The 1989 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo on 7 May 1989. It was the third race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship. The 77-lap race was won from pole position by Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Honda, with teammate Alain Prost second and Stefano Modena third in a Brabham-Judd.
Background
The event, officially called the Grand Prix de Monaco, was the third round of the 1989 Formula One World Championship and was held at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Pre-qualifying classification
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos
! No
! Driver
! Constructor
! Time
! Gap
|-
! 1
| 8
| Stefano Modena
| Brabham-Judd
| 1:26.957
|
|-
! 2
| 21
| Alex Caffi
| Dallara-Ford
| 1:27.098
| +0.141
|-
! 3
| 32
| Pierre-Henri Raphanel
| Coloni-Ford
| 1:27.590
| +0.633
|-
! 4
| 7
| Martin Brundle
| Brabham-Judd
| 1:27.774
| +0.817
|-
! 5
| 18
| Piercarlo Ghinzani
| Osella-Ford
| 1:27.795
| +0.838
|-
! 6
| 36
| Stefan Johansson
| Onyx-Ford
| 1.27.821
| +0.864
|-
! 7
| 17
| Nicola Larini
| Osella-Ford
| 1:28.555
| +1.598
|-
! 8
| 34
| Bernd Schneider
| Zakspeed-Yamaha
| 1:28.610
| +1.653
|-
! 9
| 37
| Bertrand Gachot
| Onyx-Ford
| 1:28.897
| +1.940
|-
! 10
| 33
| Gregor Foitek
| EuroBrun-Judd
| 1:29.423
| +2.466
|-
! 11
| 39
| Volker Weidler
| Rial-Ford
| 1:29.498
| +2.541
|-
! 12
| 35
| Aguri Suzuki
| Zakspeed-Yamaha
| 1:30.528
| +2.571
|-
! 13
| 41
| Joachim Winkelhock
| AGS-Ford
| 1:32.274
| +4.317
|-
|}
Qualifying report
Tyrrell had a new car that looked sleek and promising, but only Jonathan Palmer hit the track with it on the first day of practice and qualifying. Michele Alboreto's car wasn't finished yet (it would be by Saturday practice and qualifying) and he point blank refused to drive the older car. Ayrton Senna was on pole by a full second over teammate Alain Prost with Thierry Boutsen sharing row two with the surprisingly competitive Brabham of Martin Brundle. Nigel Mansell was fifth followed by Derek Warwick (who's all-out driving in the under-powered Arrows-Ford had found a new fan in the spectating Gerhard Berger), Riccardo Patrese, Stefano Modena, Alex Caffi, and Andrea de Cesaris.
It was at this race that many in the paddock started noticing that the Pirelli qualifying tyres were superior to Goodyear's (the Brabhams and Caffi's Dallara ran on Pirelli rubber).
For the second Monaco in a row, Team Lotus, previous winners in the Principality on 7 different occasions (1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974 and 1987), would start the Monaco Grand Prix with only one car in the field. As he had done in 1988, Japanese driver Satoru Nakajima failed to qualify. Triple World Champion Nelson Piquet, never at ease on the Monaco streets, qualified 19th, 4.738 seconds behind his reigning World Champion countryman.
Qualifying classification
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos
! No
! Driver
! Constructor
! Q1
! Q2
! Gap
|-
! 1
| 1
| Ayrton Senna
| McLaren-Honda
| 1:24.126
| 1:22.308
|
|-
! 2
| 2
| Alain Prost
| McLaren-Honda
| 1:24.671
| 1:23.456
| +1.148
|-
! 3
| 5
| Thierry Boutsen
| Williams-Renault
| 1:25.540
| 1:24.332
| +2.024
|-
! 4
| 7
| Martin Brundle
| Brabham-Judd
| 1:26.970
| 1:24.580
| +2.272
|-
! 5
| 27
| Nigel Mansell
| Ferrari
| 1:25.363
| 1:24.735
| +2.427
|-
! 6
| 9
| Derek Warwick
| Arrows-Ford
| 1:26.606
| 1:24.791
| +2.483
|-
! 7
| 6
| Riccardo Patrese
| Williams-Renault
| 1:27.138
| 1:25.021
| +2.713
|-
! 8
| 8
| Stefano Modena
| Brabham-Judd
| 1:27.598
| 1:25.086
| +2.778
|-
! 9
| 21
| Alex Caffi
| Dallara-Ford
| 1:27.894
| 1:25.481
| +3.173
|-
! 10
| 22
| Andrea de Cesaris
| Dallara-Ford
| 1:26.617
| 1:25.515
| +3.207
|-
! 11
| 23
| Pierluigi Martini
| Minardi-Ford
| 1:28.469
| 1:26.288
