1991 United States Grand Prix
| 1991 United States Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Race 1 of 16 in the 1991 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | March 10, 1991 | ||
| Official name | XXVIII Iceberg United States Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Phoenix street circuit Phoenix, Arizona | ||
| Course | Temporary road course | ||
| Course length | 3.721 km (2.312 mi) | ||
| Distance | 81 laps, 301.401 km (187.272 mi) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 82 laps, 305.122 km (189.584 mi) | ||
| Weather | Overcast 25 °C (77 °F)[1] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver |
| McLaren-Honda | |
| Time | 1:21.434 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Jean Alesi | Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:26.758 on lap 49 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First |
| McLaren-Honda | |
| Second |
| Ferrari | |
| Third |
| Benetton-Ford | |
Lap leaders | |||
The 1991 United States Grand Prix (formally the XXVIII Iceberg United States Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on March 10, 1991 in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the first race of the 1991 FIA Formula One World Championship. The 81-lap race was won from pole position by Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Honda, with Alain Prost second in a Ferrari and Nelson Piquet third in a Benetton-Ford.
The race marked the respective debuts of future double World Champion Mika Häkkinen and the Jordan team. It was also the first F1 World Championship race in which ten points were awarded for a win rather than nine, as part of a revised scoring system introduced for 1991. However, it was also to be the last United States Grand Prix until 2000, due to poor attendances.
Contents
1 Summary
2 Classification
2.1 Pre-Qualifying
2.2 Qualifying
2.3 Race
3 Championship standings after the race
4 References
5 External links
Summary
The start of the race, with Ayrton Senna leading the field.
The race was the first of the 1991 Formula One season. In the two previous years, the championship had been decided when Senna and Prost tangled at Suzuka. In 1989, their collision as team-mates secured Prost's third World Championship; in 1990, with Prost driving for Ferrari and still in title contention, it handed Senna his second crown. Controversy regarding the nature of the 1990 incident had created great anticipation for the rematch.
Prior to arriving in Phoenix, the 1991 McLaren chassis had had only had one brief test session, and the two race cars were completed about 4 am Friday, six hours before the first practice session. Working to prepare the new car, Ayrton Senna claimed he had never gotten totally comfortable with the increasing complexity of the sport since helping Lotus introduce the first active suspension car in 1987, and he still found it hard to embrace the huge role of computers in achieving a proper setup. "Friday, to understand and interpret things properly, I worked with the engineers into the evening," Senna said. "It has been a long time since I did that. The engineers and I talked our way around the circuit, then we compared this with what the computer predicted. It was great because the computer confirmed almost everything, and it also showed where there was room for improvement."
Alain Prost in his Ferrari 642 on the opening lap.
Prost's teammate Jean Alesi is pursued by Riccardo Patrese in the Williams FW14.
Ayrton Senna took a comfortable win in his McLaren MP4/6.
The Ferraris of Alain Prost and Jean Alesi were expected to be the strongest team, but their V-12s and 7-speed semi-automatic gearboxes were not well suited to the tight turns and short straights of the street circuit. As it turned out, they were not the only ones plagued by gearbox problems throughout the race.
On Sunday, Prost began his second season at Ferrari alongside Senna on the front row. At the start, he fell in behind the Brazilian, with Nigel Mansell slipping ahead of Riccardo Patrese. Alesi and Gerhard Berger followed, then Nelson Piquet, Roberto Moreno, Stefano Modena and Emanuele Pirro. A lap later, Alesi, in his first race for Ferrari, swept past Patrese, but by then Senna was pulling away. After ten laps, he had a lead of ten seconds over Prost.
