Race · Round 15 of 16 · 12 October 1986

1986 Mexican Grand Prix

Gerhard Berger won for Benetton from 4th on the grid at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. 8 of the starters were not classified. It was the first championship race win for Gerhard Berger and for Benetton.

Dry · High of 22 °C, no rain on the day (modelled, Open-Meteo)

How it is modelled

ERA5's reanalysis, through Open-Meteo, of the circuit's whole local day and not the race's hours, for the grid cell the circuit sits in and not the track, so a shower can be missing from it. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.

Circuit: Autodromo Hermanos RodriguezMexico City, Mexico
Winner: Gerhard BergerBenetton
Pole: Ayrton Senna
Fastest lap: Nelson Piquet
Entries: 2616 classified

Classification

Classification
Pos	Driver	Constructor	Chassis	Grid	Laps	Out	Points	FL
1	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	B186	4	68	Finished	9
2	Alain Prost	McLaren	MP4/2C	6	68	Finished	6
3	Ayrton Senna	Team Lotus	98T	1	68	Finished	4
4	Nelson Piquet	Williams	FW11	2	67	Finished	3	fastest lap
5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	FW11	3	67	Finished	2
6	Philippe Alliot	Ligier	JS27	10	67	Finished	1
7	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	—	21	66	Finished	0
8	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	—	22	66	Finished	0
9	Christian Danner	Arrows	—	20	66	Finished	0
10	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	861	18	65	Out of fuel	0
11	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	—	16	65	Finished	0
12	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	F1/86	14	64	Turbo	0
13	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	—	5	64	Spun off	0
14	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	—	24	64	Finished	0
15	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	JS27	13	63	Engine	0
16	Allen Berg	Osella	—	26	61	Finished	0
DNF	Johnny Dumfries	Team Lotus	98T	17	53	Electrical	0
DNF	Derek Warwick	Brabham	—	7	37	Engine	0
DNF	Alan Jones	Lola	THL2	15	35	Tyre	0
DNF	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	MP4/2C	11	32	Puncture	0
DNF	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	F1/86	12	10	Turbo	0
DNF	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	—	19	8	Turbo	0
DNF	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	—	25	8	Turbo	0
DNF	Teo Fabi	Benetton	B186	9	4	Engine	0
DNS	Patrick Tambay	Lola	THL2	8	—	Accident	0
DNS	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	861	23	—	DNS	0

A blank chassis is a season the team ran more than one design and no source says which car raced here.

F1DB layout mexico-city-2 · 4.421 km · 14 turns, F1DB’s figures
F1DB, CC BY 4.0 · drawn by Jules Roy
The outline is F1DB’s, for every layout; the trace is OpenStreetMap’s, where it exists.

Grid to flag

Lines run from grid slot to result, ending at the last lap completed. A dashed line ending in a cross is a driver not classified. Nothing between is recorded, so a crossing is not an overtake at that lap.

Grid to flag
Driver	Grid	Result	Laps
Gerhard Berger	4	1	68
Alain Prost	6	2	68
Ayrton Senna	1	3	68
Nelson Piquet	2	4	67
Nigel Mansell	3	5	67
Philippe Alliot	10	6	67
Thierry Boutsen	21	7	66
Andrea de Cesaris	22	8	66
Christian Danner	20	9	66
Jonathan Palmer	18	10	65
Martin Brundle	16	11	65
Stefan Johansson	14	12	64
Riccardo Patrese	5	13	64
Alessandro Nannini	24	14	64
Rene Arnoux	13	15	63
Allen Berg	26	16	61
Johnny Dumfries	17	DNF	53
Derek Warwick	7	DNF	37
Alan Jones	15	DNF	35
Keke Rosberg	11	DNF	32
Michele Alboreto	12	DNF	10
Philippe Streiff	19	DNF	8
Piercarlo Ghinzani	25	DNF	8
Teo Fabi	9	DNF	4

