| 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 16 in the1989 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details[1] | |||
| Date | 26 March 1989 | ||
| Official name | XVIIIGrande Prêmio do Brasil | ||
| Location | Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet Jacarepaguá,Rio de Janeiro | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.031 km (3.126 miles) | ||
| Distance | 61 laps, 306.891 km (190.693 miles) | ||
| Weather | Very hot, dry, sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Time | 1:25.302 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Riccardo Patrese | Williams-Renault | |
| Time | 1:32.507 on lap 47 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ferrari | ||
| Second | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Third | March-Judd | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1989 Brazilian Grand Prix was aFormula One motor race held atJacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro on 26 March 1989. It was the first race of the1989 Formula One World Championship.
The 61-lap race was won by EnglishmanNigel Mansell, driving forScuderia Ferrari, with FrenchmanAlain Prost second forMcLaren-Honda and local driverMaurício Gugelmin third in aMarch-Judd. It was the first time that a car with a semi-automatic gearbox won the race. Mansell claimed that he had booked an early flight home as he did not expect the newFerrari 640 (which had severe reliability problems in testing and practice sessions before the race) to complete the distance, and during the podium ceremony he cut his hand whilst lifting the trophy.[2][3]
The event, officially called theGrande Prêmio do Brasil was held at theAutodromo Nelson Piquet inBaixada de Jacarepaguá in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro and was the first round of the1989 Formula One World Championship.[1] Free and qualifying practice sessions were held on Friday 24 March and Saturday 25 March, with a warm-up session and the Grand Prix race itself taking place on Sunday 26 March 1989.[1] This was the last Formula One race at Jacarepaguá and in Rio de Janeiro. From 1990, the Brazilian Grand Prix would be held at a shortenedAutódromo José Carlos Pace inInterlagos, São Paulo, the home town of Ayrton Senna, where it is today.[citation needed]
Thirty-nine cars were entered for the event by twentyconstructors, althoughAutomobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives (AGS) withdrew one of their entries before the event.[1] Thirteen constructors usedGoodyear tyres whilst seven teams usedPirelli tyres.[1] Several teams, including AGS with theJH23B,Benetton Formula with theB188,Scuderia Coloni with the FC 188,EuroBrun with theER 188B,Larrousse with theLola LC88B,March Engineering with the881,Minardi with theM188B,Rial Racing with theARC2, theTyrrell Racing Organisation with the017B, andWilliams with theFW12C used versions of their cars fromthe previous season at this event, featuring varying degrees of modification, some only making minor changes whilst others, such as Eurobrun, Larrousse, and Williams had gone so far as to changeengine manufacturer.[1] Williams had one newly-constructed chassis at this race, alongside two 1988 chassis modified to 1989 specifications.[1] Other teams introduced new cars, withArrows debuting theA11, the returningBrabham debuting theBT58,Scuderia Italia debuting theDallara F189,Ligier debuting theJS33,Team Lotus debuting the101,McLaren debuting theMP4/5, debutanteOnyx Grand Prix fielding their ORE-1,Osella debuting the FA1-M89, andZakspeed debuting the891.[1]Scuderia Ferrari introduced theFerrari 640 at this race, the first Formula One car with asemi-automatic gearbox.[3]
Williams driverRiccardo Patrese made a then record-breaking 177th appearance at a Grand Prix.[1] This race saw the grand prix debuts of British driverJohnny Herbert (in a Benetton) and French driverOlivier Grouillard (in a Ligier).[1] Herbert competed with a sore ankle that caused him to limp due to injuries sustained in aFormula 3000 crash in August 1988.[1]
Several teams were required to participate in the Friday morning pre-qualifying sessions during 1989, in order to reduce the field to thirty cars for the main qualifying sessions on Friday afternoon and Saturday. At the midway point of the season, the pre-qualifying group was to be reassessed, with the more successful, points-scoring teams being allowed to avoid pre-qualifying, and unsuccessful teams being required to pre-qualify from mid-season onwards.
At this first Grand Prix of 1989 in Brazil, five cars were allowed to progress. The AGS team had expanded from one car to two, and their first car, to be driven byPhilippe Streiff, was not required to pre-qualify. However, the Frenchman had been paralysed in a midweek testing crash at the circuit, which ended his career. He was not replaced for the Grand Prix weekend, allowing an extra car to progress from the pre-qualifying session, the only time during the pre-qualifying sessions from 1988 to 1992 that five cars would be allowed to partake in the main qualifying session instead of the standard four.[1][additional citation(s) needed]
TheFIRST team withdrew before the event, as the car had failed a mandatoryFIA pre-season crash test. This left thirteen cars participating in the session. They included the twoBrabhams, as the team had not participated in 1988, and the newOnyx team with their two-car entry. Also included were the twoZakspeeds and the twoOsellas. This left five other cars: the sole single-car entry fromEuroBrun, and the second cars of the four teams expanding from one car to two for 1989, namely AGS,Coloni,Dallara andRial.
