1991 German Grand Prix

The  served as the start of the second half of the 1991 Formula One Championship, held at the Hockenheimring in Germay. Otherwise known as the LIII Großer Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland, the German Grand Prix of 1991 saw one German driver enter the race, Michael Bartels, who was hoping to make his debut in the Championship.
The race itself saw Nigel Mansell take a hatrick of wins in 1991 after he claimed victory ahead of team mate Riccardo Patrese. Jean Alesi claimed third ahead of Gerhard Berger, after Ayrton Senna retired on the final lap for the second successive race after running out of fuel.
==Background==
A few changes were to be seen during the post-Britain break, as Alex Caffi returned to Footwork having recovered from his injuries sustained earlier in the year. Andrea de Cesaris passed a fitness test to race at Hockenheim, as did Ayrton Senna who had crashed heavily during a private test for McLaren a week before the race. One new face on the grid was a German, Michael Bartels, who finally joined up with having completed his International Formula 3000 commitments for the time being.
The German Grand Prix would also be a significant race for Jordan Grand Prix, as they were confirmed as gaining automatic entry into qualifying, just eight races into their Formula One debut. , and, surprisingly, were also granted automatic entry, as a big name from the past replaced them. , having a poor season by their standards, would have to pre-qualify until the end of the season, joined by fellow strugglers AGS and Footwork.
The Championship battle, meanwhile, had begun to look like a fight, as Nigel Mansell continued to close the gap to Senna, now trailing by eighteen points. Riccardo Patrese was seemingly in a battle for third with Alain Prost, Gerhard Berger and Nelson Piquet, with their quartet split by six points after the halfway stage of the season. Jean Alesi was putting on a charge to join them, while de Cesaris could be found in the top ten for Jordan.
 were also being drawn in by their nearest rival, as closed the gap to twelve points in the UK, and had momentum behind them. were alone in third, Alesi's form aiding them to gap Benetton, who were a solid fourth. were in fifth, but were now in a full on fight with newbies Jordan, who were just one point behind, ahead of their now former pre-quali partners .
==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==
Pre-qualifying was formed in 1991 as a safety measure by the FIA, who deemed that there could only be 30 cars on the circuit at any one time. With 34 entries, the top 26 cars from the most recent half-season were granted an automatic place in qualifying, leaving the worst eight to fight for four further places. So far, none of those who pre-qualified have failed to qualify for the race, although with the two teams that had dominated the session promoted, this trend may well have come to its end.
===Pre-Qualifying===
Much like Jordan and Dallara, Brabham ensured that they would get both cars through to qualifying, as Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell made it through. Brundle topped the group, while Blundell was beaten by Gabriele Tarquini and Michele Alboreto, who ensured that AGS and Footwork were still in with a chance of starting. The two familiar casualties from pre-qualifying, Olivier Grouillard and Pedro Chaves were joined by Fabrizio Barbazza and Alex Caffi on his return to the action.
===Report===
Nigel Mansell completed an impressive pole lap on Saturday to take a fifth straight pole for , as Ayrton Senna completed a lap good enough for second. Their team mates were to line up on row two, with Gerhard Berger ahead of Riccardo Patrese, as the two Ferraris were made to share the third row once again. Andrea de Cesaris took a season best seventh in his Jordan, enforcing their place as automatic entries, with the second car to be found in eleventh.
The two Brabhams did well to make it through to the race, Brundle in fifteenth and Blundell in 21st, behind both cars. But the perfect record for the pre-qualfiers was over, as Alboreto and Tarquini both failed to qualify, joined by the of Eric van de Poele (his team mate Nicola Larini sneaking through in 24th). Also out was the debutant Michael Bartels, who could not match fellow youngster, and team mate, .
