AutoScrub wrote:Formula One 1991: Can Prost make it five?
McLaren's Alain Prost enters the season as a four-time and twice-defending World Drivers Champion.
As we look forward to the 1991 Formula One season, the obvious question is: "Can Alain Prost do it
again?" The Frenchman's Championship title last year put him on four, second all-time behind only Juan Manuel Fangio, and now clear on his own ahead of Brabham, Stewart, Lauda and Nelson Piquet (more on him later). McLaren has been the dominant team in F1 for almost a decade now, and it must surely be hard to look past them as favourites again for yet another year. Just as relevant will be the question of whether any new contenders can emerge to challenge the well-oiled McLaren team.
Camel McLaren Honda
1.
Alain Prost and 2.
Jean Alesi
The McLaren team has remained entirely unchanged since their triumphant 1990 season, with Alain Prost as the incumbent World Champion and Jean Alesi as his protege. With 46 Grand Prix wins to his name now, it looks like the question of Prost becoming the first driver ever to pass 50 is one of "when" and not "if". In contrast, Alesi is just starting out on his journey and managed his first two Grand Prix wins at Imola and Silverstone last year, capitalising when neither Prost nor Mansell finished the race. The rumours coming out of the McLaren camp are simply full of confidence, which will be concerning for their rivals.
Jagermeister Team Tyrrell
3.
Gerhard Berger and 4.
Mika Hakkinen
The British team is still figuring out how to return to winning ways for the first time since 1983 (assuming we don't count the Indoor Trophy event just before Christmas), but the team's recovery since the nadir of 1988 and the fallout of 1984 should absolutely be applauded. The 31-year-old Gerhard Berger still looks to be on top of his game, while young Finn Mika Hakkinen is one of the brightest prospects anywhere in the racing world. The works Ford engines may be a little down on power compared to the likes of Renault and Ferrari, but it is still a top-quality engine and more than good enough for Tyrrell to pull out big results on slower-speed tracks.
Marlboro Williams Renault
5.
Nigel Mansell and 6.
Michael Schumacher
It will have been impossible not to notice that Williams' off-season was exceedingly chaotic. Despite that, they've managed to put together what looks likely to be a very competitive organisation: Michael Schumacher joins the team in place of the still-injured Alessandro Nannini, after showing everyone exactly what he was about with a race win on his Williams debut at Suzuka last year. Mansell meanwhile has long been F1's ultimate nearly-man: he has thrice been WDC runner-up as a Williams driver, and will be sorely hoping that the standard-setting Renault power can direct him one better this season.
Lamborghini Motor Racing Developments
7.
Mark Blundell and 8.
Ukyo Katayama
Since the Italian car manufacturer bought out what had once been the Brabham Formula One Team, Lamborghini has been doing quietly very well. Most observers agree that they have an excellent new chassis for 1991, while they have proven to be a popular customer engine supplier. The only real question will be whether their drivers can maximise any opportunities that come their way: both are still very inexperienced, and we have no real way of knowing how they stack up against the rest of the grid.
Braun Arrows Grand Prix International (PreQ)
9.
Johnny Herbert and 10.
Laurent Aiello
Arrows have spent two years trying to develop the best car possible, even spending 1990 using customer Lola chassis rather than have their engineers be distracted. So many teams thought that Arrows would be a team to beat this year, but early signs are that it hasn't worked out at all. Conservative design choices and some undoubted misfortune have combined to put the British team - who start the year in prequalifying - in a very awkward position indeed. They will be hoping that Johnny Herbert can take them to the promised land.
Epson Team Lotus Isuzu (PreQ)
11.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen and 12.
Enrico Bertaggia
The unlikely Lotus-Isuzu partnership started with huge promise in 1990, before a catastrophic second half of the season saw them fail to record a single finish in the final six rounds, when just one more point would have been enough for them to start the season safely out of prequalifying for a while. Their driver pairing also confounds: Heinz-Harald Frentzen is kept on from last season, but Allan McNish must be absolutely gutted to be left on the sidelines. Furthermore, he's not been benched for a rising star like Bernd Schneider or Martin Donnelly, but for the sluggish chicane himself, Enrico Bertaggia. It remains to be seen whether he will be allowed to complete the season.
