Pre-race
As in 1988, the McLaren team had been dominant throughout the 1989 Formula One season. Coming into the Japanese round Alain Prost was leading the World Championship by twelve points, with a total of 72 to Ayrton Senna's 60. Senna had already clawed back six points over Prost with a dominant victory in the previous race, in Spain, where Prost had managed third place. However, over the season McLaren's MP4/5 car had proven to be just as reliable and fast as its legendary MP4/4 predecessor, and Prost had only once finished out of the points. With two races to go, and only nine points available for a win, to maintain a realistic chance of taking the title Senna needed to win in Japan as well.
Read more about this topic: 1989 Japanese Grand Prix