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Practice week for Formula 1, in anticipation of the French Grand Prix at Le Castellet, on the circuit reduced for safety reasons. On Tuesday, June 24th, 1986, Williams, Lotus and McLaren are at Silverstone, Ferrari (and perhaps Minardi) will be at Imola over the weekend with Alboreto, assuming the Italian driver is not still suffering from the knee pain that bothered him during the Detroit Grand Prix. Some innovations should appear on the Maranello cars, perhaps modified suspension to seek that traction and grip that has been lacking so far. Nothing is certain, however, although designer Harvey Postlethwaite was home during the American race precisely to work toward the next ones. One change is certain for Ferrari: starting with the French Grand Prix the entire team will have a new look, that is, they will be dressed differently than in the past. The sponsor of this initiative will be the German company Hugo Boss. A few days later, on Friday, June 27th, 1986, during the presentation of the French Grand Prix, in Le Castellet, The president jean Marie Balestre announces the decisions of the FISA executive committee, which concern the reduction of turbo displacements for F1 from 1500 cc to 1100 cc or 1200 cc, or the use of aspirated engines not exceeding 3.5 liters to limit the maximum power to 600 HP (from 1989) and a new system for qualifying (from 1987). FISA confirms its irrevocable decision to reduce engine power to 600 HP, leaving room, until October 3rd, 1986 - when the executive committee meets again - for the two alternatives mentioned above. Important and closer change to the qualifying regulations. During the day on Friday there should be 60-minute time trials in the morning and 90 minutes in the afternoon, then, on Saturday 30 minutes of time trials in the morning and a qualifying session in the afternoon, over a distance equal to 25 percent of Sunday's race and with a proportionate amount of fuel compared to the 195 liters scheduled for the Grand Prix. Finally, the starting grid of the race will be determined at 30% by the parameters of the results of the Saturday qualifying session, and at 70% by the results obtained by the drivers in the race and their ranking in the World Championship. Also from January 1st, 1987, supercharging systems used, plus compressors in series, will be prohibited. The permitted amount of fuel will remain 195 liters.
The measures were taken to improve safety during practice, eliminate tires and engines from qualifying, and place all cars in the same conditions in both practice and competition. However, the mechanism adopted appears complicated and, at the very least, worsens the situation by prospecting an extra race. The first negative backlash to the regulatory decisions made by FISA is not long in coming. On Tuesday, July 1st, 1986, BMW officially announces that it will withdraw from competition at the end of the season. The German company, which currently equips the Brabham team, the Benetton team and the Arrows team with its engines, had made its debut in 1982, participated in 66 grand prix, winning eight races and winning the World Drivers' Championship with Nelson Piquet in 1983. BMW’s withdrawal is serious. The resignation is motivated by FISA's decision to reduce engine displacements to 1100 cc or 1200 cc starting from 1989. This is therefore a rather specious excuse, since much, if not everything, could still change between now and three years from now. In fact, BMW seemed interested in building a car of its own (why then hire to pay Niki Lauda as a consultant?). He did his math and saw that this was an expensive and difficult undertaking. And that is why he gave up. The most alarming fact, however, is that this hallucinating managed Formula 1, struggling with increasingly unbearable costs, laden with business interests, attended by figures who are politicians and not sportsmen, is not holding water. The classic golden calf that is in danger of losing goals and horizons. In the coming days, already starting with the French Grand Prix scheduled from Friday in Le Castellet, more controversy is sure to come. The drivers, if they show courage for once, will have to protest the new regulations that have not taken into account their demands for safety. Team managers will still fight among themselves to secure advantageous technical regulations (depending on personal views) and so on. In short, the sport will increasingly overshadow so that the fans, that is, the real supporters of the whole circus, faced with incomprehensible rules and boring races with few cars on the track will eventually turn elsewhere. Formula 1 drivers are infuriated, but they do not know how to react, as even among themselves opinions are divided. The only common factor is the denial of the new regulations proposed by FISA for 1987. Ayrton Senna says:
"Qualifying based on the World Championship rankings and the results of the previous race is absurd. I think the fans want to know who is the fastest on the lap, without making too many calculations".
Michele Alboreto adds:
"The short race on Saturday carries the same risks as the Grand Prix, although in practice engines and tires would be eliminated from the weather. In any case, Balestre promised to consult us before making any decisions. And this was not done. It's business as usual: we don't count for anything".
