1986 Detroit Grand Prix

The 1986 Detroit Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 22, 1986, in Detroit, Michigan.

1986 Detroit Grand Prix
Race 7 of 16 in the 1986 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date June 22, 1986
Official name 5th Detroit Grand Prix
Location Detroit street circuit
Detroit, Michigan
Course Temporary street course
Course length 4.120 km (2.56 miles)
Distance 63 laps, 259.56 km (161.28 miles)
Weather Cloudy and hot with temperatures reaching up to 91 °F (33 °C); wind speeds up to 23 miles per hour (37 km/h)[1]
Pole position
Driver Lotus-Renault
Time 1:38.301
Fastest lap
Driver Brazil Nelson Piquet Williams-Honda
Time 1:41.233 on lap 41
Podium
First Lotus-Renault
Second Ligier-Renault
Third McLaren-TAG
Lap leaders

Summary

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Lotus-Renault star Ayrton Senna started on the pole and came away with a hard-earned win, the fourth of his career. The young Brazilian charged through the field after dropping to eighth with a deflating tire for his first USGP victory. The race saw six lead changes among five drivers, and the victory for Senna began a streak that would see him take five United States Grand Prix wins in six years.

 
Gerhard Berger driving for Benetton at the race.

American Eddie Cheever, in his only F1 race of the season, was taking Patrick Tambay's seat in the Carl Haas Lola, as Tambay had not fully recovered from his Montreal injuries. Haas had attempted to get the legendary Mario Andretti, but, apparently because of a FISA-CART feud, Andretti's application for an FIA Super Licence was denied (allegedly Haas then tried for Michael Andretti on Mario's suggestion but his bid for the license was also denied). Cheever, who was racing in the 1986 World Sportscar Championship for the TWR Jaguar team, already had the required licence and had no such issues qualified tenth, out-qualifying temporary teammate Alan Jones by almost 3 seconds. His race ended at just over half-distance with a broken wheel peg.

As expected, the drivers had difficulty finding grip in Friday's sessions, as the temporary street circuit needed time to get some rubber down. Williams-Honda driver Nigel Mansell was the only one under 1:40, putting in two outstanding laps on race tires. On a gorgeous Saturday, Mansell and Senna bided their time, waiting until halfway through the one-hour session to take the track. Senna came out on qualifiers, managed to get a clear track, and clocked a course record 1:38.301. Mansell was balked on his run on the fragile qualifying tires when Alain Prost crashed in the chicane, and Senna had the pole by more than half a second.

Sunday was hot and humid with a chance of rain. At the start, Senna led Mansell into the first corner, and René Arnoux's Ligier-Renault jumped ahead of Nelson Piquet in the second Williams.

Beginning lap 3, Senna missed a gear entering Turn One, and Mansell's Williams shot by into the lead.

By the end of lap 5, Mansell's lead was 4.3 seconds, but that was as big as it got. His rear brake pads were too cool and had become glazed, and Senna was able to draw back up to him. By lap seven, he was right on his gearbox, and on lap 8, he retook the lead.

Senna immediately began to draw away, while Mansell slipped back through the field. On lap 14, with a 6.5 second lead, Senna suddenly ducked into the pits with a slowly deflating right rear tire. Despite a quick change, he re-entered in eighth place, twenty seconds behind the new leader, René Arnoux.

Arnoux held the lead for just three laps before having to pit for new rubber. His Ligier teammate Jacques Laffite, running with harder compound Pirelli rear tires, moved to the top of the score sheet. At age 42, it was Laffite's first time to lead a race in more than three years, and the last time in his career.

After his stop on lap 14, Senna had begun to carve his way back to the front, overtaking, not back markers, but the best drivers of the era. He passed the struggling Ferraris of Michele Alboreto on lap 15, and Stefan Johansson on lap 17. He then passed Arnoux when he made his tire stop on lap 18, Prost's McLaren-TAG on lap 28, and Mansell on lap 31. Piquet passed Laffite to become the race's fifth different leader. Senna reached second just 1.7 seconds behind Piquet by passing Laffite, who then pitted for tires.

With the two of them in front on their own, and Piquet leading by up to 3.5 seconds, Senna was content for the time being to follow his countryman. After eight laps in the lead, Piquet pitted for tires. Senna regained first place and then also pitted. Piquet's 18.4 second stop was even slower than teammate Mansell's had been, but when he returned to the track, the two-time champion got the bit between his teeth. Running second behind Senna, Piquet set the fastest lap of the race on lap 41, but with a pit stop ten seconds quicker than Piquet's, Senna was able to retain the lead.

On the very next lap, the 42nd, Piquet pushed a bit too much, and crashed hard at the left-hand corner before the last chicane. He ended up in the tire barrier, unhurt, but with his car in a very precarious position. The crane, present for just that reason, was unable to move the car. Arnoux, now 16.6 seconds behind in second, took a second a lap off Senna's lead for five laps while a yellow was displayed in the corner where Piquet had crashed. As soon as the yellow flag was gone, Arnoux went wide and hit Piquet's abandoned Williams! The Frenchman decided that his car was not damaged, and attempted to rejoin the field, but did so right in front of Thierry Boutsen's Arrows-BMW, sidelining both cars.

Very uncharacteristic of a street race, these three – Piquet, Arnoux and Boutsen – were the only drivers all afternoon to retire due to accidents.

