1991 Australian Grand Prix

1991 Australian Grand Prix
Race 16 of 16 in the 1991 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Race details
Date	3 November 1991
Official name	Foster's Australian Grand Prix
Location	Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide, Australia
Course	Temporary street circuit
Course length	3.780 km (2.362 miles)
Distance	14 laps, 52.92 km (32.88 miles)
Scheduled distance	81 laps, 306.18 km (190.23 miles)
Weather	Torrential rain
Pole position
Driver	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Honda
Time	1:14.041
Fastest lap
Driver	Gerhard Berger	McLaren-Honda
Time	1:41.141 on lap 14
Podium
First	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Honda
Second	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Renault
Third	Gerhard Berger	McLaren- Honda
Lap leaders

The 1991 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 November 1991 at the Adelaide Street Circuit. It was the 16th and final race of the 1991 Formula One World Championship. Torrential rain resulted in the race being stopped after just 16 of the scheduled 81 laps had been completed. The official results were declared from the end of the 14th lap, two laps before the race was suspended, in line with regulations. It held the record for being the shortest Formula One World Championship race until the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix. From a timing standpoint, it is the shortest Formula One World Championship race in history, as the race lasted barely 30 minutes from formation lap to abandonment. (The 2021 Belgium race started with two formation laps began at 15.25, then delayed until 18.15 and abandoning the attempt at 18.25.)

The race was won by Ayrton Senna, with Nigel Mansell in second position, and Gerhard Berger's third-place finish plus Senna's victory meant that the McLaren team clinched the Constructor's championship. Mansell was unable to take part in the post-race podium ceremony, following a crash at the end of the race that left him requiring hospital treatment. Because less than seventy-five percent of the scheduled race distance had been completed, only half the normal World Championship points were awarded. This was also the final Formula One race for three time World Champion Nelson Piquet. It was the 60th pole position for Ayrton Senna. It would also prove to be the final Grand Prix for Satoru Nakajima, Naoki Hattori, Alex Caffi, and Emanuele Pirro.