1990 Brazilian Grand Prix

Previous race

At Phoenix, Senna won from Jean Alesi, who held the lead for long stretches and enthralled the crowd with daring passing attempts before Senna finally made a decisive move on lap 35. It was Alesi’s first podium finish. Boutsen was third. Prost retired on lap 21 with gearbox trouble in his Ferrari debut, while Mansell retired from fifth with a clutch failure that caught fire.

Championship standings

Senna leads with 9 points after one race.

Circuit

The Brazilian Grand Prix returns to the Interlagos Autodrome in São Paulo for the first time since 1980, having spent the intervening years at the Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio de Janeiro. The track has been substantially rebuilt — shortened from 7.9 km to 4.2 km — and loses many of the fast sweeping corners and the long Retão straight that previously allowed drivers to run at full throttle for 20 seconds.

Qualifying

Local hero Senna took pole. Gianni Morbidelli qualified for the first time in his Formula One career, racing for Scuderia Italia in place of Emanuele Pirro, who is absent.

Williams driver Thierry Boutsen, third on the grid, predicted the Ferraris would be the cars to beat, citing their semi-automatic gearbox with paddle-shift, which allows drivers to keep both hands on the wheel through the bumpy back section of the circuit.