No venue has hosted more Formula 1 races than Monza. Known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed’, it is the fastest circuit on the calendar and holds the record for Formula 1’s fastest lap, set by Juan Pablo Montoya in 2004, at an average speed of 163mph. La Pista Magica has witnessed many classic races throughout the years, having played host to Grand Prix that have involved tragedy and glory in equal measure. There is no doubting that Monza is steeped in history, and it has always been a favourite for both drivers and fans.
Background
In 1991 the Formula 1 circus moved on to Monza from Belgium, as it has done this year, and like 2014 there was an intense battle for the title. Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna were locked in a tight duel for the championship, with Senna leading Mansell by 22 points, and only five rounds remaining for the dogged Brit to catch him.
Senna had pipped Mansell to pole position by 0.133 seconds, the Brit complaining about being held up by traffic on his hot laps. The second McLaren of Gerhard Berger was third with the second Williams of Riccardo Patrese fourth ahead of the two Ferraris and the two Benettons.
Elsewhere there was a messy and controversial affair involving a young Michael Schumacher. Start as you mean to go on Michael! At the previous round in Belgium Schumacher had made his F1 debut for Jordan but between the races at Spa and Monza he had signed to drive for Benetton, despite still being under contract at Jordan. Unsurprisingly this infuriated Jordan and made Benetton and Schumacher’s managers look flaky to say the least. The resolve was for Benetton to sack Roberto Moreno who in turn then signed for Jordan. Moreno qualified an impressive ninth behind the Benettons of Schumacher and Nelson Piquet.
The Race
Senna had a good start from pole position to lead from Mansell, Berger, Patrese and Jean Alesi in the Ferrari. Surprisingly the entire field made it through the treacherous double chicane unscathed. The early retirement in the race, sadly, was Roberto Moreno who spun off on lap two. A disappointing start to his Jordan career.
At the front Senna continued to lead and he was coming under significant pressure from Nigel Mansell. However, the Brit was finding it hard to pass, the Williams was superior in the corners but the McLaren was a little too fast down the long straights for him to do anything about Senna. The nature of the circuit at Monza was rewarding the Brazilian and his McLaren just enough to keep him ahead at this early stage.
In the other Williams, Riccardo Patrese started to put the hammer down and went on a charge. He took no time to get past Berger and then started to hunt down his teammate Mansell, who was still pressurising Senna but starting to struggle a little bit. After a few laps on his teammate’s tail, Patrese passed Mansell after the Brit looked to have effectively waved him through on the back straight heading towards the Parabolica. Next up for the flying Italian was Senna and the race lead.
On lap 26 Patrese was right on Senna’s gearbox, and after getting great drive out of the second Lesmo and with the Brazilian starting to struggle for grip, the Italian pulled out of the McLaren’s slipstream and took the lead of the race with a well timed move going into the Ascari chicane. It looked as though Patrese would start to build a commanding lead at this stage as he immediately started to pull away slightly. On the next lap though, Patrese had a gearbox failure which sent him into a spin at the Ascari chicane. He was able to get going again but retired half a lap later. A frustrating end to what had been a promising race for the Italian.
Having regained the lead through Patrese’s misfortune, Senna again found himself under intense pressure from a hard-pushing Nigel Mansell. On lap 34 Mansell managed to get himself a lot closer to the McLaren coming out of the second Lesmo and with Senna on worn tyres the Brit managed to muscle his way into the lead with a superb late-breaking manoeuvre at the entrance to the Ascari chicane.
At this stage Senna decided to pit for fresh tyres and he rejoined the race in fifth place. He then proceeded to go on a late charge. He disposed of Schumacher at the Ascari chicance, slipstreamed passed his teammate Gerhard Berger going into the first chicane and then rounded Alain Prost at the second chicane to swiftly make up three places in a series of blistering laps.
However, Mansell had built up a 17 second lead and with few laps remaining the gap was too big for Senna to close. In the end the Brit had cruised to a commanding win ahead of Senna and Prost, and had narrowed the gap in the championship standings to Senna to 18 points with four rounds remaining.
The 1991 Italian Grand Prix was yet another classic race to be held at one of the sport’s most historic and prestigious circuits.
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