| Race details | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 16 in the 1989 Formula One season | ||
 | ||
| Date | July 9, 1989 | |
| Official name | LXXV Rhône-Poulenc Grand Prix de France | |
| Location | Circuit Paul Ricard France | |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 3.813 km (2.369 mi) | |
| Distance | 80 laps, 305.04 km (189.543 mi) | |
| Weather | Hot, dry, sunny | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver |  Alain Prost
|
McLaren-Honda |
| Time | 1:07.203 | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver |  Maurício Gugelmin
|
March-Judd |
| Time | 1:12.090 on lap 29 | |
| Podium | ||
| First | Alain Prost
|
McLaren-Honda |
| Second |  Nigel Mansell
|
Ferrari |
| Third |  Riccardo Patrese
|
Williams-Renault |
The 1989 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Paul Ricard on July 9, 1989.
Report[]
The race saw four drivers replaced by drivers making their first Formula One start: Jean Alesi replaced Michele Alboreto at Tyrrell after a rumored contract dispute (Alboreto was personally sponsored by Marlboro and team boss Ken Tyrrell had signed their rival Camel as the team's major sponsor). Éric Bernard replaced Yannick Dalmas at Larrousse after it was discovered that Dalmas was still suffering the effects of Legionnaires' disease, Martin Donnelly replaced Derek Warwick at Arrows for one race after Warwick injured his back in a Kart race, and McLaren test driver Emanuele Pirro replaced Johnny Herbert at Benetton after it was decided Herbert needed more recovery time from his injuries suffered in 1988. For the first time both Onyx cars qualified for a Grand Prix, Bertrand Gachot and Stefan Johansson dominating pre-qualifying before surprising many by qualifying 11th and 13th respectively.
Dalmas' team mate Philippe Alliot had been sacked by the Larrousse team after Canadian Grand Prix, but was re-hired and took his place in France. Alliot responded by qualifying a career high 7th, only 1.3 seconds slower than pole man Alain Prost.
The race is most famous for the multiple collision involving Nigel Mansell, Maurício Gugelmin and other cars on the first lap, which resulted in a restart. All of the drivers involved took the restart; some in spare cars. Alain Prost won the race for McLaren-Honda ahead of Nigel Mansell who started from the pitlane in a car set up for his teammate Gerhard Berger. Berger, who raced the team's spare car after a small oil leek was discovered in his race car (which Mansell used to finish 2nd), again fell foul of the Ferrari's transmission with clutch failure leading to his 6th retirement of the season, leaving him with no points yet scored. Jean Alesi took 4th place and scored points on his F1 debut. Olivier Grouillard scored his only F1 point on home tarmac, Stefan Johansson scored the Onyx team's first points, and Gugelmin set his first fastest lap, although he was not classified at the finish. Twelve cars failed to finish the race, seven of them with engine failures.
One who failed to finish, or start as it was, was World Champion Ayrton Senna, his McLaren's differential failed as the cars got away for the second start. It was the third Grand Prix in succession where Senna had retired due to mechanical failure. Prost's second win for the season gave him an 11 point lead over Senna in the Drivers' Championship. The race was Alain Prost's third win on home soil after wins at Paul Ricard in 1983 for Renault and 1988 for McLaren.
