Formula One world champion in 1988, 1990 and 1991 (6,5)

I believe the answer is:

ayrton senna

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'formula one' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'world champion in 1988 1990 and 1991' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'world' could be 'ton' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'ton' is found in the answer.
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

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I've seen this clue in The Times.

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