The F1 Moments That Defined The 1990s

Editorial credit: Dan74 / Shutterstock.com

The last decade of the 20th century saw impressive changes in Formula 1, both in terms of safety, car aesthetics, regulations, and drivers. It was a decade of progress and evolution in every sense, where the dangerous Formula 1 of past decades was left behind and the foundations of today\’s sport were laid.

The 1990s was the golden age of the historic Williams and McLaren teams, while Ferrari struggled to return to its glory days. New promises like Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, and Mika Hakkinen emerged while old legends like Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, and Nelson Piquet faded away.

It was a decade characterized by great competitiveness, with up to 7 world champions and 4 different engine suppliers, in which some of the most iconic rivalries in the history of the category were forged. Without further ado, let\’s take a look at some of the defining moments of the 1990s.

1. The Final Senna-Prost Duel – 1990 Japanese GP

After the intense duel between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1989, in which the Frenchman won his third title after a very controversial accident between the two, the following year history repeated itself at the same venue, Suzuka, the penultimate round of the championship, but with a very different result.

The two McLaren teammates were fighting for the title, with Senna leading the championship after 6 wins, while Prost won 5. Senna took pole position, but not without controversy, as the Brazilian complained that the grid positions had been changed and pole position was now on the dirty side of the grid.

The FIA ignored his appeals, so Senna said he wasn\’t going to give in at the first corner. On Sunday, that\’s just what happened. Prost got off better than Senna, taking the lead before the first corner. Senna, who was on the inside, did not yield, and the two collided and retired from the race.

Thus, in a controversial way, Senna took revenge for what had happened the previous year and won his second title in this way, which caused a great deal of criticism and praise, but left no one indifferent. Prost left the following year to Ferrari to avoid an internal team confrontation.

2. The Birth Of A Legend – 1991 Belgian GP

The 1991 Belgian Grand Prix saw the Formula 1 debut of the man who would become one of the sport\’s greatest legends. Eddie Jordan replaced Bertrand Gachot, who had a one-month prison sentence for that race, with a young Michael Schumacher, who at the time was racing with Mercedes in sports cars.

The young German, who had never raced at Spa-Francorchamps before, impressed the whole world, putting in a great performance throughout the weekend. In qualifying he finished seventh, which was a fantastic position for Jordan, beating his teammate Andrea de Cesaris.

On Sunday, Schumacher climbed to fifth at the start but unfortunately had to retire five corners later due to clutch failure. However, his good performance earned him an offer from Benetton from the following race, the team where Michael won his first two titles in 1994 and 1995.

3. Titanic Battle Between Senna & Mansell – 1992 Monaco GP

The 1992 Monaco Grand Prix went down in history for the epic battle between Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna. The Briton had never won on the streets of the Principality and was looking for this prestigious victory, while the Brazilian was the king of Monaco, with 4 victories, 3 of which had been consecutive between 1989 and 1991.

Mansell got the pole position and was the top favorite for the race victory, with a car superior to the rest. His teammate Riccardo Patrese was second, while Senna finished third. On Sunday, Senna took second at the start, and soon Mansell consolidated a 30-second lead.

Mansell dominated the race until 8 laps from the end when he had to make a pit stop because he felt a puncture, so he put on new tires. It was a slow pit stop, and Mansell came out 7 seconds behind Senna. The Briton soon closed the gap and tried everything during the last 3 laps to overtake the Brazilian.

Senna\’s relentless defense made it impossible for Mansell to overtake him, thus taking his fifth Monaco victory in what was his best defensive race. Both Mansell and Senna put on a true driving show.

4. The Dominance of Williams & Mansell – 1992 British GP

The 1992 season was one of the most dominant in Formula 1 history. Adrian Newey designed the Williams-Renault FW14B, with active suspension and equipped with four-channel anti-lock brakes, traction control, and a perfected six-speed transverse semi-automatic gearbox, which together with Nigel Mansell was unstoppable.

