The 1990 Mexican Grand Prix, otherwise known as the XIV Gran Premio de México, was the sixth round of the 1990 FIA Formula One World Championship staged at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico, on the 24 June 1990.[1] The race would be remembered for a dramatic puncture for Championship leader Ayrton Senna in the closing stages, which ultimately handed victory to Alain Prost.[1]
Qualifying saw Gerhard Berger claim a sixth straight pole position for McLaren-Honda, while Riccardo Patrese grabbed second for Williams-Renault.[1] That left Championship leader Senna in third ahead of Nigel Mansell, while Prost was a lowly thirteenth having focused on race pace.[1]
Raceday would not get underway in particularly clean fashion, with the morning warm-up session interrupted by a stray dog.[1] Fortunately there would be no "groundhog" style incidents as there had been in Canada, meaning there were no late changes to the field due to dog related collisions.[1]
The start of the race would see Patrese streak into a surprise lead, with a poor start from Berger leaving him in third behind Senna.[1] They were chased by Mansell and Thierry Boutsen, while Nelson Piquet made a strong start to challenge those two during the opening lap.[1]
Senna eased into the lead at the end of the first lap, with Berger following him past Patrese's Williams with an identical move a lap later.[1] The two McLaren-Hondas duly eased ahead of the Italian's Williams, which was to slip behind a charging Piquet, with Berger working hard to remain on his teammate's tail.[1]
Unfortunately for Berger his pushing would prove fatal to his front left tyre, with a slow puncture forcing him to abandon second on lap 13.[1] He subsequently rejoined in twelfth as Piquet inherited second, although neither the Brazilian, nor the Austrian, were the men to watch.[1]
Indeed, the two Ferraris were getting stronger as the race wore on, with Nigel Mansell and Prost beginning to ominously draw onto the back of the two Williams-Renaults in third and fourth.[1] The two scarlet cars duly swept past the two yellow-blue-white cars within the space of nine laps, before sweeping past Piquet's multi-coloured Benetton-Ford Cosworth a few laps later.[1]
The second half of the race would see the Ferraris slowly close onto the back of Senna, who would also pickup a slow puncture in the closing stages.[1] In the midst of their mutual chase Prost would scythe past teammate Mansell to secure second, just in time to inherit the lead when Senna's tyre spectacularly failed, with the McLaren picking up too much additional damage to continue.[1]
Prost was therefore left to claim his second win of the season, while a late spin for Mansell almost let a charging Berger secure second, only for the Brit to throw a very ambitious lunge at the Austrian through the Peraltada.[1] Berger was hence forced to drop back to third rather than have a huge accident with the Ferrari, as Alessandro Nannini, Boutsen and Piquet the other scorers.[1]
Background[]
Ayrton Senna had once again extended his Championship lead with victory in Canada, moving a full twelve points clear of teammate Gerhard Berger in second. The Austrian himself had a fairly healthy gap back to Alain Prost in third, five points separating them, while Jean Alesi was hanging on in fourth, a point behind Prost. Nelson Piquet, meanwhile, would move up to fifth after his podium finish, while Derek Warwick had become the fourteenth scorer of the season.
In the Constructors Championship it was still an all McLaren-Honda affair, with the Anglo-Japanese squad reaching a half-century with three wins from five races. Ferrari had moved up to be their closest competitors, although the Scuderia were already 29 points behind with a third of the season gone. Williams-Renault, meanwhile, had lost ground having slipped to third, while Lotus-Lamborghini were finally on the board after a miserable start to the season for the former Champion constructors.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 1990 Mexican Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview[]
