User:Brickie/Sandbox/F1 1991

The 1991 Formula One season was the 42nd FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 10, 1991, and ended on November 3 after sixteen races. Ayrton Senna won his third Drivers' World Championship, and his McLaren team were Constructors' champions.

Pre-Season
Amid the political turmoil of the Gulf War and attendant fears of terrorism, not to mention a global recession, some questions were raised as to whether the 1991 Formula One season ought to go ahead at all. However, even despite this, 18 teams had entered a total of 34 cars, and racing went ahead.

Driver and team changes
In all, ten drivers from the previous year would not find drives in 1991, with a number of new drivers making debuts.

The McLaren team kept their successful 1990 pairing of Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger, while Nigel Mansell rejoined Williams after two years at Ferrari. The Italian team replaced the departing Englishman with Jean Alesi who had impressed for the Tyrrell team the previous year. He would partner Alain Prost. Triple champion Nelson Piquet remained at the Benetton team and was initially partnered by his childhood friend Roberto Moreno, though future star Michael Schumacher would replace Moreno partway through the season.

The Arrows team took the name Footwork for the season, and the Osella team likewise became Fondmetal, both for sponsorship reasons. Team Lotus had been completely relaunched in the wake of their disastrous 1990, a management buyout, and the loss of title sponsor Camel.

There were two new teams on the grid for 1991: One was Jordan Grand Prix, making the step up from International Formula 3000 with Andrea de Cesaris and Bertrand Gachot their initial drivers. Less successful would be Modena, who were in all but name the works team for Lamborghini.

Rules and technical changes
For 1991, two amendments were made to the scoring system. Firstly, the number of points awarded for a race win was increased from 9 to 10, and secondly, points from all the driver's races would now be counted, instead of only the best eleven results.

Wing sizes had been reduced, and the rear wing was required to be mounted further forwards, both in an attempt to reduce downforce, but testing showed that, regardless, the cars were faster rather than slower than previously

Season Summary
The 1991 season was initially dominated by Ayrton Senna, the defending champion winning the first four races from pole position. An eventful fifth race of the season in Canada saw Nelson Piquet win, and the following four races were won by Williams drivers: Riccardo Patrese in Mexico and Nigel Mansell in France, Britain and Germany. Senna's fight-back came with back-to-back wins in the next two races, but then Mansell won two of the next three races to keep his challenge alive despite his disqualification in Portugal. Ayrton Senna clinched the World Championship at the penultimate race in Japan (at which he allowed his team-mate Gerhard Berger to take the race win in recognition of his efforts for the team). The final race of the season, in Australia, was conducted in torrential rain and abandoned after just 14 laps with half-points being awarded.

The Ferrari team endured a torrid season, and star driver Alain Prost became more and more vocal in his criticism of the car, culminating in his dismissal prior to the last race of the season. He would take a "sabbatical" year in 1992.

Belgian driver Bertrand Gachot was charged with assault after an incident involving a London taxi driver, and his replacement at Jordan was promising Mercedes sports-car driver Michael Schumacher. Schumacher made an impressive debut at the Belgian Grand Prix, qualifying seventh and running well until he retired. Following this, he controversially moved to Benetton, and although Eddie Jordan claimed he had an agreement from Mercedes for Schumacher to remain with him, the German signed a multiple-year contract with Benetton and would go on to win two championships with them.

On 9 October, Max Mosley was elected the new president of FISA, the first Englishman to hold the post. He took over from Jean-Marie Balestre.

Teams and Drivers
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1991 FIA Formula One World Championship.