| +3.980
|-
! 12
| 4
| Michele Alboreto
| Tyrrell-Ford
| No time
| 1:26.388
| +4.080
|-
! 13
| 40
| Gabriele Tarquini
| AGS-Ford
| 1:26.603
| 1:26.422
| +4.114
|-
! 14
| 15
| Maurício Gugelmin
| March-Judd
| 1:28.917
| 1:26.522
| +4.214
|-
! 15
| 19
| Alessandro Nannini
| Benetton-Ford
| 1:28.608
| 1:26.599
| +4.291
|-
! 16
| 26
| Olivier Grouillard
| Ligier-Ford
| 1:27.040
| 1:26.792
| +4.484
|-
! 17
| 30
| Philippe Alliot
| Lola-Lamborghini
| 1:26.975
| 1:26.857
| +4.549
|-
! 18
| 32
| Pierre-Henri Raphanel
| Coloni-Ford
| 1:30.264
| 1:27.011
| +4.703
|-
! 19
| 11
| Nelson Piquet
| Lotus-Judd
| 1:29.047
| 1:27.046
| +4.738
|-
! 20
| 10
| Eddie Cheever
| Arrows-Ford
| 1:28.461
| 1:27.117
| +4.809
|-
! 21
| 25
| René Arnoux
| Ligier-Ford
| 1:30.003
| 1:27.182
| +4.874
|-
! 22
| 16
| Ivan Capelli
| March-Judd
| 1:29.800
| 1:27.302
| +4.994
|-
! 23
| 3
| Jonathan Palmer
| Tyrrell-Ford
| 1:29.151
| 1:27.452
| +5.144
|-
! 24
| 20
| Johnny Herbert
| Benetton-Ford
| 1:29.661
| 1:27.706
| +5.398
|-
! 25
| 31
| Roberto Moreno
| Coloni-Ford
| 1:30.209
| 1:27.721
| +5.413
|-
! 26
| 24
| Luis Pérez-Sala
| Minardi-Ford
| 1:28.886
| 1:27.786
| +5.478
|-
! 27
| 38
| Christian Danner
| Rial-Ford
| 1:28.737
| 1:27.910
| +5.602
|-
! 28
| 29
| Yannick Dalmas
| Lola-Lamborghini
| 1:29.794
| 1:27.946
| +5.638
|-
! 29
| 12
| Satoru Nakajima
| Lotus-Judd
| 1:28.568
| 1:28.419
| +6.111
|}
Race
Race report
thumb|Pierre-Henri Raphanel made his only Grand Prix start in Monaco, driving for [[Scuderia Coloni|Coloni.]]
The first start was aborted when Patrese stalled his Williams. At the second start, for which Patrese was relegated to the back of the grid, Senna was first into Sainte-Dévote and Prost could do nothing but slot in behind him. The McLarens proceeded to pull away from the field, while behind them Williams were in all sorts of trouble, as both Boutsen and Patrese had to stop for new rear wings. Nigel Mansell went out on lap 20 with more gearbox issues for Ferrari and one of the talking points of the race came on lap 33 when de Cesaris attempted to pass Nelson Piquet at Loews Hairpin. The predictable accident occurred and some choice words were exchanged between the two drivers (while still in their respective cars) and a huge traffic jam was caused. Brundle was looking good in 3rd place in the Brabham, until he had to pit for a new battery and dropped back to seventh (the car's battery was located under the driver's legs forcing Brundle to evacuate the car to allow it to be changed. The problem ultimately cost him a podium finish).
Senna, continued to dominate the race while Prost, including having been slowed by the Piquet-de Cesaris incident (he lost over 20 seconds to Senna in one lap having to wait for clear road to get moving again), could not recover and finished second behind his team mate. He was also held up for many laps trying to lap the Ligier of former Renault team mate René Arnoux who ignored both his mirrors and the blue flags, infamously prompting BBC commentator James Hunt to describe Arnoux's explanation of why he was off the pace compared to his race winning days as "bullshit" on live television. It was Senna's second win at Monaco and he did it the hard way, his McLaren losing first and second gear later in the race and disguising it to his best so Prost wouldn't react and push for the lead. Modena benefited from Brundle's stop and finished third, scoring his first points in Formula One and Brabham's last podium finish. Alex Caffi, Michele Alboreto, and Brundle, who was promoted to sixth on the final lap as a result of the retirement of Ivan Capelli, completed the point scoring positions. Caffi achieved both his and Dallara's first points while Alboreto scored Tyrrell's first points with their impressive new car.