Qualifying[]
Pre-Qualifying[]
Pre-Qualifying Results[]
The full pre-qualifying results for the 1990 Mexican Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 |  Olivier Grouillard
|
 Osella-Ford Cosworth
|
1:25.281 | — |
| 2 | 29 | Éric Bernard
|
Lola-Lamborghini
|
1:25.456 | +0.175s |
| 3 | 33 |  Roberto Moreno
|
EuroBrun-Judd
|
1:26.724 | +1.443s |
| 4 | 30 |  Aguri Suzuki
|
Lola-Lamborghini
|
1:27.511 | +1.443s |
| DNPQ | 18 | Yannick Dalmas
|
AGS-Ford Cosworth
|
1:27.830 | +2.549s |
| DNPQ | 17 | Gabriele Tarquini
|
AGS-Ford Cosworth
|
1:28.499 | +3.218s |
| DNPQ | 31 |  Bertrand Gachot
|
Coloni-Subaru
|
1:28.805 | +3.524s |
| DNPQ | 34 | Claudio Langes
|
EuroBrun-Judd
|
1:40.414 | +15.133s |
| DNPQ | 39 | Bruno Giacomelli
|
Life
|
4:07.475 | +2:42.194 |
| Source:[3] | |||||
Friday Qualifying[]
Saturday Qualifying[]
Qualifying Results[]
The full qualifying results for the 1990 Mexican Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | |||||
| 1 | 28 |  Gerhard Berger
|
 McLaren-Honda
|
1:17.227 | 1:17.850 | — |
| 2 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese
|
Williams-Renault
|
1:18.215 | 1:17.498 | +0.271s |
| 3 | 27 | Ayrton Senna
|
McLaren-Honda
|
1:18.417 | 1:17.670 | +0.443s |
| 4 | 2 | Nigel Mansell
|
Ferrari
|
1:17.938 | 1:17.732 | +0.505s |
| 5 | 5 | Thierry Boutsen
|
Williams-Renault
|
1:19.062 | 1:17.883 | +0.656s |
| 6 | 4 | Jean Alesi
|
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
|
1:18.727 | 1:18.282 | +1.055s |
| 7 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini
|
Minardi-Ford Cosworth
|
1:18.526 | 1:18.590 | +1.299s |
| 8 | 20 | Nelson Piquet
|
Benetton-Ford Cosworth
|
1:19.022 | 1:18.561 | +1.334s |
| 9 | 3 | Satoru Nakajima
|
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
|
1:19.551 | 1:18.575 | +1.348s |
| 10 | 8 | Stefano Modena
|
Brabham-Judd
|
1:18.592 | 1:19.817 | +1.365s |
| 11 | 11 | Derek Warwick
|
Lotus-Lamborghini
|
1:19.557 | 1:18.951 | +1.724s |
| 12 | 12 | Martin Donnelly
|
Lotus-Lamborghini
|
1:19.769 | 1:18.994 | +1.767s |
| 13 | 1 | Alain Prost
|
Ferrari
|
1:19.378 | 1:19.026 | +1.799s |
| 14 | 19 | Alessandro Nannini
|
Benetton-Ford Cosworth
|
1:19.909 | 1:19.227 | +2.000s |
| 15 | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris
|
Dallara-Ford Cosworth
|
1:21.635 | 1:19.865 | +2.638s |
| 16 | 24 | Paolo Barilla
|
Minardi-Ford Cosworth
|
1:19.897 | 1:21.242 | +2.670s |
| 17 | 9 | Michele Alboreto
|
Arrows-Ford Cosworth
|
1:21.212 | 1:19.941 | +2.714s |
| 18 | 21 | Emanuele Pirro
|
Dallara-Ford Cosworth
|
1:21.067 | 1:20.044 | +2.817s |
| 19 | 30 | Aguri Suzuki
|
Lola-Lamborghini
|
1:21.077 | 1:20.268 | +3.041s |
| 20 | 14 | Olivier Grouillard
|
Osella-Ford Cosworth
|
1:20.274 | 1:21.167 | +3.047s |
| 21 | 7 |  David Brabham
|
Brabham-Judd
|
1:20.447 | 1:20.636 | +3.220s |
| 22 | 26 | Philippe Alliot
|
Ligier-Ford Cosworth
|
1:21.451 | 1:20.657 | +3.430s |
| 23 | 35 |  Gregor Foitek
|
Onyx-Ford Cosworth
|
1:21.012 | 1:21.400 | +3.785s |
| 24 | 25 | Nicola Larini
|
Ligier-Ford Cosworth
|
1:21.584 | 1:21.116 | +3.889s |
| 25 | 29 | Éric Bernard
|
Lola-Lamborghini
|
1:21.273 | 1:21.677 | +4.046s |
| 26 | 36 |  JJ Lehto
|
Onyx-Ford Cosworth
|
1:21.519 | 1:21.687 | +4.292s |
| DNQ | 16 | Ivan Capelli
|
Leyton House-Judd
|
1:23.639 | 1:21.544 | +4.317s |
| DNQ | 15 | Maurício Gugelmin
|
Leyton House-Judd
|
1:22.612 | 1:21.665 | +4.438s |
| DNQ | 10 | Alex Caffi
|
Arrows-Ford Cosworth
|
1:22.278 | 1:22.154 | +4.927s |
| EXC* | 33 | Roberto Moreno
|
EuroBrun-Judd
|
1:21.142 | — | |
| DNPQ | 18 | Yannick Dalmas
|
AGS-Ford Cosworth
|
1:27.830 | ||
| DNPQ | 17 | Gabriele Tarquini
|
AGS-Ford Cosworth
|
1:28.499 | ||
| DNPQ | 31 | Bertrand Gachot
|
Coloni-Subaru
|
1:28.805 | ||
| DNPQ | 34 | Claudio Langes
|
EuroBrun-Judd
|
1:40.414 | ||
| DNPQ | 39 | Bruno Giacomelli
|
Life
|
4:07.475 | ||
| 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.
