1990 San Marino Grand Prix

1990 San Marino Grand Prix
Previous←	1990 Brazilian Grand Prix
Round	3 of 1990
Next→	1990 Monaco Grand Prix
Race Details
Date	13th May, 1990
Official Name	X Gran Premio di San Marino
Location	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Course	Permanent racing facility 5.040 km (3.132 mi)
Distance	61 laps, 307.44 km (191.034 mi)
Pole Position
Driver	Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda
Time	1:23.220
Fastest Lap
Driver	Alessandro Nannini Benetton-Ford
Time	1:27.156 on lap 60
Podium
First	Riccardo Patrese
Second	Gerhard Berger
Third	Alessandro Nannini
Lap Leaders

The 1990 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 1990 at Imola. It was the third round of the 1990 Formula One season. It was the tenth San Marino Grand Prix and it was the eleventh time Imola hosted a Formula One Grand Prix. The race was held over 61 laps of the five kilometre circuit for a race distance of 307 kilometres.

The race was won by Italian driver Riccardo Patrese driving a Williams FW13B. It was Patrese's third Grand Prix victory, his first since 1983 and his first for Williams. Patrese took a five-second victory over Austrian driver Gerhard Berger driving a McLaren MP4/5B. Third was Italian driver Alessandro Nannini driving a Benetton B190.

Background

There was an unusually long two month break between the Brazilian and San Marino events in the world championship. As such, this extensive early season break would give the team's time to adjust to the new safety regulations that would be made mandatory at Imola.

The new regulations would see reinforced chassis, less constrictive cockpits, higher roll-over bars, red lights and a mandatory detachable steering wheel. FISA President, Jean-Marie Balestre, had demanded a safety overhaul for 1990 after the career ending crash of Philippe Streiff and Gerhard Berger's fiery accident at the previous edition of the San Marino Grand Prix.

Philippe Streiff would in fact be attending his first grand prix at San Marino since his accident at Jacerapagua which had left him a paraplegic. He would join the TF1 television broadcast as a pundit for the race and posed with fellow Formula One paraplegics, Frank Williams and Clay Regazzoni.

Ayrton Senna remained the championship leader, however the increasing competitiveness of the Ferrari's had meant that the McLaren superiority was well and truely being questioned in 1990. Alain Prost, having taken victory was expected to take victory by the Tifosi on their home turf at San Marino. Although Nigel Mansell endorsed the new car, Prost, however was cautious, believing the mandatory changes to the car for the new regulations may hamper their team's performance.

Circuit Changes

• In response to the enormous accidents of Nelson Piquet and Gerhard Berger at the Tamburello corner, the circuit organisers decided to make some changes to the layout of the corner. The grass that had lined the outside of the corner had been replaced by a concrete run-off.
• Its purpose was such that it would help prevent the cars from losing control in the high speed corner due to the added grip from the run-off area. ESPN's David Hobbs, however would note "I'm not sure of the overall safety of that."

Entry list

The break in between Brazil and San Marino had seen extensive testing from the Formula One teams as they rapidly worked to adjust to the new regulations that would be enforced at Imola. Some of the teams took the time to release their new 1990 challengers at Imola to match the change in regulations.

Most prominently was Benetton with their B190 designed by Rory Byrne for Nelson Piquet and Alessandro Nannini. Team Principal, Flavio Briatore, demanded his drivers to take at least one victory before the conclusion of the season.