Qualifying

Qualifying
Pos	Driver	Constructor	No.	Time	Gap	≈ Distance	Interval
1	Ayrton Senna	Team Lotus	12	1:16.990	—	0 m	—
2	Nelson Piquet	Williams	6	1:17.279	+0.289	17 m	+0.289
3	Nigel Mansell	Williams	5	1:17.514	+0.524	30 m	+0.235
4	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	20	1:17.609	+0.619	36 m	+0.095
5	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	7	1:18.285	+1.295	74 m	+0.676
6	Alain Prost	McLaren	1	1:18.421	+1.431	82 m	+0.136
7	Derek Warwick	Brabham	8	1:18.527	+1.537	88 m	+0.106
8	Patrick Tambay	Lola	16	1:18.839	+1.849	106 m	+0.312
9	Teo Fabi	Benetton	19	1:18.893	+1.903	109 m	+0.054
10	Philippe Alliot	Ligier	26	1:19.257	+2.267	130 m	+0.364
11	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	2	1:19.342	+2.352	135 m	+0.085
12	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	27	1:19.388	+2.398	138 m	+0.046
13	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	25	1:19.624	+2.634	151 m	+0.236
14	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	28	1:19.769	+2.779	160 m	+0.145
15	Alan Jones	Lola	15	1:20.090	+3.100	178 m	+0.321
16	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	3	1:20.198	+3.208	184 m	+0.108
17	Johnny Dumfries	Team Lotus	11	1:20.479	+3.489	200 m	+0.281
18	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	14	1:20.668	+3.678	211 m	+0.189
19	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	4	1:20.946	+3.956	227 m	+0.278
20	Christian Danner	Arrows	17	1:21.069	+4.079	234 m	+0.123
21	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	18	1:21.171	+4.181	240 m	+0.102
22	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	23	1:22.470	+5.480	315 m	+1.299
23	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	29	1:22.524	+5.534	318 m	+0.054
24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	24	1:23.457	+6.467	371 m	+0.933
25	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	21	1:24.176	+7.186	413 m	+0.719
26	Allen Berg	Osella	22	1:26.573	+9.583	550 m	+2.397

Before knock-out qualifying arrived in 2006 there is one time per driver; from 2006, the best lap of each of the three sessions.

How it is derived: distance

Distance at the session-best lap’s average speed, on the layout raced that year.

Pit stops

Pit stops are recorded from 1994. F1DB, the source of every stop here, holds none before then, so this race has no stints to draw.

Practice sessions Practice 1 · Practice 2 · Warm-up

Practice 1

Practice 1
Pos	Driver	Constructor	No.	Best lap	Gap	≈ Distance	Interval	Laps
1	Nelson Piquet	Williams	6	1:18.601	—	0 m	—	—
2	Ayrton Senna	Team Lotus	12	1:18.779	+0.178	10 m	+0.178	—
3	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	20	1:19.004	+0.403	23 m	+0.225	—
4	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	2	1:19.099	+0.498	28 m	+0.095	—
5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	5	1:19.588	+0.987	56 m	+0.489	—
6	Alain Prost	McLaren	1	1:19.851	+1.250	70 m	+0.263	—
7	Alan Jones	Lola	15	1:20.471	+1.870	105 m	+0.620	—
8	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	27	1:20.737	+2.136	120 m	+0.266	—
9	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	7	1:20.746	+2.145	121 m	+0.009	—
10	Patrick Tambay	Lola	16	1:20.950	+2.349	132 m	+0.204	—
11	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	28	1:20.978	+2.377	134 m	+0.028	—
12	Teo Fabi	Benetton	19	1:21.205	+2.604	146 m	+0.227	—
13	Philippe Alliot	Ligier	26	1:21.359	+2.758	155 m	+0.154	—
14	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	4	1:21.460	+2.859	161 m	+0.101	—
15	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	14	1:21.484	+2.883	162 m	+0.024	—
16	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	25	1:21.747	+3.146	177 m	+0.263	—
17	Derek Warwick	Brabham	8	1:21.768	+3.167	178 m	+0.021	—
18	Johnny Dumfries	Team Lotus	11	1:22.011	+3.410	192 m	+0.243	—
19	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	18	1:22.050	+3.449	194 m	+0.039	—
20	Christian Danner	Arrows	17	1:22.597	+3.996	225 m	+0.547	—
21	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	3	1:22.812	+4.211	237 m	+0.215	—
22	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	29	1:22.947	+4.346	244 m	+0.135	—
23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	23	1:23.986	+5.385	303 m	+1.039	—
24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	24	1:25.920	+7.319	412 m	+1.934	—
25	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	21	1:27.024	+8.423	474 m	+1.104	—
26	Allen Berg	Osella	22	1:28.977	+10.376	584 m	+1.953	—

Each driver’s best lap of the session and the laps they ran: a classification, not lap timing.

How it is derived: distance

Distance at the session-best lap’s average speed, on the layout raced that year.

