Top speed only

Riccardo Patrese climbs out of his Brabham BT55-BMW during qualifying for the 1986 Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit, which he finished in tenth position, his teammate Derek Warwick is seventh.

During the second qualifying session on this very fast Monza circuit, it was Gerhard Berger’s Benetton-BMW that had the best top speed; 351.22 km/h on the pit straight, ahead of four other single-seaters powered by the BMW: his Benetton teammate Teo Fabi, the Brabhams of Warwick and Patrese and the Arrows of Thierry Boutsen.

In the race however, it was the Williams-Hondas that dominated: Nelson Piquet won ahead of Nigel Mansell and Stefan Johansson (Ferrari) who consoled the tifosi with a fine third place.

The single-seaters powered by the supercharged BMW engine, boasting formidable top speeds, didn’t maintain the illusion for long: Gerhard Berger (Benetton) finished only fifth and Thierry Boutsen (Arrows) seventh.

The two Brabham BT55-BMWs of Warwick and Patrese quickly disappeared after going off the track. This just goes to show that good top speed alone is often not enough.