Ayrton Senna won a severely shortened 1991 Australian Grand Prix as torrential rain brought the season finale to an early halt. The result was declared after 14 laps, with Nigel Mansell second and Gerhard Berger third, securing McLaren the constructors’ championship.
Race Guide
Season: 1991 F1 World Championship
Race date: 3 November 1991
Race start time: Start time unconfirmed local time (UTC+10:30)
Circuit: Adelaide Street Circuit
Laps: 14 laps (81 laps scheduled)
Circuit length: 3.780 km
1990 winner: Nelson Piquet
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Ayrton Senna | McLaren |
| Pole time | 1:14.041 | |
| Fastest lap | Gerhard Berger | McLaren |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:41.141 on lap 14 | |
| First | Ayrton Senna | McLaren |
| Second | Nigel Mansell | Williams |
| Third | Gerhard Berger | McLaren |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 31 October 1991 | Pre-qualifying | Afternoon; start time unconfirmed |
| 1 November 1991 | Practice 1 | Morning; start time unconfirmed |
| 1 November 1991 | Qualifying 1 | Afternoon; start time unconfirmed |
| 2 November 1991 | Practice 2 | Morning; start time unconfirmed |
| 2 November 1991 | Qualifying 2 | Afternoon; start time unconfirmed |
| 3 November 1991 | Warm-up | Morning; start time unconfirmed |
| 3 November 1991 | Race | Start time unconfirmed |
All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.
Championship background
Ayrton Senna arrived at round 16 leading the 1991 F1 World Championship on 91 points, with Nigel Mansell on 69. McLaren headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 132 points.
Race entries
Ferrari dismissed Alain Prost and promoted its test driver Gianni Morbidelli, with Roberto Moreno taking Gianni Morbidelli‘s Minardi seat. Bertrand Gachot returned to replace the injured Eric Bernard at Larrousse. The race also marked the final Formula 1 appearances of Nelson Piquet and Satoru Nakajima, among others, as several teams faced uncertain futures.
Pre-qualifying
Pre-qualifying moved to Thursday afternoon as part of a four-day meeting. Martin Brundle, Alex Caffi, Mark Blundell and Michele Alboreto advanced in dry conditions. Gabriele Tarquini crashed after a suspension failure and missed the cut, while Hattori also failed to progress. Coloni thus ended its season without reaching the main qualifying sessions at any round.
Pre-qualifying Classification
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Martin Brundle | Brabham | 1:17.707 | — |
| 2 | 10 | Alex Caffi | Footwork | 1:18.007 | +0.300 |
| 3 | 8 | Mark Blundell | Brabham | 1:18.049 | +0.342 |
| 4 | 9 | Michele Alboreto | Footwork | 1:18.051 | +0.344 |
| 5 | 14 | Gabriele Tarquini | Fondmetal | 1:18.184 | +0.477 |
| 6 | 31 | Naoki Hattori | Coloni | 1:22.852 | +5.145 |
Friday Free Practice
Gerhard Berger led Friday practice ahead of Ayrton Senna as McLaren sought to finish the season with the constructors’ title. Williams also brought an experimental active-suspension car for evaluation in free practice, although it was not used in the race. Gianni Morbidelli and Roberto Moreno had the additional task of adapting to unfamiliar cockpits after their late moves between Ferrari and Minardi.
Friday Practice Classification
1991 Australian Grand Prix Practice, 1 November 1991
Friday Qualifying
Ayrton Senna headed Friday qualifying ahead of Gerhard Berger and Nigel Mansell. McLaren had the upper hand, while Nelson Piquet was on course to beat his younger Benetton team-mate in qualifying for the first time since Michael Schumacher joined the team.
Friday Qualifying Classification
1991 Australian Grand Prix first qualifying session, 1 November 1991
Saturday Free Practice
Gerhard Berger remained fastest on Saturday morning, with Riccardo Patrese and Nigel Mansell following. Preparation was costly for several smaller teams: Dallara suffered practice accidents and a fire during the weekend, while Alessandro Zanardi damaged his Jordan and needed the spare. On Adelaide’s confined streets, every lost chassis or interrupted run made it harder to establish a dependable race setup.
Saturday Practice Classification
1991 Australian Grand Prix Practice, 2 November 1991
Saturday Qualifying
Ayrton Senna improved to 1:14.041 on Saturday to take his 60th pole. Gerhard Berger retained second on his Friday time, ahead of Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese. Nelson Piquet and Michael Schumacher shared row three, with Jean Alesi and Gianni Morbidelli forming an all-Ferrari fourth row. Both Larrousse drivers failed to qualify.
