Benetton before Ferrari

Austrian Gerhard Berger (picture-above) qualified his Benetton B186-BMW in sixth for the 1986 Australian Grand Prix held at the Adelaide Street Circuit, while his teammate, Italian Teo Fabi, could not do better than 13th. On Sunday, both Benettons were forced to retire with engine trouble.

The race decided a three-way battle for the Drivers’ Championship between Brit Nigel Mansell, driving a Williams-Honda; his Brazilian teammate Nelson Piquet; and Frenchman Alain Prost, driving a McLaren-TAG, who was going to win the race and take his second championship in dramatic fashion, after Mansell rear tyre blew up on the straight line, while he was leading.

Gerhard Berger showed speed in his Benetton B186-BMW, like at Imola where he finished third, but the package was not reliable enough with eight retirements. His 1986 season nevertheless was saved when he won his first F1 Grand Prix in Mexico (picture-below), where the Pirelli tyres mounted on his car where more performant. He finished seventh in the drivers’ championship, and was ready to move to Ferrari for the coming seasons.