1986 Formula 1 World Championship
Williams Drivers Piquet and Mansell Competed with Prost for F1 Title
Dec 17, 2008
Following Nigel Mansell’s victory at Brands Hatch the Englishman had won four Grands Prix compared to just one for his team mate Nelson Piquet. The Brazilian, who had moved to Williams as number one, was desperate to start redressing the balance.
Piquet Takes Victory in German Grand Prix
The result of the German Grand Prix, like the race at Imola, was affected by the fuel economy rules. Keke Rosberg qualified his McLaren on pole, only to slip to fifth at the finish after running dry. Alain Prost suffered a similar fate, as his McLaren ground to a halt near the finish line. He tried to push it the rest of the way but failed, finally being classified sixth.
Piquet had no such problems, taking victory from Senna by over 15 seconds. Mansell had no answer for his Brazilian team mate and finished well back in third. René Arnoux finished fourth in his Ligier, a position he’d also achieved at the previous race in Britain.
Piquet Wins First Ever Hungarian Grand Prix
The Formula 1 teams received a warm welcome in Hungary, on their first visit to the Hungaroring circuit. Enormous crowds attended the event over the weekend. The venue would go on to establish itself as a permanent fixture on the Formula 1 calendar. Piquet carried on his winning form, with pole-sitter Senna once again second. He was the only driver on the same lap as the Brazilian. Mansell finished a lap down in third.
Austrian Grand Prix Won by Prost and McLaren
After a winless streak that had lasted since Monaco, Prost finally stood on the top step of the podium again in Austria. The story of qualifying was the performance of Teo Fabi in the Benetton. He used BMW’s potent turbo to claim pole position, only for the engine to fail during the race.
Prost won the Austrian Grand Prix from fifth on the grid. Michele Alboreto, second for Ferrari, had started from ninth. His team-mate Stefan Johansson, who finished third, had qualified way down in 14th. It was also a happy day for the Lola team run by American Carl Haas. They were new to Formula 1 in 1986 and, in Austria, managed to get both cars in the points. Alan Jones finished fifth, and Patrick Tambay sixth.
After Austria only four races remained. Prost’s consistent point scoring was paying dividends, and the Frenchman found himself in the thick of the title battle with the two feuding Williams drivers.
1986 F1 season review continues here.
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