Grand Prix 2 World Championship - 1991

## World Championship

Alessandro Nannini leads the World Championship after 12 rounds

The 1991 Grand Prix 2 World Championship is the second world championship to be run under the RRML. It features the 1991 GP2 World Championship for Drivers and the 1991 GP2 World Championship for Constructors.

Mika Hakkinen entered 1991 as the reigning champion after sensationally taking the title in his rookie campaign for Martini Brabham, while Burger King McLaren is the reigning teams' champion.

In a new format for 1991, two races will make up race day for the World Championship. The opening race will be the pre-qualifying event, with the top three teams advancing to the main Grand Prix to race alongside the ten teams who automatically qualify for the World Championship.

## Teams and drivers

1 Squadra Life Racing Engines entered the first two rounds of the championship but withdrew from both after failing to reach pre-qualifying. The team folded ahead of the San Marino Grand Prix.

### Mid-season driver changes

* Eric Bernard was disqualified from the San Marino Grand Prix and handed a two-race ban for giving false information to the stewards. His seat at Martini Modena Lambo was filled by the team's reserve driver Christian Fittipaldi.
* Emanuele Pirro was suspended from the Monaco Grand Prix after a defaulted payment on his superlicence. Reynard McDonald's Racing ran Stefan Johansson in his place.
* Adrian Fernandez left Arrows Adidas Grand Prix ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix to join the IndyCar grid. Red Bull Tyrrell Honda agreed terms for a loan of Heinz-Harald Frentzen to fill the empty seat vacated by Fernandez and promoted reserve driver Rubens Barrichello to a race seat.
* Zepter Jordan Racing evaluated reserve driver Otto Rensing over the course of two Grands Prix, the German replacing Karl Wendlinger for the Mexican Grand Prix and Fabrizio Barbazza for the French Grand Prix.
* Roberto Guerrero lost his seat at Ford EuroBrun Racing ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix, the team bringing in Willy T. Ribbs for his return to racing.
* The French Grand Prix saw Renault return to the grid after buying out Reynard McDonald's, fielding a new driver line-up of Jean-Marc Gounon and Damon Hill, the latter moving from BMS Scuderia Dallara.
* BMS Scuderia Dallara took on both former Reynard McDonald's drivers Nicola Larini and Emanuele Pirro from the French Grand Prix onwards, replacing the Renault-bound Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert who joined Apple Benetton as reserve driver.
* Apple Benetton took the decision to replace Mark Blundell with Johnny Herbert for the British Grand Prix.
* Ukyo Katayama failed a drugs test after the British Grand Prix and was excluded from the entire 1991 season. His seat at Leyton House was taken by Naoki Hattori.
* Aguri Suzuki picked up a three-race ban after the British Grand Prix as it emerged he had deceived the race stewards earlier in the season at Mexico.
* Following the British Grand Prix, it emerged that Thierry Boutsen had illegally shared data at the previous round at Magny-Cours and was handed a five-race ban. Porsche Williams reserve driver Gil de Ferran will replace the Belgian for the duration of his ban.
* Fabrizio Barbazza left Zepter Jordan Racing by mutual consent after the German Grand Prix. Following a successful test for the team, Andy Wallace made his Grand Prix debut in Barbazza's place.
* As a result of an ankle injury sustained during the German Grand Prix, Ayrton Senna sat out the Hungarian Grand Prix. Apple Benetton loaned Johnny Herbert to Porsche Williams in Senna's place.
* Alain Prost was found to have misled the stewards at the German Grand Prix and received a three-race ban. Sensationally, Prost subsequently called time on his Grand Prix career claiming disillusionment with the championship. Brains Brabham Ilmor promoted Emmanuel Collard into the vacant race seat and hired Manuel Reuter as its new reserve driver.
* Hiro Matsushita intentionally missed the drivers' briefing at the Hungarian Grand Prix, resulting in an investigation by the stewards. After the Japanese was rude towards the stewards during their questioning, the decision was taken to hand him a six-race ban.
* With multiple driver issues falling upon Leyton House Honda, Grand Prix veteran Satoru Nakajima stepped in for the Belgian Grand Prix in a one-off appearance before Aguri Suzuki's return.
* Duracell AGS Judd's Laurent Aiello became the second driver to fail a drugs test after a random spot check following the Belgian Grand Prix. As a result, his results for the entire season were wiped and reserve driver Perry McCarthy was promoted into his place.
* J. J. Lehto was handed a five-race ban from the Italian Grand Prix onwards after he parked his broken-down Vaillante Monteverdi in the middle of the Kemmel Straight during the Belgian Grand Prix. Ivan Capelli took over the seat for the remainder of the season.
* Jean-Marc Gounon was found guilty of illegal data sharing with former champion Alain Prost, leading to Gounon picking up a race ban for the Italian Grand Prix. Renault placed reserve driver Stefan Johansson into Gounon's seat.
* Nelson Piquet spectacularly quit Grand Prix racing after Belgium, walking out on Adidas Arrows Grand Prix to pursue a career in IndyCar. The team brought in young Italian star Luca Badoer to replace the Brazilian.

### Mid-season team changes

* Reynard McDonald's was bought out by Renault following the Canadian Grand Prix and was reformed as a works team in time for the French Grand Prix.

## Results and standings

### Scoring system

**Bold** indicates pole position.

*Italics* indicates fastest lap.

R indicates driver retired from the race.

D indicates driver disqualified from the race.

Q indicates driver did not qualify for the race.

W indicates driver withdrew from the race.

Drivers must complete 90% race distance to be classified and score points.

### Microprose Rookie of the Year Award

Drivers are eligible for the Microprose Rookie of the Year Award if they have competed in two or fewer Grands Prix prior to the start of the season.