1990 Italian Grand Prix

This is the complete race as broadcast on LIVE TV.

Ayrton Senna’s pole position at Monza was one of his greatest achievements. After a stirring battle
with rival Alain Prost (Ferrari), Senna’s McLaren was 0.4 seconds faster, but the effort drained him
completely. His teammate Gerhard Berger (McLaren) was third on the grid, while Nigel Mansell
(Ferrari) was fourth. Jean Alesi surprised everyone by placing his Tyrrell fifth, then came the two
Williams cars of Thierry Boutsen and Riccardo Patrese.

At the start of the race, Senna pulled away, but it was Jean Alesi who grabbed the spotlight. Alesi
passed Nigel Mansell going into the first chicane and squeezed up behind Alain Prost’s Ferrari. He
swerved from side to side, leaving Prost searching his mirrors, then went through as they braked for
the second chicane. However, at the end of the first lap, Derek Warwick went off at the Parabolica,
turning his Lotus upside-down. The race was red-flagged and stopped. Warwick emerged from the
wreck, ran back to the pits for his spare car and was soon back on the grid.

On the restart, Ayrton Senna once again shot out to the lead, and once again Jean Alesi overtook Nigel
Mansell as they braked for the first chicane, and again Alesi passed Alain Prost to take third place. But
it didn’t last long as Alesi would spin on the fifth lap. By that point Ayrton Senna and his teammate
Gerhard Berger were long gone. By lap 21, Berger’s brakes began to fade, and Alain Prost moved past
to take second place behind Senna. From then on it was a cat-and-mouse game between these two
rivals. Senna matched Prost’s every move, no doubt aggravating the Frenchman. The race would end
with Ayrton Senna first, Alain Prost second, Gerhard Berger third, and Nigel Mansell taking fourth.

This is an original BBC broadcast, with Murray Walker and James Hunt on commentary.
Includes the post-race interviews of the podium finishers.