Race
It was Alesi's first podium finish, with Belgian driver Thierry Boutsen in a Williams FW13B coming home third. Martin Donnelly did not take the dummy grid due to gearbox failure. (Some sources consider this a DNS.) Senna passed de Cesaris for third, and closed on Berger, who was giving up a half second a lap to Alesi. The Brazilian got by his team-mate when, on lap 9, Berger hit a bump under braking, backed into the tire wall and damaged his rear wing. He pitted for a new wing, and later recorded the fastest lap of the race, but eventually retired with a clutch problem. When Berger spun, Senna was 8.2 seconds behind Alesi. Not knowing whether the Tyrrell's Pirelli tires would last, Senna was reluctant to push too hard early on. After 30 laps, Alesi remained in the lead, but on lap 34, Senna passed him on the inside. The Tyrrell held the outside line on the exit and retook the lead on the next turn. At the same point, one lap later, Senna took the lead again, and this time he held it. After several attempts to regain the lead, Alesi decided to conserve his tires, and let Senna go. Meanwhile, Nelson Piquet had progressed from sixth on the grid to third by lap 17. Brake trouble caused him to flatspot his tyres, however, and on lap 28 he pitted for new ones. This allowed Thierry Boutsen 's Williams through, and though he battled a problem with his engine intermittently cutting out, he maintained third place to the flag. Piquet had to settle for fourth in his first drive for Bene... Prost had fallen back to ninth at the start with gearbox problems, and, while he advanced to fourth place by lap 17, his gearbox troubles proved terminal on lap 21. In the other Ferrari, Nigel Mansell retired from fifth on lap 49, when his clutch disintegrated and pierced the oil tank. The engine seized and caught fire, sending Mansell into a spin. Senna built his lead over Alesi to 28.5 seconds, but backed off slightly when his engine began sounding less than healthy. Stefano Modena and Satoru Nakajima , in a Brabham and the second Tyrrell, respectively, finished the scoring in fifth and sixth places. It was the 21st win of Ayrton Senna 's career and the first of six for the season. Alesi's podium finish was the first of his career.
Background
The United States Grand Prix in the dry desert city of Phoenix was moved to the start of the season in March to avoid the intense 100+ °F heat the city experiences in summer, although the previous year's race was run in June because it was given at such short notice. Swiss driver Gregor Foitek made his Formula One race debut for the Brabham team. He had attempted to qualify for races during the 1989 season , failing to make the grid in eleven qualifying attempts for EuroBrun and one for Rial .
Qualifying
The Larrousse team again fielded Lola - Lamborghinis , driven by Éric Bernard and ex-Zakspeed driver Aguri Suzuki , both of whom had driven odd races for the team before. AGS continued with Yannick Dalmas and Gabriele Tarquini , while EuroBrun hired ex-Coloni driver Roberto Moreno and newcomer Claudio Langes . Coloni brought in ex-Rial and Onyx driver Bertrand Gachot to drive the C3B with its new Subaru -badged engine, while the sole Osella FA1M was to be driven by ex- Ligier man Olivier Grouill... The unsuccessful runners included Tarquini and Dalmas in the two AGS JH24 cars, two seconds behind Suzuki, and debutant Langes in the second EuroBrun, a couple of seconds adrift of Dalmas. The other two cars struggled, as Brabham in the Life suffered electrical failure after four laps, the team having been unable to sufficiently test their new car and engine; while Gachot's Coloni broke a gear selector rod on its first lap. Unexpected rain on Saturday meant that the grid was decided entirely by times from Friday's session. Pirelli 's soft qualifying tires caught Goodyear off guard, and the Italian manufacturer put five of its teams in the top ten positions, including Jean Alesi, who was fourth in a Tyrrell. In a surprise move, team manager Ken Tyrrell had signed with Pirelli two days before the race, after 18 years with Goodyear. Gerhard Berger 's pole-winning McLaren was the only car in the first two rows sporting...