This technologically advanced car was unrivaled, and Mansell won the title with 108 points, while teammate Ricardo Patrese was second with only 56, and Williams won the constructors\’ title by a margin of 65 points over McLaren. 10 wins, 6 team 1-2, 15 out of 16 pole positions, and 80% of the season\’s laps led made it the most dominant title in history.

This dominance was really visible in the British Grand Prix. In qualifying, Mansell took pole position, almost two seconds ahead of Patrese, who was second, and who in turn was 8 tenths ahead of Ayrton Senna\’s McLaren.

In the race, the Williams were unchallenged, and Mansell won with almost 40 seconds advantage, many times running 2 seconds faster than any other driver and claiming his fifth victory at home. Shortly thereafter, with five rounds to go, Mansell won the title.

5. Ayrton Senna’s “Lap Of The Gods” – 1993 European GP

Ayrton Senna\’s first lap at Donington Park in the rain at the 1993 European Grand Prix is considered by many to be the greatest lap ever seen in Formula 1 history. The rain was very heavy and visibility was poor. The two Williams of Prost and Hill started on the front row, followed by Michael Schumacher and Senna.

At the start, the Brazilian dropped to fifth place, but in the first corner, he overtook Schumacher and shortly after overtook Karl Wendlinger on the outside in an incredible move that made it look easy.

Two corners later Senna overtook Hill on the inside, with a much faster pace, and quickly closed the gap to Prost to overtake him on the inside before the end of the first lap. The Brazilian not only overtook 4 positions in the rain but with an inferior car, which made it all the more meritorious.

The Brazilian lost the lead after his pit stop but then regained it, winning the race 1 minute and 23 seconds ahead of second-placed Hill, who was the only driver not to be lapped.

6. Prost Claims His Fourth Title – 1993 Portuguese GP

After a season away, three-time world champion Alain Prost returned to Formula 1 in 1993 to replace Nigel Mansell at Williams, who retired after winning his 1992 title. The Frenchman\’s main rival that season was his teammate Damon Hill, as McLaren was one step behind, and Senna could hardly fight with them.

The Frenchman took his seventh and last victory of the season at the German Grand Prix, and 3 races later, before the Portuguese Grand Prix, he announced his retirement from the category at the end of the year. Prost arrived at Estoril with a 23-point lead over Hill that seemed irretrievable. In qualifying, Hill took the pole position, and Prost finished second, followed by both McLarens.

In the race, Prost soon took the lead, but on lap 30 he was overtaken by Michael Schumacher\’s Benetton, who took the race victory. The Frenchman finished second and did not hesitate to fly his country\’s flag on the lap of honor after becoming a four-time world champion and going down in the history books as one of the greatest drivers of all time.

7. Senna’s Last Win – 1993 Australian GP

With the withdrawal of Honda at the end of the 1992 season, McLaren began to use Ford engines from 1993, which could not cope with the all-powerful Renault engines used by Williams, so McLaren was a step below the British team. With the announcement of Prost\’s retirement before the Portuguese GP, the Brazilian announced that in 1994 he would move to Williams.

Even so, Senna made some good performances, achieving 5 victories during the season and finishing runner-up. The last of them was in the final round, the Australian Grand Prix, held at the Adelaide street circuit, which would also be Ayrton Senna\’s last victory in Formula 1.

Senna started from the pole position and held the lead throughout the race, winning the race ahead of Prost. That podium started the change in the always tense relationship between Senna and Prost when the Brazilian invited the Frenchman to share the first-place step. It would also be the last image of the two greatest Formula 1 drivers on a podium.

8. The Most Tragic Weekend – 1994 San Marino GP

The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, held at Imola, was marked from start to finish by tragedy, being one of the saddest events in the history of Formula 1. On Friday, Rubens Barrichello had a heavy accident that took him straight to the hospital, where he broke his nose and kept him off the track for a few months.

