McLaren and Voeckler Rule San Marino

Qualifying:

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Report:

After South America’s opening round saw Alain Prost come out on top, the F1 circus returned to its home on the European continent. The Autodromo Dino Ferrari hosted the second race of this season. Unfortunately, the start of the European season was not what Senna’s streak of consecutive pole positions needed: it ended at eight.

Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler was the man of the two hours, earning his first pole position of the year. McLaren were confident that Voeckler had the speed to win this race and entrusted him to execute a three-stop strategy. Ferrari had the same faith in Alain Prost and so, the stage for a great battle was set. Prost and Voeckler traded fastest laps and whilst Voeckler was usually on top, Alain was able to take P1 on more than one occasion.

Behind them, others tried to finish with only two seperate refueling occasions. Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell both had designs on success. A technical issue removed Senna from contention, but Mansell was able to stay ahead of Prost and Voeckler for quite some time. In the end, Nigel had to let JEV by. Further blocking of Alain Prost turned out to decide the race in favour of the #2 McLaren-Honda.

The lower points were decided in a thrilling battle between the two Arrows-Zakspeeds and Kazuki Fushida. The Japanese driver drove a defense masterpiece. Unfortunately, on this track this hurts you: Imola demands a lot of attention to the fuel gauge. Both Fushida and the one-stopping Cassidy missed that and rolled out on the final lap.

Race:

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Fastest Lap:

Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler – 1:28.715

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Kazuki Fushida – He fought like a lion, that deserves respect.

Reject Of The Race:

Derek Warwick – Awful spin and retirement, especially from a title contender of 1987.