79th, Senna's Mind Over Mansell's Might: Spanish GP Showdown
It was the heart of the turbo era, and while power was at its peak the races were dominated by fuel and tyre conservation. Parts of this recipe might just sound a touch familiar...
Like today, Grand Prix racing was far from perfect in the 1980s, but as Formula 1 returned to Spain for the first time since ’81 it proved it could still throw up a nail-biting thriller.
Ayrton Senna’s Lotus 98T was the fastest thing around the brand new Jerez circuit in the spring of 1986, but with fuel consumption marginal over a race distance the Brazilian knew he couldn’t afford to use all that performance for the duration.
At half-distance Nigel Mansell made his move and took the lead. No panic from Ayrton. He maintained his pace as Alain Prost kept a wily watching brief in third.