Classification[]
Pre Qualifying[]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 37 |  Bertrand Gachot
|
Onyx-Ford | 1:09.617 | — |
| 2 | 36 |  Stefan Johansson
|
Onyx-Ford | 1:09.668 | +0.051 |
| 3 | 21 | Alex Caffi
|
Dallara-Ford | 1:09.726 | +0.109 |
| 4 | 8 | Stefano Modena
|
Brabham-Judd | 1:09.917 | +0.300 |
| 5 | 17 | Nicola Larini
|
Osella-Ford | 1:09.989 | +0.372 |
| 6 | 7 | Martin Brundle
|
Brabham-Judd | 1.10.181 | +0.564 |
| 7 | 39 |  Volker Weidler
|
Rial-Ford | 1:11.059 | +1.442 |
| 8 | 34 | Bernd Schneider
|
Zakspeed-Yamaha | 1:11.098 | +1.481 |
| 9 | 18 | Piercarlo Ghinzani
|
Osella-Ford | 1:11.528 | +1.911 |
| 10 | 32 | Pierre-Henri Raphanel
|
Coloni-Ford | 1:11.953 | +2.336 |
| 11 | 35 |  Aguri Suzuki
|
Zakspeed-Yamaha | 1:12.031 | +2.414 |
| 12 | 33 |  Gregor Foitek
|
Euro Brun-Judd | 1:12.179 | +2.562 |
| 13 | 41 | Joachim Winkelhock
|
AGS-Ford | 1:13.173 | +3.556 |
Qualifying[]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Alain Prost
|
McLaren-Honda | 1:08.285 | 1:07.203 | — |
| 2 | 1 | Ayrton Senna
|
McLaren-Honda | 1:07.920 | 1:07.228 | +0.025 |
| 3 | 27 | Nigel Mansell
|
Ferrari | 1:09.030 | 1:07.455 | +0.252 |
| 4 | 19 | Alessandro Nannini
|
Benetton-Ford | 1:09.615 | 1:08.137 | +0.934 |
| 5 | 5 | Thierry Boutsen
|
Williams-Renault | 1:08.299 | 1:08.211 | +1.008 |
| 6 | 28 |  Gerhard Berger
|
Ferrari | 1:09.011 | 1:08.233 | +1.030 |
| 7 | 30 | Philippe Alliot
|
Lola-Lamborghini | 1:09.478 | 1:08.561 | +1.358 |
| 8 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese
|
Williams-Renault | 1:09.326 | 1:08.993 | +1.790 |
| 9 | 3 | Jonathan Palmer
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:10.238 | 1:09.026 | +1.823 |
| 10 | 15 | Maurício Gugelmin
|
March-Judd | 1:10.122 | 1:09.036 | +1.833 |
| 11 | 37 | Bertrand Gachot
|
Onyx-Ford | 1:10.564 | 1:09.122 | +1.919 |
| 12 | 16 | Ivan Capelli
|
March-Judd | 1:09.569 | 1:09.283 | +2.080 |
| 13 | 36 | Stefan Johansson
|
Onyx-Ford | 1:10.600 | 1:09.299 | +2.096 |
| 14 | 9 |  Martin Donnelly
|
Arrows-Ford | 1:11.223 | 1:09.524 | +2.321 |
| 15 | 29 | Éric Bernard
|
Lola-Lamborghini | 1:25.401 | 1:09.596 | +2.393 |
| 16 | 4 | Jean Alesi
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:09.668 | 1:09.909 | +2.465 |
| 17 | 26 | Olivier Grouillard
|
Ligier-Ford | 1:10.410 | 1:09.717 | +2.514 |
| 18 | 25 | René Arnoux
|
Ligier-Ford | 1:10.725 | 1:10.077 | +2.874 |
| 19 | 12 | Satoru Nakajima
|
Lotus-Judd | 1:12.125 | 1:10.119 | +2.916 |
| 20 | 11 | Nelson Piquet
|
Lotus-Judd | 1:10.473 | 1:10.135 | +2.932 |
| 21 | 40 | Gabriele Tarquini
|
AGS-Ford | 1:11.136 | 1:10.216 | +3.013 |
| 22 | 8 | Stefano Modena
|
Brabham-Judd | 1:10.910 | 1:10.254 | +3.051 |
| 23 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini
|
Minardi-Ford | 1:10.640 | 1:10.267 | +3.064 |
| 24 | 20 | Emanuele Pirro
|
Benetton-Ford | 1:11.566 | 1:10.292 | +3.089 |
| 25 | 10 |  Eddie Cheever
|
Arrows-Ford | 1:10.372 | — | +3.169 |
| 26 | 21 | Alex Caffi
|
Dallara-Ford | 1:11.409 | 1:10.468 | +3.265 |
| 27 | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris
|
Dallara-Ford | 1:12.078 | 1:10.591 | +3.388 |
| 28 | 24 |  Luis Pérez-Sala
|
Minardi-Ford | 1:11.539 | 1:11.079 | +3.876 |
| 29 | 38 | Christian Danner
|
Rial-Ford | 1:12.569 | 1:11.178 | +3.975 |
| 30 | 31 | Roberto Moreno
|
Coloni-Ford | 1:14.746 | 1:11.372 | +4.169 |
