1991 Belgian Grand Prix

The 1991 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on 25 August 1991.

It was the eleventh race of the 1991 Formula One World Championship. The 44-lap race was won by Brazilian Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Honda, after he started from pole position. His Austrian teammate Gerhard Berger finished second, with another Brazilian, Nelson Piquet, third in a Benetton-Ford. Senna's Drivers' Championship rival, Briton Nigel Mansell, retired with an electrical failure, allowing Senna to extend his lead over him to 22 points with five races remaining.

1991 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 11 of 16 in the 1991 Formula One World Championship
1991 Belgian Grand Prix
Race details
Date 25 August 1991
Official name XL Grand Prix de Belgique
Location Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 6.940 km (4.312 miles)
Distance 44 laps, 305.360 km (189.741 miles)
Weather Sunny and hot
Pole position
Driver McLaren-Honda
Time 1:47.811
Fastest lap
Driver Brazil Roberto Moreno Benetton-Ford
Time 1:55.161 on lap 40
Podium
First McLaren-Honda
Second McLaren-Honda
Third Benetton-Ford
Lap leaders
  • 1991 Belgian Grand Prix

The race marked the debut of future seven-time World Champion, German Michael Schumacher, driving a Jordan-Ford. Schumacher qualified seventh, which matched the team's season-best grid position, and Schumacher outqualified veteran Andrea de Cesaris. Although he retired on the opening lap with a clutch failure, Schumacher's debut impressed the paddock. His seventh place qualifying was done in a midfield car, the Jordan 191, which he drove half a day of testing and at a track he had never raced at.

Pre-race

The Jordan team dominated the headlines leading up to the Belgian Grand Prix. Driver Bertrand Gachot was serving a two-month prison sentence in an English jail as a result of an altercation with a London taxi driver, so the team had decided to replace him with young German driver Michael Schumacher. Elsewhere, Johnny Herbert had returned to Lotus after having missed the previous two races due to Formula 3000 commitments in Japan.

Qualifying

Pre-qualifying report

As at the previous event in Hungary, the Friday morning pre-qualifying session was dominated by Brabham, who achieved their second 1–2 in succession. On this occasion, Martin Brundle was fastest, 1.5 seconds quicker than his team-mate Mark Blundell. Third, over 3.5 seconds slower than Brundle, was Olivier Grouillard for Fondmetal, the fourth time this season he had pre-qualified. Over a second behind Grouillard was Alex Caffi, pre-qualifying for the first time in three attempts for Footwork.

Missing out by 0.45 of a second in fifth place was Caffi's team-mate Michele Alboreto, the first time he had failed to pre-qualify in his three attempts. A fraction slower in sixth, after suffering a huge accident, was Gabriele Tarquini in the AGS, nearly two seconds ahead of Pedro Chaves in the Coloni. Bottom of the time sheets was the other AGS of Fabrizio Barbazza, who also crashed during the session.

Pre-qualifying classification

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 7 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Martin Brundle Brabham-Yamaha 1:54.929
2 8 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Mark Blundell Brabham-Yamaha 1:56.446 +1.517
3 14 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Olivier Grouillard Fondmetal-Ford 1:58.447 +3.518
4 10 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Alex Caffi Footwork-Ford 1:59.460 +4.531
5 9 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Michele Alboreto Footwork-Ford 1:59.910 +4.981
6 17 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Gabriele Tarquini AGS-Ford 1:59.972 +5.043
7 31 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Pedro Chaves Coloni-Ford 2:01.921 +6.992
8 18 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Fabrizio Barbazza AGS-Ford 2:03.766 +8.837

Qualifying report

Ayrton Senna was fastest most of the weekend and duly took pole position, but Ferrari were right on his heels. Alain Prost qualified third on the road while Jean Alesi had set the fastest first and second sectors only to come across traffic at the end of the lap, resulting in a sixth place start, which would be elevated to fifth. Riccardo Patrese had originally qualified second, but after Saturday qualifying his car was found to not have a reverse gear as per the safety regulations and Patrese's Saturday times were wiped out, he had to start a disappointing seventeenth on the grid. Patrese's misfortune promoted Prost to second, with Nigel Mansell third, Gerhard Berger fourth, Alesi fifth, and Nelson Piquet sixth while the sensation of qualifying, Schumacher, was an amazing seventh for his first Grand Prix. The top ten was completed by Roberto Moreno in the second Benetton, Pierluigi Martini in a Minardi and the ever-impressive Stefano Modena in a Tyrrell.

