1991 Hungarian Grand Prix

The  served as the tenth round of the 1991 Formula One Championship, held at the Hungaroring, near the Hungarian capital of Budapest. The paddock was stunned when Bertrand Gachot pushed his Jordan 191 around the circuit to set the fastest lap of the race with a time just a second off of his qualifying time.
The race win went to Championship leader Ayrton Senna, who began a counter charge against the Williams duo of Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese. Those two claimed second and third in the race, ahead of Gerhard Berger, Jean Alesi and Ivan Capelli, as Alain Prost retired from yet another race in 1991.
==Background==
Johnny Herbert was absent racing in Japan at Formula 3000 level, leaving Michael Bartels to continue in his Team Lotus seat. FISA, meanwhile, had completed an investigation into the incident between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in Germany that had caused the Frenchman's retirement. In their opinion, it had been a racing incident, and Prost and Senna should work out their differences rather than waste time in the sporting courts; indeed, FISA had ordered a sit-down meeting between the two men in order to avoid another repeat of incidents like those that had taken place at the 1989 and 1990 Japanese Grand Prixes.
McLaren and partners Honda, meanwhile, had been busy developing several features over the summer to appease Senna, who was left increasingly frustrated by running out of fuel twice in the previous two races. Their semi-automatic gearbox was their more significant achievement, but was not race ready in time for the Hungarian race. The team would also wear black armbands throughout the weekend after the sudden death of Honda founder Soichiro Honda in the week before the race. 
The Championship lead was still in Senna's hands after Germany, although Nigel Mansell had worked hard, and benefitted from Senna retiring at the previous two races, to close the gap to eight points. Riccardo Patrese was in third, proving that the FW14 was the strongest car on the grid, with Alain Prost left to battle Gerhard Berger for fourth. Nelson Piquet could also be considered part of that battle, although he had been struggling to score since his victory in the Canadian Grand Prix.
 had snatched the lead from in Germany, becoming the only other team to lead the Championship in 1991. were left in a distant third, having created two uncompetitive cars in 1991, while Benetton were trying to catch them in fourth. Jordan, meanwhile, were in the top five after the German Grand Prix, having overtaken having had a double point score at the Hockenheimring.
==Entry List==
The full entry list for the is shown below:
No.	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model 	Tyre
1 	Ayrton Senna 	Honda Marlboro McLaren 	 	MP4/6 	 	RA121E V12 3.5	
2 	Gerhard Berger 	Honda Marlboro McLaren 	 	MP4/6 	 	RA121E V12 3.5	
3 	Satoru Nakajima 	Braun Tyrrell Honda 	 	020 	 	RA101E V10 3.5	
4 	Stefano Modena 	Braun Tyrrell Honda 	 	020 	 	RA101E V10 3.5	
5 	Nigel Mansell 	Canon Williams Team 	 	FW14 	 	RS3 V10 3.5 	
6 	Riccardo Patrese 	Canon Williams Team 	 	FW14 	 	RS3 V10 3.5 	
7 	Martin Brundle 	Motor Racing Developments Ltd. 	 	BT60Y 	 	OX99 V12 3.5 	
8 	Mark Blundell 	Motor Racing Developments Ltd. 	 	BT60Y 	 	OX99 V12 3.5 	
9 	Michele Alboreto 	Footwork Grand Prix International 	 	A12 	 	DFR V8 3.5 	
10 	Alex Caffi 	Footwork Grand Prix International 	 	A12 	 	DFR V8 3.5 	
