and Alesi off the line, with the rest of the field surprisingly making it through the first corner without issue.[1]

The early laps saw Senna eek out a lead at the head of the field, while Berger accidentally hit his ignition switch and lost power, allowing Mansell to sneak into second.[1] Elsewhere, Piquet barged his way past Prost to claim fourth, and duly claimed third from Berger a few laps later, while Aguri Suzuki was an early casualty with a differential failure.[1]

Mansell caught up to the back of Senna over the following laps, although he was unable to make a move stick on the Brazilian.[1] Indeed, the pair remained virtually nose-to-tail until lap 43, when a mistake from Mansell saw the Ferrari go skating down the escape road, and hence prompted the Brit to pit.[1]

Mansell rejoined in fifth, and with fresh rubber was quickly able to get back ahead of Berger, who had just slipped behind Prost.[1] Senna, meanwhile, had a comfortable lead ahead of Piquet at the head of the field, only for a gearbox issue to send his McLaren sliding into the barriers.[1]

Piquet was hence left in the lead, although as the final laps ticked away he would see a scarlet Ferrari get larger and larger in his mirrors.[1] Indeed, Mansell was throwing everything at the Adelaide circuit in hopes of claiming the win, having dealt with Prost with ease soon after passing Berger.[1]

Ultimately Mansell would catch Piquet on the final lap, although his hopes of victory were ended when a his lunge for the lead sent him skating wide at turn four.[1] Piquet was hence able to cruise home ahead three seconds ahead of the Brit to secure victory, while Prost completed the podium ahead of Berger, Thierry Boutsen and Patrese.[1]

Background[]

The 1990 FIA Formula One World Championship was effectively over prior to the trip to Adelaide, with Ayrton Senna the de facto Champion with a race to spare. Indeed, while Alain Prost was within a race win of the Brazilian's tally, the dropped score rule ensured that he would drop too many points to overhaul Senna's tally. The Frenchman would therefore have to settle for second, while Gerhard Berger faced an intriguing fight for third with Nelson Piquet in Australia.

Likewise, the Constructors Championship had been decided with a race to go, with McLaren-Honda holding an eighteen point lead over Ferrari in second. Indeed, with just fifteen points on offer in Australia there was no chance of Ferrari overhauling the Anglo-Japanese alliance, meaning they had to settle for second. Behind, Benetton-Ford Cosworth had seemed to have seized the imitative in their fight for third with Williams-Renault, moving eight points clear ahead of the season finale.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1990 Australian Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 France Alain Prost Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA Ferrari 641 Ferrari 036 3.5 V12 G
2 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA Ferrari 641 Ferrari 036 3.5 V12 G
3 Japan Satoru Nakajima United Kingdom Tyrrell Racing Organisation Tyrrell 019 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 P
4 France Jean Alesi United Kingdom Tyrrell Racing Organisation Tyrrell 019 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 P
5 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Canon Williams Team Williams FW13B Renault RS2 3.5 V10 G
6 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Canon Williams Team Williams FW13B Renault RS2 3.5 V10 G
7 Australia David Brabham United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT59 Judd EV 3.5 V8 P
8 Italy Stefano Modena United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT59 Judd EV 3.5 V8 P
9 Italy Michele Alboreto United Kingdom Footwork Arrows Racing Arrows A11B Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 G
10 Italy Alex Caffi United Kingdom Footwork Arrows Racing Arrows A11B Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 G
11 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Camel Team Lotus Lotus 102 Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12 G
12 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Camel Team Lotus Lotus 102 Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12 G
14 France Olivier Grouillard Italy Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1ME Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 P
15 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin United Kingdom Leyton House Racing Leyton House CG901 Judd EV 3.5 V8 G
16 Italy Ivan Capelli United Kingdom Leyton House Racing Leyton House CG901 Judd EV 3.5 V8 G
17 Italy Gabriele Tarquini France Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives AGS JH25 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 G
18 France Yannick Dalmas France Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives AGS JH25 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 G
19 Brazil Roberto Moreno United Kingdom Benetton Formula Benetton B190 Ford Cosworth HB 3.5 V8 G
20 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Benetton Formula Benetton B190 Ford Cosworth HB 3.5 V8 G
21 Italy Emanuele Pirro Italy BMS Scuderia Italia Dallara 190 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 P
22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Italy BMS Scuderia Italia Dallara 190 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 P
23 Italy Pierluigi Martini Italy SCM Minardi Team Minardi M190 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 P
24 Italy Gianni Morbidelli Italy SCM Minardi Team Minardi M190 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 P
25 Italy Nicola Larini France Equipe Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS33B Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 G
26 France Philippe Alliot France Equipe Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS33B Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 G
27 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom Honda Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/5B Honda RA109E 3.5 V10 G
28 Austria Gerhard Berger United Kingdom Honda Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/5B Honda RA109E 3.5 V10 G
29 France Éric Bernard France ESPO Larrousse F1 Lola LC90 Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12 G
30 Japan Aguri Suzuki France ESPO Larrousse F1 Lola LC90 Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12 G
31 Belgium Bertrand Gachot Italy Coloni Racing Coloni C3C Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 P
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Friday Qualifying[]