The environment is tense on the eve of the French Grand Prix. There is discussion about the announced withdrawal of BMW, the problems that arise for the teams so far equipped with German engines. And of course there is talk about these measures that are supposed to bring greater safety and that appear to be a stupid compromise. Formula 1 has been successful partly because it is a simple sport, easy to understand. The more complicated the sport gets, the worse it gets: but it cannot be ruled out that before the start of the next championship everything will be changed again. Attention, however, is also focused on the French Grand Prix. From the eighth round of the World Championship are expected clarification regarding the standings, the chances of the pretenders to the title must be definitively essayed. The circuit at Le Castellet has been modified. The track has been shortened from 5800 to 3813 meters, with a straightaway that at the end of the pit straight joins the middle of the Mistral straight. Basically, the fastest part of the track, including the Verrérie corner -in which Elio De Angelis lost his life-, has been eliminated. The launch area before the Signes turn has been halved. This does not mean that top speeds will drop by much (they used to touch 350 km/h), but as a whole the circuit should not allow averages much higher than 200 km/h and will not overstress the engines at top speed. On Thursday, July 3rd, 1986 almost all the drivers will be running in normal cars. This morning free practice will be extended by half an hour, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. to allow drivers to practice. We are at the halfway point of the season. Williams has been the favorite so far, with three wins (two Mansell, one Piquet), but Prost's McLaren and Senna's Lotus have proved more reliable. The Frenchman and the Brazilian finished five times on the podium and in six races in the points. Renault prepared a modified engine for the Brazilian (new head design) that should decrease fuel consumption. Ferrari brought to Le Castellet new front suspension, which is more angled forward and increases the pace of Maranello's cars. The purpose is to reduce understeer, which has often given Michele Alboreto and Stefan Johansson major annoyances.
The Maranello team will also have at its disposal a special more powerful qualifying engine, already used after all at other circuits, but abandoned in Montreal and Detroit. Ligier is also very much awaited at the test. After the excellent results achieved by Laffite and Arnoux at the American Gran Prix, the French team hopes to repeat itself at all level. Last year Piquet's Brabham with the same Italian tires achieved its first success, dominating the race. Hopefully the spectacle will make people forget the many problems and controversies that plague this Formula 1. On Friday, July 4th, 1986 Ayrton Senna imparts another good lesson to his rivals. The Brazilian scores the best time once again, in the first qualifying round of the French Grand Prix. Senna did not set the new circuit record only because the track was unseen, and there were no comparative times. Senna nonetheless lapped in 1'06"526, averaging 206.337 km/h. Which is no small feat, considering that the new slip road between the pit straight and the Mistral straight is tackled in first gear. Senna puts Mansell and Piquet behind himself, after a battle on hundredths of a second. In an hour of practice the positions change many times. But in the end, always on the last lap, the young South American manages to pull ahead. Senna in the morning had also tested at length a modified Renault engine that should allow, with the same performance, less gasoline consumption, thus eliminating what had so far been his car's main problem, forcing the Brazilian driver to save himself in the race to get to the finish line. The first day of practice, under a blazing sun, also brings to light a slight progress by Ferrari, sixth with Alboreto and ninth with Johansson. The positions are no better than at other times since the beginning of the season, but there are two positives in favor of the Maranello team. First: the chronometric gap is one of the least heavy (0.839 seconds between Senna and Alboreto), even taking into account that the circuit is very short. Second: Ferrari must have tuned an overpowering engine for qualifying. We are talking about 1300 HP.