Qualifying classification

Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
1 1 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda 1:49.100 1:47.811
2 27 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Alain Prost Ferrari 1:51.369 1:48.821 +1.010
3 5 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Nigel Mansell Williams-Renault 1:50.666 1:48.828 +1.017
4 2 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Gerhard Berger McLaren-Honda 1:49.485 12:29.200 +1.674
5 28 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Jean Alesi Ferrari 1:51.832 1:49.974 +2.163
6 20 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Nelson Piquet Benetton-Ford 1:53.371 1:50.540 +2.729
7 32 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Michael Schumacher Jordan-Ford 1:53.290 1:51.212 +3.401
8 19 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Roberto Moreno Benetton-Ford 1:53.664 1:51.283 +3.472
9 23 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ferrari 1:53.460 1:51.299 +3.488
10 4 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Stefano Modena Tyrrell-Honda 1:52.899 1:51.307 +3.496
11 33 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Andrea de Cesaris Jordan-Ford 1:54.186 1:51.986 +4.175
12 16 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Ivan Capelli Leyton House-Ilmor 1:53.603 1:52.113 +4.302
13 8 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Mark Blundell Brabham-Yamaha 1:54.814 1:52.377 +4.566
14 22 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  JJ Lehto Dallara-Judd 1:54.211 1:52.417 +4.606
15 15 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Maurício Gugelmin Leyton House-Ilmor 1:56.027 1:52.623 +4.812
16 7 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Martin Brundle Brabham-Yamaha 1:54.921 1:52.626 +4.815
17 6 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Riccardo Patrese Williams-Renault 1:52.646 no time +4.835
18 25 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Thierry Boutsen Ligier-Lamborghini 1:54.446 1:52.709 +4.898
19 24 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Gianni Morbidelli Minardi-Ferrari 1:57.232 1:52.896 +5.085
20 29 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Éric Bernard Lola-Ford 1:55.679 1:53.309 +5.498
21 12 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Johnny Herbert Lotus-Judd 1:55.523 1:53.361 +5.550
22 3 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Satoru Nakajima Tyrrell-Honda 1:55.874 1:53.494 +5.683
23 14 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Olivier Grouillard Fondmetal-Ford 1:55.945 1:53.628 +5.817
24 11 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Mika Häkkinen Lotus-Judd 1:55.483 1:53.799 +5.988
25 21 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Emanuele Pirro Dallara-Judd 1:56.131 1:53.839 +6.028
26 26 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Érik Comas Ligier-Lamborghini 1:56.218 1:53.847 +6.036
27 30 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Aguri Suzuki Lola-Ford 1:56.594 1:53.869 +6.058
28 34 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Nicola Larini Lambo-Lamborghini 1:56.561 1:54.781 +6.970
29 10 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Alex Caffi Footwork-Ford 1:57.556 1:57.338 +9.527
30 35 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Eric van de Poele Lambo-Lamborghini 35:03.624 1:57.746 +9.935

Race

Race report

At the start both Senna and Prost got away well and the Brazilian led into the first corner. Mansell was third followed by Berger, Piquet, and Schumacher. The German's luck however would run dry just after Eau Rouge when his clutch failed. Out at the front Senna continued to lead but Prost's day ended on lap three when his Ferrari caught on fire, leaving Mansell in second. The determined Englishman proceeded to go after Senna and the two battled lap after lap until Senna pitted for new tyres on lap 15. The stop was a bad one and when Mansell pitted two laps later he was able to emerge ahead of Senna, but just behind Berger who had yet to stop. These stops left Piquet in the lead for one lap before he made his stop.

Mansell quickly closed in on Berger and managed to sweep past into Les Fagnes. When Berger stopped a lap later he had problems and then spun on the pit exit and came back right in front of Modena, nearly causing a bad accident. Mansell's big lead would not last, however as on lap 22 his car stopped, having succumbed to electronic problems, his championship hopes taking a major hit.

1991 Belgian Grand Prix 
Ayrton Senna during the race in Spa-Francorchamps on August 25, 1991.

Mansell's misery was Alesi's jubilation as the young Frenchman took the lead with Senna closing. Senna continued to close until he had a small problem and lost ten seconds, putting him into the clutches of Piquet's Benetton. The Piquet-Senna battle was soon joined by Patrese and de Cesaris, who had been battling over fourth. Senna led the quartet, but could not pull away because he was suffering from gearbox problems. Alesi had planned to do the entire race without stopping and his strategy was looking very good until lap 30 when his engine expired. This left Senna ahead of Piquet, de Cesaris, and Patrese, who had gone off the track trying to pass Piquet.