Saturday Qualifying[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1990 Australian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
Q1 Q2
1 27 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom McLaren-Honda 1:15.671 1:15.692
2 28 Austria Gerhard Berger United Kingdom McLaren-Honda 1:17.431 1:16.244 +0.573s
3 2 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Italy Ferrari 1:17.294 1:16.352 +0.681s
4 1 France Alain Prost Italy Ferrari 1:16.365 1:17.021 +0.694s
5 4 France Jean Alesi United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:16.837 1:17.246 +1.166s
6 6 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:17.156 1:17.449 +1.485s
7 20 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 1:17.640 1:17.173 +1.502s
8 19 Brazil Roberto Moreno United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 1:17.437 1:18.089 +1.766s
9 5 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:17.596 1:18.112 +1.925s
10 23 Italy Pierluigi Martini Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:18.235 1:17.827 +2.156s
11 11 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Lotus-Lamborghini 1:19.579 1:18.351 +2.680s
12 25 Italy Nicola Larini France Ligier-Ford Cosworth 1:19.567 1:18.730 +3.059s
13 3 Japan Satoru Nakajima United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:18.738 1:19.066 +3.067s
14 16 Italy Ivan Capelli United Kingdom Leyton House-Judd 1:19.341 1:18.843 +3.172s
15 22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Italy Dallara-Ford Cosworth 1:19.107 1:18.858 +3.187s
16 15 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin United Kingdom Leyton House-Judd 1:19.804 1:18.860 +3.189s
17 8 Italy Stefano Modena United Kingdom Brabham-Judd 1:19.861 1:18.886 +3.215s
18 12 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Lotus-Lamborghini 1:19.091 1:19.185 +3.420s
19 26 France Philippe Alliot France Ligier-Ford Cosworth 1:19.202 1:19.835 +3.531s
20 24 Italy Gianni Morbidelli Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:19.408 1:19.347 +3.676s
21 21 Italy Emanuele Pirro Italy Dallara-Ford Cosworth 1:19.476 1:19.609 +3.805s
22 14 France Olivier Grouillard Italy Osella-Ford Cosworth 1:21.047 1:19.722 +4.051s
23 29 France Éric Bernard France Lola-Lamborghini 1:21.489 1:19.858 +4.187s
24 30 Japan Aguri Suzuki France Lola-Lamborghini 1:19.970 1:20.235 +4.299s
25 7 Australia David Brabham United Kingdom Brabham-Judd 1:20.846 1:20.218 +4.547s
26 17 Italy Gabriele Tarquini France AGS-Ford Cosworth 1:21.222 1:20.296 +4.625s
DNQ 9 Italy Michele Alboreto United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth 1:20.630 1:20.545 +4.874s
DNQ 18 France Yannick Dalmas France AGS-Ford Cosworth 1:21.342 1:20.570 +4.899s
DNQ 10 Italy Alex Caffi United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth 1:21.101 1:21.609 +4.938s
DNQ 31 Belgium Bertrand Gachot Italy Coloni-Ford Cosworth 1:23.135 1:23.975 +6.464s
Source:[3][4][5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Ayrton Senna 2
______________ Gerhard Berger
Row 2 3 ______________
Nigel Mansell 4
______________ Alain Prost
Row 3 5 ______________
Jean Alesi 6
______________ Riccardo Patrese
Row 4 7 ______________
Nelson Piquet 8
______________ Roberto Moreno
Row 5 9 ______________
Thierry Boutsen 10
______________ Pierluigi Martini
Row 6 11 ______________
Derek Warwick 12
______________ Nicola Larini
Row 7 13 ______________
Satoru Nakajima 14
______________ Ivan Capelli
Row 8 15 ______________
Andrea de Cesaris 16
______________ Maurício Gugelmin
Row 9 17 ______________
Stefano Modena 18
______________ Johnny Herbert
Row 10 19 ______________
Philippe Alliot 20
______________ Gianni Morbidelli
Row 11 21 ______________
Emanuele Pirro 22
______________ Olivier Grouillard
Row 12 23 ______________
Éric Bernard 24
______________ Aguri Suzuki
Row 13 25 ______________
David Brabham 26
______________ Gabriele Tarquini

