Editing History of Formula One (section)

=== 3.5-litre naturally-aspirated engines, active suspension, and electronic driver aids (1989–1993) ===
:''See [[1989 Formula One season|1989 season]], [[1990 Formula One season|1990 season]], [[1991 Formula One season|1991 season]], [[1992 Formula One season|1992 season]] and [[1993 Formula One season|1993 season]].''
In 1989, turbos were banned and new regulations allowing only naturally aspirated engines up to 3.5 litres were put in their place. The dominance of McLaren-Honda continued for the next 3 seasons, Prost winning the title in 1989, Senna in {{F1|1990}} and {{F1|1991}}. The V10 and V12 engines produced by the Japanese manufacturer proved to be just as good as the turbo V6s before them, and the V10 was the best engine over the two seasons it was used and developed by Honda. The championship was marred however by the fierce rivalry between the two men, culminating in a pair of clashes at the Japanese Grands Prix of 1989 and 1990. They both dominated Formula One from 1988 to 1990, winning 37 of the 48 Grand Prix staged and each scoring almost twice as many points as the third-place driver in those championships. In 1989 Prost 'closed the door' on his overtaking teammate while Senna later freely admitted to deliberately driving into Prost in the 1990 race, drawing stiff condemnation from all quarters of Formula One. Senna, however, was more concerned with the threat (and opportunity) afforded by the resurgent Williams, now powered by Renault (the French giant's innovative engine technology resulted in major progress) and designed by aerodynamics genius [[Adrian Newey]] which were to dominate Formula One for the next 7 years.

In the early 1990s, teams started introducing [[Advanced driver-assistance systems|electronic driver aids]], whose use spread rapidly. [[Active suspension]], (pioneered by Lotus in 1987), [[Gearbox#Semi-automatic transmission|semi-automatic gearbox]]es (Ferrari in 1989), and [[traction control system|traction control]] (Ferrari in 1990)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/june-1993/26/traction-control-and-abs#:~:text=Traction%20control%20%E2%80%93%20seen%20as%20yet,in%20F1%20back%20in%201990.|title = Traction control and ABS| date=7 July 2014 }}</ref> All enabled cars to reach higher and higher speeds provided the teams were willing to spend the money. The [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]], due to complaints that technology was determining the outcome of races more than driver skill, banned many such aids in 1994. However, many observers felt that the ban on driver aids was a ban in name only as the FIA did not have the technology or the methods to eliminate these features from the competition. Even this controversy did not diminish the pleasure British fans of the sport felt in 1992, when Nigel Mansell finally won the title, after a decade of trying, nor French fans in {{F1|1993}} when Alain Prost took his 4th Championship, both drivers piloting Williams-Renault cars.

Lightweight television cameras attached to the cars became common in the early 1990s (following an American network TV practise actually pioneered in Australia). As well as boosting audience figures this also made the sport more attractive to sponsors beyond the traditional [[cigarette]] companies. Safety improvements also meant that the major car manufacturers were more inclined to attach themselves to teams on a rolling basis. {{F1|1994}} then seemed ripe to produce a stunning season. Ayrton Senna had moved to Williams to replace Prost, who retired from the sport. Young German driver [[Michael Schumacher]] had [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] power for his Benetton. McLaren had high hopes for its new [[Peugeot]] engine (which had been developed through the French marque's Le Mans sportscar racing program) which ultimately did not happen and Ferrari were looking to put the tumultuous seasons of 1991–93 behind them with [[Gerhard Berger]] and [[Jean Alesi]]. The season was stunning but for all the wrong reasons.