1990 United States Grand Prix

The season opens on the angular Phoenix Street Circuit in Arizona. The race was moved to March specifically to avoid the 100+ °F heat that made conditions extremely difficult at the 1989 Phoenix race, which was held in June.

Entrants

Gregor Foitek makes his Formula One race debut for Brabham. He attempted to qualify for eleven races during the 1989 season without success. At Arrows, Alex Caffi is absent after a pre-season cycling accident; Bernd Schneider fills the seat for this race.

Alain Prost starts his first race for Ferrari, while Gerhard Berger begins his McLaren career alongside Senna. Jean Alesi is making only the eighth start of his Formula One career, driving for Tyrrell.

Qualifying

Unexpected rain on Saturday meant the grid was decided entirely by Friday’s dry session times. Pirelli’s soft qualifying tyres caught Goodyear off guard. In a surprise move, team manager Ken Tyrrell signed with Pirelli just two days before the race, ending an 18-year relationship with Goodyear, and Alesi’s Tyrrell ended up fourth on the grid as a result. Pierluigi Martini put Minardi second on the grid — less than seven-hundredths of a second off Berger’s pole time — the only time in the team’s history they have started from the front row. Senna could manage only fifth, with Prost seventh in his Ferrari debut.

Philippe Alliot was excluded from qualifying after a mechanic worked on the Larrousse car outside the pit area during Friday’s session.