- * Moreno was excluded from the results of qualifying after receiving outside assistance.[6]
Grid[]
| Pos. | Pos. | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 1 | 1 | ______________ |
| Gerhard Berger | 2 | |
| ______________ | Riccardo Patrese | |
| Row 2 | 3 | ______________ |
| Ayrton Senna | 4 | |
| ______________ | Nigel Mansell | |
| Row 3 | 5 | ______________ |
| Thierry Boutsen | 6 | |
| ______________ | Jean Alesi | |
| Row 4 | 7 | ______________ |
| Pierluigi Martini | 8 | |
| ______________ | Nelson Piquet | |
| Row 5 | 9 | ______________ |
| Satoru Nakajima | 10 | |
| ______________ | Stefano Modena | |
| Row 6 | 11 | ______________ |
| Derek Warwick | 12 | |
| ______________ | Martin Donnelly | |
| Row 7 | 13 | ______________ |
| Alain Prost | 14 | |
| ______________ | Alessandro Nannini | |
| Row 8 | 15 | ______________ |
| Andrea de Cesaris | 16 | |
| ______________ | Paolo Barilla | |
| Row 9 | 17 | ______________ |
| Michele Alboreto | 18 | |
| ______________ | Emanuele Pirro | |
| Row 10 | 19 | ______________ |
| Aguri Suzuki | 20 | |
| ______________ | Olivier Grouillard | |
| Row 11 | 21 | ______________ |
| David Brabham | 22 | |
| ______________ | Philippe Alliot | |
| Row 12 | 23 | ______________ |
| Gregor Foitek | 24 | |
| ______________ | Nicola Larini | |
| Row 13 | 25 | ______________ |
| Éric Bernard | 26 | |
| ______________ | JJ Lehto |
Race[]
Report[]
Results[]
The full results for the 1990 Mexican Grand Prix are outlined below:
- T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
- * Senna was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[7]
Milestones[]
- Ayrton Senna started his 100th Grand Prix.[8]
- 25th entry for Roberto Moreno.[9]
- Bertrand Gachot entered his 20th Grand Prix.[9]
- JJ Lehto entered his tenth race.[9]
- Alain Prost claimed his 41st victory.[8]
- Ferrari recorded their 99th win as both a constructor and engine manufacturer.[8]
Standings[]
Ayrton Senna had retained the lead in the Championship in-spite of his late retirement, although his advantage had been cut to eight points leaving Mexico. His arch-rival Alain Prost was once again his closest challenger, level on points with Gerhard Berger but ahead by virtue of having two wins, while Jean Alesi, Nigel Mansell andNelson Piquet completed the top six. Otherwise the order was fairly unchanged, with fourteen drivers on the scoreboard.
McLaren-Honda had seen their huge early lead in the Constructors Championship slightly dented in Mexico, with Ferrari able to make a fair amount of ground after claiming a one-two. The Scuderia would leave Mexico eighteen points off of the Anglo-Japanese squad, with a sixteen point gap back to third placed Williams-Renault. Williams-Renault themselves would end the weekend level on points with Benetton-Ford Cosworth, remaining ahead of their British rivals by virtue of having one race win.
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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 1.16 1.17 'Mexican GP, 1989', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr490.html, (Accessed 28/06/2019)
- ↑ 'Mexico 1990: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/mexique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 28/06/2019)
- ↑ '1990 Mexican GP: Pre-Qualifying', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1990&gp=Mexican%20GP&r=1&type=preq, (Accessed 28/06/2019)
- ↑ 'Mexican Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1990/races/69/mexico/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 28/06/2019)
- ↑ 'Mexican Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1990/races/69/mexico/qualifying-2.html, (Accessed 28/06/2019)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 'Mexico 1990: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/mexique/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 28/06/2019)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 'Mexico 1990: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/mexique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 28/06/2019)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 '6. Mexico 1990', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/mexique.aspx, (Accessed 28/06/2019)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 '1989 Mexican GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1989&gp=Mexican%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 28/06/2019)
| V T E |  Mexican Grand Prix / Mexico City Grand Prix
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Circuits | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (1963-1970, 1986-1992, 2015-present) |  |
| Races (Mexican GP) | 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971–1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993–2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 | |
| Races (Mexico City GP) | ||
| Non-Championship Races | 1962 |
| v·d·e | Nominate this page for Featured Article |