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

No.	Driver	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model	Tyre
1	Alain Prost	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	641	Ferrari	036 V12 3.5	G
2	Nigel Mansell	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	641	Ferrari	036 V12 3.5	G
3	Satoru Nakajima	Tyrrell Racing Organisation	Tyrrell	019	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	P
4	Jean Alesi	Tyrrell Racing Organisation	Tyrrell	019	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	P
5	Thierry Boutsen	Canon Williams Team	Williams	FW13B	Renault	RS2 V10 3.5	G
6	Riccardo Patrese	Canon Williams Team	Williams	FW13B	Renault	RS2 V10 3.5	G
7	David Brabham	Motor Racing Developments	Brabham	BT59	Judd	EV V8 3.5	P
8	Stefano Modena	Motor Racing Developments	Brabham	BT59	Judd	EV V8 3.5	P
9	Michele Alboreto	Footwork Arrows Racing	Arrows	A11	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	G
10	Alex Caffi	Footwork Arrows Racing	Arrows	A11	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	G
11	Derek Warwick	Camel Team Lotus	Lotus	102	Lamborghini	3512 V12 3.5	G
12	Martin Donnelly	Camel Team Lotus	Lotus	102	Lamborghini	3512 V12 3.5	G
14	Olivier Grouillard	Osella Squadra Corse	Osella	FA1M89	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	P
15	Maurício Gugelmin	Leyton House Racing	Leyton House	CG901	Judd	EV V8 3.5	G
16	Ivan Capelli	Leyton House Racing	Leyton House	CG901	Judd	EV V8 3.5	G
17	Gabriele Tarquini	Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives	AGS	JH24	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	G
18	Yannick Dalmas	Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives	AGS	JH24	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	G
19	Alessandro Nannini	Benetton Formula Ltd	Benetton	B190	Ford Cosworth	HBA4 V8 3.5	G
20	Nelson Piquet	Benetton Formula Ltd	Benetton	B190	Ford Cosworth	HBA4 V8 3.5	G
21	Emanuele Pirro	BMS Scuderia Italia	Dallara	F190	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	P
22	Andrea de Cesaris	BMS Scuderia Italia	Dallara	F190	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	P
23	Pierluigi Martini	SCM Minardi Team	Minardi	M189	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	P
24	Paolo Barilla	SCM Minardi Team	Minardi	M189	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	P
25	Nicola Larini	Equipe Ligier Gitanes	Ligier	JS33B	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	G
26	Philippe Alliot	Equipe Ligier Gitanes	Ligier	JS33B	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	G
27	Ayrton Senna	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren	MP4/5B	Honda	RA109E V10 3.5	G
28	Gerhard Berger	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren	MP4/5B	Honda	RA109E V10 3.5	G
29	Éric Bernard	ESPO Larrousse F1	Lola	LC90	Lamborghini	3512 V12 3.5	G
30	Aguri Suzuki	ESPO Larrousse F1	Lola	LC90	Lamborghini	3512 V12 3.5	G
31	Bertrand Gachot	Subaru Coloni Racing	Coloni	C3B	Subaru	1235 F12 3.5	G
33	Roberto Moreno	EuroBrun Racing	EuroBrun	ER189B	Judd	EV V8 3.5	P
34	Claudio Langes	EuroBrun Racing	EuroBrun	ER189B	Judd	EV V8 3.5	P
35	Gregor Foitek	Monterverdi Onyx Formula One	Onyx	ORE-1	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	G
36	JJ Lehto	Monterverdi Onyx Formula One	Onyx	ORE-1	Ford Cosworth	DFR V8 3.5	G
39	Bruno Giacomelli	Life Racing Engines	Life	F190	Life	F35 W12 3.5	G

