The 1990 Belgian Grand Prix, otherwise known as the XLVIII Grand Prix de Belgique, was the eleventh round of the 1990 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa, Belgium, on the 26 August 1990.[1] The race, which required three attempts just to get underway, would see Ayrton Senna claim victory to extend his Championship lead.[1]
The Brazilian would start the weekend in fine form, sweeping to his sixth pole position of the season ahead of teammate Gerhard Berger.[1] There was then clear air behind the two McLaren-Hondas and third placed Alain Prost, who shared the second row with Thierry Boutsen.[1]
The first attempt to start the Grand Prix would see Senna beat Berger into La Source, only for the race to be stopped immediately.[1] The cause was Aguri Suzuki, whose collision with Nelson Piquet sent the Benetton-Ford Cosworth skating into Nigel Mansell, blocking the circuit and causing the two Lotus-Lamborghinis to collide, as well as other accidents behind.[1]
The ruined cars were plucked from the circuit and the field reset to grid order, minus the cars of Martin Donnelly (Lotus) and Suzuki's Lola-Lamborghini.[1] Senna duly aced the second start to secure the lead, only for a huge accident for Paolo Barilla heading through Eau Rouge on the opening tour to bring out the red flags again, with bits of shattered Minardi-Ford Cosworth littering the circuit.[1]
Once again the field was reset to grid order, with Donnelly now able to rejoin as Lotus had completed some quick repairs on his car.[1] This time it would be a clean start to the race, with Senna again charging past Berger, while Prost just managed to keep Boutsen at bay.[1]
Senna would simply pull clear of the field during the early stages, leaving Berger to fend off the attentions of Prost and Boutsen behind.[1] Ultimately Berger's resistance would falter on lap fourteen, with first Prost and then Boutsen slipping past, prompting the Austrian to pit for fresh tyres.[1]
Prost and Boutsen were hence clear to chase after Senna out front, although Boutsen's push was ended a few laps in with a transmission failure.[1] Senna, meanwhile, would slowly fall back towards the charging Prost, before both stopped for fresh tyres mid-race, rejoining either-side of Alessandro Nannini.[1]
Nannini soon fell to Prost, although the time that the Frenchman lost trying to pass the Italian would ultimately prove fatal to his hopes of victory.[1] Indeed, Senna was left to cruise home at the head of the field ahead of the Frenchman, while Nannini eventually lost third to Berger, after two late-race clashes between the two.[1]
Background[]
Ayrton Senna had extended his Championship lead as a result of the Hungarian race, moving ten clear of arch-rival Alain Prost. Those two were now, realistically, the only significant pretenders to the crown, with fifteen points between Prost and third placed Gerhard Berger. Thierry Boutsen, two behind the Austrian after his first victory of the campaign, while Nelson Piquet completed the top five.
The Constructors Championship was in an even more certain position, with McLaren-Honda holding a significant 26 point lead at the head of the hunt. Ferrari were still in a secure second, fifteen ahead of Williams-Renault, while Benetton-Ford Cosworth had lost ground in fourth. Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth were next ahead of Lola-Lamborghini, while Lotus-Lamborghini were off the foot of the table for the first time since the Mexican Grand Prix.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 1990 Belgian Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview[]
Qualifying[]
Pre-Qualifying[]
Pre-Qualifying Results[]
