1989 Season

Driver changes

McLaren retain their dominant 1988 pairing of Alain Prost and defending champion Ayrton Senna for the new MP4/5.

Ferrari sign Nigel Mansell to partner Gerhard Berger, replacing Michele Alboreto. Williams recruit Thierry Boutsen from Benetton as Mansell’s replacement, retaining Riccardo Patrese alongside him.

Benetton sign British rookie Johnny Herbert to replace Boutsen; Herbert is still recovering from severe foot injuries sustained in a Formula 3000 crash at Brands Hatch, and McLaren test driver Emanuele Pirro stands by. Tyrrell sign Michele Alboreto to partner Jonathan Palmer.

Brabham return after missing 1988 with Stefano Modena and 1988 World Sports Prototype Championship winner Martin Brundle in the Judd-powered BT58; both drivers must pre-qualify for the first half of the season.

Ligier replace Stefan Johansson with newcomer Olivier Grouillard alongside veteran René Arnoux. Larrousse start the year with Yannick Dalmas and Philippe Alliot, but Dalmas is recovering from Legionnaires’ disease. AGS retain Philippe Streiff alongside a second entry for Joachim Winkelhock. The new Onyx Grand Prix team, formerly the semi-works March operation in Formula Two and F3000, enter Stefan Johansson and Belgian rookie Bertrand Gachot.

Team changes

Williams secure exclusive use of Renault’s V10 engine, marking Renault’s first return to Formula One since 1986. The team runs the updated FW12C for the early part of the season before a new car is ready.

Ferrari’s new 640 features a semi-automatic electronic gearbox — the first of its kind in Formula One — and the team’s first 12-cylinder engine since 1980. The car is designed by John Barnard.

Lotus lose their Honda engine supply following the McLaren tie-up and switch to the Judd V8 for the new Lotus 101, designed by Frank Dernie. Benetton retain the Ford Cosworth DFR-powered B188 as their de facto works Ford entry until a new B189 with the Ford HB engine is available.

Larrousse switch from Ford Cosworth to the new Lamborghini V12, designed by Mauro Forghieri. Ligier drop Judd and move to the Ford Cosworth DFR for their new JS33. Zakspeed, having built their own turbo engines since their debut in 1985, are forced to switch to an outside supplier and take on the Yamaha V8 — the Japanese company’s Formula One debut. The Zakspeed 891 is designed by Gustav Brunner; Bernd Schneider and Aguri Suzuki must both pre-qualify throughout the season.

Calendar

The season runs to 16 races beginning on 26 March in Brazil. Pre-season testing and the opening round take place at the Jacarepaguá Autodrome in Rio de Janeiro, which hosts Formula One for the final time; the series moves to the shortened Interlagos circuit in São Paulo from 1990.

Regulation changes

Turbocharged engines are banned following the end of 1988, mandating a 3.5-litre naturally aspirated formula. The regulation brings Honda and Renault to market with V10 configurations — a layout never previously used in Formula One — while Ferrari and Lamborghini develop V12 designs. The change produces an unprecedented entry of 20 constructors and 39 cars for 26 grid places.

A safety rule requiring drivers’ feet to be situated behind the front axle-line, introduced in 1988 for new chassis, is now mandatory for all cars. Designers, deprived of the powerful turbo engines, are pushing aerodynamics to compensate, resulting in increasingly small and cramped cockpits.

Race distances are standardised at 305 km to keep events within the two-hour time limit, with exceptions at slower street circuits. Pre-qualifying is expanded to 13 cars, with the four fastest progressing to the main qualifying session; 26 grid places are available from that session. Trackside barriers must be at least 1 m high, with the pit lane wall on the start/finish straight at 1.35 m.

Pre-season testing

Testing takes place at the Jacarepaguá Autodrome in Rio de Janeiro. Thierry Boutsen crashes heavily in his Williams during the sessions. More seriously, Philippe Streiff crashes violently at the flat-out Suspiro corner in his AGS-Ford when the rear suspension breaks; the car hits the barriers head-on, destroying the roll-over bar. Streiff suffers severe spinal injuries, is left in a coma, and is permanently paralysed from the neck down — ending his racing career. His place at AGS is taken by Gabriele Tarquini, who had planned to drive for the FIRST team before they withdrew.