1991 United States Grand Prix

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 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 .

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.

Jordan had signed veteran Italian driver Andrea de Cesaris , plus last season's Coloni driver Bertrand Gachot , who had much experience in pre-qualifying sessions. Their car was the all-new 191 powered by a Cosworth V8 engine. Modena's drivers were Italian Nicola Larini , another driver well used to pre-qualifying, and Belgian debutant Eric van de Poele . They would be driving the Lamborghini V12 -engined Lambo 291 , so named for the team's strong Lamborghini connections. [ 2 ] Fondmetal had ret...

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....

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. To add insult to injury, Alesi, who had clinched the fastest time on Friday, ended his qualifying session clipping the tire barrier with his rear right wheel, ensuring he would qualify n...

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. [ citation needed ]

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, sudden...

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. [ citation needed ]

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 b...

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 p...

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