Saturday Qualifying Classification
1991 Australian Grand Prix second qualifying session, 2 November 1991
Combined Qualifying Classification
Each driver’s faster time from the two qualifying sessions determined the overall order.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Friday Time | Saturday Time | Best Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren | 1:14.210 | 1:14.041 | 1:14.041 | — |
| 2 | 2 | Gerhard Berger | McLaren | 1:14.385 | 1:15.563 | 1:14.385 | — |
| 3 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams | 1:14.822 | 1:14.897 | 1:14.822 | — |
| 4 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams | 1:15.633 | 1:15.057 | 1:15.057 | — |
| 5 | 20 | Nelson Piquet | Benetton | 1:16.552 | 1:15.291 | 1:15.291 | — |
| 6 | 19 | Michael Schumacher | Benetton | 1:15.840 | 1:15.508 | 1:15.508 | — |
| 7 | 28 | Jean Alesi | Ferrari | 1:17.014 | 1:15.545 | 1:15.545 | — |
| 8 | 27 | Gianni Morbidelli | Ferrari | 1:16.203 | 1:17.679 | 1:16.203 | — |
| 9 | 4 | Stefano Modena | Tyrrell | 1:16.253 | 5:56.547 | 1:16.253 | — |
| 10 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini | Minardi | 1:17.614 | 1:16.359 | 1:16.359 | — |
| 11 | 22 | JJ Lehto | Dallara | 1:17.665 | 1:16.871 | 1:16.871 | — |
| 12 | 33 | Andrea de Cesaris | Jordan | 1:17.073 | 1:17.050 | 1:17.050 | — |
| 13 | 21 | Emanuele Pirro | Dallara | 1:17.342 | 1:18.233 | 1:17.342 | — |
| 14 | 15 | Maurício Gugelmin | Leyton House | 1:17.344 | 1:17.431 | 1:17.344 | — |
| 15 | 9 | Michele Alboreto | Footwork | 1:18.214 | 1:17.355 | 1:18.051 | — |
| 16 | 32 | Alessandro Zanardi | Jordan | 1:17.362 | 1:17.723 | 1:17.362 | — |
| 17 | 8 | Mark Blundell | Brabham | 1:17.867 | 1:17.365 | 1:18.049 | — |
| 18 | 24 | Roberto Moreno | Minardi | 1:19.752 | 1:17.639 | 1:17.639 | — |
| 19 | 34 | Nicola Larini | Lamborghini | 1:19.076 | 1:17.936 | 1:17.936 | — |
| 20 | 25 | Thierry Boutsen | Ligier | 1:18.992 | 1:17.969 | 1:17.969 | — |
| 21 | 12 | Johnny Herbert | Lotus | 1:19.177 | 1:18.091 | 1:18.091 | — |
| 22 | 26 | Érik Comas | Ligier | 1:19.678 | 1:18.112 | 1:18.112 | — |
| 23 | 10 | Alex Caffi | Footwork | 1:18.783 | 1:18.157 | 1:18.007 | — |
| 24 | 3 | Satoru Nakajima | Tyrrell | 1:18.216 | 1:18.307 | 1:18.216 | — |
| 25 | 11 | Mika Häkkinen | Lotus | 1:19.199 | 1:18.271 | 1:18.271 | — |
| 26 | 16 | Karl Wendlinger | Leyton House | 1:18.282 | 2:12.369 | 1:18.282 | — |
| 27 | 30 | Aguri Suzuki | Lola | 6:19.244 | 1:18.393 | 1:18.393 | — |
| 28 | 7 | Martin Brundle | Brabham | 1:18.887 | 1:18.855 | 1:17.707 | — |
| 29 | 35 | Eric van de Poele | Lamborghini | 1:20.123 | 1:19.000 | 1:19.000 | — |
| 30 | 29 | Bertrand Gachot | Lola | 1:20.163 | 1:19.274 | 1:19.274 | — |
Sunday warm-up
The warm-up was dry, and Gerhard Berger narrowly led Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna. Severe weather was approaching, however, making the morning’s conditions a poor guide to the race itself. Heavy rain arrived later and water collected on the street circuit, especially along the straights. The final dry rehearsal therefore gave way to a far more hazardous test than the teams had faced in practice.
Warm-up Classification
1991 Australian Grand Prix Warm-up, 3 November 1991
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time / Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Gerhard Berger | McLaren | 1:18.884 | — |
| 2 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams | +0.031s | — |
| 3 | 1 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren | +0.080s | — |
| 4 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams | +0.914s | — |
| 5 | 19 | Michael Schumacher | Benetton | +1.126s | — |
| 6 | 20 | Nelson Piquet | Benetton | +1.165s | — |
| 7 | 32 | Alessandro Zanardi | Jordan | +1.183s | — |
| 8 | 15 | Mauricio Gugelmin | Leyton House | +1.271s | — |
| 9 | 16 | Karl Wendlinger | Leyton House | +1.491s | — |
| 10 | 27 | Gianni Morbidelli | Ferrari | +1.552s | — |
| 11 | 28 | Jean Alesi | Ferrari | +1.949s | — |
| 12 | 9 | Michele Alboreto | Footwork | +1.961s | — |
| 13 | 33 | Andrea de Cesaris | Jordan | +1.987s | — |
| 14 | 25 | Thierry Boutsen | Ligier | +2.006s | — |
| 15 | 8 | Mark Blundell | Brabham | +2.156s | — |
| 16 | 10 | Alex Caffi | Footwork | +2.190s | — |
| 17 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini | Minardi | +2.386s | — |
| 18 | 24 | Roberto Moreno | Minardi | +2.451s | — |
| 19 | 26 | Erik Comas | Ligier | +2.579s | — |
| 20 | 21 | Emanuele Pirro | Dallara | +2.684s | — |
| 21 | 4 | Stefano Modena | Tyrrell | +3.154s | — |
| 22 | 22 | Jyrki Jarvilehto | Dallara | +3.422s | — |
| 23 | 34 | Nicola Larini | Lamborghini | +3.530s | — |
| 24 | 12 | Johnny Herbert | Lotus | +3.546s | — |
| 25 | 11 | Mika Hakkinen | Lotus | +3.694s | — |
| 26 | 3 | Satoru Nakajima | Tyrrell | +3.897s | — |
What happened in the 1991 Australian Grand Prix?