===Full Qualifying Result===
The final result for the is outlined below:
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Time'1991 British Grand Prix', wikipedia.org, (WikiMedia, 03/08/2015), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_British_Grand_Prix, (Accessed 07/08/2015)	Time'1991 British Grand Prix', wikipedia.org, (WikiMedia, 03/08/2015), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_British_Grand_Prix, (Accessed 07/08/2015)	Gap
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Q1 	Q2 	Gap
1 	5 	Nigel Mansell 	 	1:37.467 	1:37.087 	
2 	1 	Ayrton Senna 	 	1:38.208 	1:37.274 	+0.187s
3 	2 	Gerhard Berger 	 	1:37.946 	1:37.393 	+0.306s
4 	6 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:38.146 	1:37.435 	+0.348s
5 	27 	Alain Prost 	 	1:39.422 	1:39.034 	+1.947s
6 	28 	Jean Alesi 	 	1:39.391 	1:39.042 	+1.955s
7 	33 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	1:40.387 	1:40.239 	+3.152s
8 	20 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:40.560 	1:40.878 	+3.473s
9 	19 	Roberto Moreno 	 	1:41.968 	1:40.957 	+3.870s
10 	23 	Pierluigi Martini 	 	1:40.998 	1:41.373 	+3.911s
11 	32 	Bertrand Gachot 	 	1:41.443 	1:41.308 	+4.221s
12 	16 	Ivan Capelli 	 	1:42.025 	1:41.330 	+4.243s
13 	3 	Satoru Nakajima 	 	1:41.515 	1:41.390 	+4.303s
14 	4 	Stefano Modena 	 	1:41.566 	1:41.952 	+4.479s
15 	7 	Martin Brundle 	 	1:42.294 	1:41.615 	+4.528s
16 	15 	Mauricio Gugelmin 	 	No Time 	1:41.735 	+4.648s
17 	25 	Thierry Boutsen 	 	1:41.823 	1:41.929 	+4.736s
18 	21 	Emanuele Pirro 	 	1:42.021 	1:42.672 	+4.934s
19 	24 	Gianni Morbidelli 	 	1:42.132 	1:42.058 	+4.971s
20 	22 	JJ Lehto 	 	1:42.171 	1:42.708 	+5.084s
21 	8 	Mark Blundell 	 	1:43.414 	1:42.216 	+5.129s
22 	30 	Aguri Suzuki 	 	1:45.037 	1:42.474 	+5.387s
23 	11 	 	 	1:44.816 	1:42.726 	+5.639s
24 	34 	Nicola Larini 	 	1:44.596 	1:43.035 	+5.948s
25 	29 	 	 	1:43.797 	1:43.321 	+6.234s
26 	26 	 	 	1:43.803 	1:43.364 	+6.277s
DNQ 	9 	Michele Alboreto 	 	1:44.362 	1:43.409 	+6.322s
DNQ 	12 	Michael Bartels 	 	1:46.409 	1:43.624 	+6.537s
DNQ 	17 	Gabriele Tarquini 	 	1:43.787 	1:43.918 	+6.700s
DNQ 	35 	Eric van de Poele 	 	1:44.489 	1:44.207 	+7.120s
DNPQ	14 	Olivier Grouillard	 	1:44.645 	1:44.645 	1:44.645
DNPQ	10 	Alex Caffi 	 	1:45.282 	1:45.282 	1:45.282
DNPQ	18 	Fabrizio Barbazza 	 	1:46.604 	1:46.604 	1:46.604
DNPQ	31 	Pedro Chaves 	 	1:47.546 	1:47.546 	1:47.546
===Grid===
The starting grid for the is shown below: 
==Race==
With Hockenheim bathed in sunshine, a hot and dry race was set to unfold on Sunday, with Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna set to do battle once again.'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: GERMAN GP, 1991', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 1999), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr509.html, (Accessed 09/08/2015) Senna had already been fighting his corner in the Driver's briefing in the morning before the race, arguing that the tyre barriers that usually lined the chicanes be replaced with cones to prevent cars rolling over. FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre immediately baulked at the idea, before being persuaded to have a vote on the issue, in which the barriers were ultimately replaced.