Practice 2

Practice 2
Pos	Driver	Constructor	No.	Best lap	Gap	≈ Distance	Interval	Laps
1	Ayrton Senna	Team Lotus	12	1:17.977	—	0 m	—	—
2	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	20	1:18.088	+0.111	6 m	+0.111	—
3	Teo Fabi	Benetton	19	1:18.154	+0.177	10 m	+0.066	—
4	Nelson Piquet	Williams	6	1:18.353	+0.376	21 m	+0.199	—
5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	5	1:18.785	+0.808	46 m	+0.432	—
6	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	2	1:19.160	+1.183	67 m	+0.375	—
7	Alan Jones	Lola	15	1:19.244	+1.267	72 m	+0.084	—
8	Alain Prost	McLaren	1	1:19.282	+1.305	74 m	+0.038	—
9	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	7	1:19.520	+1.543	87 m	+0.238	—
10	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	28	1:19.634	+1.657	94 m	+0.114	—
11	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	14	1:20.392	+2.415	137 m	+0.758	—
12	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	25	1:20.459	+2.482	141 m	+0.067	—
13	Philippe Alliot	Ligier	26	1:20.541	+2.564	145 m	+0.082	—
14	Johnny Dumfries	Team Lotus	11	1:20.701	+2.724	154 m	+0.160	—
15	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	27	1:20.702	+2.725	154 m	+0.001	—
16	Derek Warwick	Brabham	8	1:20.879	+2.902	165 m	+0.177	—
17	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	4	1:21.065	+3.088	175 m	+0.186	—
18	Patrick Tambay	Lola	16	1:21.084	+3.107	176 m	+0.019	—
19	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	3	1:21.447	+3.470	197 m	+0.363	—
20	Christian Danner	Arrows	17	1:21.879	+3.902	221 m	+0.432	—
21	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	29	1:22.230	+4.253	241 m	+0.351	—
22	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	24	1:22.997	+5.020	285 m	+0.767	—
23	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	18	1:23.515	+5.538	314 m	+0.518	—
24	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	23	1:23.638	+5.661	321 m	+0.123	—
25	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	21	1:24.728	+6.751	383 m	+1.090	—
26	Allen Berg	Osella	22	4:02.670	+2:44.693	9,337 m	+2:37.942	—

Each driver’s best lap of the session and the laps they ran: a classification, not lap timing.

How it is derived: distance

Distance at the session-best lap’s average speed, on the layout raced that year.

Warm-up

Warm-up
Pos	Driver	Constructor	No.	Best lap	Gap	≈ Distance	Interval	Laps
1	Gerhard Berger	Benetton	20	1:20.465	—	0 m	—	—
2	Alain Prost	McLaren	1	1:20.928	+0.463	25 m	+0.463	—
3	Ayrton Senna	Team Lotus	12	1:20.962	+0.497	27 m	+0.034	—
4	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	28	1:21.089	+0.624	34 m	+0.127	—
5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	5	1:21.226	+0.761	42 m	+0.137	—
6	Alan Jones	Lola	15	1:21.268	+0.803	44 m	+0.042	—
7	Keke Rosberg	McLaren	2	1:21.280	+0.815	45 m	+0.012	—
8	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	7	1:21.407	+0.942	52 m	+0.127	—
9	Nelson Piquet	Williams	6	1:21.852	+1.387	76 m	+0.445	—
10	Philippe Alliot	Ligier	26	1:21.954	+1.489	82 m	+0.102	—
11	Derek Warwick	Brabham	8	1:22.017	+1.552	85 m	+0.063	—
12	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	25	1:22.123	+1.658	91 m	+0.106	—
13	Teo Fabi	Benetton	19	1:22.150	+1.685	93 m	+0.027	—
14	Patrick Tambay	Lola	16	1:22.268	+1.803	99 m	+0.118	—
15	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	27	1:22.366	+1.901	104 m	+0.098	—
16	Johnny Dumfries	Team Lotus	11	1:22.503	+2.038	112 m	+0.137	—
17	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	3	1:23.360	+2.895	159 m	+0.857	—
18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	18	1:23.619	+3.154	173 m	+0.259	—
19	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	4	1:23.688	+3.223	177 m	+0.069	—
20	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	14	1:24.019	+3.554	195 m	+0.331	—
21	Christian Danner	Arrows	17	1:25.273	+4.808	264 m	+1.254	—
22	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	24	1:25.390	+4.925	271 m	+0.117	—
23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi	23	1:25.705	+5.240	288 m	+0.315	—
24	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella	21	1:27.296	+6.831	375 m	+1.591	—
25	Allen Berg	Osella	22	1:28.249	+7.784	428 m	+0.953	—

Each driver’s best lap of the session and the laps they ran: a classification, not lap timing.

How it is derived: distance

Distance at the session-best lap’s average speed, on the layout raced that year.

The cars in this race

The photograph each car's Wikipedia article leads with, from Wikimedia Commons: taken wherever and whenever that was, not necessarily at this race.

Lotus 98T
Senna Brands 1986 · Peterhanna · CC BY-SA 3.0 · unchecked

Zakspeed 861
Zakspeed-861-f1-1986 · CAR blueprints · CC BY-SA 4.0

A photograph marked unchecked has a file name that does not name the car it is shown for. Most are still the right car, filed under the driver rather than the machine — but nobody has confirmed these one by one.

Where this comes from

Round: 15 of 1986
Grand Prix: Mexican Grand Prix
Dates: 12 Oct 1986
Layout raced: Shortened circuit · 4.421 km · 15 turns
Format: Standard weekend
Constructor: Benetton
Entrant: Benetton-BMW
Confidence: reference

The layout raced and its figures are this register’s, from its own sources; the figures under the race’s drawing are F1DB’s, and at some circuits the two disagree.