With their bodies cold from the previous day, the drivers faced the qualifying session on Saturday, when another heavy accident occurred. Roland Ratzenberger lost control of his car and crashed head-on into the barriers at over 300 kph, dying instantly. Senna got the pole position, but the atmosphere in Imola could not have been worse, and many drivers were thinking about the possibility of suspending the race, among them the Brazilian himself.

The race was not called off, so Senna headed to his front-row car on Sunday, hoping to win the race after a difficult start to the season in which he had yet to finish a race. Senna led the first laps of the race, until lap 7 when the three-time world champion went wide at the Tamburello corner, crashing hard into the barriers.

The Brazilian was not moving and shortly after his death was confirmed, while the race inexplicably continued. Schumacher was the winner of F1\’s most tragic race. Thereafter, the FIA made a considerable effort to improve safety in the category.

9. The Beginning Of Schumacher’s Legend – 1994 Australian GP

Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill reached the final round of the 1994 championship, the Australian Grand Prix, held in Adelaide, with a point difference between them in favor of the German. It had been an intense season, and with the death of Senna, Hill was the new team leader.

Nigel Mansell took the pole position in Adelaide, with Schumacher second and Hill third. In the race, Schumacher and Hill were soon first and second until lap 36. The Briton was chasing Schumacher, closing the gap and exerting great pressure when suddenly the German went off track at East Terrace, hitting the wall with his right tires.

Thus, Hill caught up with Schumacher, and without thinking twice, he dived down the inside of the next corner. The two collided and the Benetton-Ford went airborne, hitting the wall and retiring from the race. Hill drove to the pit lane, where they realized that the suspension was broken, and also retired from the race. Mansell took advantage of the incident to take the victory.

Many accused the German of deliberately hitting Hill, and others blamed the Briton\’s impatience. Be that as it may, it was in this controversial manner that Schumacher won the first of his seven Formula 1 titles.

10. Formula 1’s Craziest Race – 1996 Monaco GP

The 1996 Monaco Grand Prix had everything, even an unexpected winner, in what was one of the craziest races in the history of Formula 1. Williams was the dominant team during the first five races, while Jean Alesi\’s Benetton had taken two podiums.

In Monaco, Michael Schumacher\’s Ferrari took its second pole position, followed by Damon Hill, Jean Alesi, and Gerhard Berger. On the other hand, the driver who would be the man of the race, Olivier Panis, could only finish fourteenth.

On Sunday, there was heavy rain before the race, so the track was wet and very slippery. At the start, Hill overtook Schumacher, while Alesi consolidated third place. Shortly after, Schumacher made a mistake that sent him into the walls and retired, while numerous drivers also suffered accidents, leaving only 16 cars.

Hill had a much faster pace than the rest, consolidating a lead of more than 30 seconds. However, on lap 40 he retired due to a broken engine, so Alesi took the lead, well ahead of the other 9 drivers remaining in the race.

When everything seemed favorable for Alesi, with 15 laps to go he had to retire due to a suspension failure. Thus, Olivier Panis, who had taken advantage of the incidents to climb positions, won this race in which only 3 cars crossed the finish line, with David Coultahrd and Johnny Herbert occupying the other two podium places.

11. Damon Hill World Champion – 1996 Japanese GP

After coming close to the title in 1994 and a series of mistakes in 1995 that led to Schumacher taking his second title, Damon Hill finally clinched the long-awaited championship in 1996, which was a very interesting and varied season. Williams dominated the season, and its two drivers, Damon Hill, and Jacques Villeneuve fought for the title until the end.

Hill arrived at the last race, the Japanese Grand Prix, with 9 points over Villeneuve, so the Canadian could only win the title if he won the race and the British driver retired. Villeneuve got the pole position, and Hill was second. In the race, Hill took the lead, and Villeneuve, with problems, fell to sixth position.

