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The 1986 Mexican Grand Prix, otherwise known as the X Gran Premio de Mexico, was the fifteenth and penultimate round of the 1986 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City on the 12 October 1986.[2] The race, which was the first Mexican Grand Prix to be staged since 1970, would see Gerhard Berger claim a maiden victory for himself and Benetton-BMW.[2]

In the sixteen years since F1's last visit to the Autódromo the circuit had been renovated and shortened, with the infamous Peraltada also re-profiled to lessen the banking.[2] However, while the facilities had been revamped the circuit itself remained hugely bumpy, with geological developments causing the surface to deteriorate further before F1's return.[2]

Qualifying would see Ayrton Senna grab pole position for Lotus-Renault, with compatriot Nelson Piquet alongside.[2] Championship leader Nigel Mansell, who would win the title if he finished ahead of Piquet and Alain Prost, was third, while Berger grabbed fourth.[2]

Unfortunately for Mansell his title hopes were slashed at the start, with the Brit making a miserable getaway from third.[2] He duly slumped to the back of the field as Senna and Piquet duelled for the lead, with the Lotus emerging from the first corner ahead of the Williams-Honda.[2]

The early stages would see the order stabilise out front, with Senna able to keep Piquet at arms length, while Prost elbowed his way past Berger for third.[2] Mansell, meanwhile, would easily sweep past the backmarkers to get back into the top ten, although in doing so he trashed his tyres and had to pit.[2]

Indeed, the race ultimately became one dictated by tyre wear, with all of the Goodyear runners having to make a stop.[2] In the resulting mix-up Berger would shuffle to the head of the field, the only driver in the top end of the field using Pirelli tyres.[2]

Prost would also benefit from the stops, shuffling ahead of Senna and Piquet, and duly managed to close the gap to the non-stopping Berger.[2] Yet, before too long Prost, as well as the other Goodyear runners, had huge blisters develop on their tyres, effectively ending any hope of them catching the Austrian out front.[2]

With that the race was effectively run, with Berger nursing his Benetton-BMW home to claim his first victory in F1.[2] Prost, Senna and Piquet duly held station in second through to fourth, while Mansell benefited from several late retirements to grab fifth ahead of Philippe Alliot.[2]

Ultimately, those two points would mean little to Mansell's title hopes, for his fifth place in Mexico was considered as a dropped score and hence kept his tally for the season at 70.[2] Yet, the Brit would still win the title in Australia if he finished on the podium, while Prost and Piquet would have to win the race outright to claim the crown.[2]

Background[]

Victory in Portugal had moved Nigel Mansell ten points clear in the Championship with two races to go, meaning he could take the title with victory in Mexico. Indeed, either Nelson Piquet or Alain Prost would have to finish ahead of the Brit, and claim points, to keep the title fight alive, with Prost having to claim fourth or better regardless. Ayrton Senna, meanwhile, had fallen out of the title fight with two rounds to go, his late retirement in Estoril ensuring he was nineteen points off Mansell, with eighteen left to fight for.

In contrast the battle for the 1986 Constructors' Championship was over, for Williams-Honda had built an unassailable lead with two rounds to go. Indeed, their tally of 130 left them 49 points clear of McLaren-TAG Porsche after the battle of Portugal, with the Anglo-German alliance effectively guaranteed second as consolation. Lotus-Renault still had a mathematical chance of beating them to the runner-up spot, but would have to claim first and second in both of the remaining races to do so.

Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 1986 Mexican Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 France Alain Prost United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/2C TAG Porsche TTE PO1 1.5 V6t G
2 Finland Keke Rosberg United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/2C TAG Porsche TTE PO1 1.5 V6t G
3 United Kingdom Martin Brundle United Kingdom Data General Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 015 Renault EF15 1.5 V6t G
4 France Philippe Alliot United Kingdom Data General Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 015 Renault EF15 1.5 V6t G
5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Canon Williams Honda Team Williams FW11 Honda RA166E 1.5 V6t G
6 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Canon Williams Honda Team Williams FW11 Honda RA166E 1.5 V6t G
7 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT55 BMW M12/13/1 1.5 L4t P
8 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT55 BMW M12/13/1 1.5 L4t P
11 United Kingdom Johnny Dumfries United Kingdom John Player Special Team Lotus Lotus 98T Renault EF15B 1.5 V6t G
12 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom John Player Special Team Lotus Lotus 98T Renault EF15B 1.5 V6t G
14 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer West Germany West Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed 861 Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4t G
15 Australia Alan Jones United States Team Haas (USA) Ltd. Lola THL2 Ford Cosworth GBA 1.5 V6t G
16 France Patrick Tambay United States Team Haas (USA) Ltd. Lola THL2 Ford Cosworth GBA 1.5 V6t G
17 West Germany Christian Danner United Kingdom Barclay Arrows BMW Arrows A8 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t G
18 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Barclay Arrows BMW Arrows A8 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t G
19 Italy Teo Fabi United Kingdom Benetton Formula Benetton B186 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t P
20 Austria Gerhard Berger United Kingdom Benetton Formula Benetton B186 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t P
21 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani Italy Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1G Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8t P
22 Canada Allen Berg Italy Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1F Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8t P
23 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi M186 Motori Moderni 615-90 1.5 V6t P
24 Italy Alessandro Nannini Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi M185B Motori Moderni 615-90 1.5 V6t P
25 France René Arnoux France Equipe Ligier Ligier JS27 Renault EF15 1.5 V6t P
26 France Philippe Alliot France Equipe Ligier Ligier JS27 Renault EF15 1.5 V6t P
27 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari F1/86 Ferrari 032 1.5 V6t G
28 Sweden Stefan Johansson Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari F1/86 Ferrari 032 1.5 V6t G
29 Netherlands Huub Rothengatter West Germany West Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed 861 Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4t G
Source:[3]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Friday Qualifying[]

Saturday Qualifying[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1986 Mexican Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
Q1 Q2
1 12 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 1:18.367 1:16.990
2 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Williams-Honda 1:18.037 1:17.279 +0.289s
3 5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Williams-Honda 1:18.269 1:17.514 +0.524s
4 20 Austria Gerhard Berger United Kingdom Benetton-BMW 1:17.780 1:17.609 +0.619s
5 7 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 1:21.241 1:18.285 +1.295s
6 1 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 1:19.294 1:18.421 +1.431s
7 8 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 1:19.713 1:18.527 +1.537s
8 16 France Patrick Tambay United States Lola-Ford Cosworth 1:20.492 1:18.839 +1.849s
9 19 Italy Teo Fabi United Kingdom Benetton-BMW 1:18.971 1:18.893 +1.903s
10 26 France Philippe Alliot France Ligier-Renault 1:20.372 1:19.257 +2.267s
11 2 Finland Keke Rosberg United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 1:19.342 +2.352s
12 27 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Ferrari 1:19.628 1:19.388 +2.398s
13 25 France René Arnoux France Ligier-Renault 1:19.624 1:20.458 +2.634s
14 28 Sweden Stefan Johansson Italy Ferrari 1:20.303 1:19.769 +2.779s
15 15 Australia Alan Jones United States Lola-Ford Cosworth 1:20.525 1:20.090 +3.100s
16 3 United Kingdom Martin Brundle United Kingdom Tyrrell-Renault 1:21.587 1:20.198 +3.208s
17 11 United Kingdom Johnny Dumfries United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 1:20.479 1:21.491 +3.489s
18 14 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer West Germany Zakspeed 1:21.154 1:20.668 +3.678s
19 4 France Philippe Streiff United Kingdom Tyrrell-Renault 1:20.946 1:21.174 +3.956s
20 17 West Germany Christian Danner United Kingdom Arrows-BMW 1:21.069 1:21.461 +4.079s
21 18 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Arrows-BMW 1:21.171 1:21.361 +4.181s
22 23 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Italy Minardi-Motori Moderni 1:22.470 1:22.521 +5.480s
23 29 Netherlands Huub Rothengatter West Germany Zakspeed 1:23.812 1:22.524 +5.534s
24 24 Italy Alessandro Nannini Italy Minardi-Motori Moderni 1:25.179 1:23.457 +6.467s
25 21 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani Italy Osella-Alfa Romeo 1:25.767 1:24.176 +7.186s
26 22 Canada Allen Berg Italy Osella-Alfa Romeo 1:26.573 1:27.209 +9.583s
Source:[4][5][6]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Ayrton Senna
Nelson Piquet ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Nigel Mansell
Gerhard Berger ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Riccardo Patrese
Alain Prost ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Derek Warwick
Patrick Tambay ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Teo Fabi
Philippe Alliot ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Keke Rosberg
Michele Alboreto ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 René Arnoux
Stefan Johansson ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Alan Jones
Martin Brundle ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Johnny Dumfries
Jonathan Palmer ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Philippe Streiff
Christian Danner ______________
Row 11 ______________ 21
22 Thierry Boutsen
Andrea de Cesaris ______________
Row 12 ______________ 23
24 Huub Rothengatter*
Alessandro Nannini ______________
Row 13 ______________ 25
26 Piercarlo Ghinzani
Allen Berg ______________
  • * Rothengatter was unable to start after an accident in the warm-up.[7]

