Race
Ayrton Senna took pole position in his Lotus - Renault with a time of 1:27.327, with Keke Rosberg alongside him on the front row in the Williams - Honda . For Senna it would be the first of seven consecutive pole positions at Imola, a run which ended in 1992 . Filling the second row were Elio de Angelis in the second Lotus and Michele Alboreto in the Ferrari . Belgian Thierry Boutsen was a surprise 5th fastest in the Arrows - BMW , ahead of the McLaren - TAG of Alain Prost . In his second race for Ferrari, Johansson qualified 15th. Following this, until the end of the turbo era at the end of 1988 , McLaren drivers would routinely pull up just beyond the finish line after a race so as to leave as much fuel in the tank as possible and avoid being underweight. It would actually become a common sight during this time to see all finishing cars pulling up just beyond the line in order to beat the weight limit. Prost's disqualification promoted de Angelis to the win, his second in F1, even though at no point did he ever actually lead the race. Second place was thus awarded to Boutsen — who ran out of fuel as he reached the start-finish straight on his final lap and pushed his Arrows - BMW across the finish line to secure his finishing position (unlike Prost's McLaren , the Arrows was still over the weight limit), with third going to Frenchman Patrick Tambay who had won the race for Ferrari in 1983 , hi... Mauro Baldi and Spirit Racing entered their last Grand Prix: the small British team were having financial troubles and the Toleman team, via their new major sponsor, Italian fashion house Benetton , offered to buy the Spirit team. The offer was accepted and the Benetton Group immediately transferred Spirit's existing Pirelli tyre contract to Toleman, allowing them to race from the next round in Monaco .
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Renault | 60 | 1:34:35.955 |
| 2 | 18 | Thierry Boutsen | Arrows-BMW | 59 | Out of fuel |
| 3 | 15 | Patrick Tambay | Renault | 59 | + 1 Lap |
| 4 | 1 | Niki Lauda | McLaren-TAG | 59 | + 1 Lap |
| 5 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 58 | Out of fuel |
| 6 | 28 | Stefan Johansson | Ferrari | 57 | Out of fuel |
| 7 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Renault | 57 | Out of fuel |
| 8 | 7 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-BMW | 57 | Out of fuel |
| 9 | 3 | Martin Brundle | Tyrrell-Ford | 56 | Out of fuel |
| 10 | 16 | Derek Warwick | Renault | 56 | + 4 Laps |
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Renault | 1:27.589 | 1:27.327 |
| 2 | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Williams-Honda | 1:28.347 | 1:27.354 |
| 3 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Renault | 1:30.325 | 1:27.852 |
| 4 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:27.871 | 1:30.637 |
| 5 | 18 | Thierry Boutsen | Arrows-BMW | 1:28.829 | 1:27.918 |
| 6 | 2 | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | 1:28.604 | 1:28.099 |
| 7 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 1:29.756 | 1:28.202 |
| 8 | 1 | Niki Lauda | McLaren-TAG | 1:29.413 | 1:28.399 |
| 9 | 7 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-BMW | 1:29.427 | 1:28.489 |
| 10 | 17 | Gerhard Berger | Arrows-BMW | 1:28.697 | 1:29.654 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
The air here hangs thick with unspoken recriminations. Observe the subtle deference the young Swede extends to Berger; a calculated move, no doubt, assessing the engine's potential, specifically the 2. 0-liter V6's ability to deliver those 600 horsepower peaks. Brabham, meanwhile, is practically a shadow of its former self, the 1787cc engine sputtering a desperate plea for competitive parity.
The air around Imola hangs thick with something beyond engine fumes – a palpable tension. Johansson's arrival at Ferrari, a sudden, brutal severing of Arnoux's contract, has fractured the Italian team's already delicate equilibrium. Observe the statistical oddity: Ferrari's factory drivers now occupy both seats, a configuration that, historically, has proven a volatile cocktail. Seven of Renault's six Grand Prix wins have been achieved when their drivers have started from pole, a chillingly consistent pattern that suggests a dominance few anticipated at the outset of this season.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The rain hadn't stopped, not truly, just shifted into a sullen grey. Johansson was arguing with Ligier's Jean-Pierre Marchetti over tire pressures – a bizarre skirmish considering the deluge. Arnoux, predictably, was in the Brabham garage, a low, guttural conversation with Harvey Ricardo. The official line is always a technical issue, isn't it? But the way Arnoux's eyes narrowed as he spoke…it smelled of a deal, a quiet understanding forged in the shadow of Imola's industrial heart. Prost, of course, was furious, a simmering resentment directed at McLaren's leadership. Don't be fooled by the slick asphalt; this race isn't about speed, it's about leverage.
The rain hadn't touched Imola that morning, a peculiar stillness hanging over the pitlane. Johansson, fresh from Ferrari's brutal reshuffle, was already a study in controlled intensity, observing Arnoux's arrival with a glacial gaze. Brabham's Harvey Ricardo was practically vibrating with a nervous energy, a subtle but palpable shift in the power dynamics. You could taste the unspoken agreement – Arnoux, now a shadow of his former self, would be quietly neutralized, a convenient sacrifice to the rising star. Don't mistake this for simple sporting rivalry; this was a calculated realignment, a brutal chess match played out on asphalt. The whispers already circling suggested Ferrari's desperation, a frantic attempt to salvage something from a season rapidly spiraling out of control. And let's be frank, the question wasn't *if* Arnoux would be sidelined, but *how* spectacularly.