11 	 	Team Lotus 	 	102B 	 	EV V8 3.5 	
12 	Michael Bartels 	Team Lotus 	 	102B 	 	EV V8 3.5 	
14 	Olivier Grouillard	Fondmetal F1 SpA 	 	FA1 M-E	 	DFR V8 3.5 	
15 	Mauricio Gugelmin 	Leyton House Racing 	 	CG911 	 	LH10 V10 3.5 	
16 	Ivan Capelli 	Leyton House Racing 	 	CG911 	 	LH10 V10 3.5 	
17 	Gabriele Tarquini 	Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives	 	JH25B 	 	DFR V8 3.5 	
18 	Fabrizio Barbazza 	Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives	 	JH25B 	 	DFR V8 3.5 	
19 	Roberto Moreno 	Camel Benetton Ford 	 	B191 	 	HB V8 3.5 	
20 	Nelson Piquet 	Camel Benetton Ford 	 	B191 	 	HB V8 3.5 	
21 	Emanuele Pirro 	BMS Scuderia Italia 	 	BMS-191	 	GV V10 3.5 	
22 	JJ Lehto 	BMS Scuderia Italia 	 	BMS-191	 	GV V10 3.5 	
23 	Pierluigi Martini 	Minardi Team 	 	M191 	 	F1-91 V12 3.5 	
24 	Gianni Morbidelli 	Minardi Team 	 	M191 	 	F1-91 V12 3.5 	
25 	Thierry Boutsen 	Ligier Gitanes 	 	JS35 	 	L3512 V12 3.5 	
26 	 	Ligier Gitanes 	 	JS35 	 	L3512 V12 3.5 	
27 	Alain Prost 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA 	 	643 	 	F1-91 V12 3.5 	
28 	Jean Alesi 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA 	 	643 	 	F1-91 V12 3.5 	
29 	 	Larrousse F1 	 	91 	 	DFR V8 3.5 	
30 	Aguri Suzuki 	Larrousse F1 	 	91 	 	DFR V8 3.5 	
31 	Pedro Chaves 	Coloni Racing Srl 	 	C4 	 	DFR V8 3.5 	
32 	Bertrand Gachot 	Team 7Up Jordan 	 	191 	 	HB V8 3.5 	
33 	Andrea de Cesaris 	Team 7Up Jordan 	 	191 	 	HB V8 3.5 	
34 	Nicola Larini 	Modena Team SpA 	 	291 	 	L3512 V12 3.5 	
35 	Eric van de Poele 	Modena Team SpA 	 	291 	 	L3512 V12 3.5 	
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
34 entrants in Hungary meant pre-qualifying returned once again for Formula One, with eight drivers made to fight for four places in qualifying. Designed to prevent more than 30 cars on the circuit at any one time, pre-qualifying was also intended to remove the four slowest cars on the entry list, meaning races would be that much closer. Brabham had eased through the session in Germany after being demoted to participate in the session, and were favourites to do so again.
===Pre-Qualifying===
Indeed, it was the Brabham duo that dominated pre-qualifying, with Mark Blundell putting together a good lap to beat team mate Martin Brundle by over a second. An impressive display by Olivier Grouillard allowed the Frenchman to take the third quali-spot for Fondmetal, with veteran Michele Alboreto setting the fourth fastest time. Out before the weekend had even begun were Alboreto's team mate Alex Caffi, the two AGS drivers Gabriele Tarquini and Fabrizio Barbazza and Pedro Chaves.
===Report===
Much like pre-qualifying, there was one all conquering performance in the full session, as Ayrton Senna completed a stunning lap on Saturday to take pole by over a second. Riccardo Patrese and Nigel Mansell were to be found in second and third, after their running on Friday had been harmed by numerous issues. Alain Prost beat Gerhard Berger to fourth, with Jean Alesi in sixth, ahead of Emanuele Pirro, who took the best starting position for the combination in 1991.
Despite being flattened by his team mate in pre-qualifying, Brundle cracked the top ten in the full session, going a second quicker than Blundell, who would start twentieth. Out went their two colleagues from the earlier session, Grouillard and Alboreto, joined by Eric van de Poele and Michael Bartels in his pay-to-play . 