The full pre-qualifying results for the 1990 Belgian Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 |  Olivier Grouillard
|
 Osella-Ford Cosworth
|
1:57.941 | — |
| 2 | 18 | Yannick Dalmas
|
AGS-Ford Cosworth
|
1:58.339 | +0.398s |
| 3 | 31 |  Bertrand Gachot
|
Coloni-Ford Cosworth
|
1:59.130 | +1.189s |
| 4 | 17 | Gabriele Tarquini
|
AGS-Ford Cosworth
|
1:59.910 | +1.969s |
| DNPQ | 33 |  Roberto Moreno
|
EuroBrun-Judd
|
2:00.270 | +2.329s |
| DNPQ | 34 | Claudio Langes
|
EuroBrun-Judd
|
2:01.405 | +3.464s |
| DNPQ | 39 | Bruno Giacomelli
|
Life
|
2:19.445 | +21.504s |
| Source:[3] | |||||
Friday Qualifying[]
Saturday Qualifying[]
Qualifying Results[]
The full qualifying results for the 1990 Belgian Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | |||||
| 1 | 27 | Ayrton Senna
|
 McLaren-Honda
|
1:52.278 | 1:50.365 | — |
| 2 | 28 |  Gerhard Berger
|
McLaren-Honda
|
1:51.211 | 1:50.948 | +0.583s |
| 3 | 1 | Alain Prost
|
Ferrari
|
1:51.841 | 1:51.043 | +0.678s |
| 4 | 5 | Thierry Boutsen
|
Williams-Renault
|
1:54.024 | 1:51.902 | +1.537s |
| 5 | 2 | Nigel Mansell
|
Ferrari
|
1:52.601 | 1:52.267 | +1.902s |
| 6 | 19 | Alessandro Nannini
|
Benetton-Ford Cosworth
|
1:55.800 | 1:52.648 | +2.283s |
| 7 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese
|
Williams-Renault
|
1:54.260 | 1:52.703 | +2.338s |
| 8 | 20 | Nelson Piquet
|
Benetton-Ford Cosworth
|
1:53.689 | 1:52.853 | +2.488s |
| 9 | 4 | Jean Alesi
|
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
|
1:54.116 | 1:52.885 | +2.520s |
| 10 | 3 |  Satoru Nakajima
|
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
|
1:55.798 | 1:53.468 | +3.103s |
| 11 | 30 | Satoru Nakajima
|
Lola-Lamborghini
|
1:55.294 | 1:53.523 | +3.158s |
| 12 | 16 | Ivan Capelli
|
Leyton House-Judd
|
1:55.012 | 1:53.783 | +3.418s |
| 13 | 8 | Stefano Modena
|
Brabham-Judd
|
1:57.014 | 1:53.916 | +3.551s |
| 14 | 15 | Maurício Gugelmin
|
Leyton House-Judd
|
1:54.497 | 1:54.120 | +3.755s |
| 15 | 29 | Éric Bernard
|
Lola-Lamborghini
|
1:56.213 | 1:54.251 | +3.886s |
| 16 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini
|
Minardi-Ford Cosworth
|
1:56.074 | 1:54.312 | +3.947s |
| 17 | 21 | Emanuele Pirro
|
Dallara-Ford Cosworth
|
1:56.239 | 1:54.595 | +4.230s |
| 18 | 11 | Derek Warwick
|
Lotus-Lamborghini
|
1:56.246 | 1:55.068 | +4.703s |
| 19 | 10 | Alex Caffi
|
Arrows-Ford Cosworth
|
1:56.562 | 1:55.199 | +4.834s |
| 20 | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris
|
Dallara-Ford Cosworth
|
1:56.923 | 1:55.261 | +4.896s |
| 21 | 25 | Nicola Larini
|
Ligier-Ford Cosworth
|
1:57.471 | 1:55.278 | +4.913s |
| 22 | 12 | Martin Donnelly
|
Lotus-Lamborghini
|
1:56.666 | 1:55.304 | +4.939s |
| 23 | 14 | Olivier Grouillard
|
Osella-Ford Cosworth
|
1:57.770 | 1:55.334 | +4.969s |
| 24 | 7 |  David Brabham
|
Brabham-Judd
|
1:58.034 | 1:55.668 | +5.303s |
| 25 | 24 | Paolo Barilla
|
Minardi-Ford Cosworth
|
1:57.221 | 1:55.859 | +5.494s |
| 26 | 9 | Michele Alboreto
|
Arrows-Ford Cosworth
|
1:57.255 | 1:56.055 | +5.690s |
| DNQ | 26 | Philippe Alliot
|
Ligier-Ford Cosworth
|
— | 1:56.118 | +5.753s |
| DNQ | 17 | Gabriele Tarquini
|
AGS-Ford Cosworth
|
1:58.293 | 1:57.566 | +7.201s |
| DNQ | 18 | Yannick Dalmas
|
AGS-Ford Cosworth
|
1:58.995 | 1:57.704 | +7.339s |
| DNQ | 31 | Bertrand Gachot
|
Coloni-Ford Cosworth
|
— | 1:58.520 | +8.155s |
| DNPQ | 33 | Roberto Moreno
|
EuroBrun-Judd
|
2:00.270 | ||
| DNPQ | 34 | Claudio Langes
|
EuroBrun-Judd
|
2:01.405 | ||
| DNPQ | 39 | Bruno Giacomelli
|
Life
|
2:19.445 | ||
| Source:[4][5][6] | ||||||
- 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 |
| 2 | Ayrton Senna | |
| Gerhard Berger | ______________ | |
| Row 2 | ______________ | 3 |
| 4 | Alain Prost | |
| Thierry Boutsen | ______________ | |
