The 1991 FIA Formula One World Championship was contested across 16 Grand Prix, beginning on 10 March and concluding on 3 November.
Season
The 1991 championship introduced an important change to the way points were counted. For the first time in Formula One history, every race result contributed to a driver’s final championship total, replacing the previous system that allowed only a certain number of results to count toward the standings.
The season was ultimately won by Ayrton Senna, who secured the third and final World Drivers’ Championship of his career driving for McLaren. Senna delivered a strong campaign, winning seven of the sixteen races during the season. His main rival in the championship battle was Nigel Mansell, who had returned to Williams and claimed five race victories during the year.
In the 1991 Constructors’ Championship, McLaren continued its dominant run by securing its fourth consecutive title, underlining the team’s strength during this era of Formula One. Senna’s performances played a key role in maintaining McLaren’s position at the top of the sport.
The season also saw significant developments within several teams. Alain Prost, the eventual four-time World Champion, endured a difficult year driving for Ferrari and failed to win a race throughout the season. Relations between Prost and the team deteriorated as the year progressed, culminating in his dismissal before the end of the season following a public dispute with Ferrari’s management.
The 1991 championship also marked the arrival of two drivers who would later become world champions. Michael Schumacher made his Formula One debut during the season and quickly impressed with his performances, while Mika Häkkinen also entered the sport for the first time. At the same time, the year marked the retirement of three-time World Champion Nelson Piquet, bringing an end to the Formula One career of one of the sport’s most accomplished drivers.
As of today, the 1991 season remains the most recent Formula One World Championship won by a Brazilian driver, following Senna’s triumph. It was also the last time a Honda-powered car won both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships until the modern Red Bull era, with Max Verstappen securing the Drivers’ title in 2021 and Red Bull Racing winning the Constructors’ Championship in 2023 with the RB19.
Technically, the season also marked the end of several eras in Formula One engineering. It was the final championship won by a car with a manual gearbox, and the last title won by a car powered by a V12 engine. In addition, 1991 was the final season in which Pirelli served as a tyre supplier to Formula One before the company returned to the sport in 2011 as the championship’s official tyre manufacturer.
1991 F1 Entries Drivers and Teams
| Entrant | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | No | Driver | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honda Marlboro McLaren | McLaren-Honda | MP4/6 | Honda RA121E 3.5 V12 | G | 1 | Ayrton Senna | All |
| 2 | Gerhard Berger | All | |||||
| Braun Tyrrell Honda | Tyrrell-Honda | 020 | Honda RA101E 3.5 V10 | P | 3 | Satoru Nakajima | All |
| 4 | Stefano Modena | All | |||||
| Canon Williams Renault | Williams-Renault | FW14 | Renault RS3 3.5 V10 | G | 5 | Nigel Mansell | All |
| 6 | Riccardo Patrese | All | |||||
| Brabham Yamaha F1 Team | Brabham-Yamaha | BT59Y BT60Y | Yamaha OX99 3.5 V12 | P | 7 | Martin Brundle | All |
| 8 | Mark Blundell | All | |||||
| Footwork Porsche Footwork Ford | Footwork-Porsche | A11C FA12 | Porsche 3512 3.5 V12 | G | 9 | Michele Alboreto | 1–6 |
| 10 | Alex Caffi | 1–4 | |||||
| Stefan Johansson | 5–6 | ||||||
| Footwork-Ford | FA12C | Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 | G | 9 | Michele Alboreto | 7–16 | |
| 10 | Stefan Johansson Alex Caffi | 7–8 9–16 | |||||
| Team Lotus | Lotus-Judd | 102B | Judd EV 3.5 V8 | G | 11 | Mika Häkkinen | All |
| 12 | Julian Bailey | 1–4 | |||||
| Johnny Herbert | 5–8, 11, 13, 15–16 | ||||||
