Race
Alarmed by reports from other drivers of excessive tyre blistering and the suggestion that Piquet's accident may have been caused by a tyre deflation, Goodyear withdrew all the tyres issued to teams (the original compounds taken to Imola were actually different to those supplied for a scheduled test at the circuit the week prior to the race). A replacement selection of the tyres used in the Imola test were flown in from England (with some also brought in from the nearby Ferrari factory in Marane... At the second start, Senna led off the line, but Mansell overtook him on lap two, at the Tosa corner, and went on to dominate the race. Prost took second place by overtaking Senna on lap 6; the Brazilian was then engaged in a battle with the two Ferraris, and took back second when Prost surprisingly retired with an alternator failure on lap 15. Berger retired with turbo boost failure on lap 17, and by that time Alboreto passed Senna to take second place. On lap 22, Mansell pitted early due to a loose wheel balance weight and for three laps Alboreto led the race to the delight of the Tifosi . Senna retook first position with Alboreto's pit stop, then before Mansell returned to the front when the Brazilian stopped. Riccardo Patrese in his Brabham BT56 was now holding second place, but in the closing stages of the race his alternator developed trouble and he slowed right down, eventually finishing two laps down in ninth. The closing stages al... Mansell took a comfortable win with Senna holding second after Alboreto's turbo experienced problems. Alboreto salvaged a 3rd place finish, which would end up being the last podium Enzo Ferrari personally saw his Formula One team score, as he only attended Grand Prix races in Italy, and would die 15 months later. Stefan Johansson (McLaren MP4/3) was in fourth place whilst Derek Warwick 's late race retirement after his Arrows A10 ran out of fuel, handed fifth to Brundle for what would the only t... Numbers in brackets refer to positions of normally aspirated entrants competing for the Jim Clark Trophy .
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 59 | 1:31:24.076 |
| 2 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Honda | 59 | + 27.545 |
| 3 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 59 | + 39.144 |
| 4 | 2 | Stefan Johansson | McLaren-TAG | 59 | + 1:00.588 |
| 5 | 9 | Martin Brundle | Zakspeed | 57 | + 2 Laps |
| 6 | 11 | Satoru Nakajima | Lotus-Honda | 57 | + 2 Laps |
| 7 | 10 | Christian Danner | Zakspeed | 57 | + 2 Laps |
| 8 (1) | 4 | Philippe Streiff | Tyrrell-Ford | 57 | + 2 Laps |
| 9 | 7 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham-BMW | 57 | + 2 Laps |
| 10 (2) | 30 | Philippe Alliot | Lola-Ford | 56 | + 3 Laps |
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Honda | 1:27.543 | 1:25.826 |
| 2 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 1:26.204 | 1:25.946 |
| 3 | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda | 1:25.997 | — |
| 4 | 1 | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | 1:29.317 | 1:26.135 |
| 5 | 19 | Teo Fabi | Benetton-Ford | 1:27.801 | 1:27.270 |
| 6 | 28 | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1:28.229 | 1:27.280 |
| 7 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:29.653 | 1:28.074 |
| 8 | 7 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham-BMW | 1:28.447 | 1:28.421 |
| 9 | 2 | Stefan Johansson | McLaren-TAG | 1:30.416 | 1:28.708 |
| 10 | 18 | Eddie Cheever | Arrows-Megatron | 1:30.379 | 1:28.848 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
Let's examine the Lotus 99T's gearbox. Honda's sequential design, a five-speed unit, delivered 430 bhp to the rear wheels – a significant output considering the limitations of the Hewland chassis. Senna skillfully exploited the gearbox's responsiveness, achieving notably rapid shifts, though the increased mechanical load likely impacted tire degradation, particularly the right-rear. The Honda team's meticulous data logging on gear ratios is a testament to their pursuit of optimal performance.
Right then. Let's examine the Williams' dominance here at Imola. Mansell's victory, his eighth, occurred with a lap time differential of precisely 0. 8 seconds over Senna. Consider that the Lotus 99T, powered by Honda, was only 1. 2 seconds behind – a difference of 0. 4 seconds. This disparity, particularly given Honda's burgeoning engine development program, demands further scrutiny; the sheer consistency of the FW11B's pace represents a significant advantage.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The rear wing actuator, it's failing. Senna's pushing the 99T to its absolute limit, a brief, violent shudder rippling through the chassis – a hydraulic bleed, undoubtedly. The differential's locking under the strain; the gearbox is fighting him every inch of the way. Observe the telemetry – the lateral G-force spike coinciding with the wheel speed drop. A subtle, yet critical, compromise in the suspension geometry's exacerbating the problem. The Lotus team's frantically assessing the damage, but the inherent instability is a direct consequence of the circuit's brutal demands and the car's aggressive setup. This isn't merely a speed differential; it's a structural battle being waged at 220 kilometers per hour.
The rain, a persistent drizzle, clung to the asphalt, mirroring the tension radiating from the Williams garage. Mansell, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow, meticulously adjusted the differential mapping – a subtle tweak, he insisted, but one that could unlock another tenth, perhaps two, on that Imola curve. He'd spent the last hour chasing the ideal balance, a constant negotiation between grip and responsiveness. The telemetry screamed of a marginal improvement, a shift in the tire pressures, and the subtle modulation of the gearbox. It's a delicate dance, isn't it? A champion's obsession.