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33°26′52.5″N 112°4′28.5″W / 33.447917°N 112.074583°W / 33.447917; -112.074583
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 | Roberto Moreno | EuroBrun-Judd | 1:32.292 | |
| 2 | 29 | Éric Bernard | Lola-Lamborghini | 1:32.711 | +0.419 |
| 3 | 14 | Olivier Grouillard | Osella-Ford | 1:33.181 | +0.889 |
| 4 | 30 | Aguri Suzuki | Lola-Lamborghini | 1:33.331 | +1.039 |
| 5 | 17 | Gabriele Tarquini | AGS-Ford | 1:35.420 | +3.128 |
| 6 | 18 | Yannick Dalmas | AGS-Ford | 1:35.481 | +3.189 |
| 7 | 34 | Claudio Langes | EuroBrun-Judd | 1:37.399 | +5.107 |
| 8 | 39 | Gary Brabham | Life | 2:07.147 | +35.855 |
| 9 | 31 | Bertrand Gachot | Coloni-Subaru | 5:15.010 | +3:43.718 |
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 | Gerhard Berger | McLaren-Honda | 1:28.664 | 1:53.486 |
| 2 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini | Minardi-Ford | 1:28.731 | 2:33.083 |
| 3 | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris | Dallara-Ford | 1:29.019 | 1:57.435 |
| 4 | 4 | Jean Alesi | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:29.408 | 1:54.738 |
| 5 | 27 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren-Honda | 1:29.431 | 1:52.015 |
| 6 | 20 | Nelson Piquet | Benetton-Ford | 1:29.862 | 1:55.449 |
| 7 | 1 | Alain Prost | Ferrari | 1:29.910 | 1:56.661 |
| 8 | 14 | Olivier Grouillard | Osella-Ford | 1:29.947 | — |
| 9 | 5 | Thierry Boutsen | Williams-Renault | 1:30.059 | 1:52.771 |
| 10 | 8 | Stefano Modena | Brabham-Judd | 1:30.127 | — |
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
McLaren's Honda V10, generating 620 horsepower at its peak, demonstrated a 37-brake horsepower advantage over the Brabham's Judd engine during the race's opening stint. Jean Alesi's aggressive tire management, utilizing the softer GoodYear GSC compound, yielded a crucial 1. 8-second differential in lap times compared to Senna's harder G11s. The Williams-Renault pairing, while possessing a 600-horsepower engine, struggled to translate that power into sustained lap time improvements, exhibiting a 2. 3-second delta to the front of the field. Analyzing the data, the McLaren's superior engine output, combined with Alesi's calculated risk-taking, proved decisive.
McLaren's dominance in 1990, quantified by a 68% win rate across the season's first five races, was underscored here. Senna's eight-second advantage over Alesi, while significant, represents a 1. 08 second differential per lap – a margin that, extrapolated across a full 72 laps, translates to nearly 30 seconds of performance disparity. The Tyrrell's podium, a rare event given the team's resource constraints, reveals a 1. 7 standard deviation from the average lap time of the top three teams. Brabham's consistent inability to challenge highlights a 92% lap time variance between their fastest and slowest laps during the race.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
Alesi's push through Turn 11… a 1. 7-second delta gained in 3. 2 seconds. The Tyrrell's rear grip is exhibiting a consistent 1. 4% degradation rate, directly correlating with the increased throttle application during the overtaking maneuver. Senna's response, a measured 0. 8-second gain, indicates a calculated defensive strategy. Boutse, meanwhile, is experiencing a 2. 3% reduction in lap time, a consequence of consistent tire temperature imbalances. The data reveals a clear tactical divergence predicated on tire management and aggressive positioning. Senna's lead, currently 8. 3 seconds, will likely expand with the remaining circuits.
Alesi's telemetry reveals a consistent aggression, a 17. 3% increase in lateral G-force application during overtakes – a calculated risk, undoubtedly. The Tyrrell's braking system, at 9. 8% lower deceleration rates compared to the McLaren, speaks volumes about the team's prioritization of attack versus stability. Boutse's third-place result, achieved with a 2. 2% lower average speed than Alesi, highlights a conservative strategy. Senna's dominant performance, characterized by a 12. 5% faster lap pace, underscores the McLaren's inherent advantage. The data doesn't lie: the MP4/5B was the superior machine.