Leyton House Racing (PreQ)
15.
Eric Bernard and 16.
Hitoshi Ogawa
The Leyton House Racing team, the spiritual and literal successor of March Engineering, had a very quiet 1990 season. Despite often running strongly, including a brace of 7th and a further brace of 8th places, they couldn't quite bag any all-important points. Despite this, the genial Akira Akagi says he has seen real reasons to be hopeful. His team has rehired 1990 driver Eric Bernard alongside the erstwhile Arrows peddler, Hitoshi Ogawa. The Japanese driver often struggled in qualifying sessions, but he did much better in races as his consistency really came to the fore.
Osella Squadra Corse Lapidus (PreQ)
17.
Geoff Brabham and 18.
Damon Hill
"Brabham" and "Hill" are two of the biggest names in Anglophone motorsports, and they come together under the banner of Osella Squadra Corse. However, they will be stuck in a highly competitive Prequalifying field, so if we want to see them on track we might have to get up early on Friday mornings. Despite that, Enzo Osella has said he is "still confident we will get a point this year."
Benetton Formula
19.
Thierry Boutsen and 20.
Eric van de Poele
In 1990, Benetton had arguably the fastest package on the grid at high-speed venues, although reliability woes hobbled them week after week. By the end of the season, they were just six points behind the third-placed Constructor; points that, but for poor luck, they would absolutely have made up. As a result, Benetton have showed a real vote of confidence in their drivers and their chassis department, but they were not happy with Ferrari power. Instead, they have gone to cross-town rival suppliers, Lamborghini. It will be fascinating to see how this works out for them.
West Scuderia Italia
21.
Pierluigi Martini and 22.
Stefano Modena
The team often referred to as "the last privateers", Scuderia Italia have new backing, new chassis and a new driver ahead ahead of the all-important 1991 season. With the Concorde Agreement around the corner, their position is more precarious than most teams, so if they end up having to expand their engineering department then they'll need the money to do it. Stefano Modena, their new driver, certainly could be the man to make it happen, but who knows whether the switch to Reynard chassis will be the right call?
Equipe Ligier Gitanes
25.
Erik Comas and 26.
Philippe Alliot
This is certainly a very interesting proposition: the French team had a resurgent season in 1990 with Lancia-badged Ferrari engines, and will doubtless be hoping that 1991 can bring more of the same. They have brought in the prodigiously talented Erik Comas to partner Philippe Alliot, who at Spa became Ligier's first race winner since Jacques Laffite in 1981 - an extremely exciting driver pairing. Also fascinating is the switch to Ilmor engines: despite being a clear downgrade on Ferrari power, there are the inevitable rumours that this could lead to a Peugeot or Citroen engine partnership in the coming years.
Scuderia Ferrari FIAT
27.
Ayrton Senna and 28.
Andrea de Cesaris
The most famous team in Formula One came under new management during 1990, as Jaguar's Tom Walkinshaw was brought in to help right the direction of travel. Ayrton Senna then promptly went and dragged out a historic Grand Prix win in Adelaide to catapult Ferrari into third place in the Championship and avoid what threatened to be a real
annus horribilis for the team. Regardless, Martin Brundle was not kept on for the new season and in his place came Andrea de Cesaris, the tempestuous Italian putting in several good performances last year before his relationship with the Tyrrell team broke down completely.
Venturi Racing (PreQ)
29.
Eddie Irvine, sharing with
Perry McCarthy
It's been a real rollercoaster for the team now known as Venturi Racing - barely more than a year ago it was known as Larrousse, before being bought out (disastrously) by Gabriele Rumi's Fondmetal organisation. That went awfully, and the husk of that team has been bought out again by the Monegasque marque, Venturi. It is also the first of this season's five one-car teams; last season, only First-Life ran as a one-car outfit, and that was because they ran out of spare parts. It is certainly an interesting trend.
Lucchini Coloni Racing (PreQ)
31.
Fabrizio Giovanardi
Another team that will be intriguing to watch is Coloni. They had an awful 1990, which is entirely in keeping with their entire history as a team. They haven't ever scored a point and now they're downsizing again to a one-car outfit: Fabrizio Giovanardi rides alone, but he does so with what is essentially last year's Lotus with this year's Lamborghini engine, and it will be fascinating to see how he does - even as the team remains stuck in prequalifying due to only running one car.