Behind Senna, Patrese was involved in two successive three-way battles. First, after getting back by Alesi for fourth on lap 16, Patrese closed on Mansell who was immediately behind Prost. By lap 22, Patrese was close enough to attack his Williams team-mate but overshot onto the escape road, as Mansell swerved to avoid him. Upon rejoining, Patrese quickly latched onto Alesi and Berger, as the new three-car train now covered fourth through sixth places. Patrese had gotten past Berger when, suddenly, two of the top six runners retired on consecutive laps. On lap 35, Mansell pulled over when the Williams's new semi-automatic gearbox failed, and on the next time around, Berger's race ended as well.
Patrese passed Alesi for the second time, and Alesi pitted for new Goodyear tires on lap 43. He rejoined in seventh. Three laps later, Prost was being hounded by Patrese, and he also pitted, ceding second spot to the Williams. When the Ferrari crew had problems changing his right rear tire, the Frenchman dropped to seventh behind Modena's Tyrrell-Honda.
On lap 48, Senna pitted without giving up the lead. Like Mansell, Patrese was having problems with the gearbox in his Williams, and when it selected neutral midway through Turn Seven, it caused him to spin out of second place. The car stopped on the outside of the track, perpendicular to the racing line. Piquet and Mika Häkkinen (making his F1 debut) barely managed to avoid him as they passed, but before Patrese could get out of the car, Moreno, in the second Benetton, went straight across the bow of the Williams, removing the nose of Patrese's car and the right front wheel of the Benetton. Neither driver was injured. Patrese and Moreno's cars remained on the course throughout the race, and Bertrand Gachot, driving the first race for the new Jordan team and challenging Satoru Nakajima, spun later after swerving to avoid them.
With Patrese out, Senna led Piquet, who was having to hold off Alesi, by over a minute. Alesi squeezed up to second on lap 53, while four laps later Prost disposed of Modena. Then on lap 70, Prost went from fourth to second in one move at turn five. With Alesi and Piquet running second and third, Piquet's Benetton pulled alongside Alesi– who had set the race's fastest lap while Prost was in the pits– in Turn Four, but could not get by. Down the straight, however, Piquet passed Alesi for second place. Prost also went by his new teammate on the left, and then sliced back to the right, between Alesi and Piquet, beating Piquet to the apex of Turn Five and regaining second place. By now Senna led by 40 seconds.
Gearbox troubles dropped Alesi to fifth before he retired less than 10 laps from the finish, leaving third place to Piquet who, like the two Tyrrells following, had never pitted for tires. Martini was pressing Satoru Nakajima for fifth, only to have his engine let go after 75 laps. A similar problem removed Gachot from eighth on the same lap, promoting Aguri Suzuki to sixth. The race ended a lap short of the planned 82 as the two-hour limit was reached, Senna taking the win having led every lap.
After the race, Senna assessed his new car's performance: "I had small problems with the gearbox, and the car balance was not optimum, so it was very difficult to drive. I'm looking forward to running a proper circuit with proper conditions and see what the car can do."
Classification
The race marked the debut of the Jordan team in F1. Bertrand Gachot was classified tenth after a late-race engine failure prevented him from finishing.
