Complete calendar with 16 races
The 1991 Formula 1 season marked Ayrton Senna's dominant march to his third World Championship, as the Brazilian maestro delivered one of the most commanding title campaigns of his career. With the McLaren-Honda MP4/6 proving to be the class of the field, Senna won seven races and stood on the podium in all but two events, clinching the championship with four races still remaining.
Senna's supremacy was evident from the season opener in Phoenix, where he controlled the race from start to finish despite gearbox issues in the closing laps. The Brazilian went on to win in Brazil, San Marino, Monaco, Hungary, Belgium, and Italy, showcasing his versatility across different circuit types. His most memorable victory came at the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, where he struggled home in sixth gear for the final laps, his arm cramping with exhaustion, to claim an emotional first home victory after six years of trying.
The championship fight effectively ended at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where Nigel Mansell scored a legendary victory for Williams-Renault in front of his adoring home crowd. Mansell's win - secured after a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle with Senna - signaled the arrival of a new force in Formula 1. The Williams FW14 featured groundbreaking active suspension technology and superior aerodynamics, marking the beginning of a technological revolution that would reshape the sport.
Mansell emerged as Senna's closest challenger, winning five races including Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. His performances demonstrated that Williams had developed a car capable of challenging McLaren's dominance, though reliability issues and tactical errors prevented him from mounting a sustained title challenge. The Englishman finished second in the championship with 72 points to Senna's 96, providing a tantalizing preview of their epic 1992 battle.
Riccardo Patrese, Mansell's Williams teammate, claimed third in the championship with 53 points, including a victory at the San Marino Grand Prix after Senna's electrics failed while leading. The Italian's consistent point-scoring demonstrated Williams' technical superiority, even if he couldn't match Mansell's raw speed. Gerhard Berger finished fourth for McLaren, playing the perfect supporting role to Senna and securing two victories in Japan and Australia.
The season witnessed Ferrari's continued decline, with Jean Alesi and Alain Prost struggling to extract competitive pace from the unreliable 642 and 643 chassis. Prost, the reigning World Champion who had moved from Ferrari to Williams for 1993, endured a winless season that would be his last before a sabbatical year. Benetton showed flashes of promise with Nelson Piquet and Roberto Moreno, while rising star Michael Schumacher made his debut at Spa, immediately impressing despite retiring on the first lap.
McLaren secured their fourth consecutive Constructors' Championship with 139 points, comfortably ahead of Williams' 125 points despite the Grove team's late-season surge. The season represented the peak of Honda's Formula 1 dominance and McLaren's partnership with the Japanese manufacturer, though both parties knew Williams' technological advances would make 1992 a much tougher challenge. Jordan Grand Prix emerged as an impressive new team, with Bertrand Gachot and Andrea de Cesaris scoring regular points before a young Michael Schumacher's debut caught everyone's attention.
The 1991 season would be remembered as Senna's most complete championship victory, achieved through a combination of racecraft, consistency, and the perfect marriage of driver and machine. The McLaren MP4/6, designed by Neil Oatley and Steve Nichols, was the last of the truly great McLaren-Honda cars, and Senna extracted every ounce of its potential to deliver a masterclass in championship domination. Yet the Williams threat looming on the horizon promised that McLaren's era of supremacy was drawing to a close.