Ayrton Senna clinched his third and final Formula One World Championship title with a second-place finish at Suzuka in 1991.
Key Facts
- Race winner
- Gerhard Berger (McLaren)
- Number of laps
- 53 laps
- Season round
- 15th of 1991 Formula One season
- Senna's championship margin
- 22 points over Nigel Mansell points
- Berger's grid position
- Pole position
- McLaren last 1-2 until
- 1997 European Grand Prix
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Entering the 1991 Japanese Grand Prix, Ayrton Senna had accumulated a commanding points lead over rival Nigel Mansell. With one round remaining, a second-place finish would guarantee Senna an insurmountable 22-point advantage, making the title mathematically unassailable regardless of Mansell's result.
The 53-lap race at Suzuka on 20 October 1991 was won by McLaren's Gerhard Berger, who started from pole position. Senna followed in second place, completing a McLaren one-two finish, while Riccardo Patrese of Williams took third. The result also marked Honda's last one-two finish until the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Senna's second-place finish secured him his third and final Formula One World Championship, with Nigel Mansell finishing as runner-up for the season. McLaren's one-two result was the team's last for six years, until the 1997 European Grand Prix.
Result
at Suzuka Circuit, Japan