Qualifying

First Qualifying

• Donnelly was the first car to be seen out on track, however it was Senna who went on to set the initial pace times.
• John Watson mused as to whether Senna would complete one of those "unbelievably fast qualifying laps" that would see him take pole position.
• Mansell was quick in the initial stages having set a time to put him behind Senna in the time sheets. Watson commenting "well that's what he would have needed for this practice session. To be at the top of the lists and he'll be much happier as a result of that quick lap."
• However, the timing screens would show that both Berger and Patrese would quickly take the position from him.
• Patrese, who was described by Andrew Marriot as "enjoying his racing more than ever" was taking full advantage of the car upgrades that had been applied to the FW13B following the extensive tests at Donnington.
• The McLaren's with their dominant Honda V10 engines and improved Goodyear qualifying tyres, seemed untouchable on the high speed Imola circuit.
• Watson noted that the cockpit extensions to allow for Berger's large frame had meant "the problem with cramp is something that he is overcoming".
• A reminder from Andrew Marriot that "Gerhard has already had two fastest laps this season" was then underlined when Berger snatched the provisional pole time from teammate Senna.
• Berger was seen to be pushing his limits to the extreme. He could be visibly seen failing to slow down for yellow flags at the Acque Minerale for a stopped car out on the circuit. John Watson noting "normally you are supposed to respect the yellow flag when it is waved at you."
• The surprise of Berger's speed, prompted the question from Andrew Marriot "What is Alain Prost going to think about that? What is Ayrton Senna going to think about that?"
• Prost was barely seen by the cameras in the session, however his teammate Mansell, like Berger, was catching major attention in the session.
• Mansell having dropped off the pace was described as having a "frustrating session". He had used up his first set of tyres having failed to surpass the times of Berger, Senna and Patrese. He was then held up by the very slow moving Grouillard at the Variante Alta.
• Mansell could be seen angrily driving alongside Grouillard, shaking his fist and nearly running into him. Watson described Grouillard's driving as "cruising like a Sunday afternoon drive. He could have had the wife and kids with him at the speed he was going at." 
• The session was then stopped when Martini had an enormous accident heading into the Acque Minerale bringing out the red flag. Martini was temporarily trapped in his Minardi and required the assistance of the marshalls and medical team to vacate his car.
• Watson was quick to note he had "understeered" off the circuit, whilst Marriot also noted the "brake dust" coming off the back of his car before he hit the tyre barrier.
• Watson criticised the lack of armco barriers at the corner. Noting "I would say that is almost too solid a tyre wall. You want those tyres to absorb impact, that is like hitting something solid."
• The front of the car had been completely destroyed. Watson, noting "the new regulations are designed to save drivers. But the front of his car has been ripped off."
• Having set the eighth fastest time of the day, Martini would be unable to participate in the rest of the weekend due to his injuries. Watson would further point out that the fact that Martini is a very "short driver" saved him from more severe leg injuries.
• When the green flag resumed, Senna was seen to be the first car to return to the circuit.
• Senna then took the provisional pole time with a 1:24.080, however he was then almost immediately beaten by Berger with a 1:24.027. "A staggering two seconds under last year's time" exclaimed Andrew Marriot.
• Senna was unable to match this time before the end of the session. His McLaren teammate had beaten him to the pole time. He had been unable to bring out his qualifying best in the first session.
• The session closed, with a second incident involved with a Minardi. Barilla lost control of his car at the Rivazza. His out of control car, nearly slamming into Mansell's Ferrari.
• Mansell was forced to take evasive action and ended up in the gravel trap with Barilla. An angered Mansell could be seen walking back to the pits, however despite his own drama's in the day, he remained faster than teammate Prost.
• Prost could be seen undoing his seatbelts and attempting to exit the car, before his mechanics had finished wheeling him into the garage.
• At the conclusion of the session, Watson would note "there are three things that stood out. The first was Gerhard Berger, out Sennering, Ayrton Senna to take provisional pole position. Riccardo Patrese in the Williams, and that car now really looks very competitive indeed and finally Martin Donnelly. A superb twelfth place in the Lotus-Lamborghini.

Saturday Practice

Patrese was ahead of Senna, Alesi, Boutsen, Berger, Mansell, Nannini, Prost, Piquet and Warwick.

