1986 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Nigel Mansell won a fierce Williams team-mate contest at the 1986 British Grand Prix, beating Nelson Piquet at Brands Hatch. The result delighted the home crowd and the returning Frank Williams, but the weekend was overshadowed by the first-start accident that seriously injured Jacques Laffite.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Nelson Piquet	Williams
Pole time	1:06.961
Fastest lap	Nigel Mansell	Williams
Fastest-lap time	1:09.593 on lap 69
First	Nigel Mansell	Williams
Second	Nelson Piquet	Williams
Third	Alain Prost	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
11 July 1986	Practice 1	Morning; start unconfirmed
11 July 1986	Qualifying 1	Start time unconfirmed
12 July 1986	Practice 2	Morning; start unconfirmed
12 July 1986	Qualifying 2	Start time unconfirmed
13 July 1986	Warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
13 July 1986	Race	Start time unconfirmed

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Alain Prost arrived at round 9 leading the 1986 F1 World Championship on 39 points, with Nigel Mansell on 38. Williams – Honda headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 61 points.

Race entries

The driver line-ups were unchanged from France. Frank Williams returned to the paddock for the first time since his road accident, while Jacques Laffite arrived set to equal Graham Hill’s record of 176 World Championship starts. Brands Hatch was hosting what would prove its final Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Friday Free Practice

Nelson Piquet was quickest in Friday’s untimed running as well as qualifying, making an emphatic start to the weekend. Jacques Laffite had a much less encouraging morning when his Ligier caught fire. Ferrari’s straight-line speed again failed to translate into a strong lap, leaving the team with a sizeable performance deficit to address.

Friday Qualifying

Nelson Piquet led Friday qualifying from Gerhard Berger and Nigel Mansell. His 1:07.690 established the early target, while Nigel Mansell had more work to do to match the other Williams.

Friday Qualifying Classification

1986 British Grand Prix first qualifying session, 11 July 1986

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:07.690	—
2	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	1:08.196	—
3	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:08.818	—
4	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:09.042	—
5	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	1:09.479	—
6	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:09.779	—
7	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	1:09.971	—
8	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus	1:10.304	—
9	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	1:11.432	—
10	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	1:11.500	—
11	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:11.662	—
12	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:11.682	—
13	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:11.819	—
14	15	Alan Jones	Lola	1:12.060	—
15	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	1:12.333	—
16	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham	1:12.403	—
17	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:12.513	—
18	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:12.715	—
19	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:12.848	—
20	17	Christian Danner	Arrows	1:13.261	—
21	16	Patrick Tambay	Lola	1:13.376	—
22	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	1:14.366	—
23	14	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	1:14.678	—
24	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	1:16.440	—
25	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	1:17.357	—
26	22	Allen Berg	Osella	1:18.319	—

Saturday Free Practice

Nelson Piquet continued to set the standard on Saturday morning. Johnny Dumfries was also making good progress as he learnt the circuit in a Formula 1 car, running seventh in the untimed session. Allen Berg crashed at Druids on cold tyres and damaged his Osella, a reminder that even the preparation laps carried risks at Brands Hatch.

Saturday Qualifying

Nelson Piquet improved to 1:06.961 on Saturday and retained pole. Nigel Mansell lost a promising lap with an excursion at Stirlings but secured second, ahead of Ayrton Senna. The Williams front-row lockout set up the duel the home spectators wanted to see.

Saturday Qualifying Classification

1986 British Grand Prix second qualifying session, 12 July 1986

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:06.961	—
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:07.399	—
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:07.524	—
4	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	1:08.477	—
5	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	1:09.008	—
6	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:09.334	—
7	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:09.409	—
8	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	1:09.543	—
9	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham	1:10.209	—
10	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	1:10.334	—
11	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:10.338	—
12	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus	1:10.583	—
13	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	1:10.941	—
14	15	Alan Jones	Lola	1:11.121	—
15	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:11.267	—
16	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:11.450	—
17	16	Patrick Tambay	Lola	1:11.458	—
18	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	1:11.568	—
19	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:12.281	—
20	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	1:12.980	—
21	14	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	1:13.009	—
22	17	Christian Danner	Arrows	1:13.421	—
23	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:13.496	—
24	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	1:16.134	—
25	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	1:16.854	—

