1986 Detroit Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 16 in the 1986 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | June 22, 1986 | ||
| Official name | 5th Detroit Grand Prix | ||
| Location |
Detroit street circuit Detroit, Michigan |
||
| Course | Temporary street course | ||
| Course length | 4.120 km (2.56 mi) | ||
| Distance | 63 laps, 259.56 km (161.28 mi) | ||
| Weather | Cloudy, hot | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:38.301 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Nelson Piquet
|
Williams-Honda | |
| Time | 1:41.233 on lap 41 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Renault | ||
| Second | Ligier-Renault | ||
| Third | McLaren-TAG | ||
The 1986 Detroit Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 22, 1986, in Detroit, Michigan.
Lotus-Renault star Ayrton Senna started on the pole and came away with a hard-earned win, the fourth of his career. The young Brazilian charged through the field after dropping to eighth with a deflating tire for his first USGP victory. The race saw six lead changes among five drivers, and the victory for Senna began a streak that would see him take five United States Grand Prix wins in six years.
American Eddie Cheever, in his only F1 race of the season, was taking Patrick Tambay's seat in the Carl Haas Lola, as Tambay had not fully recovered from his Montreal injuries. Haas had attempted to get the legendary Mario Andretti, but, apparently because of a FISA-CART feud, Andretti's application for an FIA Super Licence was denied (allegedly Haas then tried for Michael Andretti on Mario's suggestion but his bid for the license was also denied). Cheever, who was racing in the 1986 World Sportscar Championship for the TWR Jaguar team, already had the required licence and had no such issues qualified tenth, out-qualifying temporary team mate Alan Jones by almost 3 seconds. His race ended at just over half-distance with a broken wheel peg.
As expected, the drivers had difficulty finding grip in Friday's sessions, as the temporary street circuit needed time to get some rubber down. Williams-Honda driver Nigel Mansell was the only one under 1:40, putting in two outstanding laps on race tires. On a gorgeous Saturday, Mansell and Senna bided their time, waiting until halfway through the one-hour session to take the track. Senna came out on qualifiers, managed to get a clear track, and clocked a course record 1:38.301. Mansell was balked on his run on the fragile qualifying tires when Alain Prost crashed in the chicane, and Senna had the pole by more than half a second.
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