In the late eighties, Scuderia Ferrari had been unsuccessfully trying to win the title in the individual standings for more than a decade, and before the 1990 season there was a feeling that the puzzle had finally been put together in its favor. The team had the most powerful engine in Formula 1, the most advanced electronics and a pair of great pilots, which could be envied by any (well, almost any) team of those years: Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell. Both needed no introduction at all, and both were rightfully ranked among the best drivers in the world.
For the first time since 1980, the new Ferrari proudly carried on the nose fairing champion unit, which took with him from McLaren “professor” Alain Prost.
But unfortunately, the team left the brilliant John Barnrad. The post of technical director was taken by little known Piergvido Castelli. The car was developed by Enrique Scalabroni (ex Williams) and Steve Nichols (ex McLaren). Strongly change the masterpiece Barnard they did not dare, and therefore, in fact, the team entered the new season with a slightly modernized last year’s car. However, the same can be said about the main competitor, the team McLaren-Honda, they did not even change the name, limited to adding the letter “B” to the index of last year’s champion 4/5.
The main technical advantage of Ferrari over the entire peloton was the semi-automatic gearbox, introduced last year by John Barnard. This design allowed not only to change gears faster, but also to do it without taking your hands off the wheel! In the absence of any dampers (let alone power steering) this was a huge advantage on the long haul. In addition, Ferrari managed to get rid of the numerous hydraulic failures that plagued the drivers last year.
No less important was the heart of the car, in 1990 it was the most powerful engine in Formula 1. Engine Tipo 036 V12, working volume of 3.5 liters with 5 valves per cylinder at the beginning of the season developed 680 hp, which was comparable to ten-cylinder Honda RA100E. But at the San Marino Grand Prix, the evolution of the 641 made its debut: firstly, a significantly updated chassis, which received the Ferrari 641/2 index, and secondly, a new engine — Tipo 037. V12, of course. In the qualifying version, the Italian power unit developed 710 hp at 13800 rpm.
At that time, it was an absolute record for atmospheric four-stroke car engines: the liter power exceeded 200 “horses” per liter!
Ferrari 641 turned out to be quite fast and reliable right out of the box, which allowed Alain Prost to continue the showdown with Ayrton Senna. Unfortunately, the battle of the titans ended in the first corner of the Japanese track Suzuka — the penultimate round of the World Championship. Ayrton Senna, without wisecracking, simply took Alain Prost off the track!
Although, frankly speaking, by that time Prost had almost no chance for the title: before the stage in Japan Prost was 9 points behind Senna. According to the point system in force at that time, the difference is exactly one victory! To win back such a handicap in Senna for two stages before the end of the championship — a task from the realm of fantasy, so resort to such a dirty trick in the Brazilian Wizard was not necessary. In addition, on the side of Ayrton unwittingly played Prost himself, who spoiled relations with his partner — Nigel Mansell.
In the season of 1900 Ferrari was an unquestionable technological leader, had the most powerful and quite reliable motor, good chassis, a terrific pair of pilots. But on the way to the title there was an insurmountable obstacle: Ayrton Senna. After all, to defeat the Wizard, it was necessary to build a car not just good, but the best.
As a consolation, it was this car that brought the Ferrari team its 100th grand prix victory. It happened at the French Grand Prix, when Alain Prost won.
Cool article, it was very interesting. Thank you!