===Full Qualifying Result===
The final result for the is outlined below:
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Time'1991 Hungarian Grand Prix', wikipedia.org, (WikiMedia, 03/08/2015), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Hungarian_Grand_Prix, (Accessed 09/08/2015)	Time'1991 Hungarian Grand Prix', wikipedia.org, (WikiMedia, 03/08/2015), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Hungarian_Grand_Prix, (Accessed 09/08/2015)	Gap
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Q1 	Q2 	Gap
1 	1 	Ayrton Senna 	 	1:18.549 	1:16.147 	
2 	6 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:20.103 	1:17.379 	+1.232s
3 	5 	Nigel Mansell 	 	1:19.818 	1:17.389 	+1.242s
4 	27 	Alain Prost 	 	1:19.326 	1:17.690 	+1.543s
5 	2 	Gerhard Berger 	 	1:18.238 	1:17.705 	+1.558s
6 	28 	Jean Alesi 	 	1:19.552 	1:18.410 	+2.263s
7 	21 	Emanuele Pirro 	 	1:21.751 	1:19.334 	+3.187s
8 	4 	Stefano Modena 	 	1:20.488 	1:19.748 	+3.601s
9 	16 	Ivan Capelli 	 	1:21.068 	1:19.794 	+3.647s
10 	7 	Martin Brundle 	 	1:21.345 	1:19.976 	+3.829s
11 	20 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:21.542 	1:19.984 	+3.837s
12 	22 	JJ Lehto 	 	1:21.991 	1:20.014 	+3.867s
13 	15 	Mauricio Gugelmin 	 	1:21.549 	1:20.024 	+3.877s
14 	3 	Satoru Nakajima 	 	1:22.992 	1:20.565 	+4.418s
15 	19 	Roberto Moreno 	 	1:22.077 	1:20.584 	+4.437s
16 	32 	Bertrand Gachot 	 	1:21.884 	1:20.655 	+4.508s
17 	33 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	1:22.143 	1:20.805 	+4.658s
18 	23 	Pierluigi Martini 	 	1:22.429 	1:20.823 	+4.676s
19 	25 	Thierry Boutsen 	 	1:22.408 	1:20.870 	+4.723s
20 	8 	Mark Blundell 	 	1:21.125 	1:20.954 	+4.807s
21 	29 	 	 	1:22.680 	1:21.267 	+5.120s
22 	30 	Aguri Suzuki 	 	1:22.762 	1:21.601 	+5.454s
23 	24 	Gianni Morbidelli 	 	1:23.201 	1:21.654 	+5.507s
24 	34 	Nicola Larini 	 	1:24.316 	1:21.896 	+5.749s
25 	26 	 	 	1:24.464 	1:22.258 	+6.111s
26 	11 	 	 	1:25.224 	1:22.335 	+6.188s
DNQ 	14 	Olivier Grouillard	 	1:23.593 	1:22.438 	+6.291s
DNQ 	9 	Michele Alboreto 	 	1:24.593 	1:22.521 	+6.374s
DNQ 	35 	Eric van de Poele 	 	1:27.339 	1:23.162 	+7.015s
DNQ 	12 	Michael Bartels 	 	1:24.746 	1:23.248 	+7.101s
DNPQ	17 	Gabriele Tarquini 	 	1:25.230 	1:25.230 	1:25.230
DNPQ	10 	Alex Caffi 	 	1:26.637 	1:26.637 	1:26.637
DNPQ	18 	Fabrizio Barbazza 	 	1:26.740 	1:26.740 	1:26.740
DNPQ	31 	Pedro Chaves 	 	1:26.945 	1:26.945 	1:26.945
===Grid===
The starting grid for the is displayed below:
==Race==
With no incidents to report during the warm up, and no threat of rain, the field prepared for a battle for the World Championship as Ayrton Senna prepared to fend off the two s. With 77 laps scheduled on Sunday, and a tight first sector, many people were expecting an accident such as the one that caused Nicola Larini to retire in Hockenheim at the start. All would be revealed when the lights went out at 14:00 local time.
===Report===
It was grid order off the line, although Senna had to dive late on the brakes to prevent Riccardo Patrese from snatching the lead into the first corner. Mansell held onto third by holding more speed through the first corner to fend off Prost, as the field all managed to get through the first sector unscathed. Mansell proceeded the attack Patrese over the course of the first lap, but was unable to get past, a factor that was soon to affect the whole field.
Indeed the opening third of the race passed without incident, with a tame race emerging throughout the field, with attrition joining action in a noticeable absence. That was, until Prost limped into the pits to retire on lap 28 with an engine failure, opening the floodgates for the retirements. Moments later, and Mansell was attacking Patrese around the lap, with the Italian opening the door for the Brit into the first corner, releasing Mansell to battle Senna. There was also a small trickle of cars coming in to change tyres, although none of the leaders opted to do so.
Senna continued his lead unabated, however, as Mansell gained little over the following laps. Further back, and four cars retired within a lap of each other, Emanuele Pirro, Nelson Piquet, Aguri Suzuki and all ground to a halt with mechanical issues on lap 38. Andrea de Cesaris found himself in a battle for sixth with Roberto Moreno and team mate Bertrand Gachot, although they were under threat from Ivan Capelli who was on a charge on his fresh tyres.
Capelli was able to catch the trio in the final stages, completing something that had been impossible to do all day, overtaking. A quick flurry of activity saw him jump into the points, although de Cesaris tried to get back at him. Senna and Mansell, meanwhile, were trading fastest lap times, but the Brit could not close the gap, leaving Senna to take the win by five seconds. Patrese claimed third ahead of Gerhard Berger, while Jean Alesi was the first of those whom had stopped for tyres, ending the day in fifth ahead of Capelli.
