Race Summary
Mansell took pole position for the race with a time of 1 minute 18.403 seconds. His teammate, Nelson Piquet, and Lotus' Ayrton Senna were the only drivers within a second of Mansell's time. The third title contender, Alain Prost, was on the second row of the grid in fourth.
The prospect of a three way battle for the Drivers' Championship crown attracted a capacity crowd of 150,000 to the tight, but fast Adelaide circuit.
Mansell started from pole position but yielded the lead to Ayrton Senna's Lotus at the second corner on lap 1 and fell behind both Piquet and Keke Rosberg on the same lap. Piquet also overtook Senna on lap 1 to take the lead but it would last only six laps as on lap 7, Rosberg took the lead from Piquet and began to build a sizeable gap between himself and the rest of the field.
On lap 23 Piquet spun, although no damage was sustained to the car, and he continued the race despite dropping back several places. Prost suffered a tyre puncture a few laps later and he dropped back to fourth after having to pit. Piquet charged back through the field, passing Mansell for second place on lap 44 but Prost closed on the two Williams cars and, with 25 laps to go, all three championship contenders were running together in positions 2, 3 and 4.
The battle became one for the lead on lap 63 when Rosberg suffered a right rear tyre failure and retired from the race (Rosberg later revealed that he would never have won the race anyway unless Prost failed to finish or had sufficient problem not to be able to challenge, as he had promised Prost and the team that he would give best to his team mate to help his bid to win back-to-back championships). Mansell was elevated to second behind new leader Piquet, but Prost passed him almost immediately. Mansell did not resist because he only needed a third place finish to win the championship.
Mansell was still in third position when, on lap 64, his left rear tyre exploded at some 180 mph (290 km/h) on the high-speed Brabham Straight while lapping the Ligier of Philippe Alliot. The Williams coasted to a stop in the run-off area at the end of the straight, Mansell managing to avoid hitting anything, but it was his championship hopes took the biggest hit. Fearing the same happening to the second car, Williams called Piquet to the pits and Prost took the lead. Piquet would make a late charge to close the gap but ran out of laps with which to challenge for the lead and Prost claimed both the race and the World Championship. By winning, Alain Prost became the first and so far only driver to ever win the AGP in both non-championship and World Championship form, having won the non-championship 1982 Australian Grand Prix run for Formula Pacific cars at the Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne.
This was the last race for the Renault turbo engine, the French company being the pioneers in F1 turbocharging back in 1977, as well as Renault's last Formula One race until their return with Williams at the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix. It was also the last Formula One race for Australia's 1980 World Champion Alan Jones and his team mate Patrick Tambay, and the last race for Team Haas, whom both Jones and Tambay drove for. It was also the last race for Lotus driver Johnny Dumfries, Osella's Allen Berg, Zakspeed's Huub Rothengatter, and 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg.
Read more about this topic: 1986 Australian Grand Prix
Famous quotes containing the words race and/or summary:
“It could be said that the AIDS pandemic is a classic own-goal scored by the human race against itself.”
—(B. 1950)
“I have simplified my politics into an utter detestation of all existing governments; and, as it is the shortest and most agreeable and summary feeling imaginable, the first moment of an universal republic would convert me into an advocate for single and uncontradicted despotism. The fact is, riches are power, and poverty is slavery all over the earth, and one sort of establishment is no better, nor worse, for a people than another.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)