<< Return to the news list

<strong>Ayrton Senna Special:</strong> Part 32 - Problems at the team - Back in the title fight? (1989)

Ayrton Senna Special: Part 32 - Problems at the team - Back in the title fight? (1989)

Published on 24 Apr 2019 15:00
0
By: Fergal Walsh

After four dramatic Grands Prix in which Ayrton didn't score any points, Ayrton started was 20 points behind in the second part of the season. The races in Germany, Hungary and Belgium would determine whether Ayrton would be able to make up for the damage he suffered. The other side of the coin was the idea that the championship would soon be over. The three European Grands Prix at the start of the second part were crucial.

Germany (Ayrton strikes back)

The weekend in Germany started with problems. During the Friday session, Ayrton drove over a kerb and this made a big hole at the bottom of the car. Back in the pits the team found out that it took a lot of work to repair the damage. The problem for McLaren was that it only had three transverse gearboxes in Hockenheim. A transverse gearbox is a gearbox that shortens the transmission between the engine and the gearbox.

It was customary to drive with this type of gearbox in the '90s. After the introduction of the semi-automatic gearbox, a transverse gearbox was no longer common. As a precaution, team manager Jo Ramírez ordered the test team (on its way to Imola) to stop in Dijon (France) in case a replacement chassis was needed. When they found out in the course of the day that Ayrton's chassis could not be repaired, they decided to let the test team come to Germany. Because of this change McLaren was equipped with three more cars on Saturday morning. Pole position went to Ayrton, as he was almost one second faster than Prost.

Berger left like a rocket on Sunday, and the Austrian passed both Prost and Senna from fourth place. On the way into the first chicane, Ayrton put things in order by overtaking the Ferrari driver. At the Ostkurve chicane Prost passed Berger and both McLaren drivers were back in first and second place. The first part of the race was quite one-sided: two McLarens driving together and two Ferraris driving together.

This would last for thirteen laps, after which Berger got a flat tire on the stretch towards the first chicane. The Austrian couldn't slow down his Ferrari and flew over the kerb. This meant that Nigel Mansell moved up a place. In the meantime Prost kept looking at the rear of Senna's car. During the first sixteen laps both cars drove inseparably until Prost made his pit stop. Prost wanted to apply the undercut and was on the ground after 8.98 seconds.

However, the stop lasted longer because he had to wait another ten seconds before the left rear wheel was attached. When Mansell made his stop Ayrton had a huge gap and decided to change as well. His stop lasted even longer than the stop of Prost and after 23 seconds he even ended up behind Mansell's Ferrari. Mansell also had a problem with his own 6.87-second pit stop, which cost the Englishman five extra seconds.

Prost seemed to have the race won but lap after lap Ayrton kept the pressure on the Frenchman. Eventually Prost suffered a gearbox problem and Ayrton was able to pass him by when he entered the stadium section. The gap to Nigel Mansell had widened to almost one minute by now. Prost lost a total of 18 seconds in two laps, so the seriousness of the loss of sixth gear from Prost was clear. Ayrton finally got, after three failures due to mechanical bad luck, the luck at his side. With the victory he only gained three points on Prost, but he brought his total of victories to four, one more than Prost.

At the press conference after the race, Ayrton refused to speculate on whether Prost would have won the race with a working gearbox. He stated that he was only worried about winning the race after four consecutive failures. Prost, on the other hand, was convinced that he wouldn't have any trouble keeping Senna behind him if he hadn't had problems with the gearbox.

Hungary (Mansell and his historical catch up)

For the first time during the 1989 season, there was no McLaren on pole position. Riccardo Patrese drove the Williams surprisingly well to the fastest time while Ayrton was next to him in the front row. Alex Caffi was a surprising third in his Dallara-Ford. Rival Prost had a difficult qualifying session, and started in fifth place. At the start, Patrese took the lead and Ayrton followed. Caffi was third but would fall back during the race because the Pirelli rubber had a shorter life compared to the Goodyear tyre.

Prost was in fourth position after a few laps. He didn't manage to get any further forward. One who did succeed were Mansell. The Ferrari driver, who started in 12th place, had a rocket start and after a few laps was in eighth place. The Englishman kept on catching up with people and cut like a hot knife through butter. After 28 laps Gerhard Berger decided to change his tyres, which meant that the pressure from behind was gone for Ayrton. Patrese at the front was still able to keep Ayrton off. Mansell then passed Prost for third place and drove towards the rear of Ayrton. In the meantime leader, Patrese had a problem with his radiator, Senna and Mansell could easily pass him. Patrese would put his Williams aside shortly afterwards.

From the 50th lap Mansell put the pressure on Ayrton. The Ferrari was much faster but Ayrton managed to keep Mansell behind him for a few laps. When both drivers approached the back of Stefan Johansson's Onyx, Ayrton had to brake and swerve, Johansson was in the sandwich and Mansell made one of his best overtaking actions ever.

Mansell then rode to his second victory of the season and Ayrton finished second, 26 seconds down. Alain Prost finished fourth and Ayrton scored three points more than his French rival. In the fight for the title was the gap 14 points between Prost and Senna, Mansell followed, eight points behind Ayrton in third. Gerhard Berger remained pointless after the Hungarian Grand Prix, the tenth round of the Championship.

Belgium

Ayrton had good memories of the Belgian circuit. In 1985 he won his second race in the rain and in 1988 he laid the foundations for his first world title on a dry circuit. Ayrton was not the fastest in the rainy conditions during Friday practice. It was Gerhard Berger who was able to put the Ferrari on provisional pole on Friday. On Saturday Ayrton put things in order by being almost six tenths faster than Alain Prost on a dry track. Former world champion Nelson Piquet was unable to qualify for this Grand Prix.

The race would take place in wet conditions. It was postponed for a long time because it was too wet to drive. At the start, Ayrton took the lead ahead of Prost and Berger. Mansell, who started in sixth place, moved up to fourth. It was clear that Ayrton felt like a fish in the water, as after two laps the Brazilian was 3.8 seconds ahead of Prost. On the ninth lap, Gerhard Berger dropped out for the eighth time in a row. The Austrian had skipped the Monaco Grand Prix after his dramatic crash in San Marino.

In the meantime it was announced that Gerhard Berger would become the new teammate of Ayrton at McLaren from 1990. Ayrton rode a relatively 'easy' race. His advantage over Prost had grown to twelve seconds halfway through the race. In the course of the race, Ayrton's lead diminished but that was partly because Prost was put under pressure by Nigel Mansell's Ferrari. Mansell and Prost fought for the second position. The future teammates didn't give in to each other, but they still rode against each other with respect. Prost was able to hold Mansell back and finish in a safe second place. Ayrton won, 1.304 seconds ahead of Alain Prost, but the picture is somewhat distorted. Mansell finished third and thus scored his fifth podium place in a row.

Balestre went to the podium and the FISA-president showed millions of viewers who his two favourites were: Mansell and Prost. Prost said at the end of the race: "I'm disappointed because the car was good. It was a surprise for me to stay close to Ayrton as I don't like to race in these conditions." Ayrton told in the post-race interview that: "The key to success in driving in the rain is keeping control of your natural instincts. You have to know what you can do but most of all what you can't do, all within the limits." With his second victory in three races, Ayrton was once again ahead of Prost in the battle for the title. The gap was now eleven points with five victories against the three of Prost.