Otherwise there would be no explanation for certain top speeds obtained by the cars produced in Maranello, On the finish line Michele Alboreto passes faster than everyone at 199.531 km/h against Nelson Piquet's 197.844 km/h. But this is nothing: at the end of the Mistral straight the Swede Stefan Johansson passes at 342.205 km/h, Michele Alboreto at 341.772 km/h. Extraordinary speeds, incredible if you consider that the fastest of all the others was Jonathan Palmer with 317.460 km/h, while Ayrton Senna passes at 314.594 km/h. The all-time record was held by Nigel Mansell in a Williams, who passed at 348 km/h last year, but then the straight was 1.800 meters long as opposed to about 1.000 today. These numbers also have an unfortunately negative meaning: if so much power is not enough to make the best time, there is certainty that the chassis and aerodynamics are bad. In fact, the Ferraris can go so fast because they cannot get more aerodynamic pressure and travel with the ailerons almost neutral. If you load more, they go slow, but they don't improve in grip and traction, which is the case for cars like Williams, Lotus and McLaren. Some small steps forward, however, have been made by the men of the Maranello team, and it is not ruled out that Saturday could see further improvement. At the end of the day some of the drivers who are part of the safety committee meet to discuss the recent proposals on regulations presented by FISA. No one agrees on the solutions chosen. And the drivers would like to express their thoughts to Jean Marie Balestre, president of FISA. But they can't find him. Balestre is the protagonist of an episode that gives the full measure of his eccentricity. As president of FISA, the French manager self-fines himself $20.000 as president of the French Federation, organizer of the race, because practice started half an hour late because of some TV cameras that were placed in dangerous spots. He then rages and leaves, disappearing into thin air.
"This way it can't go on, they don't do anything right for me. I can't trust anybody. I will get in touch with a phone call. But don't look for me, as I will not come to a race again".
If they are not weird, we don't want them. And to think that the whole motorsport, with so many interests, is run by such characters...Going back to the French Grand Prix, so far Williams, McLaren and Lotus have shared victories in the Formula 1 World Championship. But this race offers a novelty, offering some chances to Ligier. All rivals put the French team in the role of favorite. It seems that the Pirelli tires -with which it is equipped- offer undoubted advantages in grip and durability on this specific track. René Arnoux and Jacques Laffite should have a good chance (with the Benettons of Berger and Fabi as outsiders), we’ll see. Actually, it will be difficult for Ligier to break the hegemony of the strongest, that is, Williams, McLaren and Lotus. It is not for nothing that Ayrton Senna, after the second qualifying round, holds pole position, his fifth in this championship and 12th in just two years of Formula 1. It is a somewhat chaotic final round, which does not substantially change the starting grid, with unchanged positions in the first three rows. Only twelve drivers improve on Friday's times, and among them Teo Fabi, Johnny Dumfries and Patrick Tambay make some progress, but in the middle part of the grid. For Ferrari (Alboreto maintains sixth place, Johansson slips from ninth to tenth) it was a bad day, troubled by a series of setbacks. The Swede was hit, in the night, by a feverish attack that prevented him from resting and debilitated him physically. Alboreto is the protagonist of two accidents, fortunately not serious, but they do not allow him to improve. These are the facts. In the morning Michele was testing for the race (engine, fuel consumption, tires), when he crashed into the new corner after the pits the Tyrrell of Streiff. The Frenchman is considered by all to be a loose cannon, but this time he may not have had all the responsibility as the Ferrari came in too strong and slipped with its four wheels locked. In the afternoon, however, the Italian driver risked a lot because of Prost, who did not see him coming. At Bendor corner there is oil on the asphalt: Boutsen had broken the engine of his Arrows. The marshals signal the danger and Prost slows down, getting out of the right line. Alboreto, launched on his fast lap, passes the McLaren but has not yet overtaken it completely when the Frenchman (who does not look in his rear-view mirrors) moves out of the way. The collision is inevitable: right front wheel of the English car against the left rear of the Italian car. The Ferrari flies through the air and falls back leaving the track, onto the ground, with the wheel rim smashed. While Prost and Alboreto return to the pits for ritual checks (the World Champion goes to apologize to Michele), along the circuit the marshals begin to spread dust to dry the oil and venture dangerously on the asphalt ribbon with the cars passing at over 200 km/h.
In the chaos many drivers are forced to return to the track with ruined tires, others find too much traffic and so no major exploits are recorded. As if that were not enough for Ferrari, in addition to the damage also the mockery in the last minutes. The unsettled Johansson (who had not been able to use the race car due to engine trouble) goes on track with the reserve one, without a qualifying powertrain and with the old front suspension. The Swede completes a lap and the chronometers mark 1'06"680: the second time, from the front row. Hugs, kisses, a bit of amazement in the Maranello team box, and then disappointment. The timekeepers had been wrong; the time was a modest and more justifiable 1'09"490. For a change, the prediction is not favorable. Michele Alboreto says:
"We’re about half a second per lap behind in race conditions with an exceptional engine, on a circuit that is basically made up of two straights. I don't see much of a chance, barring disaster for others".
Ayrton Senna, unexpectedly, is also not optimistic:
"If the Ligier doesn't have mechanical problems, it gives us a one-lap gap".
