1991 Formula One Season

The **1991 Formula One season** was the 42nd season of Formula One motor racing. The championship was contested concurrently over a twelve race series that commenced on 10th March and ended on 20st October.

Fabiano Margheriti won the Drivers' Championship, taking his second title, whilst Williams clinched the Constructors' Championship.

## Pre-Season

Fabiano Margheriti left McLaren to rejoin Ferrari for the start of the 1991 season, with reigning champion Jack Wilson taking his seat at the British team. Javier Navarro moved from Minardi to Ferrari after taking several podiums and two wins with the Italian team in 1990.

## Season Summary

### **Round 1: South Africa**

Fabiano Margheriti took the first pole position of the season, ahead of Ventura and Pinho. However, he had a poor start and slipped down to third place with Ventura taking the lead. Wilson tried to apply pressure on Ventura but was unable to find a way past, allowing Ventura to control the race from the front.

Most drivers pitted for fresh tyres at the halfway point of the race, but Ventura stayed out and gambled on the no-stop strategy. He was caught in the following laps by a charging Margheriti and was passed into turn one. Wilson, after recovering from an earlier spin, saw a chance to catch Ventura and eventually did on the last lap before launching a bold move down the inside of the hairpin. Ventura turned in, resulting in contact. His car rebounded off Wilson's McLaren and Ventura span off. He was classified in ninth place. Margheriti went on to win the race ahead of Wilson, despite a brake problem that appeared in the final laps. Stefan Wolff finished third, with Margheriti's teammate Navarro finishing fourth.

### **Round 2: Brazil**

Ventura rebounded from his last-lap retirement in Kyalami with dominant pace at his home race in Interlagos. He was top of the time sheets in practice and grabbed pole position ahead of Tyrrell's Jordi Burguet and Minardi's Alexsandro Pinho.

Ventura had a clean start and maintained the lead whilst a pileup further behind resulted in several early retirements. The Brazilian driver pulled away from the rest and was unchallenged for the remainder of the race, whilst Pinho, Wilson, Makkinen, and Burguet battled for the podium positions. Home driver Pinho found his way past Wilson with a move around the outside of the first corner and was in third behind Burguet before he crashed out.

Burguet opted for the medium compound whilst Makkinen and Wilson chose the hard compound for the pitstop phase. Burguet caught Makkinen on the softer tyres and they engaged in fierce battle for second place, with Makkinen just coming out on top. Ventura won by almost 20 seconds ahead of Makkinen and Burguet, with Wilson in fourth. South Africa race winner Fabiano Margheriti was on for a fifth place finish until he ran out of fuel on the approach to the finish line. It was suspected that damage picked up earlier in the race resulted in the Italian using more fuel than expected. The two Brabham cars came together on the final lap after Ribeiro missed his braking point. He was given a qualifying ban for the next race.

### **Round 3: San Marino**

Santiago Reyes pulled out a stunning lap to grab a surpise pole position in Imola, ahead of Pinho and Ventura. The long run down the straight into *Tosa* saw Reyes lose the lead of the race to Pinho. Jordi Burguet ran wide at *Tosa* and lost control of his car, running into the Larrousse of Jimmy Russell. Ventura saw a chance to pass Reyes into *Piratella* and dived down his inside but the two cars made contact and Reyes went into the wall, ending his race early.

The race developed into a two-horse battle between Ventura and Margheriti for the race win. Ventura held track position over Margheriti, but was undercut by the Italian after they both pitted. Although Ventura came close to Margheriti, he didn't have the pace to set up a pass and settled for second. However, a battle brewed for third place in the final laps between Wilson and Wolff. Wolff was on fresh medium tyres, with Wilson struggling on used mediums. Wilson, unable to find traction out of the *Variente Alta* chicane, became vulnerable into *Rivazza* and attempted to defend but was hit from behind by Wolff, who was setting up a move down the inside. Both drivers retired, promoting Timo Pakkinen onto the podium. Soren Vinter took a solid fifth place finish, his first points finish of the year after two retirements in South Africa and Brazil. Edvin Stromberg scored Leyton House's first points of the season in sixth.

Following the race, Ventura was summoned to the stewards, who awarded him a 25 second penalty as well as two penalty points for his incident with Reyes. The penalty had no effect on his finishing position. Jordi Burguet was given a qualifying ban, as well as three penalty points for the first lap incident at *Tosa*.

### **Round 4: Monaco**

Minardi's Alexsandro Pinho took pole position by almost eight tenths ahead of Benetton's Stefan Wolff, but both drivers had a poor start, allowing Fabiano Margheriti to take the lead. Pinho's teammate John Beckett and Tyrrell's Danilo Koren came together on the entry to *Portier,* forcing Beckett to retire later on the lap, whilst Koren continued.