Saturday Qualifying

• The McLaren's were once again on form for the second qualifying session on Saturday. Astutely noticed by Watson, both Berger and Senna were both visibly rough in their handling of the car throughout the Imola circuit.
• Berger was the first of the two to enter the track, Watson noting "he is always up the kerb, he has been sliding up the kerb a little bit on this lap, but generally speaking its not been too bad". Despite his rough handling of the car, Berger was able to drop the provisional pole time by three tenths with a 1:24.079.
• Senna meanwhile was being forced to respond, however he appeared to be having even worse handling problems than his teammate. Senna could be seen riding the kerbs heavily through Acque Minerale to which Watson noted every corner so far, he is overdriven the car. He is at this point trying too hard, I know its easy sitting here commentating to say that but he needs to control what he is doing a little bit more. That's wasting time, he's losing time and he is abusing the tyres, abusing the car and will actually go slightly slower than he would think he is capable of doing." 
• Senna would go on to set an identical time to his previous best during the Friday session. Although he was struggling, he was able to continue to put in a competitive lap time, albeit he was still slower than teammate Berger.
• Derek Warwick whom was running well in the morning practice session then ruined his afternoon when he spun his Lotus into the gravel trap.
• There was further problems for Lotus when his teammate, Martin Donnelly then could be seen having to exit the car due to mechanical failure.
• Boutsen whom had been struggling with his brakes in the morning practice session then improved his time to go fourth fastest. However he was still failing to match the pace of teammate Patrese who had been running extremely competitively.
• Senna had returned to the track to which he had appeared to have solved his handling problems from his earlier run. Watson commenting "the car looks right, he looks totally in control of the situation and I think we are going to see a very fast lap from Senna."
• Having struggled to match Berger all weekend, Senna put in an incredibly strong lap to take the provisional pole time with a 1:23.220. Senna's time nearly eight tenths faster than Berger's own best time.
• At Ferrari, Mansell watched proceedings from a monitor whilst seated in his cockpit. As he prepared for his running, teammate Prost was already out on track. Andrew Marriott prompted the question "can the Ferrari's at least get onto the second row of the grid? They are on the third row at the moment."
• Prost, however could only make a marginal improvement which consolidated his sixth placing grid position.
• Mansell, whom was sitting in fifth thereafter came out of the pits for his first run. However like he had the previous day, Mansell once again encountered traffic at the Variante Alta. This time, Mansell encountered the slow car of Boutsen to which Mansell was forced to run wide off onto the kerbs to avoid the Williams. In defence of Boutsen, Watson noted "Nigel was slightly out of control before he got there".
• A frustrated Mansell would attempt a second qualifying lap, however on this lap he missed his braking point at the Acque Minerale and shot straight over the grass and cut the chicane. Watson pointed out "that means the qualifying tyres have one life less than they would have had if he had not made that misjudgement."
• With Mansell having failed to improve, Patrese's Williams further shaved time off, however still could not approach the times of the McLaren's.
• Berger would return to track in a desperate final attempt to reclaim the pole from Senna. However as was noted by Watson "Its doubtful the tyres really have the performance left in them after that earlier hard run." Berger failed to find an improvement and was forced to settle for second position behind Senna.

Race

Pre-Race

"The official crowd estimate is over 200 000 people. I mean you can compare the crowd to what comes to the Indianapolis 500, however the fanaticism is even greater. And it is a fanaticism for Ferrari."

Ahead of the race, there is a furious debate among the Goodyear runners as to whether the 'C' compound or 'B' compound tyres will run more effectively in the warm temperatures of the Imola circuit. As was noted by David Hobbs, "The 'C's are going to be a little bit marginal. That's a softer compound and it really depends on the temperature of the Sun."

This drama was further emphasised by John Bisignano whom noted, "The last minute decision was mainly to go with a 'B' type compound, not the soft compound. They think they may be able to go the full race. It is such a fine line, you cannot believe it. The team managers are a bit nervous."

Before the race began, only Prost had the confidence to run on the fully soft 'B' compound tyres whilst his teammate, Mansell and the two Williams cars of Patrese and Boutsen had both equipped the harder compound 'C' tyres. McLaren meanwhile were running a unique strategy in which both Senna and Berger were running the 'B's on the right with the 'C's on the left. McLaren appeared confident that their car would take victory, albeit the Williams-Renault combination was looking increasingly strong. John Bisignano would note "Ron Dennis is worried about Williams in the later stages of this event." 

Report

• Berger got an excellent start to take the lead, however Senna tailed him through Tamburello before reclaiming the lead at Tosa. Boutsen then also manages to move past Berger through Piratella. Moreno fails to get off the line due to a stuck throttle. Alesi had also made up a place, overtaking Prost through Villeneuve and being described as "by no means afraid to muscle his way in. He is not intimidated at all, even though he is the new kid on the block."

