The 1990 United States Grand Prix at the Phoenix street circuit was won by Ayrton Senna, but all eyes were on Tyrrell's Jean Alesi, who was racing in his first full F1 season.
The young Frenchman lined up fourth on the grid, one place ahead of Senna, with Gerhard Berger on pole position for McLaren.
Pierluigi Martini and Andrea de Cesaris also surprised for Minardi and Scuderia Italia in second and third, after rain on Saturday meant qualifying was decided by the times from Friday’s running.
At the start, Alesi stormed from fourth to first, taking the lead and quickly establishing a small lead around the twisty streets of Phoenix in the plucky 018.
Senna moved his way up to second place in the early stages, but was initially reluctant to push Alesi, not knowing how long his Pirelli tyres would last.
It took until lap 34 for the McLaren to catch up to Alesi. The two famously got stuck into a close battle for first place, with Senna failing to get past him on his opening attempt. He tried the same move on the next lap and moved ahead.
Despite Alesi’s best efforts, he couldn’t reclaim the lead and instead opted to hold onto second and conserve his tyres. Senna unsurprisingly raced off into the distance and claimed victory at the opening round of the season, eight seconds clear of Alesi.
Thierry Boutsen was over 50 seconds behind the race winner in third, helped by rivals like Ferrari’s Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell retiring.
Nelson Piquet was fourth for Benetton, ahead of Stefano Modena’s Brabham and Satoru Nakajima in the second Tyrrell car, one lap behind the race winner.
Pierluigi Martini and Andrea de Cesaris also surprised for Minardi and Scuderia Italia in second and third, after rain on Saturday meant qualifying was decided by the times from Friday’s running.
At the start, Alesi stormed from fourth to first, taking the lead and quickly establishing a small lead around the twisty streets of Phoenix in the plucky 018.
Senna moved his way up to second place in the early stages, but was initially reluctant to push Alesi, not knowing how long his Pirelli tyres would last.
It took until lap 34 for the McLaren to catch up to Alesi. The two famously got stuck into a close battle for first place, with Senna failing to get past him on his opening attempt. He tried the same move on the next lap and moved ahead.
Despite Alesi’s best efforts, he couldn’t reclaim the lead and instead opted to hold onto second and conserve his tyres. Senna unsurprisingly raced off into the distance and claimed victory at the opening round of the season, eight seconds clear of Alesi.
Thierry Boutsen was over 50 seconds behind the race winner in third, helped by rivals like Ferrari’s Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell retiring.
Nelson Piquet was fourth for Benetton, ahead of Stefano Modena’s Brabham and Satoru Nakajima in the second Tyrrell car, one lap behind the race winner.
1 comment:
I remember watching this live, and in total Awe, thinking who is this Alesi guy, this race is imprinted in my memory, and alas, (in my opinion), was probably the best race of Jean Alesi's career....
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