The 1990 FIA Formula One World Championship was contested across 16 Grand Prix, beginning on 11 March and concluding on 4 November.
Season
The championship was ultimately won by Ayrton Senna, who secured the second World Drivers’ Championship of his career driving for McLaren. Senna’s performances also helped McLaren secure the Constructors’ Championship for the third consecutive season, continuing the team’s dominance during this period.
The 1990 season is remembered for its intense and highly controversial rivalry between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, who had previously been teammates at McLaren. In 1990, Prost had moved to Ferrari, where he quickly became the centre of the team’s renewed championship ambitions. Prost mounted Ferrari’s strongest title challenge in several years and surged into the championship lead during the middle of the season after securing three consecutive race victories.
As the championship approached its conclusion, Senna regained momentum and arrived at the penultimate race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, holding a nine-point lead over Prost. Senna secured pole position for the race, but Prost made the better start and moved ahead into the first corner. In one of the most infamous moments in Formula One history, Senna’s car collided with Prost’s Ferrari at the corner, forcing both drivers to retire from the race. The incident ensured that Prost could not score points, effectively handing the Drivers’ Championship to Senna.
The collision was particularly controversial because it mirrored an incident between the same two drivers at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix, where their clash had decided the championship in Prost’s favour. In a striking admission the following year, Senna acknowledged that the 1990 collision had been intentional, explaining that he had been angered by the starting grid arrangements that placed Prost on the cleaner racing line and had resolved not to allow his rival to take the corner ahead of him if he lost the start.
The 1990 season also marked the final year under the points system that allowed drivers to discard their worst results when calculating the championship standings. From 1991 onward, every race result would count toward a driver’s final championship total, fundamentally changing how the Drivers’ Championship was determined.
1990 F1 Entries Drivers and Teams
1990 Formula 1 Race Calendar
1990 Formula 1 Race Results
Grands Prix
1990 Formula 1 Standings
Driver standings
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayrton Senna | BRA | McLaren Honda | 78 |
| 2 | Alain Prost | FRA | Ferrari | 71 |
| 3 | Nelson Piquet | BRA | Benetton Ford | 43 |
| 3 | Gerhard Berger | AUT | McLaren Honda | 43 |
| 5 | Nigel Mansell | GBR | Ferrari | 37 |
| 6 | Thierry Boutsen | BEL | Williams Renault | 34 |
| 7 | Riccardo Patrese | ITA | Williams Renault | 23 |
| 8 | Alessandro Nannini | ITA | Benetton Ford | 21 |
| 9 | Jean Alesi | FRA | Tyrrell Ford | 13 |
| 10 | Ivan Capelli | ITA | Leyton House Judd | 6 |
| 10 | Roberto Moreno | BRA | Benetton Ford | 6 |
| 12 | Aguri Suzuki | JPN | Lola Lamborghini | 6 |
| 13 | Eric Bernard | FRA | Lola Lamborghini | 5 |
| 14 | Derek Warwick | GBR | Lotus Lamborghini | 3 |
| 15 | Satoru Nakajima | JPN | Tyrrell Ford | 3 |
| 16 | Alex Caffi | ITA | Arrows Ford | 2 |
| 16 | Stefano Modena | ITA | Brabham Judd | 2 |
| 18 | Mauricio Gugelmin | BRA | Leyton House Judd | 1 |
Team standings
| Pos | Team | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLaren Honda | 121 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 110 |
| 3 | Benetton Ford | 71 |
| 4 | Williams Renault | 57 |
| 5 | Tyrrell Ford | 16 |
| 6 | Lola Lamborghini | 11 |
| 7 | Leyton House Judd | 7 |
| 8 | Lotus Lamborghini | 3 |
| 9 | Arrows Ford | 2 |
| 10 | Brabham Judd | 2 |
