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Championship Watch

1989 Standings

Alain Prost won the 1989 Drivers' Championship for McLaren. Final 1989 standings — every driver and constructor ranked by points and wins.

Driver Leader
Alain Prost
76 pts · McLaren
Title Gap
16 pts
Alain Prost over Ayrton Senna
Constructors
McLaren
141 pts · gap 64
Most Wins
6
Ayrton Senna
Control Tower
Drivers Championship
Season
1989 Season Report

Alain Prost won the 1989 Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship driving for McLaren, finishing on 76 points, 16 clear of Ayrton Senna. Prost won 4 races that season.

McLaren took the Constructors' Championship with 141 points, 64 ahead of Williams.

6 different drivers won a Grand Prix, and 29 drivers scored championship points.

Championships in this era were decided on a "best results" basis — drivers counted only their highest-scoring finishes towards the title, so season totals can differ from the sum of every race result. Dropped scores were abolished from 1991.

Standings compiled from the Ergast/Jolpica Formula 1 results archive. Spotted an error? Tell us.

Live Table

1989 Driver Order

Pos
Driver
Form
Points
Wins
P1
Alain Prost
McLaren
Championship Pace100%
Championship Leader
76
Points
4
Wins
P2
Ayrton Senna
McLaren
Championship Pace79%
16 pts off the lead.
60
Points
6
Wins
P3
Riccardo Patrese
Williams
Championship Pace53%
36 pts off the lead.
40
Points
0
Wins
P4
Nigel Mansell
Ferrari
Championship Pace50%
38 pts off the lead.
38
Points
2
Wins
P5
Thierry Boutsen
Williams
Championship Pace49%
39 pts off the lead.
37
Points
2
Wins
P6
Alessandro Nannini
Benetton
Championship Pace42%
44 pts off the lead.
32
Points
1
Wins
P7
Gerhard Berger
Ferrari
Championship Pace28%
55 pts off the lead.
21
Points
1
Wins
P8
Nelson Piquet
Team Lotus
Championship Pace16%
64 pts off the lead.
12
Points
0
Wins
P9
Jean Alesi
Tyrrell
Championship Pace11%
68 pts off the lead.
8
Points
0
Wins
P10
Derek Warwick
Arrows
Championship Pace9%
69 pts off the lead.
7
Points
0
Wins
P11
Eddie Cheever
Arrows
Championship Pace8%
70 pts off the lead.
6
Points
0
Wins
P12
Stefan Johansson
Onyx
Championship Pace8%
70 pts off the lead.
6
Points
0
Wins
P13
Michele Alboreto
Tyrrell
Championship Pace8%
70 pts off the lead.
6
Points
0
Wins
P14
Johnny Herbert
Benetton
Championship Pace7%
71 pts off the lead.
5
Points
0
Wins
P15
Pierluigi Martini
Minardi
Championship Pace7%
71 pts off the lead.
5
Points
0
Wins
P16
Maurício Gugelmin
March
Championship Pace5%
72 pts off the lead.
4
Points
0
Wins
P17
Andrea de Cesaris
Dallara
Championship Pace5%
72 pts off the lead.
4
Points
0
Wins
P18
Stefano Modena
Brabham
Championship Pace5%
72 pts off the lead.
4
Points
0
Wins
P19
Alex Caffi
Dallara
Championship Pace5%
72 pts off the lead.
4
Points
0
Wins
P20
Martin Brundle
Brabham
Championship Pace5%
72 pts off the lead.
4
Points
0
Wins
P21
Satoru Nakajima
Team Lotus
Championship Pace4%
73 pts off the lead.
3
Points
0
Wins
P22
Christian Danner
Rial
Championship Pace4%
73 pts off the lead.
3
Points
0
Wins
P23
Emanuele Pirro
Benetton
Championship Pace3%
74 pts off the lead.
2
Points
0
Wins
P24
René Arnoux
Ligier
Championship Pace3%
74 pts off the lead.
2
Points
0
Wins
P25
Jonathan Palmer
Tyrrell
Championship Pace3%
74 pts off the lead.
2
Points
0
Wins
P26
Olivier Grouillard
Ligier
Championship Pace1%
75 pts off the lead.
1
Points
0
Wins
P27
Gabriele Tarquini
AGS
Championship Pace1%
75 pts off the lead.
1
Points
0
Wins
P28
Luis Pérez-Sala
Minardi
Championship Pace1%
75 pts off the lead.
1
Points
0
Wins
P29
Philippe Alliot
Larrousse
Championship Pace1%
75 pts off the lead.
1
Points
0
Wins
P30
Ivan Capelli
March
Championship Pace0%
76 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
About the 1989 championships · How F1 points work

Alain Prost leads the 1989 Drivers Championship with 76 points, holding a 16-point advantage over Ayrton Senna (McLaren). A gap of fewer than 25 points — one race win — means the title race remains mathematically open every single weekend.

In the 1989 Constructors Championship, McLaren leads with 141 points — a 64-point margin over Williams. The Constructors title is decided by the combined points haul of a team's two drivers from every race, making car reliability, pit stop execution, and strategic pairing as important as raw pace.

The current FIA points system awards points to the top ten finishers in every Grand Prix: 25–18–15–12–10–8–6–4–2–1. An additional point goes to the driver who sets the fastest lap of the race, provided they finish inside the top ten. Sprint events — held on Saturday at select rounds — offer a separate points structure: 8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 for the top eight finishers, counting toward both championships independently of the main race result.

A driver must hold an FIA Super Licence and score at least one championship point to register on the standings. DNFs score zero, but a classified finish — completing at least 90% of the race distance — earns the driver’s finishing position even without a points reward.