GP: Canadian GP
Date: 2 June 1991
Winner: Nelson Piquet – Benetton-Ford
Prior to this weekend, there had been a parting of the ways between Cesare Fiorio and Ferrari and John Barnard and Benetton.
The race seemed Nigel Mansell's to lose and that's exactly what happened. His Williams slowed and stopped on the final lap.
A gearbox failure said the team.
A blunder from the driver who stalled the engine, according to paddock gossip and the more likely scenario.
Bertrand Gachot claimed his best F1 result, finishing fifth for Jordan, shortly before going on to win the Le Mans 24 Hours, sharing a Mazda with Johnny Herbert and Volker Weidler.
His story is an unusual one. Born in Luxembourg on 23 December 1962, a French national with a Belgian racing license and the European flag on his helmet, he was hired by Eddie Jordan for his new F1 team. But there had been trouble a few months earlier.
During an argument over a trivial bumper to bumper collision, he used a pepper spray defending himself from a London taxi driver. A disaster, as in August 1991, Gachot was sentenced to 11 months in prison which effectively ruined his entire career.
But isn't life strange, because who replaced him at Jordan?
A German youngster tipped for the top, by the name of Michael Schumacher.
In 2025 Pirelli will hit the 500 F1® Grands Prix mark during the season.
Legacy of Speed series looks back at the fifty most significant Grands Prix from Pirelli's time on the F1 World Championship trail.