===Results===
The final results for the are shown below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired	Grid 	Points
1 	1 	Ayrton Senna 	 	77 	1:49:12.796 	1 	10
2 	5 	Nigel Mansell 	 	77 	+4.599s 	3 	6
3 	6 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	77 	+15.594s 	2 	4
4 	2 	Gerhard Berger 	 	77 	+21.856s 	5 	3
5 	28 	Jean Alesi 	 	77 	+31.389s 	6 	2
6 	16 	Ivan Capelli 	 	76 	+1 lap 	9 	1
7 	33 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	76 	+1 lap 	17 	
8 	19 	Roberto Moreno 	 	76 	+1 lap 	15 	
9 	32 	Bertrand Gachot 	 	76 	+1 lap 	16 	
10 	26 	 	 	75 	+2 laps 	25 	
11 	15 	Mauricio Gugelmin 	 	75 	+2 laps 	13 	
12 	4 	Stefano Modena 	 	75 	+2 laps 	8 	
13 	24 	Gianni Morbidelli 	 	75 	+2 laps 	23 	
14 	11 	 	 	74 	+3 laps 	26 	
15 	3 	Satoru Nakajima 	 	74 	+3 laps 	14 	
16 	34 	Nicola Larini 	 	74 	+3 laps 	24 	
17* 	25 	Thierry Boutsen 	 	71 	Engine 	19 	
Ret 	23 	Pierluigi Martini 	 	65 	Engine 	18 	
Ret 	8 	Mark Blundell 	 	62 	Tyre 	20 	
Ret 	7 	Martin Brundle 	 	59 	Fitness 	10 	
Ret 	22 	JJ Lehto 	 	49 	Oil pressure	12 	
Ret 	20 	Nelson Piquet 	 	38 	Gearbox 	11 	
Ret 	29 	 	 	38 	Engine 	21 	
Ret 	30 	Aguri Suzuki 	 	38 	Engine 	22 	
Ret 	21 	Emanuele Pirro 	 	37 	Oil pressure	7 	
Ret 	27 	Alain Prost 	 	28 	Engine 	4 	
DNQ 	14 	Olivier Grouillard	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	9 	Michele Alboreto 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	35 	Eric van de Poele 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	12 	Michael Bartels 	 	 	 	 	
DNPQ 	17 	Gabriele Tarquini 	 	 	 	 	
DNPQ 	10 	Alex Caffi 	 	 	 	 	
DNPQ 	18 	Fabrizio Barbazza 	 	 	 	 	
DNPQ 	31 	Pedro Chaves 	 	 	 	 	
Source	Source	Source 	Source 	Source	Source 	Source	Source
** Boutsen was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
==Milestones==
*
==Standings==
Ayrton Senna restored his one race advantage that he had held over the rest of the field for all but two races with victory in Hungary, as Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese became the only realistic challengers to the Brazilian. Gerhard Berger climbed above Alain Prost who was struggling with an unreliable Ferrari and numerous errors. Ivan Capelli added his name to the point scorers list, having claimed his first points since his podium at the 1990 French Grand Prix.
 were to be denied the lead in the Constructor's Championship for only one race, as they established a two point advantage over in their private duel. Ferrari continued to pull away from Benetton in their battle for third, while Jordan remained in the top five despite their scoring run coming to an end. were also on the board for the first time all season, courtesy of Capelli.  
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/-
1 	Ayrton Senna 	61 	
2 	Nigel Mansell 	49 	
3 	Riccardo Patrese 	32 	
4 	Gerhard Berger 	22 	1
5 	Alain Prost 	21 	1
6 	Nelson Piquet 	18 	
7 	Jean Alesi 	14 	
8 	Stefano Modena 	9 	
9 	Andrea de Cesaris 	9 	
10 	Roberto Moreno 	5 	
11 	JJ Lehto 	4 	
12 	Bertrand Gachot 	4 	
13 	Pierluigi Martini 	3 	
14 	 	2 	
15 	Satoru Nakajima 	2 	
16 	Emanuele Pirro 	1 	
17 	 	1 	
18 	Aguri Suzuki 	1 	
19 	Julian Bailey 	1 	
20 	Ivan Capelli 	1 	1
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/-
1 	 	83 	1
2 	 	81 	1
3 	 	35 	
4 	 	23 	
5 	 	13 	
6 	 	11 	
7 	 	5 	
8 	 	3 	
9 	 	3 	
10 	 	2 	
11 	 	1 	1
==References==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:1991 Grands Prix
Category:Hungarian Grand Prix