| Michael Bartels | 9–10, 12, 14 | ||||||
| Fondmetal | Fondmetal-Ford | FA1M-E Fomet-1 | Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 | G | 14 | Olivier Grouillard | 1–13 |
| Gabriele Tarquini | 14–16 | ||||||
| 15 | Gabriele Tarquini | 1–13 | |||||
| Leyton House Racing | Leyton House-Ilmor | CG911 | Ilmor 2175A 3.5 V10 | G | 15 | Maurício Gugelmin | All |
| 16 | Ivan Capelli | 1–14 | |||||
| Karl Wendlinger | 15–16 | ||||||
| AGS | AGS-Ford | JH25B JH27 | Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 | G | 17 | Gabriele Tarquini | 1–13 |
| Olivier Grouillard | 14 | ||||||
| 18 | Stefan Johansson | 1–2 | |||||
| Fabrizio Barbazza | 3–14 | ||||||
| Camel Benetton Ford | Benetton-Ford | B190B B191 | Ford HBA4 3.5 V8 Ford HBA5 3.5 V8 | P | 19 | Roberto Moreno | 1–11 |
| 19 | Michael Schumacher | 12–16 | |||||
| 20 | Nelson Piquet | All | |||||
| BMS Scuderia Italia | BMS Dallara-Judd | F191 | Judd GV 3.5 V10 | P | 21 | Emanuele Pirro | All |
| 22 | JJ Lehto | All | |||||
| Minardi Team | Minardi-Ferrari | M191 | Ferrari Tipo 037 3.5 V12 | G | 23 | Pierluigi Martini | All |
| 24 | Gianni Morbidelli | 1–15 | |||||
| 24 | Roberto Moreno | 16 | |||||
| Équipe Ligier Gitanes | Ligier-Lamborghini | JS35 JS35B | Lamborghini LE3512 3.5 V12 | G | 25 | Thierry Boutsen | All |
| 26 | Érik Comas | All | |||||
| Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 642 642/2 643 | Ferrari Tipo 037 3.5 V12 | G | 27 | Alain Prost | 1–15 |
| 27 | Gianni Morbidelli | 16 | |||||
| 28 | Jean Alesi | All | |||||
| Larrousse F1 | Lola-Ford | LC91 | Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 | G | 29 | Éric Bernard | 1–15 |
| 29 | Bertrand Gachot | 16 | |||||
| 30 | Aguri Suzuki | All | |||||
| Coloni | Coloni-Ford | C4 | Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 | G | 31 | Pedro Chaves | 1–13 |
| 31 | Naoki Hattori | 15–16 | |||||
| Team 7Up Jordan | Jordan-Ford | 191 | Ford HBA4 3.5 V8 | G | 32 | Bertrand Gachot | 1–10 |
| Michael Schumacher | 11 | ||||||
| Roberto Moreno | 12–13 | ||||||
| Alessandro Zanardi | 14–16 | ||||||
| 33 | Andrea de Cesaris | All | |||||
| Central Park Modena Team | Lambo-Lamborghini | 291 | Lamborghini LE3512 3.5 V12 | G | 34 | Nicola Larini | All |
| 35 | Eric van de Poele | All |
1991 Formula 1 Race Calendar
1991 Formula 1 Race Results
Grands Prix
1991 Formula 1 Standings
Driver standings
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayrton Senna | BRA | McLaren Honda | 96 |
| 2 | Nigel Mansell | GBR | Williams Renault | 72 |
| 3 | Riccardo Patrese | ITA | Williams Renault | 53 |
| 4 | Gerhard Berger | AUT | McLaren Honda | 43 |
| 5 | Alain Prost | FRA | Ferrari | 34 |
| 6 | Nelson Piquet | BRA | Benetton Ford | 26.5 |
| 7 | Jean Alesi | FRA | Ferrari | 21 |
| 8 | Stefano Modena | ITA | Tyrrell Honda | 10 |
| 9 | Andrea de Cesaris | ITA | Jordan Ford | 9 |
| 10 | Roberto Moreno | BRA | Minardi Ferrari | 8 |
| 11 | Pierluigi Martini | ITA | Minardi Ferrari | 6 |
| 12 | Jyrki Jarvilehto | FIN | Dallara Judd | 4 |
| 12 | Bertrand Gachot | FRA | Jordan Ford | 4 |
| 12 | Michael Schumacher | GER | Benetton Ford | 4 |
| 15 | Mika Hakkinen | FIN | Lotus Judd | 2 |
| 15 | Martin Brundle | GBR | Brabham Yamaha | 2 |
| 15 | Satoru Nakajima | JPN | Tyrrell Honda | 2 |
| 18 | Julian Bailey | GBR | Lotus Judd | 1 |
| 18 | Eric Bernard | FRA | Lola Ford | 1 |
| 18 | Ivan Capelli | ITA | Leyton House Ilmor | 1 |
| 18 | Aguri Suzuki | JPN | Lola Ford | 1 |
| 18 | Emanuele Pirro | ITA | Dallara Judd | 1 |
| 18 | Mark Blundell | GBR | Brabham Yamaha | 1 |
| 24 | Gianni Morbidelli | ITA | Ferrari | 0.5 |
Team standings
| Pos | Team | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLaren Honda | 139 |
| 2 | Williams Renault | 125 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 55.5 |
| 4 | Benetton Ford | 38.5 |
| 5 | Jordan Ford | 13 |
| 6 | Tyrrell Honda | 12 |
| 7 | Minardi Ferrari | 6 |
| 8 | Dallara Judd | 5 |
| 9 | Lotus Judd | 3 |
| 10 | Brabham Yamaha | 3 |
| 11 | Lola Ford | 2 |
| 12 | Leyton House Ilmor | 1 |
