Race
Missing from the grid was popular West German driver Stefan Bellof who was killed a week earlier in a World Sportscar Championship race at the Spa Circuit in Belgium . With his funeral set for the day after the Italian Grand Prix the Tyrrell team only ran the one car for Martin Brundle feeling it would be disrespectful to Bellof to bring a driver in to replace him for the race. Members of the Tyrrell team, including team boss Ken Tyrrell , attended Bellof's funeral the next day. Also missing were the West German Zakspeed team because their driver Jonathan Palmer had broken his leg when he also crashed his Porsche 956 at the 1000 km of Spa the weekend before, though Palmer's accident came in practice. With only a week until the Italian Grand Prix and no spare driver the team was forced to miss the race, but would return at the next round, the re-scheduled Belgian Grand Prix with the 1985 Formula 3000 champion Christian Danner (also of West Germany) replacing Palmer. Senna's pole position is often cited as one of his greatest moments.
Qualifying
Pole position went to Ayrton Senna; his 5th pole of the year. His average speed was 152.487 mph (245.405 km/h).
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | 51 | 1:17:59.451 |
| 2 | 7 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-BMW | 51 | + 51.635 |
| 3 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Renault | 51 | + 1:00.390 |
| 4 | 8 | Marc Surer | Brabham-BMW | 51 | + 1:00.609 |
| 5 | 28 | Stefan Johansson | Ferrari | 50 | + 1 Lap |
| 6 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Renault | 50 | + 1 Lap |
| 7 | 15 | Patrick Tambay | Renault | 50 | + 1 Lap |
| 8 | 3 | Martin Brundle | Tyrrell-Renault | 50 | + 1 Lap |
| 9 | 18 | Thierry Boutsen | Arrows-BMW | 50 | + 1 Lap |
| 10 | 25 | Philippe Streiff | Ligier-Renault | 49 | + 2 Laps |
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Renault | 1:27.009 | 1:25.084 |
| 2 | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Williams-Honda | 1:26.161 | 1:25.230 |
| 3 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 1:26.960 | 1:25.486 |
| 4 | 7 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-BMW | 1:25.679 | 1:25.584 |
| 5 | 2 | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | 1:27.576 | 1:25.790 |
| 6 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Renault | 1:27.098 | 1:26.044 |
| 7 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:27.552 | 1:26.468 |
| 8 | 15 | Patrick Tambay | Renault | 1:28.578 | 1:27.020 |
| 9 | 8 | Marc Surer | Brabham-BMW | 1:27.799 | 1:27.153 |
| 10 | 28 | Stefan Johansson | Ferrari | 1:29.001 | 1:27.473 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
The air at Monza tasted of burnt rubber and ambition – a familiar cocktail. Prost, a ghost in his McLaren's papaya hues, simply *was* the circuit, a honed extension of the MP4/2B's aggressive geometry. Fifty-two seconds. A chasm carved by 660 horsepower, a brutal testament to TAG's relentless pursuit of torque, leaving Piquet and Senna to chase shadows. The Haas Lola, a nascent presence, attempted to disrupt the established order, its Hart 415T wrestling with a tire compound not yet fully attuned to the brutal demands of the Autodromo Nazionale.
The air at Monza hung thick with the scent of high-octane fuel and simmering tension – a familiar perfume for this circuit, a place where legends were forged and reputations shattered with equal fervor. Nelson Piquet, a man sculpted from steel and ambition, wrestled with the Brabham, a machine often perceived as temperamental, yet possessed of a raw, ferocious power. Fifty-two seconds. A gulf that underscored Prost's control, a statistic that felt almost…clinical, considering the volatile nature of the season.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The rain hadn't relented, a greasy curtain clinging to the asphalt of Monza. Senna wrestled the Lotus 97T, a furious, white-knuckled dance against the track's relentless grip. Piquet, beside him, spat a mouthful of water, a grimace etched across his face – the Brazilian knew, instinctively, that Prost was building a wall. A surge of power, a brief flash of blue, and the Frenchman was gone, swallowed by the spray and the burgeoning lead. That Hart engine, a beast unleashed, was carving a path through the storm, and Prost was already shaping his destiny.
The rain, a sullen grey smear across the asphalt, mirrored the mood in the McLaren garage. Alain Prost, a study in contained frustration, meticulously adjusted the flex of his gloves, a ritual born of years spent battling the unpredictable. He wasn't merely preparing for the track; he was meticulously constructing a shield against the relentless pressure, the simmering rivalry with Senna, the knowledge that this, his final victory of the season, hinged on a single, decisive moment. The Hart engine, a beast of a thing, roared in the background, a constant, insistent reminder of the power he commanded. Young Jarvis, still damp from the pre-race drizzle, offered a nervous smile, a boy amongst giants. Prost offered a curt nod, the slightest flicker of something akin to sympathy. This Monza, this rain, this battle – it was all a crucible, wasn't it? He was, after all, shaping himself into something…more.