Formula 1 - 1989 - Round 07 - French GP

The start of the race would see Senna sprint ahead of Prost, although it was behind them that all of the attention was focused.[1] Indeed, Maurício Gugelmin misjudged his braking point for the first corner and slammed into the back of Mansell and Thierry Boutsen, with the March-Judd duly taking off and shattering against the barriers.[1]

The race was instantly red flagged to clear the debris, with Gugelmin, Mansell and Martin Donnelly, standing in for Derek Warwick, jumped in their spare cars.[1] They were hence forced to take the restart from the pitlane, with Prost easing ahead of Senna as the Brazilian's transmission failed as he tried to pull away.

Prost duly escaped up the road during the early stages, leaving Gerhard Berger to lead the chase from second after a strong start.The Austrian would, however, quickly slip behind both Nannini and Boutsen, before disappearing completely with an oil leak mid-race.

Second place would effectively become a cursed position during the race, with Nannini dropping out with a suspension failure. Boutsen took over the position only to suffer a gearbox failure, leaving Ivan Capelli in second until his engine failed, before Alesi inherited the position only to pit with a tyre issue late on.

Out front, meanwhile, Prost was able to cruise home to a dominant victory, extending his Championship lead to eleven points.Riccardo Patrese was set for second until he was passed by a charging Mansell late on, meaning he finish third behind his former teammate. Alesi ended his debut in fourth ahead of Stefan Johansson, while Olivier Grouillard claimed the final point in sixth.