1986 Italian Grand Prix

Previous race

At the Österreichring, Prost won by a full lap as Mansell, Piquet, and Senna all retired. Alboreto and Johansson gave Ferrari second and third. It was also Haas Lola’s first World Championship points: Alan Jones fourth and Patrick Tambay fifth, and the first points for the Ford-Cosworth turbo engine. Prost moved from fourth to second in the championship and cut Mansell’s lead to two points — 55 to 53, with Senna on 48 and Piquet on 47.

Championship standings

Mansell leads by two points over Prost, with Senna and Piquet three and eight points further back respectively.

Entrants

Ivan Capelli makes his Formula One debut, driving an AGS JH21C powered by a Motori Moderni engine. AGS — a small French constructor with roots in Formula 2 and Formula 3000 — are making their first Formula One start. Alex Caffi also makes his debut, deputising for Allen Berg at Osella in front of his home crowd. FISA has decided to allow all 27 entered cars to start, rather than applying the usual pre-qualifying cut.

Michele Alboreto missed the first day of qualifying after injuring his arm in a motorcycle crash.