1989 British Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 16 in the 1989 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | 16 July 1989 | ||
| Official name | XLII Shell British Grand Prix | ||
| Location |
Silverstone Circuit Silverstone, Northamptonshire |
||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.778 km (2.969 mi) | ||
| Distance | 64 laps, 305.904 km (190.080 mi) | ||
| Weather | Warm, dry, sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Time | 1:09.099 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Nigel Mansell
|
Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:12.017 on lap 57 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Second | Ferrari | ||
| Third | Benetton-Ford | ||
The 1989 British Grand Prix (formally the XLII Shell British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 16 July 1989. It was the eighth race of the 1989 Formula One season. The 64-lap race was won by McLaren driver Alain Prost after he started from second position. Nigel Mansell finished second for the Ferrari team and Benetton driver Alessandro Nannini came in third.
McLaren went into the race with a new oil system and transverse gearbox which was feared to be unreliable. Nevertheless, the Woking team took control of qualifying with Ayrton Senna ahead of Alain Prost. After announcing before the previous race in France that he would be leaving McLaren at the end of the season, Prost subsequently announced that he would be joining Ferrari in 1990.
Mauricio Gugelmin's March-Judd developed a water related problem moments before the race and therefore had to start the race from the pitlane. Derek Warwick started the race with a special seat in his Arrows despite a karting accident which resulted in back pain, while triple World Champion Nelson Piquet showed spark and was looking good having qualified well in his Lotus and been 7th fastest in the warm-up. Team Lotus had encountered an unusual problem during Friday morning's free practice session when the pit crew were descended upon by flies which had apparently been attracted by the teams bright yellow clothing.
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