HONDA The Power of Dreams

In 1990, Ayrton Senna was so fed up with the Super Licence revocation issue that he later said he considered quitting. Thanks to the efforts of McLaren, Honda, and others, Senna reached a settlement with FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) President Jean-Marie Balestre, and he was issued a Super License just in time for the start of the season. Replacing Alain Prost, Gerhard Berger moved from Ferrari to join McLaren Honda and become Senna’s teammate.

For the first time in Formula 1, the season-opener was held in the U.S., in Phoenix in early March, when the weather was unstable and temperatures remained low. In addition, this was the first race of the season for many teams newly reorganized, and the unfamiliar street course presented many challenges, making for an unpredictable qualifying session. Within the 0.8-second gap between pole-sitter Berger and Senna on P5, were Pierluigi Martini (Minardi Cosworth) 2nd, Andrea de Cesaris (Dallara Cosworth) 3rd, and Jean Alesi (Tyrrell Cosworth) 4th. These usually mid-field teams were up on the starting grid, mainly due to tires. Since re-entry into supplying F1 tires in 1989, Pirelli had been supplying tires to teams in the middle and lower tiers of the grid amid Goodyear’s dominance. In this qualifying session, the unstable conditions suited the Pirellis precisely, moving their users up on the grid.

As the race started, Alesi took the lead. Taking advantage of pole-sitter Berger’s strategy of cutting across track to keep other drivers behind him, Alesi took the opening Berger made at the first turn, and led until Lap 34. The 25-year-old Alesi, a French newcomer who had only made his F1 debut in the middle of the previous season, quickly rose to prominence in this race. After a chaotic start to the race, Senna had steadily worked his way through the field, moving into second place on Lap 9 and slowly closed the gap to Alesi. On Lap 34 at the first turn, Senna took the inside and out-braked Alesi to take the lead. Then, at the right-angled left turn, Alesi made a wild maneuver to pass from the inside to regain the lead. Senna, caught off guard, passed Alesi at the same right turn as the lap before, and then held the inside on the next left turn to keep Alesi at bay. Alesi frantically tried to overtake from the outside of the racing line, but Senna would not budge. Senna defended his position until the checkered flag. The fact that Senna overtook Alesi for the second time at the same turn, one lap later, was typical of his competitive spirit. Since making his F1 debut in 1984 at the age of 24, Senna had been absorbed in trying to beat the older drivers. But this time, an up-and-coming driver younger than himself was challenging him for the first time, and would overtake him if he let his guard down. Senna, awakened and made to take the situation seriously, must have enjoyed the race. Senna stood on the center podium and continued to clap while Alesi’s name was announced, and was the first to pour champaigne over Alesi and congratulate him.

The fight for the championship in 1990 was contested between Senna and Prost, who had moved to Ferrari. In the end, Senna’s six wins over Prost’s five gave him the world championship, ending the three-year Senna vs Prost duel.