===Report===
Mansell lit up the rear wheels off the line to slide across the front of Senna and into the lead of the 1991 German Grand Prix, as Gerhard Berger snatched second away from his team mate, who made a relatively poor getaway.'Classic F1 - German Grand Prix 1991', bbc.co.uk, (British Broadcasting Company, 07/07/2009), http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8109544.stm, (Accessed 09/08/2015) Riccardo Patrese once again went backwards, swallowed up by the two Ferraris, while contact further down involved three cars. Nicola Larini went out after hitting the spinning Mark Blundell, who had been punted by in the Ligier JS35.
Further round the lap, and the compression of the field into the first chicane, leading the two Lolas to take avoiding action from each other, although the rest of the lap passed without incident. A tame race emerged afterwards, with Patrese finding his way past Jean Alesi in the opening stages, while Mansell and Berger pulled away. Senna was left to defend from Alain Prost in the first of the Ferraris, with Patrese looking to take advantage of any mistakes ahead.
Berger was being drawn in by Senna and co. over the next few laps, with the Austrian darting in for a new set of tyres on lap 14. He caught his team unawares, however, and so his pitstop took twice as long as it should have, as the team still needed to bring the tyres out. Three laps later and McLaren found themselves in the battle with Ferrari in the pit garages, as Senna and Prost dived into the pitlane for tyres. McLaren won the battle, and gained Senna a few valuable tenths in their duel.
Mansell was in a lap later, although his lead was enough that he could afford the minor slip that Williams made during his stop. Patrese and Alesi flashed into the lead while Mansell was in the pits, but Patrese  pitted a lap later emerging in the wake of Prost and Senna. With fresh rubber, Patrese drafted the pair down the long run to the first chicane, before using his superior speed to force his way right around the outside of Prost to snatch fourth.
Patrese was then in third by the end of the lap, having taken Senna into the Stadium section of the lap, setting off after Alesi, who Mansell had already taken. Alesi had opted to stay out for as long as possible, and was soon losing time to Patrese's charge, weaving in front of the Williams to defend. After a few laps working out Alesi's weaknesses, Patrese used his Renault engine to its full potential to get up the inside of the Ferrari into the first chicane, taking second on lap 36.
The next action was between two of Formula One's greatest rivals, as Senna had to defend from a fresh barrage by Prost on lap 37. The Brazilian held the inside line into the first chicane as Prost pulled alongside Senna as the pair came towards the braking zone. Senna then squeezed Prost onto the white line, causing the Ferrari driver to lock up his brakes and slide into the run off. Prost then had to wait for a marshal to wave him back onto the circuit, costing him valuable time and places, until the Ferrari stalled, putting Prost out of the race.
That put Andrea de Cesaris into sixth, with Bertrand Gachot trailing him in seventh, as the latter came under threat of being lapped by Mansell. Yet, the final piece of drama emerged for Senna, who ground to a halt on the final lap for the second time in two races, again out of fuel. That promoted Gachot into the final point position, as Mansell claimed a third victory in a row with another peaceful day in the lead.
Patrese's push ended with the Italian thirteen seconds behind, with Alesi managing to hold on to his tyres long enough to take third. Berger was fourth, 30 seconds back to keep McLaren scoring, but Williams' one-two handed them the lead of the Championship by one point. Gachot and de Cesaris completed the points for Jordan, as they continued to impress in their début season.
