HONDA The Power of Dreams

As the 1986 season reached the final round, the Australian Grand Prix, the title race had narrowed down to three drivers. Nigel Mansell (Williams Honda) led with five wins and 70 points, followed by Alain Prost (McLaren TAG) with three wins and 64 points, and Nelson Piquet (Williams Honda) with four wins and 63 points. Fourth place Ayrton Senna (Lotus Renault) with 55 points and two wins was already out of contention in the standings. Under that year’s championship rules, which awarded points based on the best results from 11 of the 16 races, Prost and Piquet needed to win this race to secure the title. Meanwhile, Mansell only needed to finish third or higher to clinch the championship, and it was clear that he held the advantage.

After narrowly missing the win in Round 2, Spain, Mansell went on to secure his first victory of the season in Round 5, Belgium, followed by wins in Canada, France, the U.K., and Portugal. He also secured pole position in qualifying for the final round, putting him in course for his first championship title.

At the end of the first lap of the race, Piquet, who started from second on the grid, was in the lead, followed by Senna and Keke Rosberg (McLaren TAG). Mansell was on pole, but considering his first championship victory, he opted for a cautious race strategy and had dropped to fourth place by the time he passed Turn 4.

Surprisingly, Rosberg was the early race leader from Lap 7. Rosberg had joined the McLaren team that year, but the strategic focus on fuel efficiency, dictated by the times, did not suit his style, and he had announced at Round 10, Germany, that he would retire from Formula 1 at the end of the season. In his final race, he drove at a high pace, disregarding fuel consumption and tire management, to assist Prost in his comeback victory. Piquet, Prost, and Mansell chased, but from their perspective, they were thrown off by the unexpectedly fast pace.

On Lap 23 of the 82-lap race, Piquet spun out and lost positions. On Lap 32, Prost made a pit stop for tires after colliding with Gerhard Berger (Benetton BMW), who was a lap behind, and on Lap 44, Senna retired after his Renault V6 turbo engine blew. It was a chaotic race.

In the closing stages on Lap 62, Rosberg, who led Piquet, Mansell, and Prost came to a stop on the side of the track with a sudden puncture. Seeing this, Mansell took a cautious approach, allowing Prost to take the lead but remaining in third place, seemingly securing the championship. However, during Lap 64 on the back straight, his left rear tire suddenly burst at 290 km/h. Philippe Alliot (Ligier Renault), who was right behind Mansell, narrowly avoided a collision by swerving to the right. Mansell desperately tried to control his car, sparks flying, and fortunately avoided a crash, but he was forced to retire from the race, placing his championship hopes in jeopardy. Piquet and Prost were 1-2. If the race continued, Piquet could have won the championship, but Goodyear judged that Piquet's tires were also at risk of bursting and advised Williams to pit. Piquet was instructed to pit, and after changing tires, he fiercely pursued Prost in first place, but fell 4.2 seconds short.

The 1986 championship ended with Prost’s victory and second consecutive title. The final standings were Prost with 72 points, Mansell with 70, and Piquet with 69, a very close finish. The Constructors’ Championship was won by Williams Honda with 141 points, followed by McLaren TAG with 96, but for Mansell, it was a disappointing final race, as he missed out on the title at the very last moment.

Honda founder Soichiro Honda had planned to visit the Adelaide Circuit that weekend to celebrate the team’s Constructors’ title victory and congratulate Mansell on his World Championship victory. Honda’s engines had powered the championship-winning car in just the fourth year of its second F1 era, but winning both titles would have to wait until the following year.