The Spanish Grand Prix has hosted some brilliant F1 races over the years, with plenty of dramatic and memorable moments.
The 1986 photo finish at Jerez between the Lotus of Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell in his Williams is certainly one of those moments.
It was the first F1 race to take place in Spain since 1981 and saw the Jerez track in the south of the country make its debut on the calendar. Senna scored pole position in Saturday, ahead of Nelson Piquet, Mansell, Alain Prost and Keke Rosberg.
Three drivers had the opportunity to win the Spanish GP, but after 71 laps of racing, it all came down to Senna, Mansell and the run to the chequered flag. Senna led the way early on, while Mansell charged back up to second after a poor start.
Piquet would retire in the other Williams with an engine failure, taking him out of contention. Passing through backmarkers, Mansell took advantage and stormed into the lead on lap 39. Prost sat menacingly behind before his challenge faded later in the race.
The gap between the two leaders was constantly changing, Senna would catch up to Mansell, then drop back slightly. With 10 laps left, Senna attempted a move for the lead and he reclaimed it, forcing Mansell wide. This enabled Prost to sneak ahead and into second place.
Williams opted to pit Mansell for new tyres, a gamble that left him over 20 seconds behind Senna. He took up the challenge, cutting the gap to the Lotus and passing Prost with a few laps to go.
As they crossed the line to complete the last lap, the gap was just half a second after an astonishing run from Mansell.
Exiting the final corner, Mansell had a better exit and drew alongside. He was closing but just missed out, as they took the flag separated by just 0.014 seconds. Senna took the win, Mansell was second and Prost was third.
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| © Williams |
It was the first F1 race to take place in Spain since 1981 and saw the Jerez track in the south of the country make its debut on the calendar. Senna scored pole position in Saturday, ahead of Nelson Piquet, Mansell, Alain Prost and Keke Rosberg.
Three drivers had the opportunity to win the Spanish GP, but after 71 laps of racing, it all came down to Senna, Mansell and the run to the chequered flag. Senna led the way early on, while Mansell charged back up to second after a poor start.
Piquet would retire in the other Williams with an engine failure, taking him out of contention. Passing through backmarkers, Mansell took advantage and stormed into the lead on lap 39. Prost sat menacingly behind before his challenge faded later in the race.
The gap between the two leaders was constantly changing, Senna would catch up to Mansell, then drop back slightly. With 10 laps left, Senna attempted a move for the lead and he reclaimed it, forcing Mansell wide. This enabled Prost to sneak ahead and into second place.
Exiting the final corner, Mansell had a better exit and drew alongside. He was closing but just missed out, as they took the flag separated by just 0.014 seconds. Senna took the win, Mansell was second and Prost was third.
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