Why? Nelson Piquet, who won last year with Brabham-Pirelli, explains:
"We have a lot of trouble, we will have to stop maybe twice to change tires. A real lottery for all the cars with the Goodyear tires".
It is not a happy time for Brabham, the team of Bernie Ecclestone, president of FOCA. The car designed for the 1986 season -the BT 55- has been a disaster so far. A disappointment for many, especially the drivers, not to mention the tragic accident that cost Elio De Angelis his life. Then the announcement that BMW, supplier of the engines, would quit at the end of the season. Now it is said that Olivetti, the team's sponsor, would also like to leave. In short, lots of problems. But Bernie Ecclestone is not a man to let things get him down. In the presence of Vittorio Levi, Olivetti's general manager, he says that he is not worried, that he will try to offer for next year something better, hinting that there are negotiations with Ford or Honda, with top drivers, to flank Riccardo Patrese, reasoning that the sponsor would do well to wait before making decisions. Then playing on the surprise factor, the British manager talks about the future of Formula 1, saying that he plans to further expand the World Championship: races in the Far East are planned, from China (there are two FOCA envoys dealing with Beijing) to Japan, Singapore, Macau, and Malaysia. In short, according to Ecclestone, Formula 1 is healthy, despite controversy and arguments.
"The new regulations? For Ecclestone it is the only possible solution, since no team agreed to give advantages to others with changes on engines. And then the qualifying rules for 1987 were proposed by FOCA itself. How could they not like them? Thus, having to take into account the World Championship standings, the results of the previous race and a mini-race to be run on Saturday, we will be forced to use the computer to know what the starting grid will look like on Sunday".
On Sunday, July 6th, 1986, at the start of the French Grand Prix Nigel Mansell makes a good start and gets ahead of Ayrton Senna, while René Arnoux, Gerhard Berger, Alain Prost and Johnny Dumfries manage to pass Nelson Piquet. The Brazilian also has to fend off the arrival of Keke Rosberg, while Michele Alboreto remains stuck on the grid due to an engine shutdown. The early stages of the race see Nigel Mansell establish a small lead at the front, while on lap three Ayrton Senna goes off the track after passing over an oil slick left by Andrea de Cesaris' Minardi. This allows René Arnoux to climb to second place, ahead of Gerhard Berger, although the Austrian driver is constantly pressured by the two McLaren-TAG Porsches of Alain Prost and Keke Rosberg.
Gerhard Berger managed to hold on until the end of lap 10, and on lap 22 he retired due to a gearbox failure. Meanwhile, Alain Prost and Keke Rosberg approach René Arnoux, who is second, and manage to pass the French Ligier-Renault driver before the end of lap 18. Soon after, Nigel Mansell comes into the pits to make a tire change. The Briton opts for a two-stop strategy instead of one like the McLaren drivers. Therefore, Nigel Mansell returns to the track in third position, behind both Alain Prost and Keke Rosberg. But after making his second stop, the Briton manages to easily regain the lead, taking advantage of the new tires. Nigel Mansell thus wins the French Grand Prix, followed by Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, and Keke Rosberg, who was frustrated at having slipped to fourth place in the final stages as his tires deteriorated badly. The remaining points are awarded to the two Ligier drivers, with René Arnoux ahead of Jacques Laffite. There is a lot of talk about safety in Formula 1. But what should be one of the sports at the highest professional level, often reveals dangerous shortcomings. In the French Grand Prix a very serious accident was risked, which could only have been avoided by the skill and presence of mind of the drivers. An unforgivable mistake by the official starter, Englishman Derek Ongaro, caused a dramatic situation at the start of the race. The protagonist of the episode, which unfortunately brought high memory of the tragic death of Riccardo Paletti in Montreal, in 1982, and many others including that of Zolder, in which an Arrows mechanic was run over on the track by Sthor, was Michele Alboreto. The Ferrari driver, after the formation lap, stopped at his place in the third row. A clutch problem caused the engine to shut down, the Italian driver immediately raised both arms waving them to signal the impossibility of taking the start regularly, as required by the rules. The regulations themselves in such cases impose a precise procedure. The starter must leave the yellow light, have a red flag displayed and a sign with the words:
"Delayed start".