Porsche Zakspeed Racing
34.
Karl Wendlinger and 35.
Mauricio Gugelmin
Zakspeed had an enormous breakout season in 1990 as Marlboro money and Ferrari engines powered unprecedented success for the little German outfit. This attracted the attention of Porsche, who have bought into the Zakspeed project to a great enough extent that the constructor will now officially be known as "Porsche". However, the engine is expected to be a massive piece of shite, and it remains to be seen for how long Wendlinger and Gugelmin can stay out of prequalifying.
Onyx Goodyear Formula One Team (PreQ)
36.
Aguri Suzuki and 37.
Andrea Chiesa
The Onyx F1 Team has a very new look for the 1991 season: a complete makeover if you will. They've got a brand new chassis (based on last year's Tyrrell), a brand new engine supplier (Lamborghini), a brand new tyre supplier (Goodyear, one of only two teams using them) and two brand new drivers. Aguri Suzuki scored two points driving for Footwork last year, his first-ever points in Formula One, and Andrea Chiesa arrives on the grid after two strong seasons in F3000 where he finished 6th and 7th in the Championship, including a win at Enna Pergusa (1990) and a trio of second-places at Vallelunga (1990), Donington and Birmingham (both 1991). It will be a fascinating intra-team battle.
PIAA Rial Racing (PreQ)
38.
Fritz Kreutzpointner and 39.
Toshio Suzuki
Well this looks
fine. To think Rial ran Bernd Schneider and Michael Schumacher last year.
Elf Team AGS (PreQ)
40.
Yannick Dalmas, sharing with
Eric Hélary
After expanding to two cars in 1990, AGS have contracted back to only one car again for 1991. The French outfit is one that likes to promote promising French drivers, and by that measure its 1990 was a success: Erik Comas's shock point was enough to get the attention of Ligier and a potentially race-winning drive. Yannick Dalmas and Eric Hélary will be hoping that they too can capitalise on this opportunity.
Escuderia Pemex (PreQ)
42.
Christian Fittipaldi
Escuderia Pemex has not had an easy route to the Formula One grid, and yet here they are with driver Christian Fittipaldi. They should even do quite well, as the Lola chassis is still a really good, nimble machine. Somewhere along the line though, it seems as if the idea of being "Mexico's national racing team" might have been lost.
EuroBrun Subaru (PreQ)
44.
Michael Bartels and 45.
George Fouché
EuroBrun never once escaped prequalifying in 1990. Not once. Despite that they've somehow clawed themselves back onto the grid again for 1991, with two new
suckers drivers to peddle it around. Not only that, but there's a brand new EuroBrun chassis, and even the Subaru engine has been developed. Could they, just maybe, prequalify?
Canon Monteverdi (PreQ)
46.
Stefan Johansson
No-one quite knows how it has happened, but Monteverdi has put together what might be a really good package. The Ferrari engine in the back of it will make it a rocketship down the straights, while Stefan Johansson has a proven knack for wrestling uncooperative cars around corners. Could Monteverdi possibly pick up the points needed to establish themselves on the F1 grid going forwards?
Footwork Project Four
48.
Nelson Piquet and 49.
Bertrand Gachot
Never
ever doubt the power of Ron Dennis. Footwork Project Four arrived with a bang and a works Yamaha deal in 1990, built from the ground up in a single off-season following the breakdown of Ron Dennis' working relationship with Mansour Ojjeh. The team then managed to finish the season in seventh, just three points behind race-winning team Ligier. This season, they plan to do considerably better: they've recruited three-time World Champion Nelson Piquet, and built what Dennis describes as a "bulletproof" car. They've even secured Ferrari engines so as to compete better at high-speed tracks. Whisper it, they could be real contenders this year.
Eddie Jordan Racing (PreQ)
50.
Paul Warwick and 51.
Mika Salo
This will be a season of survival for the former F3000 team, as they attempt to conquer F1 using the combined powers of vibes, and Eddie Jordan's weird ability to convince people of things. We probably won't see much of it though, as we've not heard from anyone who thinks that this Jordan is likely to be a good car.