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 1990 Australian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 20 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 81 1:49:44.570 7 9
2 2 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Italy Ferrari 81 +3.129s 3 6
3 1 France Alain Prost Italy Ferrari 81 +37.259s 4 4
4 28 Austria Gerhard Berger United Kingdom McLaren-Honda 81 +46.862s 2 3
5 5 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Williams-Renault 81 +1:51.160 9 2
6 6 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Williams-Renault 80 +1 Lap 6 1
7 19 Brazil Roberto Moreno United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 80 +1 Lap 8
8 4 France Jean Alesi United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 53 Brakes 13
9 23 Italy Pierluigi Martini Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 79 +2 Laps 10
10 25 Italy Nicola Larini France Ligier-Ford Cosworth 79 +2 Laps 12
11 26 France Philippe Alliot France Ligier-Ford Cosworth 78 +3 Laps 19
12 8 Italy Stefano Modena United Kingdom Brabham-Judd 77 +4 Laps 17
13 14 France Olivier Grouillard Italy Osella-Ford Cosworth 74 +7 Laps 22
Ret 21 Italy Emanuele Pirro Italy Dallara-Ford Cosworth 68 Engine 21
Ret 27 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom McLaren-Honda 61 Gearbox 1
Ret 12 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Lotus-Lamborghini 57 Clutch 18
Ret 3 Japan Aguri Suzuki United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 53 Brakes 13
Ret 16 Italy Ivan Capelli United Kingdom Leyton House-Judd 46 Throttle 14
Ret 11 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Lotus-Lamborghini 43 Gearbox 11
Ret 15 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin United Kingdom Leyton House-Judd 27 Brakes 16
Ret 22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Italy Dallara-Ford Cosworth 23 Electrical 15
Ret 29 France Éric Bernard France Lola-Lamborghini 21 Gearbox 23
Ret 24 Italy Gianni Morbidelli Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 20 Gearbox 20
Ret 7 Australia David Brabham United Kingdom Brabham-Judd 18 Spin 25
Ret 30 Japan Aguri Suzuki France Lola-Lamborghini 6 Transmission 24
DNQ 9 Italy Michele Alboreto United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 18 France Yannick Dalmas France AGS-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 10 Italy Alex Caffi United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 31 Belgium Bertrand Gachot Italy Coloni-Ford Cosworth
Source:[6]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.

Milestones[]

Standings[]

With the chequered flag falling in Australia the 1990 FIA Formula One World Championship was concluded, with Ayrton Senna proclaimed as the Champion with 78 points to his name. Alain Prost ended the campaign in the runner-up spot, with an official score of 71 points, while Nelson Piquet climbed to third on the final day, sporting 43 points. Gerhard Berger ended the campaign level with the Brazilian but behind on countback, while Nigel Mansell completed the end-of-season top five.

