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<strong>Ayrton Senna Special:</strong> Part 36 - Bad year for the sport - The basis for the second world title (1990)

Ayrton Senna Special: Part 36 - Bad year for the sport - The basis for the second world title (1990)

Published on 26 Apr 2019 23:00
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By: Fergal Walsh

As with his first world title in 1988, as well as his attempt to become champion in 1990, the basis of his success was in the middle part of the season. In the case of 1988, there were several victories. Before 1990 there was another 'strategy': Ayrton made sure that he could get the points he needed.

This was the basis for hunting for the title. In the races after Mexico, Ayrton scored 47 points in seven races, an average of 6.71 points per race. If you look at the fact that there were nine points for a victory in 1990, it is understandable that the foundation was laid between France (Race 7) and Portugal (Race 13).

Mexico

Ayrton came back to his 'lost' race after his loss in Mexico in France: "It was my own fault. My mistake, also partly in the team. When I felt the problem with the car I told them on the radio that I wanted to come in. I think they didn't understand, so I waited one more lap. They asked me if I should really stop as it would mean that I wouldn't be able to win the race anymore.

"I felt it was too late to stop, I thought I could make it and I decided to go on. In the end, I dropped out and it cost us a lot of important points. But it was my fault not to go in right away, so I have to learn from it." Ayrton was eight points ahead of Alain Prost and teammate Gerhard Berger in the battle for the title.

France (Leyton House)

Mansell took pole position, Berger was second and Senna was third. Prost was fourth but the gaps were very minimal. It was the last time that the French Grand Prix was held at the Paul Ricard Circuit, as from 1991, it was time to switch to Magny-Cours. The race was held on the day that Germany and Argentina would meet in the final of the World Cup in Italy.

The race was to be one of the most beautiful races in the history of the 1990s. The reason for this was the layout of the circuit and both Leyton House cars. Ivan Capelli and Mauricio Gugelmin (one of Ayrton's best friends) could not qualify at the Mexico Grand Prix, but Adrian Newey had developed a special aerodynamic package for Paul Ricard's unique layout. Berger took the lead at the start for Mansell, Senna, Nannini, Patrese and Prost. During the first 27 laps, the order didn't change much, only Senna managed to overtake Mansell. Berger decided to go into the pits on the 27th lap for a pit stop.

The McLaren mechanics clambered on the Austrian's left rear wheel and he stopped for a total of twelve seconds. This was still four seconds shorter than Ayrton as the mechanics also messed up his pit stop. It wasn't the first time that the McLaren crew didn't get it done at a crucial point. In the meantime, Ivan Capelli's Leyton House had taken the lead in the race.

The car was able to cope with the distance without making one pit stop. For a long time, it looked like a 'Cinderella-Story' for Leyton House, unfortunately, Capelli's Judd engine turned out to have some problems and Alain Prost, who had stopped at the beginning of the race, was able to pass Capelli. Ayrton finished third. At the end of the Grand Prix Ayrton said: "This third place will count at the end of the season. I'm very happy to finish third here because we had trouble finding the right set-up for the car throughout the weekend. The race wasn't flawless either and I'm happy with a podium.

"I don't think I could have finished higher in fifth place today, so I won two points. I'm really looking forward to England because I'm sure our car will be good there. It will be tough at Silverstone because the championship is incredibly competitive. I think we also have a good chance at Hockenheim so we will have to see if I can make a good series in the coming races."

Great Britain (Consistency)

For the second time in a row, Mansell was on pole position. Ayrton was next to him on the front row, Prost was fifth. Three men fought for the victory on Sunday, with Ayrton taking the lead in the first corner. On the eleventh lap, Mansell caught up to him. After that, the lead was taken over by Gerhard Berger. In the meantime, Ayrton was spun at the exit of Copse Corner. After that, he took to the pits for new tyres and fell back outside the top six. At the front Mansell took over the lead, the Englishman was on the hunt for his third victory in front of his own audience.

Mansell finally broke down with a broken gearbox, and just before that, Prost had taken over the lead. Ayrton was busy with an advance and finally came in third place, 43 seconds down. "We have seen many competitive races this year. Different engines, different cars and different drivers have ensured that there is a lot of tension and the field is very strong. McLaren has had the advantage of having the best engine over the years.

"At the moment we don't have that anymore. Now the field has become more equal. The teams will be dependent on the development of the chassis. You have to avoid setbacks at all times, you have to make sure you win", Ayrton said after the race.

