35 years ago today, Senna clinched his third title at Suzuka

On this day 35 years ago, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on 20 October 1991 became one of the defining days in Formula 1 history. The 15th race of the 1991 season covered 53 laps. McLaren's Gerhard Berger started from pole and won, with his teammate Ayrton Senna second. That result gave Senna his third and last world championship.

The title was decided at Suzuka

Formula 1 arrived in Japan with the title fight still open. Suzuka was set to decide the champion for the fifth year in a row. Senna and Nigel Mansell knew what they had to do. Mansell needed help as well as a win, while Senna only had to pass Mansell to take the title.

The paddock had other changes. At Leyton House, young Austrian Karl Wendlinger raced in place of Ivan Capelli. AGS did not travel to Japan because it had run out of money. Coloni signed Japanese driver Naoki Hattori.

Michael Schumacher and Jean Alesi crashed during qualifying. Éric Bernard's accident was the most serious, breaking his wrist and keeping him out of the race. Berger and Senna lined up at the front of the grid, with Mansell third. Behind them came Alain Prost, Riccardo Patrese, Alesi, Pierluigi Martini, Gianni Morbidelli, Schumacher and Nelson Piquet.

How the race unfolded

Berger made a good start. Senna blocked his rival in the same way Mansell had done to him in Portugal. Alesi's Ferrari engine blew on the first lap. On the second lap, Andrea de Cesaris spun his Jordan, and Wendlinger, Pirro and Lehto were also caught up in the incident.

On lap 10, Mansell made a mistake at the first corner. He ran his Williams into the gravel trap and retired. That handed Senna the title. He raised the pace, caught Berger and took the lead on lap 18. Near the end he eased off and let Berger back through on the final lap. It was Berger's first win for McLaren.

Patrese finished third, followed by Prost, Martin Brundle and Stefano Modena of Tyrrell. Brundle's point was the last Brabham would score.

What followed

This race was McLaren's last one-two for six years, until the 1997 European Grand Prix. Honda would not manage another one-two until the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. Senna, Prost, Piquet and Mansell appeared together at Suzuka for the last time in the same race. Prost was sacked by Ferrari before the final race of the season, and Piquet's last race in his career was the season finale. Senna had built a 22-point lead over Mansell, who finished second, with one race left.