Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka Circuit
Grand Prix starting grid
Race starts
Grid positions from race-result records; not a separately verified pre-race grid.
| POS | DRIVER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren |
| 2 | Alain Prost | Ferrari |
| 3 | Nigel Mansell | Ferrari |
| 4 | Gerhard Berger | McLaren |
| 5 | Thierry Boutsen | Williams |
| 6 | Nelson Piquet | Benetton |
| 7 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams |
| 7 | Jean Alesi | Tyrrell |
| 8 | Roberto Moreno | Benetton |
| 9 | Aguri Suzuki | Larrousse |
| 10 | Pierluigi Martini | Minardi |
| 11 | Derek Warwick | Team Lotus |
| 12 | Johnny Herbert | Team Lotus |
| 13 | Ivan Capelli | Leyton House |
| 14 | Satoru Nakajima | Tyrrell |
| 16 | Maurício Gugelmin | Leyton House |
| 17 | Nicola Larini | Ligier |
| 18 | Éric Bernard | Larrousse |
| 19 | Emanuele Pirro | Dallara |
| 20 | Gianni Morbidelli | Minardi |
| 21 | David Brabham | Brabham |
| 22 | Stefano Modena | Brabham |
| 23 | Alex Caffi | Arrows |
| 24 | Michele Alboreto | Arrows |
| 25 | Philippe Alliot | Ligier |
| 26 | Andrea de Cesaris | Dallara |