The 1989 French Grand Prix created one of Formula 1’s most iconic images – Mauricio Gugelmin’s Leyton House March upside down in the air at the first corner.
But it was events off track that made the biggest impact on F1 in the weeks around that Paul Ricard race, as this was the period when Alain Prost and McLaren’s hugely-successful relationship came to a fractious end amid the tensions with Ayrton Senna.
Edd Straw and Sam Smith join Glenn Freeman to discuss everything going on both in the paddock and during the race in the latest episode of our Bring Back V10s classic F1 stories podcast.
The collapse of relations between Prost – that year’s eventual champion – and McLaren is discussed in-depth, along with Prost’s 1990 options and how his McLaren replacement Gerhard Berger was viewed at the time.
But while the Prost/McLaren split was the weekend’s biggest driver market story, it was far from the only one.
Ex-Ferrari driver Michele Alboreto’s abrupt exit from Tyrrell and the stunning debut from his replacement Jean Alesi, Benetton’s decision to drop its rookie Johnny Herbert as he struggled with the after-effects of his horrific 1988 Formula 3000 crash and even pre-qualifier team Onyx’s declaration that it was pursuing a “star” driver for 1990 all feature in another epic episode.
To find the show on your favourite podcast platform, search for ‘Bring Back V10s – classic F1 stories’.
– Listen on Apple Podcasts
– Listen on Spotify
