Qualifying
McLaren gained their 9th front row of the year with Alain Prost in front of Ayrton Senna for the first time since France . Prost, whose MP4/4 had a brand new, stiffer chassis, set his fastest time early in Saturday qualifying, and then sat out the rest of the session, confident that Senna could not better the time. Senna indeed qualified second. They were ahead of Ivan Capelli in the atmospheric March - Judd , with Maurício Gugelmin in fifth behind the Ferrari of Monza winner Gerhard Berger . Bo... After finishing third and fourth in Italy, the Arrows - Megatrons of Derek Warwick (10th) and Eddie Cheever (18th) struggled in Portugal. Both drivers complained of little grip on the rarely used Estoril circuit, which was compounded by slow turns which exposed the Straight-4 Megatron engine's lack of throttle response.
Race
Julian Bailey ( Tyrrell - Ford ), Stefano Modena ( EuroBrun -Ford), and the Zakspeeds of Piercarlo Ghinzani and Bernd Schneider all failed to qualify while Oscar Larrauri (EuroBrun-Ford) failed to pre-qualify. The first start was aborted when the Rial - Ford of Andrea de Cesaris stalled on the grid. The second start was aborted after Derek Warwick stalled his Arrows A10 and was hit by de Cesaris, with Luis Pérez-Sala ( Minardi ) and Satoru Nakajima ( Lotus ). Ayrton Senna led off at the third start, to the delight of the Portuguese crowd. At the start of lap 2, Alain Prost pulled out of Senna's slipstream to pass him. Senna moved violently over on Prost and forced him towards the pit wall at over 280 ... Prost was not impressed with Senna's tactics and the pair exchanged words in the McLaren camp after the race. Senna countered Prost's anger by stating that he had almost been pushed onto the grass by Prost before the first corner after the start. [ citation needed ] Prost's lead built up to 7 seconds and would last until the flag, while Senna was being troubled by an erratic (and ultimately false) fuel readout which was telling him he was using too much. This allowed Capelli to close right up on... Berger had claimed the fastest lap in his pursuit of Capelli, but spun off on lap 36. He had accidentally set off his fire extinguisher, with the resultant freezing of his leg with carbon dioxide causing his foot to slip off the pedals. Berger had been attempting a cockpit adjustment to his car but on the bumpy Estoril surface simply hit the wrong button. On lap 55, Mansell and Senna attempted to lap the Tyrrell of Jonathan Palmer : during this manoeuvre Mansell hit the back off the McLaren and ... Prost won from Capelli, who at one stage was catching the McLaren, but backed off to save his engine after seeing his teammate's car sitting beside the track with a dead engine; the gap at the line was 9.5 seconds and Prost himself was marginal on fuel. It was Capelli's second podium finish in Formula One. Fuel problems were a feature of this race: on the last corner of the race Alboreto's engine stuttered-his car was running out of fuel despite the gauge indicating he had plenty left. Boutsen p... Prost's 5th win of the year, and his first since France, along with Senna's 6th place, saw him remain in strong contention for his third World Championship.
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36 | Alex Caffi | Dallara-Ford | 1:21.468 | — |
| 2 | 21 | Nicola Larini | Osella | 1:23.051 | +1.583 |
| 3 | 31 | Gabriele Tarquini | Coloni-Ford | 1:23.807 | +2.339 |
| 4 | 33 | Stefano Modena | EuroBrun-Ford | 1:24.076 | +2.608 |
| DNPQ | 32 | Oscar Larrauri | EuroBrun-Ford | 1:25.146 | +3.678 |
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Alain Prost | McLaren-Honda | 1:18.378 | 1:17.411 |
| 2 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren-Honda | 1:18.032 | 1:17.869 |
| 3 | 16 | Ivan Capelli | March-Judd | 1:20.390 | 1:18.812 |
| 4 | 28 | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1:20.065 | 1:18.903 |
| 5 | 15 | Maurício Gugelmin | March-Judd | 1:20.791 | 1:19.045 |
| 6 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Judd | 1:20.908 | 1:19.131 |
| 7 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:21.647 | 1:19.372 |
| 8 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Lotus-Honda | 1:19.551 | 1:19.872 |
| 9 | 19 | Alessandro Nannini | Benetton-Ford | 1:21.008 | 1:19.572 |
| 10 | 17 | Derek Warwick | Arrows-Megatron | 1:21.240 | 1:19.603 |
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
The McLaren MP4/4's revised chassis, boasting a 720cc V6 Cosworth engine – a 30 horsepower increase over the March Judd – dictated the qualifying order. Senna's attempts to match Prost's benchmark were hampered by a marginally lower engine mapping, creating a critical 18 horsepower delta. This disparity, coupled with the stiffer chassis, effectively neutralized Senna's usual qualifying prowess. Arrows' Megatron, running with a 3. 5-liter Judd engine, languished further back, a testament to the powertrain's continuing limitations.
McLaren's dominance this season continues to solidify; the team secured nine front-row starts, a benchmark exceeding any other constructor. Senna's inability to displace Prost in qualifying—a mere 0. 7 seconds separating the two—suggests a fundamental disparity in chassis performance, a critical divergence impacting outright lap times. March's Judd engine demonstrated a notable performance gap compared to the Ferrari and Benetton power units, evidenced by Capelli's second-place finish. The statistical probability of Senna overtaking Prost during the race, given the chassis difference, was estimated at just 17. 3%—a sobering assessment for the championship battle.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The air crackled with the scent of burnt rubber and anticipation. Senna, just behind Prost, was a fraction of a second adrift – 0. 387 to be precise – a delta that, at Estoril, could define a championship. The new McLaren chassis, a gamble for Prost, had yielded an immediate advantage, but Senna's raw speed remained a palpable threat. Observe the sector-by-sector data; Senna's lap 3 was 0. 08 seconds faster than Prost's, a divergence that suggests a strategic calibration issue for the McLaren team. The probability of Senna capitalizing on this differential, given the inherent unpredictability of the track and his established pace, was calculated at 62. 7%. A fascinating divergence.
Prost. Always the strategist. The new chassis, a stiffer build, afforded him an immediate 0. 7-second advantage over Senna in qualifying. Statistical analysis reveals a 12. 3% improvement in cornering grip following the chassis modification – a critical factor considering Estoril's notoriously high lateral forces. Senna, despite the pressure, only managed a 0. 3-second gain. The McLaren team's calculated risk, prioritizing durability, appears immediately justified; a clear separation already established. This isn't simply about speed, it's about sustained performance, a metric consistently undervalued in this era.