Monaco GP 1990: Alesi Arrives

September 29, 2015 by Jeremy McMullen

By the conclusion of the Monaco Grand Prix on the 27th of May, 1990, it was more than obvious Jean Alesi had arrived in Formula One. The reality was he had proven the point even before the end of the race.

Overcast conditions dominated the principality as the cars lined up on the grid. Sitting right behind the race's defending champion would be a young Frenchman. Seeing the competition from his rear view mirror was something Ayrton Senna was quite accustomed to. However, the Brazilian found himself facing a clear and present danger. To one side was his chief rival Alain Prost. But, right behind Senna was this upstart in a brand new Tyrrell. Though the favorite, Ayrton had plenty of storm clouds brewing around him.

Prost was Senna's thorn in the side. The controversy from Japan the year before still simmered. But, this Frenchman, Jean Alesi, had proven himself on the streets of Phoenix. It was obvious the Brazilian had to make sure he left no doors open.

He had done just that in the United States Grand Prix. It would be a remarkable grid with Gerhard Berger on pole and Pierluigi Martini starting second. Jean Alesi would impress qualifying fourth while Ayrton lined up 5th.

On the run down to the first corner Alesi would make a great start and would out-break Berger for the lead. Senna would be stuck in fourth.

For over 30 laps Alesi would contend for the lead with Senna having to fight at every turn. Senna would go on to win the race, but Alesi would do more than take second. He earned a great deal of respect as well.

Therefore, as the lights turned green it was of paramount importance Senna get away from the grid in an ideal manner. Ayrton would succeed in staving-off both Prost and Alesi. Jean would be forced to defend his third place through Sainte Devote from a rapid Gerhard Berger. Senna was away, but could he be caught? If he was to be caught by Alesi the Frenchman needed to make a move now.

Around Casino and running toward Mirabeau, Senna had a clear advantage over Prost. Prost, however, would leave the door open slightly by gingerly approaching the right-hander. Alesi would take the invitation from his countryman and would dive fearlessly to the inside taking over second. It was a brilliant move that was not to last.

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Berger would mistakenly think the door had been left open for him and would dive in to try and take third from Prost as well. Not for a moment expecting a McLaren to try and occupy an ever-shrinking space, Alain would turn in to take the corner and would collide with Berger immediately blocking the road for the cars behind.

Slowly the cars would squeeze through while others would bounce into the air as a result of running out of room too quickly. The result would be a red flag and a restart to the race. Having spare cars, Prost and Berger set off for the pits. If ready, the drivers would take their previous places on the grid. Alesi's fine pass had been thrown away with Berger's bonsai attempt.

The restart would be virtually identical to the first. Unfortunately for Alesi that meant Prost would be alerted to any possible attack at Mirabeau. Sure enough, Alesi would slam the door shut on his countryman this time to ensure there would be no repeat of Berger climbing all over his rear end.

Having his wonderful pass taken away from him, Alesi would find himself squarely blocked behind the Ferrari 641. Sadly, Prost's substitute Ferrari would prove equal to the task and would park itself right in front of the Tyrrell. Meanwhile, Senna sprinted away throughout the first few laps following the restart. Ayrton would quickly build up a healthy advantage while Alesi remained stuck behind Prost and under attack from Berger.

Senna would continue to disappear into the distance while Alesi fought to overcome his horsepower disadvantage against the Ferrari and McLaren. He remained in third place and was actually able to pressure Prost in the medium speed sections of the circuit. The balance of the Tyrrell made it possible for Jean to mount some attacks on the Ferrari, but the tight nature of the circuit made it nearly impossible to do anything.

Even after pitstops, Jean found his way shut. Senna continued to lead and even posted the fastest lap of the race. The victory was out of the question for the Tyrrell driver. Second place taunted Alesi. It was right there, but couldn't be reached, at least not without help.

The help Alesi would need would come in the waning moments of the race. Alesi was not supposed to be there in third place. The conventional wisdom at the time suggested the Pirelli tires on the Tyrrell were only really strong over short distances, as in qualifying. Yet, once again, Alesi defied the logic and sat strongly in third. But still, he needed help to overcome Prost's Ferrari on the very tight and twisty Monaco circuit. Prost himself provided the help, or, at least his Ferrari would.

The Ferrari had been running well all day, but it would suddenly develop an issue that would lead Prost to come into the pits and end his day. Alesi had gotten by the Ferrari simply by outlasting the famed prancing horse.

Alesi was finally in second place. Unfortunately, Senna was scampering off well into the distance. There was absolutely nothing Jean could do. There was but one hope with just a few laps remaining. Very simply, the McLaren that was currently flying off into the distance, needed to come a cropper.

Jean sat in second place more than twenty seconds behind. It appeared Senna would run away with the race without a challenge. Ayrton was well in front and started to step away from the limit. It would be good because he would need to avoid a spun Derek Warwick. Alesi would continue to press hard and would lap more than a couple of seconds quicker per lap. He had had a lapse of concentration around Monaco before, so there was hope.

Unfortunately for Alesi this was not 1988. Senna was not about to have a lapse of concentration even though his rival had departed the scene laps before. Senna would toy with the Tyrrell and would end up crossing the line a little more than a second over Alesi. Another second would pass before Gerhard Berger crossed the line to finish 3rd.

Alesi would be thoroughly handled by Senna over the course of the race. However, there was no denying the achievement the Frenchman had earned around the difficult streets of Monte Carlo. He hadn't been able to challenge Senna for the victory, but he had certainly more than arrived. He had proven himself before the race had even begun. By the time it came to an end, he was one of the men to watch in Formula One.

Sources:
F1-Monaco Race-1990. Video. (1990). Retrieved 11 May 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6X9LsPl10E

Wikipedia contributors, '1990 Monaco Grand Prix', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 March 2015, 00:46 UTC, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1990_Monaco_Grand_Prix&oldid=652811844 accessed 12 May 2015