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 1986 Mexican Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 20 Austria Gerhard Berger United Kingdom Benetton-BMW 68 1:33:18.700 4 9
2 1 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 68 +25.438s 6 6
3 12 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 68 +52.513s 1 4
4 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Williams-Honda 67 +1 Lap 2 3
5 5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Williams-Honda 67 +1 Lap 3 2
6 26 France Philippe Alliot France Ligier-Renault 67 +1 Lap 10 1
7 18 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Arrows-BMW 66 +2 Laps 21
8 23 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Italy Minardi-Motori Moderni 66 +2 Laps 22
9 17 West Germany Christian Danner United Kingdom Arrows-BMW 66 +2 Laps 20
10* 14 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer West Germany Zakspeed 65 Out of fuel 18
11 3 United Kingdom Martin Brundle United Kingdom Tyrrell-Renault 65 +3 Laps 16
12* 28 Sweden Stefan Johansson Italy Ferrari 64 Turbo 14
13* 7 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 64 Spin 5
14 24 Italy Alessandro Nannini Italy Minardi-Motori Moderni 64 +4 Laps 24
15* 25 France René Arnoux France Ligier-Renault 63 Engine 13
16 22 Canada Allen Berg Italy Osella-Alfa Romeo 61 +7 Laps 26
Ret 11 United Kingdom Johnny Dumfries United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 53 Electrical 17
Ret 8 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 37 Engine 7
Ret 15 Australia Alan Jones United States Lola-Ford Cosworth 35 Tyre 15
Ret 2 Finland Keke Rosberg United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 32 Puncture 11
Ret 27 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Ferrari 10 Turbo 12
Ret 21 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani Italy Osella-Alfa Romeo 8 Turbo 25
Ret 4 France Philippe Streiff United Kingdom Tyrrell-Renault 8 Turbo 19
Ret 19 Italy Teo Fabi United Kingdom Benetton-BMW 4 Engine 9
Ret 16 France Patrick Tambay United States Lola-Ford Cosworth 0 Accident 8
DNS 29 Netherlands Huub Rothengatter West Germany Zakspeed
Source:[7]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Palmer, Johansson, Patrese and Arnoux were all still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance.[7]
  • Rothengatter was unable to start after an accident during warm-up.[7]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Nigel Mansell remained at the head of the Championship after the Mexican Grand Prix, although his lead had been cut to six points. Regardless, the Brit would claim the crown if he finished third or higher in Australia, regardless of what Alain Prost or Nigel Mansell could do. Indeed, nothing short of a victory for either the Frenchman or the Brazilian would do in Oceania to overhaul Mansell's 70 point tally.