Margheriti controlled the race with a narrow lead over Wolff before the first stops. He closed on reigning champion Jack Wilson and dived past into the chicane to take the lead. Williams' Otto Makkinen was in fourth towards the end of the race when he tapped the wall on the exit of the tunnel, breaking his suspension. His retirement promoted Wilson into fourth. On lap 23 Santiago Reyes span at *Massenet* into the path of Alexandro Pinho. Reyes' car was terminally damaged whilst Pinho escaped with just minor aero damage.

Margheriti went on to win the race, taking his third win of the season in four races. Wolff finished in second, with Pinho finishing in third.

### **Round 5: United States**

Minardi came into Road America with more upgrades after showing great pace at the Monaco Grand Prix. The upgrades propelled the Italian team to the front. They dominated practice and John Beckett grabbed his first pole position ahead of his teammate, securing a front-row lockout for Minardi.

Beckett and Pinho maintained their positions, with passing proving difficult at the circuit. Further back, Eduardo Ventura missed his braking point and went off the circuit, making contact with one of the Fondmetals. This would be the start of a torrid race for the Brazilian driver, who struggled to be consistent during the race.

Beckett and Pinho were battling closely for the lead when Beckett was due to pit on lap 13. However, he missed a gear shift and this resulted in Pinho colliding with him at the final corner. Both cars went off and lost a significant amount of time. This also allowed Margheriti to take the lead and he went on to win, taking his fourth win from five races. Makkinen finished second, with Wilson in third.

### **Round 6: France**

The French Grand Prix moved to Magny-Cours for the first time after drivers and fans voiced their dislike of the Paul Ricard circuit. Williams appeared strong in practice, with Otto Makkinen later going on to take pole position for the first time in his Formula One career.

Makkinen fended off early attacks from Alexsandro Pinho for the lead before pulling away. Further back, Larrousse's Kevin Baldoni missed his braking point and slammed into the rear of Jack Wilson. The incident escalated and caused further contact with other cars. Wilson was forced to pit for repairs, dropping him to the back of the field.

Pinho later span on lap five and dropped down the order, before going on to spin out of the race completely on lap 11. Thereafter, Makkinen was unchallenged for the lead. However, there was a fierce battle for the final podium positions between Margheriti, Ventura, Wolff, and Reyes. Ventura and Reyes managed to create a gap to the others, before Reyes overtook Ventura in a brave move down the inside of turn seven to take second place.

Makkinen won the race by over 20 seconds, taking a Grand Slam in the process. Reyes finished in second, his first podium of the season, with Ventura in third.

### **Round 7: Great Britain**

Williams carried on their strong form from France, with Makkinen once again taking pole position. He pulled away at the race start and saw no challenge for the remaining laps of the race.

A race-long battle for second place developed between Margheriti, Wilson, and Ventura. Despite Wilson appearing to be faster than Margheriti, he couldn't find a way past the Italian, with overtaking proving harder than expected at Silverstone. Many drivers had commented on the condition of the Silverstone track prior to the weekend, with the track surface proving incredibly bumpy due to it's age.

Wilson had his only chance to pass Margheriti after both cars pitted, but was unable to make the move stick into *Stowe*. They eventually finished as they started, with Margheriti in second and Wilson in third. Larrousse reserve Arthur Leitner finished in fifth place, bringing in major points for the backmarker team.

### **Round 8: Germany**

Makkinen started from pole position for the third race in a row, with Danilo Koren second, and championship rival Fabiano Margheriti in third. Margheriti jumped Koren off the start before pulling into the slipstream of Makkinen into the first chicane. Makkinen squeezed the Italian on the outside as they entered the chicane, forcing Margheriti to travel down the escape road, whilst Makkinen almost lost control and had to skip the chicane.

Danilo Koren, after a poor launch at the race, lost ground to Eduardo Ventura in the first corner. The Brazilian driver attempted to overtake Koren around the outside of the sweeping *Nord-Kurve* but Koren understeered and the two made contact. This forced Ventura into the gravel and he lost control, narrowly avoiding being hit by the rest of the grid as they sped past. His car suffered heavy damage but he continued into the race.

Makkinen continued to duel for the lead for the rest of the first lap, often making contact in the process. Margheriti managed a better exit out of the third chicane and pulled to the outside of Makkinen before pulling off a brave move around his outside into the stadium section of the circuit. Makkinen then dived down the inside of Margheriti into the *Sachs-Kurve* hairpin and they once again made contact. However, the contact forced Margheriti into the outside wall. His car suffered terminal damage and he was out of the race, whilst Makkinen continued. The Finnish driver maintained the lead for a lap before making a mistake, relinquishing it to McLaren's Wilson. He subsequently pitted for repairs and new tyres on lap six.

Jasper Saetern was in ninth position when he crashed out of the race. He suffered a minor concussion in the impact with the Armco barrier, but was otherwise uninjured. Koren also crashed out of the race at the start of lap seven after understeering at turn one whilst chasing Wilson. The race became one of attrition as cars continued to drop out, leaving just a half-dozen cars remaining as the race progressed.

