Controversy and surprises
The 1990 Japanese Grand Prix was held at the Suzuka circuit. It was the scene of a huge controversy and a surprise podium. Indeed, the race saw a first-corner collision between World Championship rivals, Brazilian Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Honda) and French driver Alain Prost, the second consecutive year that the World Championship had been decided between the two, at the same track.
Senna was thus crowned for the second time, and the two drivers put the blame on each other, but a year later, Senna admitted to have intentionally ran into his rival…
Picture above: Surprise podium at Suzuka: Nelson Piquet (winner) is joined by team-mate Roberto Moreno (2nd) and Aguri Suzuki (3rd).
This Japanese Grand Prix saw a best result to that point for the Benetton team, with Nelson Piquet and best-friend Roberto Moreno finishing first and second in their Benetton B190. Japanese driver Aguri Suzuki drove a non-stop race (picture below), finishing third in his Lola LC90, a career-best finish for himself, the Larrousse team and the Lamborghini engine. He was also the first Japanese driver to ever finish on the podium in a Formula One race.