The final race of the season took place under a major storm, which caused accidents as well as surprises on the podium.
In qualifying, nonetheless, the script was the same: Ayrton Senna won another pole position and Alain Prost came in second.
During the race, Senna started off well and had a healthy lead, but a five car collision on the second lap caused a restart.
It rained so hard that Alain Prost – already champion – refused to start again.
The rain and visibility conditions were difficult, even for more experienced drivers like Ayrton Senna, who skidded and crashed on the 13th lap.
The race was called at lap 70 of 81. The Belgian driver, Tierry Boutsen (Williams) was the winner in the Grand Prix in which only eight cars had finished.
Another surprise was the Japanese driver Satoru Nakajima (Lotus), who won the fastest lap. It was the first best lap from a Japanese driver in Formula 1 history.
AUSTRALIAN GP
1º
Ayrton Senna
2º
A. Prost
3º
P. Martini
4º
A. Nannini
5º
T. Boutsen
6º
R. Patrese
7º
N. Mansell
8º
S. Modena
9º
A. de Cesaris
10º
P. Martini
11º
N. Larini
12º
M. Brundle
13º
E. Pirro
14º
G. Berger
15º
J. Alesi
16º
I. Capelli
17º
J. Lehto
18º
N. Piquet
19º
P. Alliot
20º
D. Warwick
21º
P. Ghinzani
22º
E. Cheever
23º
S. Nakajima
24º
O. Grouillard
25º
M. Gugelmin
26º
R. Arnoux
70
laps
26
cars
18
Retirements
1’38”480
fastest lap
1º
rainy weather
podium
1º
T. Boutsen
2º
A. Nannini
3º
R. Patrese
–
final position (retired on lap 13)
2º
position in championship following the race
1º
starting place
0
championship points accumulated
1’41”159
best lap
I couldn’t see anything until I hit Martin Brundle. First I felt the impact, then I saw Brabham.