The F1-90, also known as the 641, is regarded as one of the most beautiful Formula 1 cars of all time and marked Ferrari's entry into the 1990 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season. As a development of the previous year's F1-89 (640), the 641 is officially a work of art: it is the only racing car to be part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The F1-90, driven by Nigel Mansell and the newly signed reigning World Champion Alain Prost, came close to giving Ferrari its first title in seven years, and played a key role in that year's bitter Prost/Ferrari-Senna/McLaren rivalry.
The F1-90 was originally the brainchild of Englishman John Barnard, whom Enzo Ferrari wanted to poach from arch-rival McLaren so badly that the Scuderia agreed to let him set up Ferrari's technical office in Guildford rather than move to Maranello. Barnard left Ferrari after the 1989 season in 1987, so the F1-90 was overseen by another former McLaren designer, Steve Nichols, together with Argentine chief designer Enrique Scalabroni. The car's overall lines remained largely unchanged, save for a few subtle modifications to the sidepods. The engine's cooling and "breathing" system was improved, however, and was also fitted to a new, more efficient version of the F1-89's revolutionary sequential semi-automatic paddle-shift gearbox. A new, shorter version of the race engine also made its debut at Imola and proved significantly more powerful. A larger fuel tank also compensated for it being thirstier than the previous version. The F1-90 was powered by a 3.5-litre V12 engine producing 680 bhp, just shy of the 690 bhp offered by the McLaren-Honda V10 engines of its closest rivals. It was not quite as flexible or as good at extracting power out of slow corners as the Honda, the Williams-Renault V10 or Benetton's Ford-Cosworth HB V8. Despite its heavier engine, the 641 was among the best-handling cars on the grid; Prost would later call it the best car of the year.
Prost worked wonders with the F1-90, winning in Brazil and taking back-to-back victories in Mexico, France and again at Silverstone. Mansell, meanwhile, took a podium in Canada and completed the 1-2 in Mexico, before securing his only win of the season in Portugal. A week later, Prost triumphed again in Spain, following an impressive trio of podiums in Belgium, Italy and Portugal. Six wins were enough to secure Ferrari second place in the Constructors' Championship, while Prost finished seven points behind Ayrton Senna in the Drivers' title race. At the penultimate race in Suzuka, the fight came to an abrupt end when both the Brazilian and the Frenchman went off track shortly after the start. Prost's win in France carried special significance, as it was also Ferrari's 100th Formula 1 victory.
In total, the Ferrari F1-90 won six of the 16 races it entered, along with eight further podium finishes, three pole positions and five fastest laps, earning 110 points for the Scuderia and securing second place in the Constructors' Championship.
The Ferrari F1-90 is limited to 199 pieces.
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