During the session, the two Brabhams ofMartin Brundle andStefano Modena were considerably faster than the other entrants, securing a comfortable 1–2. Third was the EuroBrun driven by debutant Swiss driverGregor Foitek, and fourth was the Osella ofNicola Larini. The fortunate fifth fastest runner, who also went through to qualifying on this occasion, was Zakspeed'sBernd Schneider.[4]
Missing out in sixth wasAlex Caffi in the Dallara, ahead of veteranPiercarlo Ghinzani in the other Osella. Another newcomer, German driverVolker Weidler was eighth in the Rial, withPierre-Henri Raphanel's Coloni ninth, ahead ofJoachim Winkelhock, also competing in Formula One for the first time, in the AGS. Eleventh was the second Zakspeed ofAguri Suzuki, with the Onyx drivers a little way adrift at the bottom of the time sheets, having had little time to test their new car.Stefan Johansson was faster than his Belgian team-mateBertrand Gachot, the other driver in the session to make his Formula One debut, but was still over seven seconds slower than Brundle's time.[4]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 |  Martin Brundle | Brabham-Judd | 1:27.764 | |
| 2 | 8 | Stefano Modena | Brabham-Judd | 1:28.147 | +0.383 |
| 3 | 33 |  Gregor Foitek | EuroBrun-Judd | 1:29.604 | +1.840 |
| 4 | 17 | Nicola Larini | Osella-Ford | 1:29.679 | +1.915 |
| 5 | 34 |  Bernd Schneider | Zakspeed-Yamaha | 1:30.417 | +2.653 |
| 6 | 21 | Alex Caffi | Dallara-Ford | 1:30.747 | +2.983 |
| 7 | 18 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Osella-Ford | 1:31.150 | +3.386 |
| 8 | 39 | Volker Weidler | Rial-Ford | 1:31.964 | +4.200 |
| 9 | 32 |  Pierre-Henri Raphanel | Coloni-Ford | 1:32.019 | +4.255 |
| 10 | 41 | Joachim Winkelhock | AGS-Ford | 1:32.982 | +5.218 |
| 11 | 35 |  Aguri Suzuki | Zakspeed-Yamaha | 1:33.079 | +5.315 |
| 12 | 36 |  Stefan Johansson | Onyx-Ford | 1:35.232 | +7.468 |
| 13 | 37 |  Bertrand Gachot | Onyx-Ford | 1:37.932 | +10.168 |
Ayrton Senna tookpole position in qualifying ahead of Patrese and Ferrari'sGerhard Berger. For Patrese it was actually his first front row start since he started second at the1983 European Grand Prix atBrands Hatch, a gap of 81 races. On his debut for Ferrari, Berger's teammateNigel Mansell qualified sixth.[3] Temperatures during Saturday's qualifying practice session were around 41 °C (105 °F).[1] Benetton driver Herbert and Ligier driver Grouillard both qualified for their first Formula One races.
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  Ayrton Senna | McLaren-Honda | 1:26.205 | 1:25.302 | |
| 2 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams-Renault | 1:26.172 | 7:12.732 | +0.870 |
| 3 | 28 |  Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1:26.271 | 1:26.394 | +0.969 |
| 4 | 5 | Thierry Boutsen | Williams-Renault | 1:27.367 | 1:26.459 | +1.157 |
| 5 | 2 | Alain Prost | McLaren-Honda | 1:27.095 | 1:26.620 | +1.318 |
| 6 | 27 | Nigel Mansell | Ferrari | 1:27.249 | 1:26.772 | +1.470 |
| 7 | 16 | Ivan Capelli | March-Judd | 1:27.525 | 1:27.035 | +1.733 |
| 8 | 9 | Derek Warwick | Arrows-Ford | 1:27.937 | 1:27.408 | +2.106 |
| 9 | 11 | Nelson Piquet | Lotus-Judd | 1:28.423 | 1:27.437 | +2.135 |
| 10 | 20 | Johnny Herbert | Benetton-Ford | 1:27.626 | 1:27.754 | +2.324 |
| 11 | 19 | Alessandro Nannini | Benetton-Ford | 1:28.394 | 1:27.865 | +2.563 |
| 12 | 15 | Maurício Gugelmin | March-Judd | 1:27.956 | 1:28.581 | +2.654 |
| 13 | 7 | Martin Brundle | Brabham-Judd | 1:29.138 | 1:28.274 | +2.972 |
| 14 | 8 | Stefano Modena | Brabham-Judd | 1:28.621 | 1:28.942 | +3.319 |
| 15 | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris | Dallara-Ford | 1:29.005 | 1:29.206 | +3.703 |
| 16 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini | Minardi-Ford | 1:30.077 | 1:29.435 | +4.133 |
| 17 | 38 | Christian Danner | Rial-Ford | 1:30.460 | 1:29.455 | +4.153 |
| 18 | 3 | Jonathan Palmer | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:30.443 | 1:29.573 | +4.271 |
| 19 | 17 | Nicola Larini | Osella-Ford | 1:31.341 | 1:30.146 | +4.844 |
| 20 | 4 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:32.260 | 1:30.255 | +4.953 |
