Chequered Conflict by Maurice Hamilton

Author:Maurice Hamilton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2008-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

The precise ownership of the spare car would not help either Williams driver as they struggled for straight-line speed in Austria, Mansell qualifying sixth, one place ahead of Piquet. For the one and only time in 1986, the front row was occupied by a pair of Benettons, the fast sections of the track allowing the very powerful BMW turbo engine to make up for deficiencies within the rest of the car. Under the rules of the day, the F1 cars were missiles on this sort of track. With 1-lap qualifying tyres allowed, the sticky rubber, dealing with as much as 1400 b.h.p. thanks to maximum turbo boost, would give the drivers a feeling of limitless power and performance. The fact that one of the colourful Benettons was driven by an Austrian, Gerhard Berger, seemed to catch the locals by surprise, the attendance being poor by recent standards.

Berger would have his moment in the sun as he led a Grand Prix for the first time and held that position for 25 laps. Then the battery went flat; one of the silly things that happened before the rigorous quality control and electronic monitoring evident today. The 1986 Austrian Grand Prix was a case in point. After just 15 of the 52 laps, eleven of the twenty-six starters had been eliminated. It was true that the flat-out nature of the track was stretching machinery to the limit and would eventually cause ten engine and turbo-related failures. But, from a championship point of view, more significant was the inclusion on the retirement list of Senna and Piquet–soon to be joined by Mansell. Berger’s retirement had let Mansell into the lead after the Williams driver had made a good start and gradually moved up the order. A pit stop dropped Mansell behind Prost but the Englishman would disappear completely when a driveshaft broke.

Prost, his fuel consumption presenting no problems on this occasion, was looking good. Or so he thought. With 4 laps to go, the TAG-Porsche V6 cut out at the Hella-Licht chicane. Prost bump-started the engine and continued. Two laps later, it happened again at the very same place, the engine dying as Prost came off the throttle for the slowest corner on the track. This had caught the attention of the sizeable Italian contingent in the crowd. Catching Prost hand over fist were the Ferraris of Michele Alboreto and Stefan Johansson. A double podium finish would be more than welcome during a miserable season for the uncompetitive Italian team; a one–two would be almost unbelievable.

‘Eventually,’ said Prost, ‘I thought it was going to die for good. I knew that. It was happening every time I braked. I had to use the gearbox much more for slowing. Then the engine started to misfire–sometimes it even cut out in the middle of the straight, just like it had done in Hungary. I really thought I would not get to the finish.’

In fact, he would stutter across the line, saved by the fact that the Ferraris were a lap behind.

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