1986 Detroit Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Ayrton Senna fought back from a deflating tyre to win a lively 1986 Detroit Grand Prix. Jacques Laffite finished second for Ligier, ahead of Alain Prost, after an afternoon in which five drivers took turns at the front.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Ayrton Senna	Lotus
Pole time	1:38.301
Fastest lap	Nelson Piquet	Williams
Fastest-lap time	1:41.233 on lap 41
First	Ayrton Senna	Lotus
Second	Jacques Laffite	Ligier
Third	Alain Prost	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
20 June 1986	Practice 1	Morning; start unconfirmed
20 June 1986	Qualifying 1	Start time unconfirmed
21 June 1986	Practice 2	Morning; start unconfirmed
21 June 1986	Qualifying 2	Start time unconfirmed
22 June 1986	Warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
22 June 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 7 leading the 1986 F1 World Championship on 29 points, with Nigel Mansell on 27. Williams – Honda headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 46 points.

Race entries

Eddie Cheever replaced the injured Patrick Tambay at Haas for his only Formula 1 appearance of the season. Christian Danner completed his move to Arrows, and Allen Berg made his debut in the vacant Osella. Eddie Cheever had to learn the Lola-Ford immediately, with no preparatory test before Friday running.

Friday Free Practice

The dusty street circuit offered little grip at the start of Friday running. Finding traction and confidence close to the barriers took time, particularly for Eddie Cheever in an unfamiliar car. The uneven surface also made suspension and braking compromises important, with little margin for the drivers to recover from a slide.

Friday Qualifying

Nigel Mansell was the only driver below 1:40 on Friday, setting his best laps on race tyres as the surface improved. Ayrton Senna and Nelson Piquet followed, with the Williams driver holding a clear provisional advantage.

Friday Qualifying Classification

1986 Detroit Grand Prix first qualifying session, 20 June 1986

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:39.490	—
2	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:40.301	—
3	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:41.510	—
4	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	1:42.989	—
5	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	1:43.166	—
6	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:43.368	—
7	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:43.664	—
8	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	1:43.732	—
9	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	1:43.759	—
10	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:44.296	—
11	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham	1:44.890	—
12	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:45.236	—
13	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	1:45.250	—
14	15	Alan Jones	Lola	1:45.421	—
15	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	1:45.711	—
16	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus	1:45.846	—
17	16	Eddie Cheever	Lola	1:46.499	—
18	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:47.230	—
19	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	1:47.359	—
20	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:47.478	—
21	17	Christian Danner	Arrows	1:48.855	—
22	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:48.912	—
23	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	1:49.067	—
24	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	1:49.680	—
25	14	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	1:49.812	—
26	22	Allen Berg	Osella	1:56.741	—

Saturday Free Practice

Nelson Piquet crashed heavily at the chicane during Saturday morning practice, damaging the Williams and adding to the mechanics’ workload before qualifying. The monocoque survived, allowing the car to be rebuilt. The incident underlined how quickly Detroit could turn a small error into a major repair job.

Saturday Qualifying

Ayrton Senna responded with a superb 1:38.301 on Saturday. Alain Prost’s crash at the chicane interrupted Nigel Mansell’s qualifying-tyre run, and he had to settle for second ahead of Nelson Piquet. Eddie Cheever impressed in tenth on his first weekend with the Lola-Ford.

Saturday Qualifying Classification

1986 Detroit Grand Prix second qualifying session, 21 June 1986

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:38.301	—
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:38.839	—
3	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:39.076	—
4	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	1:39.689	—
5	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	1:40.312	—
6	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:40.676	—
7	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:40.715	—
8	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:40.819	—
9	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	1:40.848	—
10	16	Eddie Cheever	Lola	1:41.540	—
11	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:41.606	—
12	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	1:41.836	—
13	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	1:42.279	—
14	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus	1:42.511	—
15	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham	1:42.558	—
16	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	1:42.815	—
17	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:43.658	—
18	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:43.796	—
19	17	Christian Danner	Arrows	1:44.259	—
20	14	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	1:44.401	—
21	15	Alan Jones	Lola	1:44.450	—
22	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	1:45.059	—
23	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	1:46.705	—
24	22	Allen Berg	Osella	1:48.682	—
25	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	11:12.906	—
26	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	29:44.015	—

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	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:40.301	1:38.301	1:38.301	—
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:39.490	1:38.839	1:38.839	—
3	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:41.510	1:39.076	1:39.076	—
4	25	René Arnoux	Ligier	1:43.166	1:39.689	1:39.689	—
5	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	1:42.989	1:40.312	1:40.312	—
6	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:45.236	1:40.676	1:40.676	—
7	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:43.368	1:40.715	1:40.715	—
8	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:43.664	1:40.819	1:40.819	—
9	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	1:43.732	1:40.848	1:40.848	—
10	16	Eddie Cheever	Lola	1:46.499	1:41.540	1:41.540	—
11	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:44.296	1:41.606	1:41.606	—
12	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	1:43.759	1:41.836	1:41.836	—
13	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	1:45.711	1:42.279	1:42.279	—
14	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus	1:45.846	1:42.511	1:42.511	—
15	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham	1:44.890	1:42.558	1:42.558	—
16	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	1:45.250	1:42.815	1:42.815	—
17	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:48.912	1:43.658	1:43.658	—
18	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:47.478	1:43.796	1:43.796	—
19	17	Christian Danner	Arrows	1:48.855	1:44.259	1:44.259	—
20	14	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	1:49.812	1:44.401	1:44.401	—
21	15	Alan Jones	Lola	1:45.421	1:44.450	1:44.450	—
22	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	1:49.067	1:45.059	1:45.059	—
23	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	1:47.359	1:46.705	1:46.705	—
24	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:47.230	11:12.906	1:47.230	—
25	22	Allen Berg	Osella	1:56.741	1:48.682	1:48.682	—
26	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	1:49.680	29:44.015	1:49.680	—

Sunday warm-up

Nigel Mansell headed the warm-up, with Rene Arnoux and Ayrton Senna close behind. Hot, humid conditions awaited the field, and tyre choice promised to play a major part in the race. Ligier’s pace was encouraging, while the street circuit’s repeated braking and acceleration would place another demanding load on the cars.