In the Constructors Championship it had been another strong campaign for McLaren-Honda, who ended the season on 121 points. Ferrari were officially scored in second, eleven off the Champions, while Benetton-Ford Cosworth had secured third, moving onto 71 points after their late-season flurry. Williams-Renault were next on 57, with some 41 points separating them from fifth placed Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Brazil Ayrton Senna 78
2 France Alain Prost 71 (73)
3 Brazil Nelson Piquet 43 (44) ▲1
4 Austria Gerhard Berger 43 ▼1
5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell 37 ▲1
6 Belgium Thierry Boutsen 31 ▼1
7 Italy Riccardo Patrese 23
8 Italy Alessandro Nannini 21
9 France Jean Alesi 13
10 Italy Ivan Capelli 6
11 Brazil Roberto Moreno 6
12 Japan Aguri Suzuki 6
13 France Éric Bernard 5
14 United Kingdom Derek Warwick 3
15 Japan Satoru Nakajima 3
16 Italy Alex Caffi 2
17 Italy Stefano Modena 2
18 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin 1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom McLaren-Honda 121
2 Italy Ferrari 110
3 United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 71
4 United Kingdom Williams-Renault 57
5 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 16
6 France Lola-Lamborghini 11
7 United Kingdom Leyton House-Judd 7
8 United Kingdom Lotus-Lamborghini 3
9 United Kingdom Brabham-Judd 2
10 United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth 2

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 'Australian GP, 1990', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr500.html, (Accessed 10/07/2019)
  2. 'Australia 1990: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/australie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 10/07/2019)
  3. 'Foster's Australian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1990/races/79/australia/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 10/07/2019)
  4. 'Foster's Australian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1990/races/79/australia/qualifying-2.html, (Accessed 10/07/2019)
  5. 'Australia 1990: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/australie/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 10/07/2019)
  6. 'Australia 1990: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/australie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 10/07/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 '16. Australia 1990', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/australie.aspx, (Accessed 10/07/2019)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 '1990 Australian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1990&gp=Australian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 10/07/2019)
V T E 1990 Formula One Season
Teams Ferrari • Tyrrell • Williams • Brabham • Arrows • Lotus • Osella • Leyton House • AGS • Benetton • Dallara • Minardi • Ligier • McLaren • Lola • Coloni • EuroBrun • Onyx • Life
Engines Ferrari • Ford • Honda • Judd • Lamborghini • Renault • Subaru
Drivers Prost • 2 Mansell • 3 Nakajima • 4 Alesi • 5 Boutsen • 6 Patrese • 7 Foitek • 7 D. Brabham • 8 Modena • 9 Alboreto • 10 Schneider • 10 Caffi • 11 Warwick • 12 Donnelly • 12 Herbert • 14 Grouillard • 15 Gugelmin • 16 Capelli • 17 Tarquini • 18 Dalmas • 19 Nannini • 19 Moreno • 20 Piquet • 21 Morbidelli • 21 Pirro • 22 De Cesaris • 23 Martini • 24 Barilla • 24 Morbidelli • 25 Larini • 26 Alliot • 27 Senna • 28 Berger • 29 Bernard • 30 Suzuki • 31 Gachot • 33 Moreno • 34 Langes • 35 Johansson • 35 Foitek • 36 Lehto • 39 G. Brabham • 39 Giacomelli
Other Drivers Chaves • Dumfries • McNish • Montermini • Palmer • Schiattarella
Cars Ferrari 641 • Tyrrell 018 • Tyrrell 019 • Williams FW13B • Brabham BT58 • Brabham BT59 • Arrows A11B • Lotus 102 • Osella FA1M • Osella FA1ME • Leyton House CG901 • AGS JH24 • AGS JH25 • Benetton B189B • Benetton B190 • Dallara F190 • Minardi M189 • Minardi M190 • Ligier JS33B • McLaren MP4/5B • Lola LC89B • Lola LC90 • Coloni C3B • Coloni C3C • EuroBrun ER189B • Onyx ORE-1 • Onyx ORE-1B • Life F190
Tyres Goodyear • Pirelli
Races United States • Brazil • San Marino • Monaco • Canada • Mexico • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • Portugal • Spain • Japan • Australia
Non-Championship Races F1 Indoor Trophy
See also 1989 Formula One Season • 1991 Formula One Season • Category
V T E Promotional Trophy
Races 197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
V T E Australia Australian Grand Prix
Circuits Adelaide Street Circuit (1985–1995) • Albert Park Circuit (1996–present)
Albert Park
Races 1985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
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