The 1986 Spanish Grand Prix was won by Ayrton Senna, with the Brazilian just beating Nigel Mansell to the chequered flag.
The Circuito de Jerez hosted round two of the season, with Senna competing in his second season for the Lotus outfit.
Senna scored his second consecutive pole position in qualifying and lined up at the front of the field for the first Spanish Grand Prix since 1981. Nelson Piquet – who won the season opener in Brazil – completed the front row.
Under sunny skies and in warm conditions, the race got underway. Senna was able to quickly establish a small lead, ahead of Piquet and Mansell, while there was contact on the opening lap. Mansell was then passed by Keke Rosberg in the McLaren, while several drivers – including Jonathan Palmer and Alan Jones – retired.
Piquet kept Senna in sight, as other runners fell into trouble. Riccardo Patrese exited the race with a gearbox issue, while Stefan Johansson crashed out with brake problems for Ferrari. By lap 19 Senna’s advantage had increased to 1.6 seconds.
Mansell moved ahead of Alain Prost into fourth after earlier conserving fuel, with Ferrari’s day being cut short on lap 22 when Michele Alboreto retired. A main issue in the first half of the race for Senna was lapping traffic. His lead was now up to two seconds, and Mansell was moving through the field after re-claiming third from Rosberg.
He then stormed into second place after displacing Piquet and quickly started to chip into Senna’s lead. Mansell moved into first place and Prost jumped up to third, closing in on the top two. The podium finishers were all separated by 2.6 seconds as the race entered its closing stages. The dominant pace of the leaders saw them lap Rosberg in fourth.
A close and intense battle ensued, with Senna eventually finding a way back into first place. Prost followed the Lotus driver through and Mansell pitted for fresh tyres, dropping 19 seconds off the lead. With new rubber, he rapidly closed in on Prost and displaced the Frenchman. The gap to Senna was quickly cut and it produced a thrilling finish.
The duo crossed the finish line and took the chequered flag side-by-side, with just 0.014 seconds separating Senna and Mansell. It remains one of the sport’s closest ever finishes. Prost was a distant third, with Rosberg one lap down in fourth. The two Benetton’s of Teo Fabi and Gerhard Berger completed the top six.
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| © Williams Martini Racing/LAT |
Senna scored his second consecutive pole position in qualifying and lined up at the front of the field for the first Spanish Grand Prix since 1981. Nelson Piquet – who won the season opener in Brazil – completed the front row.
Under sunny skies and in warm conditions, the race got underway. Senna was able to quickly establish a small lead, ahead of Piquet and Mansell, while there was contact on the opening lap. Mansell was then passed by Keke Rosberg in the McLaren, while several drivers – including Jonathan Palmer and Alan Jones – retired.
Piquet kept Senna in sight, as other runners fell into trouble. Riccardo Patrese exited the race with a gearbox issue, while Stefan Johansson crashed out with brake problems for Ferrari. By lap 19 Senna’s advantage had increased to 1.6 seconds.
Mansell moved ahead of Alain Prost into fourth after earlier conserving fuel, with Ferrari’s day being cut short on lap 22 when Michele Alboreto retired. A main issue in the first half of the race for Senna was lapping traffic. His lead was now up to two seconds, and Mansell was moving through the field after re-claiming third from Rosberg.
He then stormed into second place after displacing Piquet and quickly started to chip into Senna’s lead. Mansell moved into first place and Prost jumped up to third, closing in on the top two. The podium finishers were all separated by 2.6 seconds as the race entered its closing stages. The dominant pace of the leaders saw them lap Rosberg in fourth.
A close and intense battle ensued, with Senna eventually finding a way back into first place. Prost followed the Lotus driver through and Mansell pitted for fresh tyres, dropping 19 seconds off the lead. With new rubber, he rapidly closed in on Prost and displaced the Frenchman. The gap to Senna was quickly cut and it produced a thrilling finish.
The duo crossed the finish line and took the chequered flag side-by-side, with just 0.014 seconds separating Senna and Mansell. It remains one of the sport’s closest ever finishes. Prost was a distant third, with Rosberg one lap down in fourth. The two Benetton’s of Teo Fabi and Gerhard Berger completed the top six.
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