• Behind them, the two Ferrari's ran wide at Tamburello, the cars of Mansell and Prost spitting up an enormous amount of dust into the air.
• The pack had become all bunched up and as Nakajima approached the dust cloud, he slowed extensively, only to be rammed by Capelli and have his car flung into the opposing wall. Nakajima emerged from the accident with heavy bruising to his left arm.
• The accident prompts questions as to whether the cause was a "case of not being able to see" due to Mansell's dustcloud. Nakajima's car was completely wrecked whilst Capelli was also forced out of the race.
• At the Villeneuve curve, Donnelly had been forced wide by Bernard and spun his car. Amazingly, he did not come into contact with any cars as he went backwards through the Tosa hairpin.

• After the first lap, Senna led ahead of Boutsen, Berger, Patrese, Alesi, Mansell, Prost, Piquet, Nannini, Warwick and Alliot.
• After the second lap, Senna ranked as being six tenths ahead of Berger whom was being hounded by Berger. Patrese whom had dropped to fourth was seen locking his tyres whilst under pressure from Alesi at Rivazza.
• The following lap, Mansell manages to overtake Alesi. Albeit the Tyrrell does not make it easy for him. Alesi blocking Mansell through Tamburello and Villeneuve before Mansell manages to take the position at Tosa.
• Pirro loses control at the Variante Alta, he stalls his Dallara and is forced to retire.
• Senna continues to hold a small margin over Boutsen in second position, however on the fourth lap, his right rear tyre is punctured heading into Rivazza. The McLaren driver is unable to control the car and spears off into the gravel trap. The Tifosi roar with delight.
• Boutsen whom had been noted as being "slower than his teammate all weekend" by David Hobbs was now leading the race. He held a narrow margin over Berger, whilst a short distance behind the two leaders came Patrese and Mansell.
• Mansell, however was emitting some heavy blue smoke from the rear of his car. However as was observed by ESPN, "it doesn't seem to be slowing him down too much." Nonetheless it was rasing concerns about his longevity in the race. However, this was not the first time the Ferrari's had emited blue smoke without issue.
• Behind Mansell, his teammate, Prost had made advancements. Having overtaken Alesi, he was now slowly catching the battling duo of Patrese and Mansell. Alesi, meanwhile had gotten entangled with Piquet whom he forced into a spin. The unfortunate Piquet dropped to twelfth whilst Alesi continued on without issue.
• Piquet drops behinnd Nannini, Warwick, Bernard, Suzuki and Alliot. With his teammate dropping back, Nannini in the second Benetton takes up the challenge against Alesi's Tyrrell for sixth.
• Piquet is quickly back on the pace, Alliot quickly falls behind him as well as dropping behind Donnelly's Lotus. As Piquet begans to close in on the battling Lola's, Alesi drops down to seventh, Nannini spending very little time behind the Tyrrell.
• Boutsen continues to hold the lead, Berger is 1.9 seconds behind, his teammate Patrese is an even further two seconds adrift. On ESPN it is commented "Thierry Boutsen has been slower than his teammate, all weekend. Until today of course and today is the one that counts."
• Patrese is meannwhile occupied in attempting to hold Mansell's Ferrari behind him. Mansell having the current advantage with his softer tyres, although his engine continued to emit blue smoke.
• Piquet is quickly climbing the field, in the three laps since his spin, he had overtaken Alliot, Suzuki and Bernard. Quickly gaining on Warwick, he looked soon to resume his battle with Alesi. This task was made easier with Alesi whom had now fallen away from the top six had ran wide and missed the chicane at the Variante Alta.
• At the back of the field, Barilla attempts a desperate move on Grouillard at the Variante Bassa. He succeeds only in spinning his Minardi.
• As a glum Senna heads for his helicopter to leave the circuit, Piquet's recovering drive continues as on lap 13 he retakes eighth from Warwick at Piratella. Commenting on the move, ESPN notes "he had to outbrake him into the corner."
• Boutsen sets a new fastest lap of the race with a 1:29.084, whilst Berger continues to loom in the background. 
• On the fifteenth lap, Gugelmin enters the pits, his Leyton House suffering from electical failure.
• On the eighteenth lap, Piquet whom was described by David Hobbs as "whistling through the field", caught and passed Alesi through the exit of Tamburello.

Standings after race

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