Top 5 F1 season-openers in history

#3 - Brazil 1989

Nigel Mansell booked an early flight as he was convinced his Ferrari couldn't finish the race, he was wrong

Wind the clock back thirty years, and it was McLaren that was the best team in the sport, how times change. The Woking outfit had just completed the most dominant season in F1 history, 15 wins from 16 races and when Ayrton Senna claimed pole for his home race in 1989, it seemed like the trend would continue. However, Senna was involved in an altercation at the first corner and was effectively taken out of the race, along with Ferrari's Gerhard Berger. Riccardo Patrese assumed the lead of the race in his Williams, which he held until Lap 15, when Nigel Mansell powered around the outside of the Italian.

The scorching temperatures at the Jacarepagua circuit meant that tyre stops were a must and despite Mansell requiring two, including one to change the steering wheel and all of the concerns over the Ferrari’s revolutionary semi-automatic car, Il Leone, he became the first Ferrari driver to win his debut race since Mario Andretti in 1971. Mauricio Gugelmin also had an excellent home race, finishing on the podium in his March.