Then five minutes must be waited to give the mechanics time to intervene to repair the car or take it off the track: then the formation lap is repeated and the race is shortened by one lap after the new line-up. Mr. Ongaro, a professional Formula 1 starter, did not notice anything. Neither of Alboreto's reports, nor those of the German Cristian Danner, who further back, in the cockpit of his Arrows, was equally fuming about a similar problem. To be fair, the steward in charge of Arboreto's row did not report the problem very promptly. But from the grandstand you could clearly see the Ferrari driver waving his hands in the air, behind Arnoux's Ligier and Mansell's Williams. So the race started as if nothing had happened. Red light from the semaphore and then, a few seconds later, green. And twenty-four beasts sprinted with all their power toward the first corner. Alboreto huddled in the cockpit and, miraculously, his car was avoided first by Berger's Benetton and then by all eight other competitors behind, passed either side. Unexpected shifts made the situation even more precarious at the first corner, a dry right-hand bend, very similar - because of the circuit's new slip road - to the very dangerous one at Spa. Once past the trap of the leaders, who immediately slipped away, many drivers found themselves involved in a series of collisions that only fortunately did not cause serious damage. Derek Ongaro's oversight is not forgivable, as this is his only task. At the end of the race Michele Alboreto and Marco Piccinini, Ferrari's sporting director, go looking for the Englishman to protest, but they do not find him. They therefore go to the stewards, who acknowledge the mistake and prepare a reprimand note for the starter. It is not ruled out that they will now look for another starter. But this will not be easy, as there are no trained spares with a minimum of experience. FISA, instead of imposing on the organizers of the French Grand Prix $20.000 in fines for a delay in practice and $15.000 because cell press box radio locations were not ready, would do better to save its own face by putting someone with sharper reflexes and sharper eyesight in a role of such great responsibility. As if that was not enough, just before the start of the French Grand Prix, thousands of workers from the La Ciotat shipyards, threatened with closure, arrive with their banners but are blocked at the racetrack entrances. The race organizers later received a delegation and, on the condition that they would not block the race, the protesters were allowed to occupy a grandstand and freely express their reasons.
With banners and loudspeakers, the workers thus exposed the situation to the public: jobs in the La Ciotat shipyards - France's largest on the Mediterranean - have declined in five years from 10.000 to 6.800. On the one hand, the crisis is linked to that of the French merchant navy (the number of ships in eight years has dropped from 600 to 300 units, while those under flags of convenience are conspicuously increasing), and on the other hand, governments in recent years have not conducted an adequate policy. Clarification was sought with the French Grand Prix. And, having reached the halfway mark, the World Championship provided clear indications: Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost are the two great rivals in the title fight. The English Williams driver took his third win of the season, the Frenchman a second place that puts him back on top of the standings. It was their race, while by a mistake Senna ended up off the track, Piquet, third, and Rosberg, fourth, were lackluster and, for reasons we shall see, the Ligiers (fifth Arnoux and sixth Laffite) ended up disappointing. And the Italians? The unlucky period continues: the seventh place of Riccardo Patrese, good and even a bit stoic to drive such an uncompetitive Brabham, is too little for the commitment and the means lavished. For Ferrari, also hit by a lot of troubles, it is still the same old story. From the crisis there is no getting out, with performances that are inferior not only to those of Williams, McLaren and Lotus, but also of Ligier. Alboreto, limited by a delayed start (he started last with about thirty seconds left) finished eighth, almost three laps behind Mansell. Johansson was forced to retire by a trivial failure, the blockage of a fuel system throttle, but earlier in the morning mechanics had been forced to replace the car's engine, compromised by the failure of a turbine. Especially worrying is the lack of prospects, of hope for the future. Also because the races press on, as on Sunday, July 13th, 1986, there is already the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, and there will be no time to attempt changes. The race, on a track shortened to 3813 meters (too short, but the shortening of the track was quickly decided and there was no alternative), was more chaotic than exciting. A big tire battle was expected, between Pirelli and Michelin.