Mansell announced his farewell in Formula 1 at the end of the race. "I've talked to my wife about it several times and I've decided to quit Formula 1. It's been a decision I've made over the past four months. For me, it is very important to let people know that I think. I actually wanted to make this statement after the race if I would have won it. Unfortunately, I'm in a different setting now."

Germany (Three in a row)

Ayrton came to Hockenheim as a favourite of the German fans. He had already won twice in a row for McLaren on the fast track, thus matching the success of Nelson Piquet who won in 1986 and 1987 in Hockenheim. Ayrton wanted to improve that performance. In qualifying, Ayrton was 0.326 seconds faster than teammate Berger.

The Ferraris seized the second row. In qualifying, Ayrton rode the fastest lap ever at Hockenheim 1:40.198. This lap was almost two seconds faster than Keke Rosberg's 1986 pole position time, 1:42.013. At a press conference prior to the race, Ayrton said to the press: "Undoubtedly, bad luck has been a constant factor in the last two races. I can't give up or think that the championship is already over now that Prost is in the lead. On the contrary, I am convinced that my luck will change from now on."

Happiness also changed. At the start, Ayrton took the lead and Berger followed in second place. The top of the grid had chosen to make one tyre stop, the teams in midfield (Benetton) chose to ride the race without a stop. This became clear in the second part of the race. Ayrton ended up behind Alessandro Nannini's Benetton after his pit stop. After the stop he decided to save his tyres and followed Nannini for a long time. In the 34th lap Ayrton decided to overtake Nannini's Benetton in the third chicane.

Ayrton won the race ahead of Nannini and teammate Berger. It was his 24th victory and this put him on an equal footing with his friend, and legend of the sport Juan Manuel Fangio. In the battle for the title Ayrton took over the lead from Prost, the difference was four points. After the race Ayrton was told that his friend and business manager Armando Botelho had passed away. "We chose the soft tyres today, but the heat and the heavy car made it very difficult to get 'performance' out of the car.

Gerhard gave pressure from behind, so I couldn't slacken off for a moment. I got problems with the tires and decided to go to the pits. It was the right choice to do that. After that I came out of the pits and I saw Nannini passing by. I had some problems with the tire pressure, that lasted a couple of laps. When I tried to push I got problems with the engine and lost power. I wanted to, but I couldn't. I decided to take some time and save my tires. I wanted to wait for another attack at the end of the race. I realised that Alessandro hadn't made a pit stop and I thought he would get into trouble at the end of the race."

Hungary (Happiness for a friend)

In Hungary, only one driver made the shift that weekend, Thierry Boutsen. The Renault engine in the back of the Williams was fitted with a new fuel developed by Elf. Ayrton finished second after a difficult race. Ayrton knew he couldn't win the Grand Prix but he was happy that his good friend, Thierry Boutsen, could win the race.

Boutsen had already achieved pole position on Saturday and saw Ayrton's McLaren appear in the mirrors in the final phase of his race. For the first time the Hungarian Grand Prix could be attended by fans from all over Europe. After the fall of the wall and communism in the Eastern Bloc, many German, Italian, Austrian and Slavic fans came to the Grand Prix.

Ayrton was happy with his second place afterwards, especially given that title competitor Alain Prost had failed with a broken gearbox. "I am very happy with the result. I certainly didn't expect a podium place after a difficult qualifying session. I expected the Ferrari's to be much better. When I look at the championship I can't be more than satisfied with the other points scorers during this Grand Prix."

Belgium and Italy (Back to Back wins)

During the races at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza Ayrton achieved the pole position twice. Twice he also won both Grands Prix and twice the podium was exactly the same. Senna on one, Prost on two and Berger on three. After the Italian Grand Prix, the gap between Ayrton and Prost was sixteen points. Prost, who achieved nine results at that time and Ayrton with ten scored results, was also behind in terms of victories: four for Alain Prost, six for Ayrton.

The advantage for Prost was that in a points finish he was able to have his fifth place in Canada removed. Ayrton always had to make sure that his twelfth result was better than a third place, in order to get more points. In the worst case, he could score two points, in the best case five.

"I had a lot of problems on Saturday, I didn't even have the chance to ride properly. I haven't been able to do any setup work and that's vital for a race like today. I only had the warmup to get the car tuned as good as possible. I then chose my tyre strategy. We are at the end of the championship and I want to make sure that I have everything right. There were a lot of grey areas but nevertheless it was a great victory", Ayrton said at the end of the race.

Prost said afterwards: "The car was pretty good at the start of the race but it was hard to pass Gerhard on the hard tire. I didn't make a good choice regarding the tyres, I got understeer and blisters."