Warm-up Classification

1986 Detroit Grand Prix Warm-up, 22 June 1986

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:41.987	—
2	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	+0.240s	—
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	+0.513s	—
4	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	+0.530s	—
5	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	+0.853s	—
6	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	+0.926s	—
7	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	+0.986s	—
8	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	+1.066s	—
9	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	+1.670s	—
10	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	+1.806s	—
11	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham	+1.980s	—
12	15	Alan Jones	Lola	+2.173s	—
13	16	Eddie Cheever	Lola	+2.676s	—
14	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus	+2.773s	—
15	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	+2.866s	—
16	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	+2.986s	—
17	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	+3.696s	—
18	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	+3.803s	—
19	17	Christian Danner	Arrows	+6.270s	—
20	14	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	+6.473s	—
21	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	+6.750s	—
22	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	+6.856s	—
23	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	+6.920s	—
24	22	Allen Berg	Osella	+7.786s	—
25	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	+7.870s	—
26	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	+9.030s	—

What happened in the 1986 Detroit Grand Prix?

Ayrton Senna led initially, lost the lead to Nigel Mansell and then reclaimed it as the Williams developed brake problems. A deflating rear tyre forced Ayrton Senna to pit and dropped him to eighth. Rene Arnoux and then Jacques Laffite took turns in front as the tyre strategies unfolded.

Ayrton Senna passed his way back into contention and emerged ahead after the next stops. Nelson Piquet crashed while chasing him, and Rene Arnoux subsequently struck the abandoned Williams before tangling with Thierry Boutsen. The sequence removed two of Ayrton Senna’s strongest challengers and left Jacques Laffite pursuing Alain Prost for second.

Jacques Laffite passed the troubled McLaren, but Ayrton Senna was already comfortably clear. Michele Alboreto finished fourth, Nigel Mansell fifth and Riccardo Patrese sixth. Ayrton Senna’s second victory of the season restored his championship lead and began an outstanding run of success in the United States.

After the race, Ayrton Senna headed the drivers’ standings with 36 points, followed by Alain Prost on 33. Williams – Honda led the constructors’ table on 48, with McLaren – TAG on 47.

1986 Detroit Grand Prix race results

The 1986 Detroit Grand Prix was held on 22 June 1986.

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

1986 Detroit Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	41	1:41.233
2	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	42	1:41.981
3	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	46	1:42.921
4	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	29	1:43.051
5	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	39	1:43.293
6	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	40	1:43.416
7	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	54	1:43.619
8	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	23	1:44.698
9	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	21	1:44.864
10	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	12	1:45.254
11	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus	38	1:45.434
12	16	Eddie Cheever	Lola	27	1:45.836
13	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	4	1:45.914
14	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham	52	1:46.136
15	15	Alan Jones	Lola	19	1:46.579
16	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	36	1:46.621
17	14	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	52	1:46.756
18	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	47	1:46.869
19	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	40	1:47.005
20	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	7	1:47.122
21	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	12	1:47.819
22	17	Christian Danner	Arrows	18	1:49.499
23	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	5	1:51.711
24	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	2	1:53.122
25	22	Allen Berg	Osella	4	1:53.507

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 Detroit Grand Prix.

1986 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Ayrton Senna	Brazilian	Lotus	36
2	Alain Prost	French	McLaren	33
3	Nigel Mansell	British	Williams	29
4	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Williams	19
5	Keke Rosberg	Finnish	McLaren	14
6	Jacques Laffite	French	Ligier	13
7	Stefan Johansson	Swedish	Ferrari	7
8	Gerhard Berger	Austrian	Benetton	6
9	Michele Alboreto	Italian	Ferrari	6
10	René Arnoux	French	Ligier	6
11	Teo Fabi	Italian	Benetton	2
12	Martin Brundle	British	Tyrrell	2
13	Riccardo Patrese	Italian	Brabham	2
–	Thierry Boutsen	Belgian	Arrows	0
–	Philippe Streiff	French	Tyrrell	0
–	Johnny Dumfries	British	Lotus	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
–	Derek Warwick	British	Brabham	0
–	Huub Rothengatter	Dutch	Zakspeed	0
–	Christian Danner	German	Osella / Arrows	0
–	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Italian	Osella	0
–	Andrea de Cesaris	Italian	Minardi	0
–	Alessandro Nannini	Italian	Minardi	0
–	Eddie Cheever	American	Lola	0
–	Allen Berg	Canadian	Osella	0

1986 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Williams – Honda	48
2	McLaren – TAG	47
3	Lotus – Renault	36
4	Ligier – Renault	19
5	Ferrari	13
6	Benetton – BMW	8
7	Tyrrell – Renault	2
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