1989 Japanese Grand Prix

Infobox Grand Prix race report
Type = F1
Grand Prix = Japanese
Country = Japan

|200px
Official name = XV Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
Date = October 22
Year = 1989
Race_No = 15
Season_No = 16
Location = Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan
Course = Permanent racing facility
Course_mi = 3.641
Course_km = 5.859
Distance_laps = 53
Distance_mi = 192.952
Distance_km = 310.527
Weather = Dry, warm, cloudy
Pole_Driver = Ayrton Senna
Pole_Country = Brazil
Pole_Team = McLaren-Honda
Pole_Time = 1:38.041
Fast_Driver = Alain Prost [Ayrton Senna set the fastest lap of 1:43.025 on lap 38, but this was annulled due to his disqualification.]
Fast_Country = France
Fast_Team = McLaren-Honda
Fast_Time = 1:43.506
Fast_L

First_Driver = Alessandro Nannini
First_Country = Italy
First_Team = Benetton-Ford
Second_Driver = Riccardo Patrese
Second_Country= Italy
Second_Team = Williams-Renault
Third_Driver = Thierry Boutsen
Third_Country = Belgium
Third_Team = Williams-RenaultThe 1989 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Suzuka Circuit, Japan, on October 22, 1989. It formed the 15th and penultimate round of the 1989 Formula One World Championship. This race would become one of the most notorious in F1 history, as the culmination of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna's tumultuous two year rivalry as team mates at McLaren. The Japanese Grand Prix decided the 1989 Drivers' Championship in Prost's favour, after a collision at the final chicane between him and Senna put them both off the track. While Prost abandoned his stalled car, Senna restarted his, made a pit stop to change his front wing, and overhauled Alessandro Nannini to take victory. Following the race Senna was controversially disqualified for receiving a push-start from the marshalls, although whilst in an illegal position, and using the escape road to rejoin the circuit, handing the title to Prost.

Pre-race

As in F1|1988, the McLaren team had been dominant throughout the 1989 Formula One season. Coming into the Japanese round Alain Prost was leading the World Championship by twelve points, with a total of 72 to Ayrton Senna's 60. Senna had already clawed back six points over Prost with a dominant victory in the previous race, in Spain, where Prost had only managed fourth place. However, over the season McLaren's MP4/5 car had proven to be just as reliable and fast as its legendary MP4/4 predecessor, and Prost had only once finished out of the points. With two races to go, and only nine points available for a win, to maintain a realistic chance of taking the title Senna needed to win in Japan as well.

Qualifying

As expected, the two McLarens dominated qualifying. Even so, Senna was easily the class of the field, posting a time over a second and a half faster than team-mate Prost. The Ferraris of Gerhard Berger and Nigel Mansell filled the second row, with Berger just edging his own team-mate into fourth place by two tenths of a second. The Williams of Riccardo Patrese was half a second behind Mansell in fifth place, and joining him on row three was fellow Italian Alessandro Nannini in his Benetton. Behind Nannini positions were closely contested, with only six tenths of a second covering the next six qualifying times, including that of former World Champion Nelson Piquet's Lotus in eleventh position. Jonathan Palmer's Tyrrell took the final grid slot in twenty-sixth place, while thirteen drivers failed to qualify.

Pre Qualifying

Notes

*First and only win: Alessandro Nannini
*First Grand Prix start: Paolo Barilla

Footnotes

References

*cite book|last=Henry |first=Alan |authorlink=Alan Henry |title=Autocourse 50 Years of World Championship Grand Prix Motor Racing |year=2000 |publisher=Hazleton Publishing |location= |isbn=978-1874557784
*cite book|last=Rendall |first=Ivan |authorlink=Ivan Rendall |coauthors= |title=The Power Game: 50 Years of Formula One |year=1999 |publisher=Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated |location= |isbn=978-0297825005
*cite book|last=Rendall |first=Ivan |authorlink=Ivan Rendall |coauthors= |title=Chequered Flag: 100 Years of Motor Racing |year=1998 |publisher=Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated |location= |isbn=978-0297824022
*cite book|last=Cimarosti |first=Adriano |authorlink=Adriano Cimarosti |coauthors= |title=The Complete History of Grand Prix Motor Racing |year=1997 |publisher=Aurum Press Ltd |location= |isbn=978-1854105004
*cite book|last=Henry |first=Alan |authorlink=Alan Henry |title=Remembering Ayrton Senna |year=1994 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location= |isbn=978-0297834502
*Race results and timings are taken from the [http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1989/245/ The Official Formula One website] .

External links

* [http://forums.autosport.com/showthread.php?threadid=14396 Autosport/Atlas F1 "trial" of the collision case evidence.]
* [http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr483.html Race summary at GrandPrix.com]
* [http://www.funof1.com.ar/tx/gp198915_eng_maxi_.htm Comments of 1989 Japan GP (The race)]

F1 race report
Name_of_race = Japanese Grand Prix
Year_of_race = 1989
Previous_race_in_season = 1989 Spanish Grand Prix
Next_race_in_season = 1989 Australian Grand Prix
Previous_year's_race = 1988 Japanese Grand Prix
Next_year's_race = 1990 Japanese Grand Prix
Previous_promotional_trophy_winner = 1988 British Grand Prix
Next_promotional_trophy_winner = 1990 Australian Grand Prix