Race[]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Alain Prost
|
McLaren-Honda | 80 | 1:38:29.411 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 27 | Nigel Mansell
|
Ferrari | 80 | + 44.017 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese
|
Williams-Renault | 80 | + 1:06.921 | 8 | 4 |
| 4 | 4 | Jean Alesi
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 80 | + 1:13.232 | 16 | 3 |
| 5 | 36 | Stefan Johansson
|
Onyx-Ford | 79 | + 1 Lap | 13 | 2 |
| 6 | 26 | Olivier Grouillard
|
Ligier-Ford | 79 | + 1 Lap | 17 | 1 |
| 7 | 10 | Eddie Cheever
|
Arrows-Ford | 79 | + 1 Lap | 25 | |
| 8 | 11 | Nelson Piquet
|
Lotus-Judd | 78 | + 2 Laps | 20 | |
| 9 | 20 | Emanuele Pirro
|
Benetton-Ford | 78 | + 2 Laps | 24 | |
| 10 | 3 | Jonathan Palmer
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 78 | + 2 Laps | 9 | |
| 11 | 29 | Éric Bernard
|
Lola-Lamborghini | 77 | + 3 Laps | 15 | |
| 12 | 9 | Martin Donnelly
|
Arrows-Ford | 77 | + 3 Laps | 14 | |
| 13 | 37 | Bertrand Gachot
|
Onyx-Ford | 76 | Engine | 11 | |
| NC | 15 | Maurício Gugelmin
|
March-Judd | 71 | Not Classified | 10 | |
| Ret | 8 | Stefano Modena
|
Brabham-Judd | 67 | Engine | 22 | |
| Ret | 5 | Thierry Boutsen
|
Williams-Renault | 50 | Gearbox | 5 | |
| Ret | 12 | Satoru Nakajima
|
Lotus-Judd | 49 | Engine | 19 | |
| Ret | 16 | Ivan Capelli
|
March-Judd | 43 | Engine | 12 | |
| Ret | 19 | Alessandro Nannini
|
Benetton-Ford | 40 | Suspension | 4 | |
| Ret | 23 | Pierluigi Martini
|
Minardi-Ford | 31 | Engine | 23 | |
| Ret | 30 | Philippe Alliot
|
Lola-Lamborghini | 30 | Engine | 7 | |
| Ret | 40 | Gabriele Tarquini
|
AGS-Ford | 30 | Engine | 21 | |
| Ret | 28 | Gerhard Berger
|
Ferrari | 29 | Clutch | 6 | |
| Ret | 21 | Alex Caffi
|
Dallara-Ford | 27 | Clutch | 26 | |
| Ret | 25 | René Arnoux
|
Ligier-Ford | 14 | Gearbox | 18 | |
| Ret | 1 | Ayrton Senna
|
McLaren-Honda | 0 | Differential | 2 | |
| DNQ | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris
|
Dallara-Ford | ||||
| DNQ | 24 | Luis Pérez-Sala
|
Minardi-Ford | ||||
| DNQ | 38 | Christian Danner
|
Rial-Ford | ||||
| DNQ | 31 | Roberto Moreno
|
Coloni-Ford | ||||
| DNPQ | 17 | Nicola Larini
|
Osella-Ford | ||||
| DNPQ | 7 | Martin Brundle
|
Brabham-Judd | ||||
| DNPQ | 39 | Volker Weidler
|
Rial-Ford | ||||
| DNPQ | 34 | Bernd Schneider
|
Zakspeed-Yamaha | ||||
| DNPQ | 18 | Piercarlo Ghinzani
|
Osella-Ford | ||||
| DNPQ | 32 | Pierre-Henri Raphanel
|
Coloni-Ford | ||||
| DNPQ | 35 | Aguri Suzuki
|
Zakspeed-Yamaha | ||||
| DNPQ | 33 | Gregor Foitek
|
Euro Brun-Judd | ||||
| DNPQ | 41 | Joachim Winkelhock
|
AGS-Ford |
Standings after the race[]
|
|
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References[]
- Unless otherwise indicated, all race results are taken from "The Official Formula 1 website". Archived
from the original on 4 July 2007. http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1989/237/. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
| Previous race: 1989 Canadian Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1989 season |
Next race: 1989 British Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1988 French Grand Prix |
French Grand Prix | Next race: 1990 French Grand Prix |
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This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1989 French Grand Prix. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |