- Ayrton Senna: 237 laps (1989 San Marino Grand Prix / 1989 United States Grand Prix)
Third in the top 10 is also Ayrton Senna again, though the Brazilian’s second leading streak came in 1989, a year that saw McLaren-Honda foe Alain Prost seize the title and walk away from the team following a bitter divorce. At Imola, Senna took the better start but the race was red-flagged after four laps when Gerhard Berger suffered a scary and fiery crash in his Ferrari. Prost fought back on the re-start and surged into the lead before Senna broke their pre-race non-aggression pact a few hundred meters away by overtaking the Frenchman. The defending world champion went on to win the 58-lap race. Senna was then his usual sublime self at Monaco where he led all 77 laps. Ditto in the 69-lap Mexican Grand Prix. The McLaren-Honda ace was on course to add a fourth consecutive win at Phoenix when electronics gremlins sidelined his MP4/5 after Senna had led the first 33 laps.
