Senna and Prost collided at Suzuka 37 years ago today, with Nannini winning the race

Few Formula 1 races are discussed as much as the one held at Suzuka on 22 October 1989, 37 years ago today. The 1989 Japanese Grand Prix was the 15th round of the season and the second-last race. Alessandro Nannini (Benetton) won the 53-lap race after starting sixth. Riccardo Patrese (Williams) finished second and Thierry Boutsen third. It was Nannini's only Grand Prix win.

Before the race: Senna had to win

McLaren were dominant all season, as they had been in 1988. Going into Suzuka, Alain Prost led Ayrton Senna by 16 points in the championship, 76 to 60. Senna had won six races to Prost's four, but Prost had scored points in more races. Senna needed to win both in Japan and in the season finale in Australia to keep his title hopes alive. Prost had told McLaren boss Ron Dennis that he would not leave the door open for Senna that day.

In qualifying, Senna took pole position, more than a second ahead of his teammate. Prost started from the front row on a setup suited to the race. Ferrari's Gerhard Berger was fourth and Nigel Mansell fifth.

The race: lap 47 chicane collision

Prost got the better start and pulled out a lead of about six seconds in the first half of the race. Senna lost two seconds in a slow pit stop, but he began to close the gap on fresh tyres. Berger's Ferrari retired with a gearbox failure on lap 34. Mansell's car followed nine laps later with an engine failure. Senna caught Prost on lap 40.

On lap 47, Senna dived down the inside into the first part of the chicane. The two McLarens touched and came to a halt at the entrance to the run-off area. Prost abandoned his car. Senna, pushed by marshals, restarted his engine, drove through the gap in the barriers on the escape road and returned to the pits. He changed his nose cone and rejoined, passed Nannini, and took the chequered flag first.

Disqualification, appeal and aftermath

Just after the race, Senna was disqualified for cutting the chicane and gaining an advantage by leaving the track. Senna argued that the decision was made by FISA President Jean-Marie Balestre to favour Prost. The stewards and Balestre rejected this. The win went to Nannini and the championship to Prost.

Senna and McLaren appealed. At a FISA hearing in Paris the same week, the disqualification was upheld. Senna was also fined $100,000 and given a six-month ban, suspended. Nannini's Formula 1 career ended about a year later, when he lost his right forearm in a helicopter accident. Whether the collision was deliberate is still debated today.