In fact, the cold day (freezing wind and at one point a few drops of rain) and a hasty assessment by the Ligier engineers, who chose soft tires on the front wheels of the cars of Arnoux and Laffite, limited the challenge to drivers with U.S. equipped cars. The asphalt at the Paul Ricard circuit is very abrasive. Reason being most teams had previously decided on a double change of tires. Having done the calculations, it was convenient to start with softer but also faster tires, rather than making only one stop. And in the end Williams was right, that despite two stops beat McLaren, which pitted only once. On this occasion Mansell beat Piquet and Prost left Rosberg behind. They are certainly the two most in shape drivers of the moment, candidates for ultimate success, although the season is still long and open to a few surprises. The Englishman shows enviable grit, great skill, and is backed by a vehicle that really does go faster. The Frenchman is running Lauda-style to get the best possible result with the car at his disposal. It is admittedly true that Piquet did not have the car perfectly right and that Rosberg suffered fuel consumption problems and deteriorated the tires more than his teammate after braking too violently at the end of the pit straight. But it is equally true that Mansell and Prost are now the strongest. Separate discussion for Ayrton Senna, who remains the only real unknown of the championship. In France the Brazilian, after a fairly cautious start, went off the track on lap four, ending up with his Lotus on an oil slick left by De Cesaris' Minardi at Beausset corner. The Brazilian flew off on a tangent. Senna was fitting the modified Renault engine on the car, which should allow him to be faster on less fuel. Another check will be necessary, as the Brazilian driver's chances and skill are not in question. A smile appears under Nigel Mansell's mustache with increasing frequency. In fact, the Englishman is laughing out loud, with three victories under his belt since the start of the season. But he doesn't want to hear about the world title. For now, he says:
"I live by the day, race by race. Then we will do the math at the end of the championship. I have fun, I have good races. This time it was quite hard, although on the surface the race seemed easy for me. In the first few laps there was oil in every corner of the track. Not only the one left on the ground, but also the one that others were carrying everywhere. It was very risky. A couple of times I saw the guardrails coming at me. Fortunately, everything went well. However, my car is fantastic. The team works great, I didn't have the slightest mechanical problem. I think I also crashed at first into another car, maybe a Zakspeed. But nothing happened. In the first few laps I was afraid that I would have some inconvenience with fuel consumption. Instead, the on-board computer told me I could push, so much so that in the final I took pressure off the turbo just in case".
Is Prost an easy rival to beat?
"Far from it. He is a fantastic driver who can handle himself very well. He tailed me like a shadow and I could only pull away because of the superiority of my car. I thought at one point that he was saving tires. Then I realized he couldn't go any faster. A good championship".
Were the two tire changes already scheduled?
"Yes. I didn’t want to be second, but Patrick Head, over the radio, informed me to stop, and maybe he was right. So, I didn't take unnecessary risks. At the end of the race I had the last thrill, when one of my own compatriot didn't want to be lapped and obstructed me irregularly. He could have even thrown me off the track. Fortunately, I avoided him. There are people who have no criteria, even those who break engines and keep running on the circuit by hosing it with oil".
Mansell does not say the name of the driver who tried to harm him. It seems, however, that it was Martin Brundle. Plans for the near future?
"As I said, I have not yet signed a contract for next year. I think I will finalize within the week. You'll see, it could also be a nice surprise. In any case, for now I'm thinking about racing: I'm waiting for all my fans, and I hope there will be many of them, on Sunday at Brands Hatch".
Alain Prost took the second step of the podium. The Frenchman seemed a little worried, even though he won valuable points and is leading the World Championship standings.
"The championship this year is difficult. It seems to me that the Mansell-Willlams pairing is tougher than the Alboreto-Ferrari pairing of 1985. However, I'm not beaten yet. I would have liked to finish first in the French Grand Prix, but I have to settle for that. I had problems with fuel consumption and my McLaren was not very balanced, the floor was touching on the asphalt".
Nelson Piquet also expected a better result, but he considers the fight for the title always open.
"The track has changed a lot from the past. Now there are two straights, one fast corner and many slow ones. My Williams was not set up well. After the start I lost a little ground so I didn't hit other cars or get knocked out, and it was no longer possible to recover. Prost and Mansell were faster. And I have to recognize that Nigel maybe knows the Williams better than me and can adapt it well to each circuit. We'll see in the next races".
Ligier could have been the big surprise of the French Grand Prix. Instead Arnoux and Laffite had to settle for fifth and sixth place. Disappointment perhaps caused Guy Ligier to lose his sense of proportion, and at the end of the race he hurled heavy accusations at Pirelli, speaking as if he had lost the world title.
"The tires were not up to the task, they were getting too hot on the surface, they were cold on the inside. So our cars were slipping and we missed an important opportunity".