Combined Qualifying Classification

Each driver’s faster time from the two qualifying sessions determined the overall order.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Friday Time	Saturday Time	Best Time	Laps
1	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:07.690	1:06.961	1:06.961	—
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:08.818	1:07.399	1:07.399	—
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:09.042	1:07.524	1:07.524	—
4	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	1:08.196	1:09.008	1:08.196	—
5	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	1:09.479	1:08.477	1:08.477	—
6	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:09.779	1:09.334	1:09.334	—
7	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:11.819	1:09.409	1:09.409	—
8	25	René Arnoux	Ligier	1:09.971	1:09.543	1:09.543	—
9	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham	1:12.403	1:10.209	1:10.209	—
10	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus	1:10.304	1:10.583	1:10.304	—
11	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	1:11.432	1:10.334	1:10.334	—
12	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:11.662	1:10.338	1:10.338	—
13	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	1:12.333	1:10.941	1:10.941	—
14	15	Alan Jones	Lola	1:12.060	1:11.121	1:11.121	—
15	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:12.513	1:11.267	1:11.267	—
16	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:11.682	1:11.450	1:11.450	—
17	16	Patrick Tambay	Lola	1:13.376	1:11.458	1:11.458	—
18	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	1:11.500	1:11.568	1:11.500	—
19	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:12.715	1:12.281	1:12.281	—
20	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:12.848	1:13.496	1:12.848	—
21	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	1:14.366	1:12.980	1:12.980	—
22	14	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	1:14.678	1:13.009	1:13.009	—
23	17	Christian Danner	Arrows	1:13.261	1:13.421	1:13.261	—
24	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	1:16.440	1:16.134	1:16.134	—
25	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	1:17.357	1:16.854	1:16.854	—
26	22	Allen Berg	Osella	1:18.319		1:18.319	—

Sunday warm-up

Keke Rosberg headed the warm-up, with Nigel Mansell second and Alain Prost third. McLaren’s race pace offered more encouragement than its qualifying positions, although Williams remained the clear favourite. With a large home crowd gathering, Nigel Mansell still had to overcome a team-mate who had controlled the previous two days.

Warm-up Classification

1986 British Grand Prix Warm-up, 13 July 1986

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	1:11.733	—
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	+0.260s	—
3	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	+0.883s	—
4	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	+1.363s	—
5	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	+1.540s	—
6	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	+1.826s	—
7	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	+2.093s	—
8	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	+2.180s	—
9	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham	+2.200s	—
10	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	+2.476s	—
11	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	+2.510s	—
12	16	Patrick Tambay	Lola	+2.736s	—
13	15	Alan Jones	Lola	+3.120s	—
14	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	+3.273s	—
15	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus	+3.363s	—
16	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	+4.036s	—
17	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	+4.663s	—
18	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	+4.703s	—
19	17	Christian Danner	Arrows	+5.170s	—
20	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	+5.193s	—
21	14	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	+6.123s	—
22	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	+6.653s	—
23	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	+8.493s	—
24	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	+9.573s	—
25	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	+11.540s	—
26	22	Allen Berg	Osella	+314.660s	—

What happened in the 1986 British Grand Prix?

The first start ended in a multi-car accident that left Jacques Laffite with broken legs and brought out the red flag. Nigel Mansell had also suffered a mechanical failure at the start, but the stoppage allowed him to take the spare Williams. Jacques Laffite was taken to hospital, and his Formula 1 career ended with this race.

At the restart Nelson Piquet led, with Nigel Mansell close behind. The two Williams drivers were in a contest of their own, and Nigel Mansell eventually passed his team-mate before keeping him at bay through the remaining laps. Their pace left the rest of the field a lap behind.

Nigel Mansell won by 5.574 seconds from Nelson Piquet, with Alain Prost third. Rene Arnoux, Martin Brundle and Philippe Streiff completed the points. The victory put Nigel Mansell at the head of the drivers’ championship and gave Williams an emphatic one-two on home ground.

After the race, Nigel Mansell headed the drivers’ standings with 47 points, followed by Alain Prost on 43. Williams – Honda led the constructors’ table on 76, with McLaren – TAG on 60.

