1991 Belgian Grand Prix

1991 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 11 of 16 in the 1991 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 25 August 1991
Official name XL Grand Prix de Belgique
Location Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 6.940 km (4.312 miles)
Distance 44 laps, 305.360 km (189.741 miles)
Weather Sunny and hot
Pole position
Driver McLaren-Honda
Time 1:47.811
Fastest lap
Driver Brazil Roberto Moreno Benetton-Ford
Time 1:55.161 on lap 40
Podium
First McLaren-Honda
Second McLaren-Honda
Third Benetton-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1991 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on 25 August 1991. It was the eleventh race of the 1991 Formula One World Championship. The 44-lap race was won by Brazilian Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Honda, after he started from pole position. His Austrian teammate Gerhard Berger finished second, with another Brazilian, Nelson Piquet, third in a Benetton-Ford. Senna's Drivers' Championship rival, Briton Nigel Mansell, retired with an electrical failure, allowing Senna to extend his lead over him to 22 points with five races remaining.

The race marked the debut of future seven-time World Champion, German Michael Schumacher, driving a Jordan-Ford. Schumacher qualified seventh, which matched the team's season-best grid position, and Schumacher outqualified veteran Andrea de Cesaris. Although he retired on the opening lap with a clutch failure, Schumacher's debut impressed the paddock. His seventh place qualifying was done in a midfield car, the Jordan 191, which he drove half a day of testing and at a track he had never raced at.[1]

  1. ^ Chandhok, Karun (27 August 2021). "Driving the F1 icon that launched Schumacher's career". Autosport.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.