| 21 | 12 | Satoru Nakajima | Lotus-Judd | 1:30.942 | 1:30.375 | +5.073 |
| 22 | 26 | Olivier Grouillard | Ligier-Ford | 1:30.410 | 1:30.666 | +5.108 |
| 23 | 24 |  Luis Pérez-Sala | Minardi-Ford | 1:30.702 | 1:30.643 | +5.341 |
| 24 | 10 |  Eddie Cheever | Arrows-Ford | 1:30.657 | 1:31.068 | +5.355 |
| 25 | 34 | Bernd Schneider | Zakspeed-Yamaha | 1:32.346 | 1:30.861 | +5.559 |
| 26 | 30 | Philippe Alliot | Lola-Lamborghini | 1:31.872 | 1:31.009 | +5.707 |
| 27 | 29 | Yannick Dalmas | Lola-Lamborghini | 1:32.411 | 1:31.260 | +5.958 |
| 28 | 25 | René Arnoux | Ligier-Ford | 1:34.232 | 1:31.376 | +6.074 |
| 29 | 33 | Gregor Foitek | EuroBrun-Judd | 1:31.791 | 1:53.570 | +6.489 |
| 30 | 31 | Roberto Moreno | Coloni-Ford | 1:32.561 | 1:34.894 | +7.259 |
The race was due to begin at 13:00local time.[1] Before the race the temperature was measured at 41 °C (106 °F).[1] At the start,Nicola Larini was disqualified for an illegal start. Mansell became the first man sinceMario Andretti in 1971 to win on his Formula One debut for Ferrari, a feat that was not matched untilKimi Räikkönen won for Ferrari at the2007 Australian Grand Prix. It was also the first race ever to be won by a car with a semi-automatic gearbox. Mansell cut his hands on the trophy following the race.[5] Mansell had lacked confidence in the new V12-powered Ferrari's reliability, and as such had booked a flight home which was due to depart at 16:30.[1] He was joined on the podium byMcLaren'sAlain Prost andMarch'sMaurício Gugelmin, making his first and only appearance on the podium. Johnny Herbert, still recovering from his horrifyingFormula 3000 crash atBrands Hatch six months earlier, finished 4th on his Formula 1 debut for Benetton, 1.123 seconds behind Gugelmin and 7.748 seconds in front of teammateAlessandro Nannini who finished 6th.
The hard luck of the story of the race was undoubtedlyArrows driverDerek Warwick. After his first tyre stop which lasted 18 seconds (a normal stop for the time was around 6–8 seconds) and dropped him from 3rd to 8th, there was another problem fitting a rear wheel during his second stop for tyres, a problem which Warwick himself compounded by actually stalling theArrows-Ford as he tried to leave his pit, all of which resulted in a stop of around 25 seconds. He eventually finished in fifth place, less than 18 seconds behind Mansell suggesting that the two long pit stops where he was stationary for almost 30 seconds longer than had the stops been trouble free, may have cost Warwick and Arrows their maiden Grand Prix victory.
Warwick's Arrows teammateEddie Cheever collapsed after exiting his car following the collision involving theZakspeed ofBernd Schneider that ended his race. Arrows actually had to modify Cheever's car after he failed theFIA safety check where a driver had five seconds to be able to exit their car. The newRoss Brawn designed Arrows A11 was a tight fit for the tall American and he had trouble fitting into the car before practice. It was also a tight fit for Warwick who pointed out during practice that it was really his and Cheever's own fault as Brawn had continually asked the pair if they were comfortable in the car, to which they both said yes, but as Warwick pointed out sitting in a stationary car in the workshop or pit lane is vastly different to being out on the track with all the bumps and g-forces. Schneider, whose car carried the newYamahaV8 engine, only got into the race after Philippe Streiff's crash and the FIA had allowed five pre-qualifiers to enter the main field instead of four. Schneider did not qualify for another race until the season's penultimate round inJapan some seven months later. His new teammateAguri Suzuki ultimately failed to qualify for all 16 rounds of the 1989 season.
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| Previous race: 1988 Australian Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1989 season | Next race: 1989 San Marino Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1988 Brazilian Grand Prix | Brazilian Grand Prix | Next race: 1990 Brazilian Grand Prix |
