Piquet's win at Monza moved him to second in the 1986 Drivers' Championship, tightening a four-way title contest with three rounds left.
Key Facts
- Race laps
- 51
- Championship round
- 13th of 1986 season
- Winner
- Nelson Piquet (Williams-Honda)
- Points gap after race
- Mansell led Piquet by 5 points
- Prost penalty
- Disqualified for switching to spare car
- Senna retirement
- Transmission failure at race start
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Heading into the Italian Grand Prix, Nigel Mansell led the Drivers' Championship with Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, and Nelson Piquet all in contention. Prost and Senna's failures — a disqualification and a mechanical retirement respectively — opened the door for Piquet to close the gap on the leading title contenders.
The 51-lap race at Monza on 7 September 1986 saw Nelson Piquet win for Williams-Honda ahead of teammate Nigel Mansell, with Stefan Johansson third in a Ferrari. Prost was disqualified for switching to his spare McLaren after the formation lap had begun, and Senna retired immediately with a transmission failure in his Lotus-Renault.
Piquet's victory elevated him to second in the Drivers' Championship, only five points behind Mansell and three ahead of Prost, with three races remaining. The result transformed what had been a four-way title battle into an intense three-race finale between Mansell, Piquet, and Prost.