1986 Formula One World Championship
Alain Prost won the 1986 World Drivers' Championship for McLaren with 72 points, 2 ahead of Nigel Mansell (Williams).
Prost won 4 of the 16 races. Williams won the most races (9 of 16). Five different drivers won a race.
Final standings
| Pos | Driver | Wins | Podiums | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alain ProstMcLaren | 4 | 11 | 72 |
| 2 | Nigel MansellWilliams | 5 | 9 | 70 |
| 3 | Nelson PiquetWilliams | 4 | 10 | 69 |
| 4 | Ayrton SennaTeam Lotus | 2 | 8 | 55 |
| 5 | Stefan JohanssonFerrari | 0 | 4 | 23 |
| 6 | Keke RosbergMcLaren | 0 | 1 | 22 |
| 7 | Gerhard BergerBenetton | 1 | 2 | 17 |
| 8 | Jacques LaffiteLigier | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| 9 | Michele AlboretoFerrari | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| 10 | René ArnouxLigier | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 11 | Martin BrundleTyrrell | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 12 | Alan JonesLola | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 | Johnny DumfriesTeam Lotus | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 14 | Philippe StreiffTyrrell | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 15 | Patrick TambayLola | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 16 | Teo FabiBenetton | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Riccardo PatreseBrabham | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | Christian DannerArrows / Osella | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | Philippe AlliotLigier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Only a driver's best results counted towards the title this season, so totals can be lower than the points scored.
Races
| Rd | Grand Prix | Date | Winner | Pole | Fastest lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazilian Grand Prix | 23 Mar 1986 | Nelson PiquetWilliams | Ayrton Senna | Nelson Piquet |
| 2 | Spanish Grand Prix | 13 Apr 1986 | Ayrton SennaTeam Lotus | Ayrton Senna | Nigel Mansell |
| 3 | San Marino Grand Prix | 27 Apr 1986 | Alain ProstMcLaren | Ayrton Senna | Nelson Piquet |
| 4 | Monaco Grand Prix | 11 May 1986 | Alain ProstMcLaren | Alain Prost | Alain Prost |
| 5 | Belgian Grand Prix | 25 May 1986 | Nigel MansellWilliams | Nelson Piquet | Alain Prost |
| 6 | Canadian Grand Prix | 15 Jun 1986 | Nigel MansellWilliams | Nigel Mansell | Nelson Piquet |
| 7 | Detroit Grand Prix | 22 Jun 1986 | Ayrton SennaTeam Lotus | Ayrton Senna | Nelson Piquet |
| 8 | French Grand Prix | 6 Jul 1986 | Nigel MansellWilliams | Ayrton Senna | Nigel Mansell |
| 9 | British Grand Prix | 13 Jul 1986 | Nigel MansellWilliams | Nelson Piquet | Nigel Mansell |
| 10 | German Grand Prix | 27 Jul 1986 | Nelson PiquetWilliams | Keke Rosberg | Gerhard Berger |
| 11 | Hungarian Grand Prix | 10 Aug 1986 | Nelson PiquetWilliams | Ayrton Senna | Nelson Piquet |
| 12 | Austrian Grand Prix | 17 Aug 1986 | Alain ProstMcLaren | Teo Fabi | Gerhard Berger |
| 13 | Italian Grand Prix | 7 Sep 1986 | Nelson PiquetWilliams | Teo Fabi | Teo Fabi |
| 14 | Portuguese Grand Prix | 21 Sep 1986 | Nigel MansellWilliams | Ayrton Senna | Nigel Mansell |
| 15 | Mexican Grand Prix | 12 Oct 1986 | Gerhard BergerBenetton | Ayrton Senna | Nelson Piquet |
| 16 | Australian Grand Prix | 26 Oct 1986 | Alain ProstMcLaren | Nigel Mansell | Nelson Piquet |
Race by race
Brazilian Grand Prix
- Nelson Piquet won for Williams from P2, 34.827s ahead of Ayrton Senna.
- A home win for Nelson Piquet.
- Nelson Piquet leads the championship by 3 points from Ayrton Senna with 15 rounds to go.
Spanish Grand Prix
- Ayrton Senna won for Team Lotus from pole, 0.014s ahead of Nigel Mansell.
- Ayrton Senna took the championship lead from Nelson Piquet.
- Championship leader Nelson Piquet retired (engine).
- Attrition: only 8 of 25 starters were classified.
