1991 British Grand Prix
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Silverstone, United Kingdom
| 1991 British Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 16 in the 1991 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 14 July 1991 | ||
| Official name | XLIV Foster's British Grand Prix | ||
| Location |
Silverstone Circuit Silverstone, United Kingdom | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.226 km (3.247 miles) | ||
| Distance | 59 laps, 308.334 km (191.59 miles) | ||
| Weather | Hot, dry, sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:20.939 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Nigel Mansell | Williams-Renault | |
| Time | 1:26.379 on lap 43 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||
| Second | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Third | Ferrari | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
The 1991 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 14 July 1991. It was the eighth race of the 1991 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 59-lap race was won from pole position by local driver Nigel Mansell, driving a Williams-Renault. Gerhard Berger finished second in a McLaren-Honda, with Alain Prost third in a Ferrari. Drivers' Championship leader, Ayrton Senna, ran out of fuel in the second McLaren-Honda on the final lap and was classified fourth. As well as winning from pole position, Mansell led every lap and posted the fastest lap of the race. It was the first of two consecutive grand slams at the Silverstone circuit for Mansell, who repeated the feat the following year in 1992.[1]
Mansell-mania greeted the drivers as they arrived at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. The track had been vastly remodelled for 1991, which garnered largely positive reviews from the drivers. The track was no longer the fastest on the F1 calendar, but it now included many challenging corners for the drivers. Elsewhere Tom Walkinshaw had bought a 35% stake in the Benetton team, but the driver line-ups were unchanged from the previous race. Stefan Johansson continued to stand in for the injured Alex Caffi at Footwork, although it was the last race he would do so.
Qualifying
Pre-qualifying report
The Friday morning pre-qualifying session resulted in a return to the Dallara / Jordan lockout seen three times earlier in the season. JJ Lehto was fastest in the Dallara, with Andrea de Cesaris' Jordan nearly seven tenths of a second slower in second position. Third was the Dallara of Emanuele Pirro, with Bertrand Gachot's Jordan a couple of tenths further back in fourth.
After pre-qualifying successfully at the last two Grands Prix, Olivier Grouillard missed out this time in fifth place for Fondmetal. The Modena Lambos were again sixth and seventh, with Nicola Larini again faster than Eric van de Poele. Nine tenths of a second further back in eighth was Pedro Chaves in the Coloni.[2]
Pre-qualifying classification
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 |  JJ Lehto |
Dallara-Judd | 1:24.825 | — |
| 2 | 33 |  Andrea de Cesaris |
Jordan-Ford | 1:25.508 | +0.683 |
| 3 | 21 | Emanuele Pirro |
Dallara-Judd | 1:25.726 | +0.901 |
| 4 | 32 |  Bertrand Gachot |
Jordan-Ford | 1:25.931 | +1.106 |
| 5 | 14 |  Olivier Grouillard |
Fondmetal-Ford | 1:26.299 | +1.474 |
| 6 | 34 | Nicola Larini |
Lambo-Lamborghini | 1:28.042 | +3.217 |
| 7 | 35 | Eric van de Poele |
Lambo-Lamborghini | 1:28.827 | +4.002 |
| 8 | 31 |  Pedro Chaves |
Coloni-Ford | 1:29.735 | +4.910 |
Qualifying report
In qualifying Nigel Mansell took pole in front of his home fans, with title rival Ayrton Senna second. Riccardo Patrese was third, followed by Gerhard Berger, Alain Prost, Jean Alesi, Roberto Moreno, Nelson Piquet, Maurício Gugelmin, and Stefano Modena.
Qualifying classification
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Nigel Mansell |
Williams-Renault | 1:22.644 | 1:20.939 | – |
| 2 | 1 |  Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda | 1:23.277 | 1:21.618 | +0.679 |
| 3 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese |
Williams-Renault | 1:23.436 | 1:22.109 | +1.170 |
| 4 | 2 |  Gerhard Berger |
McLaren-Honda | 1:23.045 | 1:22.476 | +1.537 |
| 5 | 27 | Alain Prost |
Ferrari | 1:24.726 | 1:22.478 | +1.539 |
| 6 | 28 | Jean Alesi |
Ferrari | 1:24.520 | 1:22.881 | +1.942 |
| 7 | 19 | Roberto Moreno |
Benetton-Ford | 1:25.715 | 1:23.265 | +2.326 |
| 8 | 20 | Nelson Piquet |
Benetton-Ford | 1:25.107 | 1:23.626 | +2.687 |
| 9 | 15 | Maurício Gugelmin |
Leyton House-Ilmor | 1:25.834 | 1:24.044 | +3.105 |
| 10 | 4 | Stefano Modena |
Tyrrell-Honda | 1:24.925 | 1:24.069 | +3.130 |
| 11 | 22 | JJ Lehto |
Dallara-Judd | 1:24.997 | 1:24.141 | +3.202 |
| 12 | 8 | Mark Blundell |
Brabham-Yamaha | 1:26.117 | 1:24.165 | +3.226 |
| 13 | 33 | Andrea de Cesaris |
Jordan-Ford | 1:24.169 | 1:24.319 | +3.230 |
| 14 | 7 | Martin Brundle |
Brabham-Yamaha | 1:25.803 | 1:24.345 | +3.406 |
| 15 | 3 |  Satoru Nakajima |
Tyrrell-Honda | 1:26.229 | 1:24.560 | +3.621 |
| 16 | 16 | Ivan Capelli |
Leyton House-Ilmor | 1:25.951 | 1:24.587 | +3.648 |
| 17 | 32 | Bertrand Gachot |
Jordan-Ford | 1:25.323 | 1:24.592 | +3.653 |
| 18 | 21 | Emanuele Pirro |
Dallara-Judd | 1:25.136 | 1:24.654 | +3.715 |
| 19 | 25 | Thierry Boutsen |
Ligier-Lamborghini | 1:25.530 | 1:25.174 | +4.235 |
| 20 | 24 | Gianni Morbidelli |
Minardi-Ferrari | 1:27.367 | 1:25.222 | +4.283 |
| 21 | 29 | Éric Bernard |
Lola-Ford | 1:26.235 | 1:25.537 | +4.598 |
| 22 | 30 | Aguri Suzuki |
Lola-Ford | 1:26.438 | 1:25.583 | +4.644 |
| 23 | 23 | Pierluigi Martini |
Minardi-Ferrari | 1:27.279 | 1:25.583 | +4.644 |
| 24 | 12 | Johnny Herbert |
Lotus-Judd | 1:27.207 | 1:25.689 | +4.750 |
| 25 | 11 | Mika Häkkinen |
Lotus-Judd | 1:26.936 | 1:25.872 | +4.933 |
| 26 | 9 | Michele Alboreto |
Footwork-Ford | 1:27.193 | 1:26.192 | +5.253 |
| 27 | 26 | Érik Comas |
Ligier-Lamborghini | 1:26.486 | 1:26.392 | +5.453 |
| 28 | 10 |  Stefan Johansson |
Footwork-Ford | 1:28.204 | 1:26.544 | +5.605 |
| 29 | 18 | Fabrizio Barbazza |
AGS-Ford | 1:31.697 | 1:28.122 | +7.183 |
| 30 | 17 | Gabriele Tarquini |
AGS-Ford | 1:31.130 | 1:28.136 | +7.197 |