On Lap 31 de Cesaris managed to out brake Piquet into Les Combes and was looking good for Jordan's first podium finish in second place. Meanwhile, Patrese got past Piquet as well and set off after the Jordan. In the late stages Berger got past Piquet and then moved into third when Patrese started to suffer from gearbox problems. De Cesaris's fairy tale run ended just three laps from the end when his engine blew, promoting Berger to second and Piquet to third; it was triple World Champion Piquet's final podium of his career. Up front Senna limped home to his second consecutive win despite serious gearbox issues. Moreno was fourth, followed by Patrese and Mark Blundell, who scored Brabham's first point of the year (also the team's best result since Stefano Modena finished fifth in a Judd powered BT58 in the 1990 United States Grand Prix). The Fondmetal team and its driver Olivier Grouillard scored their first finish of 1991.

Race classification

Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda G 44 1:27:17.669 1 10
2 2 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Gerhard Berger McLaren-Honda G 44 + 1.901 4 6
3 20 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Nelson Piquet Benetton-Ford P 44 + 32.176 6 4
4 19 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Roberto Moreno Benetton-Ford P 44 + 37.310 8 3
5 6 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Riccardo Patrese Williams-Renault G 44 + 57.187 17 2
6 8 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Mark Blundell Brabham-Yamaha P 44 + 1:40.035 13 1
7 12 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Johnny Herbert Lotus-Judd G 44 + 1:44.599 21
8 21 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Emanuele Pirro Dallara-Judd P 43 + 1 lap 25
9 7 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Martin Brundle Brabham-Yamaha P 43 + 1 lap 16
10 14 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Olivier Grouillard Fondmetal-Ford G 43 + 1 lap 23
11 25 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Thierry Boutsen Ligier-Lamborghini G 43 + 1 lap 18
12 23 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ferrari G 42 Gearbox 9
13 33 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Andrea de Cesaris Jordan-Ford G 41 Engine 11
Ret 4 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Stefano Modena Tyrrell-Honda P 33 Oil leak 10
Ret 22 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  JJ Lehto Dallara-Judd P 33 Oil pressure 14
Ret 28 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Jean Alesi Ferrari G 30 Engine 5
Ret 24 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Gianni Morbidelli Minardi-Ferrari G 29 Gearbox 19
Ret 11 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Mika Häkkinen Lotus-Judd G 25 Engine/Spun off 24
Ret 26 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Érik Comas Ligier-Lamborghini G 25 Engine 26
Ret 5 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Nigel Mansell Williams-Renault G 22 Electrical 3
Ret 29 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Éric Bernard Lola-Ford G 21 Gearbox 20
Ret 16 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Ivan Capelli Leyton House-Ilmor G 13 Engine 12
Ret 3 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Satoru Nakajima Tyrrell-Honda P 7 Spun off 22
Ret 27 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Alain Prost Ferrari G 2 Fuel leak 2
Ret 15 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Maurício Gugelmin Leyton House-Ilmor G 1 Engine 15
Ret 32 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Michael Schumacher Jordan-Ford G 0 Clutch 7
DNQ 30 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Aguri Suzuki Lola-Ford G
DNQ 34 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Nicola Larini Lambo-Lamborghini G
DNQ 10 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Alex Caffi Footwork-Ford G
DNQ 35 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Eric van de Poele Lambo-Lamborghini G
DNPQ 9 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Michele Alboreto Footwork-Ford G
DNPQ 17 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Gabriele Tarquini AGS-Ford G
DNPQ 31 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Pedro Chaves Coloni-Ford G
DNPQ 18 1991 Belgian Grand Prix  Fabrizio Barbazza AGS-Ford G
Source:

Championship standings after the race

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

Previous race:
1991 Hungarian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1991 season
Next race:
1991 Italian Grand Prix
Previous race:
1990 Belgian Grand Prix
Belgian Grand Prix Next race:
1992 Belgian Grand Prix

Tags:

1991 Belgian Grand Prix Pre-race1991 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying1991 Belgian Grand Prix Race1991 Belgian Grand Prix Championship standings after the race1991 Belgian Grand Prix

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