Ayrton Senna led in torrential rain as visibility and standing water made the circuit increasingly dangerous. Nigel Mansell moved into second, but a succession of accidents left damaged cars and debris around the course. The race became a struggle simply to remain on the road.
Nigel Mansell and Gerhard Berger were among those to spin or crash before the red flag finally stopped proceedings. The race was not restarted, and the official result was taken at the end of lap 14. That restored Nigel Mansell to second despite his later accident; he required hospital assessment and could not attend the podium.
Ayrton Senna was declared the winner ahead of Nigel Mansell and Gerhard Berger, with Nelson Piquet fourth, Riccardo Patrese fifth and Gianni Morbidelli sixth. Half points were awarded because the race had ended well short of its scheduled distance. McLaren secured the constructors’ title, closing the season with both championships amid understandable relief that the dangerous afternoon was over.
After the race, Ayrton Senna headed the drivers’ standings with 96 points, followed by Nigel Mansell on 72. McLaren led the constructors’ table on 139, with Williams on 125.
1991 Australian Grand Prix race results
The 1991 Australian Grand Prix was held on 3 November 1991, with a scheduled start of Start time unconfirmed local time.
1991 Australian Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Gerhard Berger | McLaren | 14 | 1:41.141 |
| 2 | 1 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren | 13 | 1:42.545 |
| 3 | 20 | Nelson Piquet | Benetton | 5 | 1:42.616 |
| 4 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams | 13 | 1:42.908 |
| 5 | 32 | Alessandro Zanardi | Jordan | 14 | 1:43.519 |
| 6 | 19 | Michael Schumacher | Benetton | 4 | 1:43.714 |
| 7 | 21 | Emanuele Pirro | Dallara | 13 | 1:44.933 |
| 8 | 33 | Andrea de Cesaris | Jordan | 14 | 1:45.264 |
| 9 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams | 9 | 1:45.297 |
| 10 | 27 | Gianni Morbidelli | Ferrari | 5 | 1:45.599 |
| 11 | 28 | Jean Alesi | Ferrari | 5 | 1:45.738 |
| 12 | 4 | Stefano Modena | Tyrrell | 12 | 1:45.912 |
| 13 | 12 | Johnny Herbert | Lotus | 12 | 1:46.437 |
| 14 | 8 | Mark Blundell | Brabham | 13 | 1:46.821 |
| 15 | 24 | Roberto Moreno | Minardi | 13 | 1:47.000 |
| 16 | 9 | Michele Alboreto | Footwork | 12 | 1:47.030 |
| 17 | 15 | Mauricio Gugelmin | Leyton House | 12 | 1:47.395 |
| 18 | 10 | Alex Caffi | Footwork | 13 | 1:47.421 |
| 19 | 22 | Jyrki Jarvilehto | Dallara | 11 | 1:48.018 |
| 20 | 16 | Karl Wendlinger | Leyton House | 12 | 1:48.614 |
| 21 | 34 | Nicola Larini | Lamborghini | 5 | 1:49.640 |
| 22 | 26 | Erik Comas | Ligier | 13 | 1:50.046 |
| 23 | 11 | Mika Hakkinen | Lotus | 10 | 1:50.949 |
| 24 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini | Minardi | 8 | 1:51.274 |
| 25 | 25 | Thierry Boutsen | Ligier | 5 | 1:52.628 |
| 26 | 3 | Satoru Nakajima | Tyrrell | 4 | 1:55.073 |
Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.
1991 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings
Championship standings after the 1991 Australian Grand Prix.
1991 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
1991 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLaren | 139 |
| 2 | Williams | 125 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 55.5 |
| 4 | Benetton | 38.5 |
| 5 | Jordan | 13 |
| 6 | Tyrrell | 12 |
| 7 | Minardi | 6 |
| 8 | Dallara | 5 |
| 9 | Lotus | 3 |
| 10 | Brabham | 3 |
| 11 | Lola | 2 |
| 12 | Leyton House | 1 |
| 13 | Ligier | 0 |
| 14 | Lamborghini | 0 |
| 15 | AGS | 0 |
| 16 | Fondmetal | 0 |
| 17 | Footwork | 0 |
1991 Formula 1 Race Calendar
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