On this day [March 11] in 1990, Ayrton Senna took victory in the United States Grand Prix, the opening race of the 1990 Formula 1 season, but was taken to task by a Tyrrell rookie along the way.
The intense desert heat in Arizona saw the race moved from its 1989 slot of June to March, which saw the temperatures stagnate at just under 20 degress.
But the weather caused a hiccup for a number of drivers in qualifying, as rain on Saturday meant the Friday times decided the grid, leading to an usual order.
Pierluigi Martini’s Minardi would start second, with the Dallara of Andrea de Cesaris third, ahead of Ayrton Senna, who was fifth. McLaren teammate Gerhard Berger gave a semblance of normality with pole position.
Reigning World Champion Alain Prost, now at Ferrari after his highly-public contentious title battle with Senna the season before, was seventh, with his teammate Nigel Mansell 17th.
Race day was dry, and Berger got away cleanly, covering off Martini. But nobody foresaw the Tyrrell of Jean Alesi, beginning his first full season for the British squad, would come scything through. From fourth, Alesi got past Berger and Martini and after one lap, led the race by over two seconds.
Senna was quickly in third, and began bearing down on Berger, who was letting his future Ferrari and Benetton teammate saunter into the distance.
The Austrian then spun on Lap 9, damaging his rear wing and needing to pit. Senna could now crank up the pressure.
‘That’s a bit cheeky, isn’t it?’ – Alesi puts a number on Senna
Just shy of half-distance, Senna began homing into view, with the Tyrrell’s Pirellis beginning to age like a tan-happy influencer.
Traditionally, when that familiar yellow helmet, peering out of the red-and-white Marlboro liveried McLaren appeared in a car’s mirrors, that car would not stay in front for long, and on Lap 34, Senna dove down the inside of Alesi at Turn 1, to take the lead. Normal service resumed.
But, Alesi, to quote a Christmas pantomime audience, exclaimed oh no, it isn’t!
The #4 Tyrrell lined up on the exit of 1 and going into 2, dove back down the inside, presumably leaving Senna to double-take like a badly-acted cameo character in a B Movie. It left James Hunt a little incredulous, saying at the time in his BBC TV commentary: “That’s a bit cheeky, isn’t it?”
Alesi’s was fun was finally over a lap later, though. Senna made the exact same manoeuvre, and this time, covered off his inside line at Turn 2, nullifying Alesi’s comeback move.
After a few more attempts to retake the lead and stick with Senna, common sense set in and Alesi conserved his tyres and allowed Senna to pull free.
Further back, two veterans battled for third place. Nelson Piquet, in his first race for Benetton, held the position before a flatspotted tyre saw him pit, releasing Thierry Boutsen’s Williams.
At Ferrari, the already bleak situation went from bad to worse. Prost was out by Lap 21, having been battling gearbox issues despite working his way up to fourth.
Mansell’s retirement was a little more spectacular, as a faulty clutch pricked a hole in the oil tank, seeing the Ferrari spin amid a fireball at the back, as the engine let go.
Senna could canter to the finish line and won by eight seconds from Alesi, who made the world sit up and take notice with his fearless performance.
Boutsen was third, with Piquet fourth, ahead of Stefano Modena’s Brabham. It was a doubly happy race for Tyrrell with Satoru Nakajima taking sixth place.
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