Hill led the entire race and Villeneuve, on the other hand, had an accident that caused him to retire. In this way, Hill became the first son of a champion to emulate his famous father, Graham Hill. The curious thing is that, strangely enough, Williams did not renew him, so the following year he had to drive for the modest Arrows.

12. Villeneuve vs Schumacher – 1997 European GP

The 1997 European Grand Prix, held in Jerez, hosted the last round of the championship, which would become one of the most controversial season finales of all time. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) and Jacques Villeneuve (Williams-Renault) fought a close battle throughout the season and arrived at Jerez with only one point difference in favor of the German.

After Villeneuve\’s disqualification in the previous race, the Japanese GP, the atmosphere was already tense before the start of the weekend. In qualifying, Villeneuve, Schumacher, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen (the other Williams) achieved exactly the same time, and the race direction awarded the Canadian the pole position for having been the first to set that time, followed by the Kaiser and Frentzen.

On Sunday, Schumacher soon took the lead, leading until lap 39. With 21 laps to go, Villeneuve had been chasing and cutting time on the German, until he caught up. Shortly after, the Canadian went on the inside of Turn 6 and when he had already won the position, the Kaiser turned into the Williams, colliding with Villeneuve.

Schumacher got stuck in the gravel, while Villeneuve was able to continue, finishing third and thus winning his first title. Because of his move, the FIA disqualified Schumacher from the 1997 championship.

\"\" — Editorial credit: Geza Kurka_Hungary / Shutterstock.com

13. The Most Eventful Start – 1998 Belgian GP

The 1998 Belgian Grand Prix will be remembered for several things. Among them is that it was probably the most eventful start in the history of Formula 1. 1998 was a time of fight between Mika Hakkinen\’s McLaren and Michael Schumacher\’s Ferrari. The Finn started the Belgian GP from the pole position, while the German started fourth.

On Sunday, the track was very slippery, as it was raining heavily, and at the start, 13 drivers were involved in a massive accident that caused numerous retirements, wrecked cars, and debris all over the track, in which amazingly no one was hurt, but the race was red-flagged.

Hakkinen was one of the drivers who had to retire, and after the restart, Schumacher took the lead. The German led comfortably throughout the race until he retired when he hit David Coulthard\’s lapped car due to poor visibility.

Thus, with the two fastest drivers out of the race, the Jordan team was the biggest beneficiary, taking its first victory with Damon Hill first and Ralf Schumacher second, completing the perfect weekend.

14. Unexpected Winner – 1999 European GP

The 1999 European Grand Prix, held at the Nurburgring, was one of the great classics of Formula 1, a crazy race from start to finish mainly due to the constantly changing conditions from dry to wet. Frentzen took the pole position, followed by Coulthard and Hakkinen.

The rain at the start caused the lead to change constantly during the first half of the race, with numerous drivers suffering accidents or technical problems. Finally, Johnny Herbert, with his modest Stewart, took the only victory in the team\’s history, followed by Jarno Trulli and the other Stewart of Rubens Barrichello, in a race in which only 9 cars finished.

15. Hakkinen Double World Champion – 1999 Japanese GP

The late 1990s saw the rebirth of Ferrari in the hands of Michael Schumacher, who fought for the title against the powerful McLaren-Mercedes of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard. In 1998, the German was no match for Hakkinen, who took his first title after 8 victories.

In 1999, the duel was repeated, until a heavy accident in the British GP left Schumacher off the track until the last races. Eddie Irvine, Schumacher\’s teammate, took over the leadership of the team, fighting Hakkinen for the title until the end.

The Irishman arrived at the last round of the championship, the Japanese GP, with a 4-point lead over Hakkinen, so things were looking good. Schumacher, after his recovery, started from the pole position, with Hakkinen second, while Irvine started fourth.

In the race, Hakkinen took the lead after the start, and from then on, he never relinquished it, dominating the entire race, while Irvine finished third. Thus, Hakkinen won his second title and was congratulated by a resigned Irvine, who would never have an equal opportunity and left Ferrari.