The fact remains that Arnoux on lap 47 set the second best time of the race, doing a lap in 1'10"227. Pirelli's retort is polite. The PR Dario Calzavara explains:
"The Brabhams, on our advice, started with four race tires of the harder type. The Ligier engineers, when they saw the overcast sky and low temperature, opted at the last moment for softer tires on the rear set. Tires more suitable probably on other occasions. This choice, in our opinion, caused the final result".
Meanwhile, technical checks in the parc fermé after the race, show that the McLarens of Prost and Rosberg were close to the weight limit of 540 kilograms: 548 for the Finn and 550 for the Frenchman. This means that the two Porsche-powered cars were fully exploited, while the Williams still had a small safety margin (555 kilograms for Piquet, 561 kilograms for Mansell). It was not an easy weekend for Michele Alboreto. On Saturday an accident with Streiff in the morning, then a bad collision with Prost in the afternoon. Then the terrible missed start, then a tire explosion 50 meters from the Signes curve where you travel around 300 km/h.
"Maybe I am lucky, because nothing happened to me. I had a very bad time. I was not so much afraid for me as for the others at the start. I noticed right away, during the alignment lap, that something was wrong. Maybe there was an air bubble in the clutch control circuit. In short, it wasn't working, it happens sometimes. I tried to keep the engine revved up, but it shut down. So, I waved my arms, as much as I could. I looked in the mirrors and ahead to check if my colleagues noticed what was happening. I hoped the starter wouldn't put on the red light preceding the green start light. Instead, he did. I huddled in the cockpit praying. It went very well. I might have been hurt, but maybe not much. It was the others who were taking a big risk, especially those who started in the last rows and arrived at the spot where my Ferrari was stopped at an already high speed. These are things that shouldn't happen".
Let's talk about the race…
"Almost a lap lost at the start. Then it was not easy. Overtaking, a very good top speed, but nothing more. It's always the same, the car is difficult to drive. I could have been maybe fifth or sixth. But there was also the puncture. I probably hit a stone: the tire blew and I stayed on the track by a miracle. So much work to gather little".
For Stefan Johansson, the race lasted only a few minutes. A small failure, the throttle of the fuel system got stuck.
"It's a negative period, I can't do anything".
A few words also from engineers and managers. Engineer Harvey Postlethwaite says:
"You have seen too. We are not competitive. There is only top speed, everything else is lacking".
Sports director, Marco Piccinini, adds:
"We are not competitive with Williams and McLaren. But bad luck also haunted us this time. We could have gotten at least one placement".
Concise speeches as well for Ayrton Senna, perhaps infuriated more with himself than with the stewards who did not report to him in a timely manner the oil left on the track by Andrea De Cesaris' Minardi.
"I didn't see anything. However, the mistake is mostly mine, because I was not careful enough. Too bad, because I was curious to see how the new Renault engine was running. I don't worry too much: a result to discard. There are 11 out of 16 races to go, and so far I have missed two. It means that I can still finish out of the points for three times. However, I do not wish to repeat this experience".
In fact, Ayrton Senna's exit from the track was quite dangerous: the Lotus ended up on the ground at full speed, running over a series of safety nets, before slipping between old tire barriers. The car was not seriously damaged, and the Brazilian driver was unharmed. Also unhurt were Dumfries, who flew into Rothengatter's Zakspeed ripping off a wheel, and Philippe Streiff, whose Tyrrell caught fire at the pit entrance. Again, the rescue services were lacking: a small fire extinguisher was not enough to extinguish the fire, then two fire trucks arrived and drove reverse down pit lane. Now there is no longer any doubt. Nigel Mansell is one of the major candidates to win the Formula 1 World Championship. Nelson Piquet was right when he said at the beginning of the season that his main opponent could be his teammate. Three wins, second place in the standings just one point behind Prost (always to be held in the highest regard): it is a golden period for the Englishman. What is incredible is that Nigel Mansell is still without a contract for 1987, while other drivers, even less good ones, are already sure to have a car. The Williams driver wants a salary closer to that of the top drivers, perhaps not $3.000.000 like Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg, but more than the $800.000 he currently earns. Now, however, he is much courted. Among others, he is wanted by Benetton, which, after BMW announced its retirement at the end of the year, is contacting Honda to get Japanese engines. Mansell and Honda get along well, so a deal is not out of the question. Although, Williams should now do everything to keep its champion.