The 1989 FIA Formula One World Championship began on 26 March and concluded on 5 November, over 16 race weekends. At the end of the season, Alain Prost secured the third Drivers’ Championship of his career, while McLaren claimed the Constructors’ Championship for the second consecutive year and the fifth in the team’s history.
Season
The championship battle was dominated by the fierce rivalry between Alain Prost and his McLaren teammate Ayrton Senna. Their duel ultimately reached its dramatic and controversial climax at the penultimate race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Senna entered the race knowing that only victory would keep his championship hopes alive. In the closing stages of the race, the two McLaren drivers collided while battling for the lead. Prost was forced to retire immediately, while Senna was able to continue after receiving a push start from track marshals.
Senna managed to return to the race, overtake the leading cars, and cross the finish line in first place, seemingly keeping the championship fight alive. However, the race stewards disqualified Senna for cutting the chicane and failing to correctly rejoin the circuit following the collision. The disqualification handed the victory—and effectively the World Drivers’ Championship—to Alain Prost. It would prove to be Prost’s final championship with McLaren, as he departed the team to join Ferrari for the 1990 season.
The 1989 season also stood out for its unusually large number of entries. Initially, twenty-one constructors entered the championship, bringing a total of forty cars into the entry list. Before the opening race, however, FIRST Racing withdrew from the championship, leaving twenty constructors and thirty-nine cars competing during the season. This remains the largest number of entries in the modern era of F1 history.
Technically, the year represented a major transition for the sport. The 1989 season was the first to run under the new mandatory 3.5-litre naturally aspirated engine formula, introduced after the FIA banned turbocharged engines at the end of the 1988 season. The new regulations reshaped engine development across the grid. Renault returned to Formula One as an engine supplier for the first time since 1986, while both Renault and Honda developed V10 engines, introducing an engine configuration that had never been used in Formula One.
Looking back historically, the 1989 season also carries an unusual cross-disciplinary statistic. As of 2026, it remains the most recent year in which Honda—and the same engine manufacturer—won both the Formula One and MotoGP World Manufacturers’ Championships in the same season.
1989 F1 Entries Drivers and Teams
1989 Formula 1 Race Calendar
1989 Formula 1 Race Results
Grands Prix
1989 Formula 1 Standings
Driver standings
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alain Prost | FRA | McLaren Honda | 76 |
| 2 | Ayrton Senna | BRA | McLaren Honda | 60 |
| 3 | Riccardo Patrese | ITA | Williams Renault | 40 |
| 4 | Nigel Mansell | GBR | Ferrari | 38 |
| 5 | Thierry Boutsen | BEL | Williams Renault | 37 |
| 6 | Alessandro Nannini | ITA | Benetton Ford | 32 |
| 7 | Gerhard Berger | AUT | Ferrari | 21 |
| 8 | Nelson Piquet | BRA | Lotus Judd | 12 |
| 9 | Jean Alesi | FRA | Tyrrell Ford | 8 |
| 10 | Derek Warwick | GBR | Arrows Ford | 7 |
| 11 | Stefan Johansson | SWE | Onyx Ford | 6 |
| 11 | Michele Alboreto | ITA | Lola Lamborghini | 6 |
| 11 | Eddie Cheever | USA | Arrows Ford | 6 |
| 14 | Johnny Herbert | GBR | Tyrrell Ford | 5 |
| 15 | Pierluigi Martini | ITA | Minardi Ford | 5 |
| 16 | Andrea de Cesaris | ITA | BMS Scuderia Italia | 4 |
| 16 | Mauricio Gugelmin | BRA | March Judd | 4 |
| 16 | Stefano Modena | ITA | Brabham Judd | 4 |
| 19 | Alex Caffi | ITA | BMS Scuderia Italia | 4 |
| 20 | Martin Brundle | GBR | Brabham Judd | 4 |
| 21 | Christian Danner | GER | Rial Ford | 3 |
| 21 | Satoru Nakajima | JPN | Lotus Judd | 3 |
| 23 | Rene Arnoux | FRA | Ligier Ford | 2 |
| 23 | Emanuele Pirro | ITA | Benetton Ford | 2 |
| 25 | Jonathan Palmer | GBR | Tyrrell Ford | 2 |
| 26 | Gabriele Tarquini | ITA | AGS Ford | 1 |
| 26 | Philippe Alliot | FRA | Lola Lamborghini | 1 |
| 26 | Olivier Grouillard | FRA | Ligier Ford | 1 |
| 26 | Luis Perez-Sala | ESP | Minardi Ford | 1 |
Team standings
| Pos | Team | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLaren Honda | 199 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 65 |
| 3 | Benetton Ford | 39 |
| 4 | Arrows Megatron | 23 |
| 5 | Lotus Honda | 23 |
| 6 | March Judd | 22 |
| 7 | Williams Judd | 20 |
| 8 | Tyrrell Ford | 5 |
| 9 | Rial Ford | 3 |
| 10 | Minardi Ford | 1 |
