The Hungaroring is a circuit that doesn’t help those wishing to overtake, and after taking full advantage of his first ever pole position, the Williams-Renault driver took the lead at the start and withstood onslaughts from Gerhard Berger, teammate Riccardo Patrese, Sandro Nannini and, finally, Ayrton Senna to notch up his third GP triumph and his first on a dry road.
What made the performance all the more impressive was that Senna had stopped for fresh Goodyear Cs after a stone had once again machined away part of the wheel rim on lap 22. With newer tyres he blitzed through the field and was within striking distance after disposing of Nannini in a controversial passing attempt in the fast chicane at the top of the circuit on lap 64. By the end Boutsen’s tyres were shot, but he just managed to cling on for a deserved success that went some way to making up for the team’s 1989 disappointment.
Berger was menacing Nigel Mansell for third place in the closing stages when he removed him in the same manner as Senna had disposed of Nannini, the Briton retiring with an injured right arm and left wrist from the whiplash of the steering wheel.
