Race
The win allowed Senna to gain a twelve-point lead in the drivers' championship over his McLaren teammate Gerhard Berger . His nearest competitive rival, Ferrari driver Alain Prost had less than half of Senna's points. The weather conditions were moist, making for a mildly slippery track. This caused spins for many. The first of the spinners was Pierluigi Martini who spun off at turn 2 on the first lap. Thierry Boutsen, the 1989 winner , spun mid-race while trying to pass Prost approaching a corner, and hit the Ligier of Nicola Larini as he spun. Nannini spun off the track into a tyre wall. Shortly afterwards on lap 26, Jean Alesi lost control while challenging another car and spun into the same tyre barrier, ending up on top of Nannini's abandoned Benetton B190 . The Benetton was written off when hit by the Tyrrell , leaving team mechanics with a massive rebuild before the next race in Mexico . In the end, Berger had crossed the line first but was awarded a one-minute penalty for a jumped start, which was added to his overall race time, dropping him to fourth in the final order. Following Berger's penalty, Senna took the victory, whilst Piquet finished second after a determined battle with the two Ferraris where he forced his way past Prost's Ferrari going into the hairpin. It was the Benetton driver's first podium finish since the 1988 Australian Grand Prix . Prost was later passed at...
Qualifying
In fifth place, failing to pre-qualify by a hundredth of a second, was Gabriele Tarquini in the AGS , with his team-mate Yannick Dalmas in sixth. It was the fourth double failure to pre-qualify for the French team. The other three entrants were a long way behind: Bertrand Gachot was seventh in the Coloni , nearly 16 seconds slower than Moreno. Claudio Langes had been fired by EuroBrun prior to this event, but had been reinstated; he was eighth fastest, nearly 19 seconds slower than his team-mate...
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 | Roberto Moreno | EuroBrun-Judd | 1:28.268 | — |
| 2 | 14 | Olivier Grouillard | Osella-Ford | 1:28.589 | +0.321 |
| 3 | 30 | Aguri Suzuki | Lola-Lamborghini | 1:29.372 | +1.104 |
| 4 | 29 | Éric Bernard | Lola-Lamborghini | 1:29.844 | +1.576 |
| 5 | 17 | Gabriele Tarquini | AGS-Ford | 1:29.855 | +1.587 |
| 6 | 18 | Yannick Dalmas | AGS-Ford | 1:30.460 | +2.192 |
| 7 | 31 | Bertrand Gachot | Coloni-Subaru | 1:44.185 | +15.917 |
| 8 | 34 | Claudio Langes | EuroBrun-Judd | 1:47.118 | +18.850 |
| 9 | 39 | Bruno Giacomelli | Life | 1:50.253 | +21.985 |
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren-Honda | 1:20.399 | 1:30.514 |
| 2 | 28 | Gerhard Berger | McLaren-Honda | 1:20.465 | 1:33.240 |
| 3 | 1 | Alain Prost | Ferrari | 1:20.826 | 1:31.514 |
| 4 | 19 | Alessandro Nannini | Benetton-Ford | 1:21.302 | 1:30.575 |
| 5 | 20 | Nelson Piquet | Benetton-Ford | 1:21.568 | 1:27.124 |
| 6 | 5 | Thierry Boutsen | Williams-Renault | 1:21.599 | — |
| 7 | 2 | Nigel Mansell | Ferrari | 1:21.641 | 1:27.647 |
| 8 | 4 | Jean Alesi | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:21.748 | — |
| 9 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams-Renault | 1:22.018 | 44:52.525 |
| 10 | 8 | Stefano Modena | Brabham-Judd | 1:22.660 | 1:29.062 |
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
The air here in Montreal hangs thick with the scent of burning rubber and, I suspect, simmering resentment. That Benetton Ford, a beast of 640 horsepower, was pushing the Tyrrells to their absolute limit today – a testament to Ford's aggressive development program, frankly. Nelson Piquet's relentless pressure on Senna wasn't just about winning; it was about sending a clear message to McLaren about the growing gap in engine performance. Don't be fooled by Mansell's third place; the Ferrari's 2. 6-liter V12 was struggling noticeably against the sheer power output of the Benetton.
The humid Montreal air hangs thick, doesn't it? Ten seconds. That's all it took Senna, a mere ten seconds separating him from a Benetton that had been relentlessly shadowing him through the opening stint. Observe the data – McLaren's dominance, now at precisely 60% of wins this season, a figure that's starting to feel less like a trend and more like a calculated strategy. Piquet, predictably, sits second in the championship, but the gap – 35 points – is a chasm that Ford's engine team desperately needs to bridge.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The rain hadn't relented, not a drop. Piquet was screaming into the radio, a torrent of frustrated Portuguese. He'd just seen Mansell's Ferrari slice through the spray, a predatory grey ghost closing the gap. Senna, of course, remained infuriatingly calm, a glacial calculation radiating from his cockpit. You could practically taste the Benetton's desperation – a gamble on tire degradation, a calculated risk that was rapidly unraveling. Rumour has it, the team principal, Rudy Briank, was already drafting contingency plans, a familiar dance of damage control. Mansell, predictably, was enjoying the chaos, a subtle smirk detectable even through the static. Don't mistake the rain for a simple weather event; it's a weapon, and the Benetton were about to discover that.
The rain, of course, always seems to find Villeneuve. You can practically smell the damp desperation clinging to Mansell's Ferrari – a man clearly wrestling with a decision, isn't he? Piquet, predictably, remains a study in controlled aggression, the Benetton a steel trap waiting for the slightest misstep. Senna, though. he's a different beast entirely. A quiet calculation etched on his face, a subtle shift in the McLaren's balance suggesting he's not just reacting, he's anticipating. Don't mistake that stillness for weakness. That's the apex predator, meticulously dismantling the competition. The paddock whispers now, I've heard it – a certain McLaren engineer is quietly adjusting the rear wing geometry, anticipating a shift in grip. Villeneuve's gamble on tire choice, a bold move, but it feels… premature.