The rapid degradation of certain Pirelli tires dramatically changed the issue of the inaugural three Grands Prix of the season for some drivers. But this is nothing new in Formula 1, as managing tire wear has often been the key to success.
The 1986 Grand Prix of Spain remains one of the great classic in Formula 1. The race held April 13 1986 at Jerez de la Frontera was the scene of an epic battle between Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet and Alain Prost.
Senna, driving the black and gold Lotus-Renault 98T, claimed pole position ahead of the Williams-Honda FW11s of Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell.
At the green, Senna motored into first place and led for the first 40 laps of the race. His Goodyear tires could make the distance, but the Brazilian had to drive cautiously while being fast at the same time! Meanwhile, Piquet ran into engine troubles.
Unhappy with second place and unable to catch Senna, Mansell opted to chance an unlikely gamble. Pitting for fresh rubber with just nine laps to go, he emerged over 20 seconds adrift of the still charging Senna.
On new rubber, Mansell passed Prost and then managed to catch Senna. The two ran together. Out of the last corner, Mansell got a much better exit. Senna could no longer put the power down as his tires were totally finished.
The two cars seemed to cross the line simultaneously.
It was a photo finish - and to Mansell’s dismay the photo proved Senna had actually got there first - the Brazilian took the third victory of his career by the slimmest of margins - just 0.014 seconds! We may well see another nail-biting finish like this one a bit later this year.
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| Ayrton Senna, Lotus 98T Renault turbo. (Photo: WRI2) |
The 1986 Grand Prix of Spain remains one of the great classic in Formula 1. The race held April 13 1986 at Jerez de la Frontera was the scene of an epic battle between Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet and Alain Prost.
Senna, driving the black and gold Lotus-Renault 98T, claimed pole position ahead of the Williams-Honda FW11s of Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell.
At the green, Senna motored into first place and led for the first 40 laps of the race. His Goodyear tires could make the distance, but the Brazilian had to drive cautiously while being fast at the same time! Meanwhile, Piquet ran into engine troubles.
Unhappy with second place and unable to catch Senna, Mansell opted to chance an unlikely gamble. Pitting for fresh rubber with just nine laps to go, he emerged over 20 seconds adrift of the still charging Senna.
On new rubber, Mansell passed Prost and then managed to catch Senna. The two ran together. Out of the last corner, Mansell got a much better exit. Senna could no longer put the power down as his tires were totally finished.
The two cars seemed to cross the line simultaneously.
It was a photo finish - and to Mansell’s dismay the photo proved Senna had actually got there first - the Brazilian took the third victory of his career by the slimmest of margins - just 0.014 seconds! We may well see another nail-biting finish like this one a bit later this year.
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| The finish of the race. (Photo: WRI2) |
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| Left to right: Mansell, Senna and Prost. (Photo: WRI2) |