San Marino Grand Prix
- Alain Prost won for McLaren from P4, 7.645s ahead of Nelson Piquet.
- Nelson Piquet took the championship lead from Ayrton Senna.
- Championship leader Ayrton Senna retired (wheel bearing).
- Polesitter Ayrton Senna retired (wheel bearing).
- First career podium for Gerhard Berger.
Monaco Grand Prix
- Alain Prost won for McLaren from pole, 25.022s ahead of Keke Rosberg.
- Alain Prost took the championship lead from Nelson Piquet.
- The 50th Grand Prix win for McLaren.
- A hat-trick for Alain Prost: pole, victory and fastest lap.
- A one-two finish for McLaren.
- Alain Prost's 2nd win of 1986.
Belgian Grand Prix
- Nigel Mansell won for Williams from P5, 19.827s ahead of Ayrton Senna.
- Ayrton Senna took the championship lead from Alain Prost.
- Polesitter Nelson Piquet retired (turbo).
Canadian Grand Prix
- Nigel Mansell won for Williams from pole, 20.659s ahead of Alain Prost.
- Alain Prost took the championship lead from Ayrton Senna.
- Nigel Mansell's 2nd win of 1986.
Detroit Grand Prix
- Ayrton Senna won for Team Lotus from pole, 31.017s ahead of Jacques Laffite.
- Ayrton Senna took the championship lead from Alain Prost.
- Ayrton Senna's 2nd win of 1986.
French Grand Prix
- Nigel Mansell won for Williams from P2, 17.128s ahead of Alain Prost.
- Alain Prost took the championship lead from Ayrton Senna.
- Championship leader Ayrton Senna retired (accident).
- Polesitter Ayrton Senna retired (accident).
- Nigel Mansell's 3rd win of 1986.
British Grand Prix
- Nigel Mansell won for Williams from P2, 5.574s ahead of Nelson Piquet.
- Nigel Mansell took the championship lead from Alain Prost.
- A home win for Nigel Mansell.
- A one-two finish for Williams.
- Nigel Mansell's 4th win of 1986.
German Grand Prix
- Nelson Piquet won for Williams from P5, 15.437s ahead of Ayrton Senna.
- Polesitter Keke Rosberg retired (out of fuel).
- Nelson Piquet's 2nd win of 1986.
- Nigel Mansell leads the championship by 7 points from Alain Prost with 6 rounds to go.
Hungarian Grand Prix
- Nelson Piquet won for Williams from P2, 17.673s ahead of Ayrton Senna.
- Nelson Piquet's 3rd win of 1986.
- Nigel Mansell leads the championship by 7 points from Ayrton Senna with 5 rounds to go.
Austrian Grand Prix
- Alain Prost won for McLaren from P5, a lap clear of Michele Alboreto.
- Championship leader Nigel Mansell retired (halfshaft).
- Polesitter Teo Fabi retired (engine).
- Alain Prost's 3rd win of 1986.
- Nigel Mansell leads the championship by 2 points from Alain Prost with 4 rounds to go.
Italian Grand Prix
- Nelson Piquet won for Williams from P6, 9.828s ahead of Nigel Mansell.
- A one-two finish for Williams.
- Polesitter Teo Fabi retired (puncture).
- Nelson Piquet's 4th win of 1986.
- Nigel Mansell leads the championship by 5 points from Nelson Piquet with 3 rounds to go.
Portuguese Grand Prix
- Nigel Mansell won for Williams from P2, 18.772s ahead of Alain Prost.
- Polesitter Ayrton Senna retired (out of fuel).
- Nigel Mansell's 5th win of 1986.
- Nigel Mansell leads the championship by 10 points from Nelson Piquet with 2 rounds to go.
Mexican Grand Prix
- Gerhard Berger won for Benetton from P4, 25.438s ahead of Alain Prost.
- First career win for Gerhard Berger.
- First Grand Prix win for Benetton.
- Nigel Mansell leads the championship by 6 points from Alain Prost with 1 round to go.
Australian Grand Prix
- Alain Prost won for McLaren from P4, 4.205s ahead of Nelson Piquet.
- Alain Prost finished as champion, 2 points ahead of Nigel Mansell.
- Championship leader Nigel Mansell retired (tyre).
- Alain Prost's 25th career win.
- Polesitter Nigel Mansell retired (tyre).
- Alain Prost's 4th win of 1986.