Pre-Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 |  Emanuele Pirro | Dallara-Judd | 1:28.288 | |
| 2 | 22 |  JJ Lehto | Dallara-Judd | 1:28.792 | +0.504 |
| 3 | 34 | Nicola Larini | Lambo-Lamborghini | 1:30.244 | +1.956 |
| 4 | 32 |  Bertrand Gachot | Jordan-Ford | 1:30.304 | +2.016 |
| 5 | 33 | Andrea de Cesaris | Jordan-Ford | 1:30.937 | +2.649 |
| 6 | 31 |  Pedro Chaves | Coloni-Ford | 1:31.113 | +2.825 |
| 7 | 14 | Olivier Grouillard | Fondmetal-Ford | 1:32.126 | +3.838 |
| 8 | 35 | Eric van de Poele | Lambo-Lamborghini | 1:37.046 | +8.758 |
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  Ayrton Senna | McLaren-Honda | 1:23.530 | 1:21.434 | |
| 2 | 27 | Alain Prost | Ferrari | 1:24.507 | 1.22.555 | +1.121 |
| 3 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams-Renault | 1:24.726 | 1.22.833 | +1.399 |
| 4 | 5 |  Nigel Mansell | Williams-Renault | 1:25.277 | 1.23.218 | +1.784 |
| 5 | 20 | Nelson Piquet | Benetton-Ford | 1:25.026 | 1:23.384 | +1.950 |
| 6 | 28 | Jean Alesi | Ferrari | 1:23.519 | 1.23.805 | +2.085 |
| 7 | 2 |  Gerhard Berger | McLaren-Honda | 1:25.914 | 1.23.742 | +2.308 |
| 8 | 19 | Roberto Moreno | Benetton-Ford | 1:25.170 | 1.23.881 | +2.447 |
| 9 | 21 | Emanuele Pirro | Dallara-Judd | 1:24.876 | 1.24.792 | +3.358 |
| 10 | 22 | JJ Lehto | Dallara-Judd | 1:26.765 | 1.24.891 | +3.457 |
| 11 | 4 | Stefano Modena | Tyrrell-Honda | 1:25.065 | 1.25.557 | +3.631 |
| 12 | 7 | Martin Brundle | Brabham-Yamaha | 1:27.184 | 1.25.385 | +3.951 |
| 13 | 11 | Mika Häkkinen | Lotus-Judd | 1:27.976 | 1.25.448 | +4.014 |
| 14 | 32 | Bertrand Gachot | Jordan-Ford | 1:27.568 | 1.25.701 | +4.267 |
| 15 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini | Minardi-Ferrari | 1:25.815 | 1.25.715 | +4.281 |
| 16 | 3 |  Satoru Nakajima | Tyrrell-Honda | 1:26.058 | 1.25.752 | +4.318 |
| 17 | 34 | Nicola Larini | Lambo-Lamborghini | 1:27.761 | 1.25.791 | +4.357 |
| 18 | 16 | Ivan Capelli | Leyton House-Ilmor | 1:54.845 | 1.26.121 | +4.687 |
| 19 | 29 | Éric Bernard | Lola-Ford | 1:27.446 | 1.26.425 | +4.991 |
| 20 | 25 | Thierry Boutsen | Ligier-Lamborghini | 1:27.984 | 1.26.500 | +5.066 |
| 21 | 30 | Aguri Suzuki | Lola-Ford | 1:26.987 | 1.26.548 | +5.114 |
| 22 | 17 | Gabriele Tarquini | AGS-Ford | 1:27.164 | 1.26.851 | +5.417 |
| 23 | 15 | Maurício Gugelmin | Leyton House-Ilmor | 1:26.865 | 1.26.875 | +5.431 |
| 24 | 8 | Mark Blundell | Brabham-Yamaha | 1:30.061 | 1.26.915 | +5.481 |
| 25 | 9 | Michele Alboreto | Footwork-Porsche | 1:29.067 | 1.27.015 | +5.581 |
| 26 | 24 | Gianni Morbidelli | Minardi-Ferrari | 1:27.625 | 1.27.042 | +5.608 |
| 27 | 10 | Alex Caffi | Footwork-Porsche | 1:29.388 | 1.27.519 | +6.085 |
| 28 | 18 |  Stefan Johansson | AGS-Ford | 1:29.857 | 1.27.753 | +6.319 |
| 29 | 26 | Érik Comas | Ligier-Lamborghini | 1:28.904 | 1.27.159 | +6.725 |
| 30 | 12 | Julian Bailey | Lotus-Judd | 1:30.758 | 1.28.570 | +7.136 |
Race
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren-Honda | 81 | 2:00.47.828 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 27 | Alain Prost | Ferrari | 81 | + 16.322 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | 20 | Nelson Piquet | Benetton-Ford | 81 | + 17.376 | 5 | 4 |
