Summary
1989 was the year following the last Formula One race in Detroit, and choices for a new location for the United States Grand Prix came down to Laguna Seca, in California, and Phoenix, Arizona. Laguna Seca was thought to be too small for an F1 crowd and too remote, and Phoenix was said to be too hot in June. Phoenix it would be, however, with the course running through a massively redeveloped downtown area.
The drivers had long complained about the problems with racing on a temporary track in Detroit, and anticipated similar prospects in the new city. Unlike Detroit, however, the organizers managed to get the course ready and start the first sessions on time.
In qualifying on Friday, Ayrton Senna went progressively faster and faster, eventually posting a time 1.5 seconds ahead of McLaren teammate Alain Prost and the rest of the field.
During the morning practice on Saturday, Prost spun backward into a wall and damaged the monocoque and gearbox. It was the first monocoque Prost had broken in six years, since joining the team in 1984. Senna's time from Friday– 1:30.710– stood up through the second session and gave him his 34th career pole position, breaking Jim Clark's record of 33.
A crowd of 31,441 turned out for the race on Sunday in 100-degree heat. Prost got a jump on Senna at the start, but hit a bump in the straight, causing his wheels to spin and the engine to be cut momentarily by the rev limiter. Senna made it to the corner first, and led by .45 seconds after one lap, ahead of Prost, Alessandro Nannini, Nigel Mansell, Alex Caffi, Stefano Modena, Martin Brundle, Gerhard Berger, Andrea de Cesaris and Michele Alboreto.
After 16 laps, Senna's lead over Prost was 4.25 seconds. He suddenly doubled that on the next lap when Prost's engine began overheating. Prost backed off for a lap, and the water and oil temperatures returned to normal.
The gap between the two McLarens varied as they worked their way through traffic, but on lap 29, Prost closed the gap when Senna suffered a misfire. The problem disappeared momentarily– with Senna doing his fastest lap of the race– but then returned, worse than before. On lap 34, with Prost only one second back, Senna waved his teammate past and then pitted.
After two pit stops to change black box, battery and plugs– and successive fastest laps in between, Senna retired on lap 44. It was his first retirement ever because of a Honda engine failure.
Alex Caffi, who had started in sixth, was up to second with Senna's retirement. A stop for new tires, after being passed by Berger, dropped him back two more spots to fifth. As he tried to re-lap his teammate, de Cesaris, however, Caffi had a nose ahead when de Cesaris turned in and forced Caffi into the wall and out of the race. de Cesaris, having further enhanced his reputation, at the expense of his teammate, no less, continued.
Throughout the race, Riccardo Patrese, Ivan Capelli and Eddie Cheever had been in close contact. When Capelli retired on lap 21 with a gearbox failure, Patrese and Cheever carried on the battle alone. After lap 51, the fight was for second place, with Patrese ahead. Despite a fuel pickup problem with his engine, Cheever mounted a challenge in the waning laps until his front brakes and one rear brake failed! The American and Phoenix native was as thrilled as the crowd with his podium finish.
The two-hour time limit was reached after 75 of the scheduled 81 laps, as Prost coasted to his only United States win and increased his then all-time record victory total to 36, his first in a naturally aspirated car. He also took the lead, by two points over Senna, in the Driver's Championship which he eventually won. Patrese's runner-up placing was his second in a row. After struggling through practice, qualifying and warmup, and starting from 14th spot, Patrese and technical director Patrick Head had guessed at a setup and finally got it right for the race. Eddie Cheever's third place was the ninth and last podium finish of his F1 career. Christian Danner's fourth place for Rial was his best career finish and matched the best ever finish for the team.
Read more about this topic: 1989 United States Grand Prix
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