Wilson maintained a healthy lead over Makkinen, who had recovered from the early pitstop and damage to pull himself into second place. His teammate, Eduardo Ventura, had also moved up to third place. Arthur Weitner, who was taking part in only his third race in Formula One for Larrousse, was in an incredible fourth place after keeping his car out of trouble. The finishing order remained the same, with Wilson picking up his first win of the season, along with McLaren's first win of the season.

Margheriti was understandably furious after his incident with Makkinen, stating: "I think is pretty clear. He rammed me off the road because he cannot accept I am better at racing." Makkinen received two penalty points and a qualifying ban for the incident.

### **Round 9: Belgium**

Ventura started from pole position for the first race since Brazil and led the field away, closely followed by McLaren's Santiago Reyes. Championship contender Otto Makkinen would skip qualifying due to a penalty he received in the German Grand Prix, forcing him to start at the back of the grid.

As the race progressed, many drivers span or crashed out on the newly resurfaced track which provided little grip due to rain the night before. Race leader Ventura went wide at *Raidillon* and span, avoiding the barriers but moving into the path of Reyes, who was unable to avoid his car. Reyes slammed into Ventura in a huge accident, with Wilson and Koren also barely avoiding the wreck. Reyes suffered a concussion whilst Ventura broke his left leg.

Koren moved into the lead of the race following Ventura's accident and maintained a narrow lead over Wilson. Wilson struggled to follow Koren in the turbulent air but continued to push hard. He eventually crashed out in almost the same spot as Ventura in a heavy accident on the exit of *Raidillon* but was uninjured.

Makkinen had made his way through the chaos with a consistent and efficient drive and eventually found his way up to the back of race leader Koren. He slipstreamed Koren down the *Kemmel Straight* and passed Koren around the outside of *Les Combes* to take the lead of the race, a position which he would hold until the race's end. Meanwhile, tempers flaired between Pinho and Margheriti in a battle for the final podium position. The pair almost collided into *Les Combes*, with Pinho missing the corner before spinning off into the wall. Margheriti continued, with Pinho gesturing angrily to the Italian as he passed him.

Makkinen won the race ahead of Koren and Margheriti, dealing another heavy blow to Margheriti in the championship.

### **Round 10: Italy**

Williams were forced to find a replacement for the injured Ventura and hired Rolph Mills, a semi-professional racing driver from London who had tested with the team in previous years.

Mills shocked the sport by taking pole position in his first ever race, ahead of his teammate Makkinen. Mills controlled the race, having just enough pace to fend off Makkinen, giving Williams another one-two result. Wilson finished in third for McLaren.

Makkinen's rival Margheriti was forced into a recovery drive after being taken out in qualifying by Jasper Saetern and started at the back of the grid. He was making solid progress until a spin at *Ascari* and was forced to settle for fourth place.

### **Round 11: Spain**

The sport headed into Catalunya for the first race at the newly built circuit. Mills once again took pole position, but both Williams struggled to find race pace on Sunday. Mills faced pressure from Jack Wilson for the entire race, whilst Makkinen dropped back and engaged in a battle with tital rival Margheriti, with Margheriti winning out.

Mills took his second win in his second race, ahead of Wilson and Margheriti.

### **Round 12: Japan**

Excitement was high around the paddock as Margheriti and Makkinen entered the final round of the season just two points apart, with Makkinen leading. However, Makkinen suffered a high speed crash in practice at *130R* after a rear tyre failed. Makkinen suffered a fractured rib and concussion from the crash and was forced to miss out the rest of the weekend. This meant that Margheriti only needed an eighth place finish to clinch the title.

Danilo Koren grabbed pole position but a misfiring engine forced him to have an extremely slow start and he pulled into the pits after just a lap to retire the car. Jack Wilson also had a poor start and accidentally jumped the start by a fraction of a second. He received a drive-through penalty, dropping him several positions. His teammate Reyes assumed the lead ahead of Margheriti and Mills. The race was fairly processional until the first stops, with many drivers choosing different strategies. Margheriti had dropped behind Mills after his stop but pushed hard and pulled off a strong pass into turn two, with the two drivers making contact. This turned out to be a pass for the net lead of the race, after Reyes and Ferrari's Javier Navarro also had poor stops.

Mills dropped back and was caught by the charging Javier Navarro, whose Ferrari engine was proving invaluable on the long straights of Suzuka. Mills did all he could to hold the Ferrari behind, but all this managed to do was bring Reyes into contention. The three drivers eventually began an epic duel for second place, speeding three-wide down the start-finish straight. Reyes sweeped around the outside of both drivers into the first corner in a stunning move that gave him second place. Margheriti was unchallenged after his pass on Mills and went on to take his first win since the United States Grand Prix and in the process winning his second title.

## Results and Standings

### **Grands Prix**

**1991 Drivers' Championship - Final Standings**

**1991 Constructors' Championship - Final Standings**