| 4 | 4 | Stefano Modena | Tyrrell-Honda | 81 | + 25.409 | 11 | 3 |
| 5 | 3 | Satoru Nakajima | Tyrrell-Honda | 80 | + 1 Lap | 16 | 2 |
| 6 | 30 | Aguri Suzuki | Lola-Ford | 79 | + 2 Laps | 21 | 1 |
| 7 | 34 | Nicola Larini | Lambo-Lamborghini | 78 | + 3 Laps | 17 | |
| 8 | 17 | Gabriele Tarquini | AGS-Ford | 77 | + 4 Laps | 22 | |
| 9 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini | Minardi-Ferrari | 75 | Engine | 15 | |
| 10 | 32 | Bertrand Gachot | Jordan-Ford | 75 | Engine | 14 | |
| 11 | 7 | Martin Brundle | Brabham-Yamaha | 73 | + 8 Laps | 12 | |
| 12 | 28 | Jean Alesi | Ferrari | 72 | Gearbox | 6 | |
| Ret | 11 | Mika Häkkinen | Lotus-Judd | 59 | Engine | 13 | |
| Ret | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams-Renault | 49 | Gearbox | 3 | |
| Ret | 19 | Roberto Moreno | Benetton-Ford | 49 | Collision | 8 | |
| Ret | 9 | Michele Alboreto | Footwork-Porsche | 41 | Engine | 25 | |
| Ret | 16 | Ivan Capelli | Leyton House-Ilmor | 40 | Gearbox | 18 | |
| Ret | 25 | Thierry Boutsen | Ligier-Lamborghini | 40 | Engine | 20 | |
| Ret | 2 | Gerhard Berger | McLaren-Honda | 36 | Fuel Pump | 7 | |
| Ret | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Renault | 35 | Gearbox | 4 | |
| Ret | 15 | Maurício Gugelmin | Leyton House-Ilmor | 34 | Gearbox | 23 | |
| Ret | 8 | Mark Blundell | Brabham-Yamaha | 32 | Spun Off | 24 | |
| Ret | 21 | Emanuele Pirro | Dallara-Judd | 16 | Gearbox | 9 | |
| Ret | 24 | Gianni Morbidelli | Minardi-Ferrari | 15 | Gearbox | 26 | |
| Ret | 22 | JJ Lehto | Dallara-Judd | 12 | Gearbox | 10 | |
| Ret | 29 | Éric Bernard | Lola-Ford | 4 | Engine | 19 | |
| DNQ | 10 | Alex Caffi | Footwork-Porsche | | | ||
| DNQ | 18 | Stefan Johansson | AGS-Ford | | | ||
| DNQ | 26 | Érik Comas | Ligier-Lamborghini | | | ||
| DNQ | 12 | Julian Bailey | Lotus-Judd | | | ||
| DNPQ | 33 | Andrea de Cesaris | Jordan-Ford | | | ||
| DNPQ | 31 | Pedro Chaves | Coloni-Ford | | | ||
| DNPQ | 14 | Olivier Grouillard | Fondmetal-Ford | | | ||
| DNPQ | 35 | Eric van de Poele | Lambo-Lamborghini | | | ||
Source:[2] | |||||||
Championship standings after the race
|
|
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- Dennis Simanaitis (June, 1991). "3rd United States Grand Prix at Phoenix: More Power To Ya". Road & Track, 133–136.
- "Formula One Phoenix Grand Prix" Video (1992), BMG Video, New York.
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^ "1991 United States Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1991 United States Grand Prix. |
Sports Illustrated-1991 USGP (archived)- GrandPrix.com Race Report
| Previous race: 1990 Australian Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1991 season | Next race: 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1990 United States Grand Prix | United States Grand Prix | Next race: 2000 United States Grand Prix |
Coordinates: 33°26′53″N 112°04′29″W / 33.44806°N 112.07472°W / 33.44806; -112.07472
