Mar 03, 2008
In ’86 F1 had reached a certain pinnacle in terms of technical expertise but drivers’ lives were in constant danger nevertheless given the high speeds; Elio de Angelis died in an accident at France during a car test. First off—Senna and Piquet, the Brazilian boys dominated the race at Jacarepaguá. Mansell was not to be stopped at and was closely following Senna but lost control hitting the barriers. Piquet took the lead and just about managed a victory while Senna finished 2nd followed by Laffite and Arnoux. Both Brazilians would be unstoppable at Spain for the second day at the races. Senna was able to get a lead with Piquet, Mansell, Rosberg and Prost in close pursuit. The final two laps would have Mansell very near Senna but the latter was able to control his car considering the weather conditions. Mansell would make his last attempt at the finish line and cruise only 0.014 seconds behind Senna. It was turning out to be a wonderful season! At San Marino, Piquet took the front at the first lap and was eager to win but an extended pit stop forced him to lose two places to Prost and Rosberg. Eventually, Rosberg had to slow down with fuel problems so Piquet took 2nd place. At Monaco, it was different, because Prost had no opponent! Rosberg just had to give in with Senna coming in third. Mansell rode to an amazing victory at Belgium and Canada furthering his warhorse status. Prost’s McLaren Honda didn’t really want to race the Williams which were quicker. Piquet had problems with his brakes at the start but reached third place. It was Brazil vs. U.K for the next five races. At Detroit, Senna was world class! He led the first lap ahead of Mansell, Arnoux, Piquet, Johansson and Prost. High energy Senna was racing 30 seconds ahead of Prost who decided to change his tyres again; Senna won easily. Prost still managed to come third. Nigel Mansell was in form at France but that was because Senna had had an accident; Prost and Piquet were in no mood to race the winning Mansell! At Brands Hatch, the race started late owing to a crash that injured Laffite. But an hour later, it was a great race for a Brit Mansell; Piquet was starting to lose it; his car had given a lot of trouble; Mansell’s Williams however didn’t have a problem… Piquet regained his explosive driving abilities with two wonderful wins at Hockenheimring and Hungaroring. Senna gave him a tough chase in both races and Piquet surprised all his adversaries with pit-stops but still drove well. Senna had a never-say-die attitude and tried hard to close in on Piquet marking his fastest lap at 72 but Piquet made the track record in the next lap winning and thwarting Senna yet again. It was Alain Prost that turned the tide and stole Piquet’s win at Hungary and the race was historical—the remarkable overtaking that Piquet made over Senna at 57th lap was well known. After a heady chase by Mansell, Senna demonstrated precision by overtaking Piquet but the latter would learn his lesson quickly estimating and executing an amazing drive-by and waving a hand to Senna! At Austria, Prost would win thwarting Fabi and later Piquet, Mansell and Senna! In Italy, Mansell and Piquet were in the loop with Alboreto following them… Senna had a broken clutch at the start and worse, Prost was disqualified. Monza was Piquet’s win. The tournament progressed with a win for Mansell at Portugal and a surprise win for Berger in Mexico. It was only by the last race at Adelaide where Prost shined against Nelson Piquet and with 74 points, the former was crowned World Champion!