Race classification
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos
! No
! Driver
! Constructor
! Laps
! Time/Retired
! Grid
! Points
|-
! 1
| 1
| Ayrton Senna
| McLaren-Honda
| 77
| 1:53:33.251
| 1
| 9
|-
! 2
| 2
| Alain Prost
| McLaren-Honda
| 77
| + 52.529
| 2
| 6
|-
! 3
| 8
| Stefano Modena
| Brabham-Judd
| 76
| + 1 lap
| 8
| 4
|-
! 4
| 21
| Alex Caffi
| Dallara-Ford
| 75
| + 2 laps
| 9
| 3
|-
! 5
| 4
| Michele Alboreto
| Tyrrell-Ford
| 75
| + 2 laps
| 12
| 2
|-
! 6
| 7
| Martin Brundle
| Brabham-Judd
| 75
| + 2 laps
| 4
| 1
|-
! 7
| 10
| Eddie Cheever
| Arrows-Ford
| 75
| + 2 laps
| 20
|
|-
! 8
| 19
| Alessandro Nannini
| Benetton-Ford
| 74
| + 3 laps
| 15
|
|-
! 9
| 3
| Jonathan Palmer
| Tyrrell-Ford
| 74
| + 3 laps
| 23
|
|-
! 10
| 5
| Thierry Boutsen
| Williams-Renault
| 74
| + 3 laps
| 3
|
|-
! 11
| 16
| Ivan Capelli
| March-Judd
| 73
| Engine
| 22
|
|-
! 12
| 25
| René Arnoux
| Ligier-Ford
| 73
| + 4 laps
| 21
|
|-
! 13
| 22
| Andrea de Cesaris
| Dallara-Ford
| 73
| + 4 laps
| 10
|
|-
! 14
| 20
| Johnny Herbert
| Benetton-Ford
| 73
| + 4 laps
| 24
|
|-
! 15
| 6
| Riccardo Patrese
| Williams-Renault
| 73
| + 4 laps
| 7
|
|-
!
| 24
| Luis Pérez-Sala
| Minardi-Ford
| 48
| Overheating
| 26
|
|-
!
| 40
| Gabriele Tarquini
| AGS-Ford
| 46
| Electrical
| 13
|
|-
!
| 31
| Roberto Moreno
| Coloni-Ford
| 44
| Gearbox
| 25
|
|-
!
| 30
| Philippe Alliot
| Lola-Lamborghini
| 38
| Engine
| 17
|
|-
!
| 15
| Maurício Gugelmin
| March-Judd
| 36
| Engine
| 14
|
|-
!
| 11
| Nelson Piquet
| Lotus-Judd
| 32
| Collision
| 19
|
|-
!
| 27
| Nigel Mansell
| Ferrari
| 30
| Gearbox
| 5
|
|-
!
| 32
| Pierre-Henri Raphanel
| Coloni-Ford
| 19
| Gearbox
| 18
|
|-
!
| 26
| Olivier Grouillard
| Ligier-Ford
| 4
| Gearbox
| 16
|
|-
!
| 23
| Pierluigi Martini
| Minardi-Ford
| 3
| Clutch
| 11
|
|-
!
| 9
| Derek Warwick
| Arrows-Ford
| 2
| Electrical
| 6
|
|-
!
| 38
| Christian Danner
| Rial-Ford
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 29
| Yannick Dalmas
| Lola-Lamborghini
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 12
| Satoru Nakajima
| Lotus-Judd
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 18
| Piercarlo Ghinzani
| Osella-Ford
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 36
| Stefan Johansson
| Onyx-Ford
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 17
| Nicola Larini
| Osella-Ford
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 34
| Bernd Schneider
| Zakspeed-Yamaha
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 37
| Bertrand Gachot
| Onyx-Ford
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 33
| Gregor Foitek
| EuroBrun-Judd
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 39
| Volker Weidler
| Rial-Ford
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 35
| Aguri Suzuki
| Zakspeed-Yamaha
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 41
| Joachim Winkelhock
| AGS-Ford
|
|
|
|
|-
!colspan="8"|
|}
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!Pos
!Driver
!Points
|-
| 1
| Ayrton Senna
| style="text-align:right;"| 18
|-
| 2
| Alain Prost
| style="text-align:right;"| 18
|-
| 3
| Nigel Mansell
| style="text-align:right;"| 9
|-
| 4
| Alessandro Nannini
| style="text-align:right;"| 5
|-
| 5
| Maurício Gugelmin
| style="text-align:right;"| 4
|-
!colspan=4|Source:
|}
;Constructors' Championship standings
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos
! Constructor
! Points
|-
| 1
| McLaren-Honda
| style="text-align:right;"|36
|-
| 2
| Ferrari
| style="text-align:right;"|9
|-
| 3
| Benetton-Ford
| style="text-align:right;"|8
|-
| 4
| Brabham-Judd
| style="text-align:right;"|5
|-
| 5
| March-Judd
| style="text-align:right;"|4
|-
!colspan=4|Source: