1989 CANADIAN GP

MONTREAL ARROWS A11 STARTED 12TH | RESULT RETIRED

The 1989 Arrows was a solid mid-grid car at Montreal in dry conditions, and rain on race day again provided Warwick with an opportunity to shine. “Ayrton Senna was the best wet-weather driver in the world, but I always thought I wasn’t that far behind – I rated myself in the rain,” he says.

Warwick’s early progress was rapid, helped by Nigel Mansell and Alessandro Nannini pulling in for slick tyres before the race even started. After two laps, the Arrows had climbed from 12th to seventh.

The conditions were unpredictable – starting wet, drying, then raining again – and Warwick stayed on wets as others dived in and out of the pits. When Senna pitted for the second time, Warwick moved into second spot. He started catching leader Riccardo Patrese, and Warwick took the lead on lap 35 of 69 when the Williams came in for a new set of wets. It was the first time Warwick had led a GP since 1984.

Senna’s Mclaren soon blasted past, but Warwick was still clear of everyone else – more than 40s clear of eventual winner Thierry Boutsen. Given that the Brazilian retired with engine failure late on, this race might have fallen to Warwick had he not already suffered his own blown Ford unit on lap 41.

“We were on fire that day,” says Warwick. “Ayrton would have won the race without his failure, but what pissed me off was that Boutsen won, and I was destroying him. I was furious after the race.

“The car was brilliant. We should have had more success that year but for reliability. The cockpit was very tight; typical Ross Brawn design, both Eddie and I struggled in it. I had to go down a shoe size to fit in the cockpit and my feet used to burn. I could hardly walk after a race.”