===Results===
The final results for the are shown below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired	Grid 	Points
1 	5 	Nigel Mansell 	 	45 	1:19:29.661 	1 	10
2 	6 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	45 	+13.779s 	4 	6
3 	28 	Jean Alesi 	 	45 	+17.618s 	6 	4
4 	2 	Gerhard Berger 	 	45 	+32.651s 	3 	3
5 	33 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	45 	+1:17.537 	7 	2
6 	32 	Bertrand Gachot 	 	45 	+1:40.605 	11 	1
7* 	1 	Ayrton Senna 	 	44 	Out of fuel 	2 	
8 	19 	Roberto Moreno 	 	44 	+1 lap 	9 	
9 	25 	Thierry Boutsen 	 	44 	+1 lap 	17 	
10 	21 	Emanuele Pirro 	 	44 	+1 lap 	18 	
11 	7 	Martin Brundle 	 	43 	+2 laps 	15 	
12 	8 	Mark Blundell 	 	43 	+2 laps 	21 	
13 	4 	Stefano Modena 	 	41 	+4 laps 	14 	
Ret 	27 	Alain Prost 	 	37 	Spin 	5 	
Ret 	16 	Ivan Capelli 	 	36 	Engine 	12 	
Ret 	22 	JJ Lehto 	 	35 	Engine 	20 	
Ret 	20 	Nelson Piquet 	 	27 	Engine 	8 	
Ret 	3 	Satoru Nakajima 	 	26 	Gearbox 	13 	
Ret 	26 	 	 	22 	Oil pressure	26 	
Ret 	15 	Mauricio Gugelmin 	 	21 	Gearbox 	16 	
Ret 	11 	 	 	19 	Engine 	23 	
Ret 	30 	Aguri Suzuki 	 	15 	Engine 	22 	
Ret 	24 	Gianni Morbidelli 	 	14 	Engine 	19 	
Ret 	23 	Pierluigi Martini 	 	11 	Spin 	10 	
Ret 	29 	 	 	9 	Transmission	25 	
Ret 	34 	Nicola Larini 	 	0 	Spin 	24 	
DNQ 	9 	Michele Alboreto 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	12 	Michael Bartels 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	17 	Gabriele Tarquini 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	35 	Eric van de Poele 	 	 	 	 	
DNPQ 	14 	Olivier Grouillard	 	 	 	 	
DNPQ 	10 	Alex Caffi 	 	 	 	 	
DNPQ 	18 	Fabrizio Barbazza 	 	 	 	 	
DNPQ 	31 	Pedro Chaves 	 	 	 	 	
Source	Source	Source 	Source 	Source	Source 	Source	Source
** Senna was still classified for completing 90% of the race distance.
==Milestones==
*First entry for Michael Bartels at a Grand Prix.
*First German Grand Prix to be held in a unified Germany.
==Standings==
For the first time all season, Ayrton Senna left a race win out a race win advantage over the rest of the field, as Nigel Mansell closed to within eight points of the Brazilian. Riccardo Patrese and Alain Prost held station in third and fourth, while Gerhard Berger climbed into the top five. Also on the move were Jean Alesi and Bertrand Gachot who climbed one place each in the table.
 lost their lead in the Constructors' Championship for the first time all year, as established a one point lead through Mansell and Patrese. were left in third, with Benetton and equally lonely fourth. The shock of the season also began to emerge in fifth, as Jordan climbed into the top five for the first time in their short history, overtaking .  
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/-
1 	Ayrton Senna 	51 	
2 	Nigel Mansell 	43 	
3 	Riccardo Patrese 	28 	
4 	Alain Prost 	21 	
5 	Gerhard Berger 	19 	1
6 	Nelson Piquet 	18 	1
7 	Jean Alesi 	12 	1
8 	Stefano Modena 	9 	1
9 	Andrea de Cesaris 	9 	
10 	Roberto Moreno 	5 	
11 	JJ Lehto 	4 	
12 	Bertrand Gachot 	4 	1
13 	Pierluigi Martini 	3 	1
14 	 	2 	
15 	Satoru Nakajima 	2 	
16 	Emanuele Pirro 	1 	
17 	 	1 	
18 	Aguri Suzuki 	1 	
19 	Julian Bailey 	1 	
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/-
1 	 	71 	1
2 	 	70 	1
3 	 	33 	
4 	 	23 	
5 	 	13 	1
6 	 	11 	1
7 	 	5 	
8 	 	3 	
9 	 	3 	
10 	 	2 	
==References==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:1991 Grands Prix
Category:German Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in Germany