A first-corner collision between Senna and Prost clinched Senna's second F1 title, while Piquet and Moreno gave Benetton a 1-2 finish.
Key Facts
- Race date
- 21 October 1990
- Circuit
- Suzuka Circuit, Japan
- Championship round
- 15th of 16 (penultimate)
- Race winner
- Nelson Piquet (Benetton B190)
- Podium 3rd place
- Aguri Suzuki – first Japanese driver on F1 podium
- Constructors' title
- McLaren secured 6th title (3rd consecutive)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Ayrton Senna held the championship lead entering the Japanese Grand Prix but held a grievance from the previous year's title-deciding collision at the same circuit. Senna started from second on the grid behind Alain Prost, his chief rival for the 1990 title, setting the stage for a high-stakes confrontation at the race start.
At the first corner of the race, Senna drove into Prost, causing an immediate collision that eliminated both championship contenders. With neither able to score points, Senna's lead in the standings was enough to clinch the Drivers' World Championship. Further back, Nelson Piquet and Roberto Moreno finished first and second for Benetton, while Aguri Suzuki took a historic third place for Larrousse.
Senna secured his second Formula One World Championship, mirroring but reversing the outcome of the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix. McLaren claimed the Constructors' Championship for the sixth time. Aguri Suzuki became the first Japanese driver to finish on the F1 podium, and Benetton and the Lamborghini V12 engine both achieved landmark results that remain unique in their respective histories.