With 17 laps to go, Senna led Prost by 27 seconds, but the McLaren's TAG engine was cutting out under braking. Laffite was able to close as Prost struggled, and quickly the Ligier moved by into second place. Senna came home 30 seconds in front for his first victory in the United States, and the only American win for the Renault.

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
1 12   Ayrton Senna Lotus-Renault 1:40.301 1:38.301
2 5   Nigel Mansell Williams-Honda 1:39.490 1:38.839 +0.538
3 6   Nelson Piquet Williams-Honda 1:41.510 1:39.076 +0.775
4 25   René Arnoux Ligier-Renault 1:43.166 1:39.689 +1.388
5 28   Stefan Johansson Ferrari 1:42.989 1:40.312 +2.011
6 26   Jacques Laffite Ligier-Renault 1:45.236 1:40.676 +2.375
7 1   Alain Prost McLaren-TAG 1:43.368 1:40.715 +2.414
8 7   Riccardo Patrese Brabham-BMW 1:43.664 1:40.819 +2.518
9 2   Keke Rosberg McLaren-TAG 1:43.732 1:40.848 +2.547
10 16   Eddie Cheever Lola-Ford 1:46.499 1:41.540 +3.239
11 27   Michele Alboreto Ferrari 1:44.296 1:41.606 +3.305
12 20   Gerhard Berger Benetton-BMW 1:43.759 1:41.836 +3.535
13 18   Thierry Boutsen Arrows-BMW 1:45.711 1:42.279 +3.978
14 11   Johnny Dumfries Lotus-Renault 1:45.846 1:42.511 +4.210
15 8   Derek Warwick Brabham-BMW 1:44.890 1:42.558 +4.257
16 3   Martin Brundle Tyrrell-Renault 1:45.250 1:42.815 +4.514
17 19   Teo Fabi Benetton-BMW 1:48.912 1:43.658 +5.357
18 4   Philippe Streiff Tyrrell-Renault 1:47.478 1:43.796 +5.495
19 17   Christian Danner Arrows-BMW 1:48.855 1:44.259 +5.958
20 14   Jonathan Palmer Zakspeed 1:49.812 1:44.401 +6.100
21 15   Alan Jones Lola-Ford 1:45.521 1:44.450 +6.149
22 21   Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Alfa Romeo 1:49.067 1:45.059 +6.758
23 23   Andrea de Cesaris Minardi-Motori Moderni 1:47.359 1:46.705 +8.404
24 24   Alessandro Nannini Minardi-Motori Moderni 1:47.230 11:12.906 +8.929
25 22   Allen Berg Osella-Alfa Romeo 1:56.741 1:48.682 +10.381
26 29   Huub Rothengatter Zakspeed 1:49.680 29:44.015 +11.379

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 12   Ayrton Senna Lotus-Renault G 63 1:51:12.847 1 9
2 26   Jacques Laffite Ligier-Renault P 63 + 31.017 6 6
3 1   Alain Prost McLaren-TAG G 63 + 31.824 7 4
4 27   Michele Alboreto Ferrari G 63 + 1:30.936 11 3
5 5   Nigel Mansell Williams-Honda G 62 + 1 Lap 2 2
6 7   Riccardo Patrese Brabham-BMW P 62 + 1 Lap 8 1
7 11   Johnny Dumfries Lotus-Renault G 61 + 2 Laps 14  
8 14   Jonathan Palmer Zakspeed G 61 + 2 Laps 20  
9 4   Philippe Streiff Tyrrell-Renault G 61 + 2 Laps 18  
10 8   Derek Warwick Brabham-BMW P 60 + 3 Laps 15  
Ret 17   Christian Danner Arrows-BMW G 51 Electrical 19  
Ret 25   René Arnoux Ligier-Renault P 46 Accident 4  
Ret 18   Thierry Boutsen Arrows-BMW G 44 Accident 13  
Ret 23   Andrea de Cesaris Minardi-Motori Moderni P 43 Gearbox 23  
Ret 6   Nelson Piquet Williams-Honda G 41 Accident 3  
Ret 28   Stefan Johansson Ferrari G 40 Electrical 5  
Ret 19   Teo Fabi Benetton-BMW P 38 Gearbox 17  
Ret 16   Eddie Cheever Lola-Ford G 37 Steering 10  
Ret 15   Alan Jones Lola-Ford G 33 Steering 21  
Ret 22   Allen Berg Osella-Alfa Romeo P 28 Electrical 25  
Ret 3   Martin Brundle Tyrrell-Renault G 15 Electrical 16  
Ret 21   Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Alfa Romeo P 14 Turbo 22  
Ret 2   Keke Rosberg McLaren-TAG G 12 Transmission 9  
Ret 20   Gerhard Berger Benetton-BMW P 8 Engine 12  
Ret 24   Alessandro Nannini Minardi-Motori Moderni P 3 Turbo 24  
DNS 29   Huub Rothengatter Zakspeed G 0 Electrical 26  
Source:[2][3]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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  1. ^ "1986 Detroit Grand Prix weather information". Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  2. ^ "1986 United States Grand Prix". formula1.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  3. ^ "1986 Detroit Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 22 June 1986. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b "USA 1986 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.

Further reading

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  • Rob Walker (October, 1986). "5th Detroit Grand Prix: Front And Senna". Road & Track, 130-132.
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Previous race:
1986 Canadian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1986 season
Next race:
1986 French Grand Prix
Previous race:
1985 Detroit Grand Prix
Detroit Grand Prix Next race:
1987 Detroit Grand Prix