In the Constructors Championship, meanwhile, there had been very little movement, with Williams-Honda already declared as Champions, and McLaren-TAG Porsche confirmed in second. Indeed, Lotus-Renault had even claimed third after the race in Mexico, leaving the battle for fourth as the only significant issue heading into the finale in Australia. Ferrari held the advantage, four ahead of Ligier-Renault, although the Italian team's rather indifferent campaign meant that the French "garagistas" stood a fair chance of moving back ahead of the Scuderia at the final hurdle.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell 70 (72)
2 France Alain Prost 64 (65) ▲1
3 Brazil Nelson Piquet 63 ▼1
4 Brazil Ayrton Senna 55
5 Finland Keke Rosberg 22
6 Sweden Stefan Johansson 19
7 Austria Gerhard Berger 17 ▲3
8 France Jacques Laffite 14 ▼1
9 Italy Michele Alboreto 14 ▼1
10 France René Arnoux 14 ▼1
11 United Kingdom Martin Brundle 5
12 Australia Alan Jones 4
13 United Kingdom Johnny Dumfries 2
14 France Patrick Tambay 2
15 Italy Teo Fabi 2
16 Italy Riccardo Patrese 2
17 France Philippe Streiff 1
18 West Germany Christian Danner 1
19 France Philippe Alliot 1 ▲3
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Williams-Honda 135
2 United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 87
3 United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 57
4 Italy Ferrari 33
5 France Ligier-Renault 29
6 United Kingdom Benetton-BMW 19
7 United States Lola-Ford Cosworth 6
8 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Renault 6
9 United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 2
10 United Kingdom Arrows-BMW 1

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 '15. Mexico 1986', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1986/mexique.aspx, (Accessed 31/03/2019)
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 'Mexican GP, 1986', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr435.html, (Accessed 31/03/2019)
  3. 'Mexico 1986: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1986/mexique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 31/03/2019)
  4. 'Gran Premio de Mexico - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1986/races/512/mexico/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 31/03/2019)
  5. 'Gran Premio de Mexico - QUALIFYING 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1986/races/512/mexico/qualifying-2.html, (Accessed 31/03/2019)
  6. 'Mexico 1986: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1986/mexique/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 31/03/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 'Mexico 1986: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1986/mexique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 30/01/2019)
  8. 8.0 8.1 '1986 Mexican GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1986&gp=Mexican%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 31/03/2019)
V T E 1986 Formula One Season
Teams McLaren • Tyrrell • Williams • Brabham • Lotus • Zakspeed • Lola • Arrows • Benetton • Osella • Minardi • Ligier • Ferrari • AGS
Engines Alfa Romeo • BMW • Ferrari • Ford • Hart • Honda • Motori Moderni • Renault • TAG • Zakspeed
Drivers Prost • 2 Rosberg • 3 Brundle • 4 Streiff • 5 Mansell • 6 Piquet • 7 Patrese • 8 De Angelis • 8 Warwick • 11 Dumfries • 12 Senna • 14 Palmer • 29 Rothengatter • 15 Jones • 16 Tambay • 16 Cheever • 17 Surer • 17 Danner • 18 Boutsen • 19 Fabi • 20 Berger • 21 Ghinzani • 22 Danner • 22 Berg • 22 Caffi • 23 De Cesaris • 24 Nannini • 25 Arnoux • 26 Laffite • 26 Alliot • 27 Alboreto • 28 Johansson • 31 Capelli
Other Drivers Barilla
Cars Williams FW11 • McLaren MP4/2C • Lotus 98T • Ferrari F1/86 • Ligier JS27 • Benetton B186 • Tyrrell 014 • Tyrrell 015 • Lola THL1 • Lola THL2 • Brabham BT55 • Arrows A8 • Arrows A9 • Zakspeed 861 • Minardi M185B • Minardi M186 • Osella FA1G • Osella FA1F • Osella FA1H • AGS JH21C
Tyres Goodyear • Pirelli
Races Brazil • Spain • San Marino • Monaco • Belgium • Canada • Detroit • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Austria • Italy • Portugal • Mexico • Australia
See also 1985 Formula One Season • 1987 Formula One Season • Category
V T E Mexico Mexican Grand Prix / Mexico City Grand Prix
Circuits Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (1963-1970, 1986-1992, 2015-present)
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez 2015
Races (Mexican GP) 196319641965196619671968196919701971–198519861987198819891990199119921993–201420152016201720182019
Races (Mexico City GP) 2020202120222023
Non-Championship Races 1962
V T E Promotional Trophy
Races 197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
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