| Row 3 | ______________ | 5 |
| 6 | Nigel Mansell | |
| Alessandro Nannini | ______________ | |
| Row 4 | ______________ | 7 |
| 8 | Riccardo Patrese | |
| Nelson Piquet | ______________ | |
| Row 5 | ______________ | 9 |
| 10 | Jean Alesi | |
| Satoru Nakajima | ______________ | |
| Row 6 | ______________ | 11 |
| 12 | Aguri Suzuki | |
| Ivan Capelli | ______________ | |
| Row 7 | ______________ | 13 |
| 14 | Stefano Modena | |
| Maurício Gugelmin | ______________ | |
| Row 8 | ______________ | 15 |
| 16 | Éric Bernard | |
| Pierluigi Martini | ______________ | |
| Row 9 | ______________ | 17 |
| 18 | Emanuele Pirro | |
| Derek Warwick | ______________ | |
| Row 10 | ______________ | 19 |
| 20 | Alex Caffi | |
| Andrea de Cesaris | ______________ | |
| Row 11 | ______________ | 21 |
| 22 | Nicola Larini | |
| Martin Donnelly | ______________ | |
| Row 12 | ______________ | 23 |
| 24 | Olivier Grouillard | |
| David Brabham | ______________ | |
| Row 13 | ______________ | 25 |
| 26 | Paolo Barilla | |
| Michele Alboreto | ______________ |
Race[]
Report[]
Results[]
The full results for the 1990 Belgian Grand Prix are outlined below:
- T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
- * Modena was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[7]
Milestones[]
- Alessandro Nannini entered his 75th Grand Prix.[8]
- 25th career victory for Ayrton Senna.[9]
- McLaren secured their 85th win as a constructor.[9]
Standings[]
The Belgian Grand Prix had been another positive weekend for Ayrton Senna, with the Brazilian moving thirteen clear at the head of the Championship. Alain Prost was still his biggest pretender, with the Frenchman holding a seventeen point advantage over third placed Gerhard Berger. Thierry Boutsen, meanwhile, was sat in fourth ahead of Nelson Piquet, while Maurício Gugelmin had become the seventeenth different scorer of the campaign.
It was a similar story at the head of the Constructors Championship, with Senna's employers McLaren-Honda extending their lead at the head of the field. Indeed, the Anglo-Japanese squad would leave Belgium with a sizeable 33 point advantage over Ferrari, meaning they could afford to miss two rounds completely and still hold the lead. Williams-Renault, meanwhile, were in an increasingly distant third, with Benetton-Ford Cosworth closing the gap in fourth.
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Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 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 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedGP - ↑ 'Belgium 1990: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/belgique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 02/07/2019)
- ↑ '1990 Belgian GP: Pre-Qualifying'. chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1990&gp=Belgian%20GP&r=1&type=preq, (Accessed 02/07/2019)
- ↑ 'Belgian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1990/races/74/belgium/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 02/07/2019)
- ↑ 'Belgian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1990/races/74/belgium/qualifying-2.html, (Accessed 02/07/2019)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedQR - ↑ 7.0 7.1 'Belgium 1990: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/belgique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 02/07/2019)
- ↑ '1990 Belgian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1990&gp=Belgian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 02/07/2019)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 '11. Belgium 1990', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/belgique.aspx, (Accessed 02/07/2019)
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