1986 British Grand Prix race results

The 1986 British Grand Prix was held on 13 July 1986.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	75	1:30:38.471	9
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	75	+ 5.574	6
3	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	74	+ 1 lap	4
4	25	René Arnoux	Ligier	73	+ 2 laps	3
5	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	72	+ 3 laps	2
6	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	72	+ 3 laps	1
7	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus	72	+ 3 laps	0
8	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham	72	+ 3 laps	0
9	14	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	69	+ 6 laps	0
NC	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	62	+ 13 laps	0
Ret	16	Patrick Tambay	Lola	60	Gearbox	0
Ret	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	51	Turbo	0
Ret	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	50	Steering	0
Ret	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	45	Fuel system	0
Ret	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	39	Engine	0
Ret	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	27	Gearbox	0
Ret	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	24	Engine	0
Ret	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	23	Electrical	0
Ret	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	22	Electrical	0
Ret	15	Alan Jones	Lola	22	Throttle	0
Ret	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	20	Engine	0
Ret	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	7	Gearbox	0
Ret	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	0	Collision	0
Ret	17	Christian Danner	Arrows	0	Collision	0
Ret	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	0	Collision	0
Ret	22	Allen Berg	Osella	0	Collision	0

1986 British Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	69	1:09.593
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	68	1:09.805
3	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	54	1:10.827
4	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	39	1:12.422
5	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	45	1:12.644
6	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	38	1:12.741
7	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	56	1:12.790
8	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham	37	1:12.926
9	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus	71	1:13.077
10	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	19	1:13.247
11	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	65	1:13.386
12	16	Patrick Tambay	Lola	48	1:13.460
13	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	70	1:13.553
14	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	23	1:14.024
15	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	5	1:14.639
16	15	Alan Jones	Lola	19	1:14.992
17	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	9	1:15.490
18	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	22	1:16.380
19	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	35	1:16.427
20	14	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	37	1:16.985
21	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	57	1:17.103
22	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	21	1:17.814

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1986 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1986 British Grand Prix.

1986 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Nigel Mansell	British	Williams	47
2	Alain Prost	French	McLaren	43
3	Ayrton Senna	Brazilian	Lotus	36
4	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Williams	29
5	Keke Rosberg	Finnish	McLaren	17
6	Jacques Laffite	French	Ligier	14
7	René Arnoux	French	Ligier	11
8	Stefan Johansson	Swedish	Ferrari	7
9	Gerhard Berger	Austrian	Benetton	6
10	Michele Alboreto	Italian	Ferrari	6
11	Martin Brundle	British	Tyrrell	4
12	Teo Fabi	Italian	Benetton	2
13	Riccardo Patrese	Italian	Brabham	2
14	Philippe Streiff	French	Tyrrell	1
–	Thierry Boutsen	Belgian	Arrows	0
–	Johnny Dumfries	British	Lotus	0
–	Derek Warwick	British	Brabham	0
–	Jonathan Palmer	British	Zakspeed	0
–	Patrick Tambay	French	Lola	0
–	Elio de Angelis	Italian	Brabham	0
–	Marc Surer	Swiss	Arrows	0
–	Alan Jones	Australian	Lola	0
–	Christian Danner	German	Osella / Arrows	0
–	Huub Rothengatter	Dutch	Zakspeed	0
–	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Italian	Osella	0
–	Alessandro Nannini	Italian	Minardi	0
–	Andrea de Cesaris	Italian	Minardi	0
–	Allen Berg	Canadian	Osella	0
–	Eddie Cheever	American	Lola	0

1986 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Williams – Honda	76
2	McLaren – TAG	60
3	Lotus – Renault	36
4	Ligier – Renault	25
5	Ferrari	13
6	Benetton – BMW	8
7	Tyrrell – Renault	5
8	Brabham – BMW	2
—	Arrows – BMW	0
—	Zakspeed	0
—	Lola – Hart	0
—	Lola – Ford	0
—	Osella – Alfa Romeo	0
—	Minardi – Motori Moderni	0

Drivers counted their best eleven results; constructors counted every round. The standings here show the position after this race.

1986 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1986 Brazilian Grand Prix	Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro	23 March
2	1986 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera	13 April
3	1986 San Marino Grand Prix	Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola	27 April
4	1986 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	11 May
5	1986 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	25 May
6	1986 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	15 June
7	1986 Detroit Grand Prix	Detroit Street Circuit, Detroit, Michigan	22 June
8	1986 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	6 July
9	1986 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	13 July
10	1986 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	27 July
11	1986 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	10 August
12	1986 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	17 August
13	1986 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	7 September
14	1986 Portuguese Grand Prix	Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril	21 September
15	1986 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	12 October
16	1986 Australian Grand Prix	Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide	26 October