1989 Monaco Grand Prix

Previous race

At Imola, Senna won after Berger’s Ferrari speared off at Tamburello on lap four at an estimated 180 mph, catching fire when it came to rest. Three marshals reached Berger on foot sixteen seconds after impact and extinguished the blaze in ten seconds; he escaped with broken ribs and burns to his hands and back, and gave a thumbs-up as he was removed. The race was stopped, restarted after half an hour, and run on aggregate. Prost finished second, Nannini third.

Between-race developments

After Imola, Prost claimed McLaren had a pre-race agreement that whoever led into the first turn should stay there, accusing Senna of breaking it when the Brazilian passed him at Tosa during the restart. Senna denied any such agreement existed. Prost subsequently said he wanted “nothing to do with” his teammate and refused to speak with him ahead of Monaco.

Entrants

Ferrari does not enter a replacement for Berger — the burns on his hands are not sufficiently healed for Monaco, even with the semi-automatic gearbox removing the need to take his hands off the wheel. The field is reduced to 29 cars. Ferrari has modified Mansell’s car to address the mechanical failure that caused Berger’s crash at Tamburello, though certain planned upgrades could not be completed in time.

March debuts Adrian Newey’s new CG891 design at this event.