1990 United States Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 16 in the 1990 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | March 11, 1990 | ||
| Official name | XXVII Iceberg United States Grand Prix | ||
| Location |
Phoenix street circuit Phoenix, Arizona |
||
| Course | Temporary street course | ||
| Course length | 3.800 km (2.361 mi) | ||
| Distance | 72 laps, 273.60 km (169.992 mi) | ||
| Weather | Cloudy and cool with temperatures reaching up to 18 °C (64 °F) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Time | 1:28.664 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Gerhard Berger
|
McLaren-Honda | |
| Time | 1:31.050 on lap 34 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Second | Tyrrell-Ford | ||
| Third | Williams-Renault | ||
The 1990 United States Grand Prix was the opening motor race of the 1990 Formula One season held on March 11, 1990, in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the 32nd United States Grand Prix since the American Grand Prize was first held in 1908, and the 25th under Formula One regulations since the first United States Grand Prix was held at Riverside in 1958. It was the second to be held on the streets of Phoenix and ran over 72 laps of the 4 km-circuit.
The race was won by Brazilian Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren MP4/5B by eight seconds over French driver Jean Alesi in his comparatively under-funded Tyrrell 018. Throughout the race, the pair enthralled fans with some fabulous and daring passing for the lead.
It was Alesi's first podium finish, with Belgian driver Thierry Boutsen in a Williams FW13B coming home third.
Swiss driver Gregor Foitek made his Formula One race debut for the Brabham team. He had attempted to qualify for races during the 1989 season, failing to make the grid in eleven qualifying attempts for Euro Brun and one for Rial.
Unexpected rain on Saturday meant that the grid was decided entirely by times from Friday's session. Pirelli's soft qualifying tires caught Goodyear off guard, and the Italian manufacturer put five of its teams in the top ten positions, including Jean Alesi, who was fourth in a Tyrrell. In a surprise move, team manager Ken Tyrrell had signed with Pirelli two days before the race, after 18 years with Goodyear. Gerhard Berger's pole-winning McLaren was the only car in the first two rows sporting Goodyears. Pierluigi Martini put Minardi on the front row for the only time in the team's history, less than seven-hundredths off Berger's pole time. In addition, Andrea de Cesaris (Scuderia Italia), Olivier Grouillard (Osella) and Roberto Moreno (EuroBrun) all scored what proved to be their team's best grid position of the year. Philippe Alliot was excluded when a mechanic worked on the car outside of the pit area during Friday's practice.
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