The return from the holidays marks every year a fixed appointment for Formula 1 fans. From Friday 5 to Sunday 7 September 1986 is in fact scheduled in Monza the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1, thirteenth round of the World Championship. A season that has not reserved many satisfactions for the Italian colors, during which - we can not forget - Elio De Angelis, pilot-gentleman, great professional lost his life. A misfortune that alone is enough to make any budget bitter. But Formula 1 goes strong, it does not stop. And so we find ourselves at the rendezvous with the most famous track in the world, with a very uncertain fight for the title involving four riders, in the order Mansell, Prost. Senna and Piquet. The most suitable character to present this race is Michele Alboreto for several reasons. First: he was practically born on the Lombard track, he is out of the fray and therefore more serene in his judgment and driving for Ferrari which, for better or for worse, is the most beloved team and therefore the most attractive one.
"It’s true, I started racing in Monza, in a small Formula Monza car. Here I also attended my first Grand Prix. I remember it perfectly, as if it were today. It was September 7, 1969 and Jackie Stewart, one of my idols at the time, won after an incredible sprint, on the wire of hundredths of a second".
But what is special about Monza?
"Everything. The atmosphere. An audience, spectators in which I recognize myself, because in practice I am only one of them. It is a dead track challenging. The second corner of Lesmo is certainly one of the most beautiful in the world. A circuit where almost always wins the best car and the best driver of the moment, which leaves no room for improvisation, surprises. Unfortunately I never had the right car. In Monza I came first only once, it seems to me in a Formula 3 Grand Prix. For the rest I have always gone wrong".
Is there any hope this time?
"Honestly I would say no. Although the track, with several straights, is among the most favorable to our cars. If there are no upheavals, Ferrari will also be in trouble at Monza. Let’s have no illusions, although at Zeltweg, in the last race, we got a great result. I dream of winning the Italian Grand Prix on this track. But I am convinced that it will hardly become a reality. I just hope I don’t suffer the same disappointment as last year when I was still in the running for the title. When I was forced to retire I wanted to hide under a rock. I felt the cold silence of the people. Now we start without the favors of the prediction and therefore a placement would already be a very positive fact".
Do you consider the Monza track dangerous, maybe too narrow?
"All circuits are now narrow and dangerous, even the new Nurburgring that was built just three years ago. It depends on the cars going too fast. But we are working with Fisa, we hope to be able to reduce the powers. New regulations are being studied".
But will Ferrari be able to return to the top in a short time?
"For us, for me especially, this was the worst season in Formula 1. For several reasons. The tragic death of De Angelis would also erase the joy of a world title. In any case I only got on the podium once, too little. However, I have always had great confidence in Ferrari. I have the word of Enzo Ferrari that we will do everything to get back on track. This is a promise".
There are four races left: Monza, Estoril, Mexico City, Adelaide. What is Michele Alboreto’s prediction for the final ranking?
"In Austria, Prost won with McLaren, getting closer to his opponents. I think the fight will be very uncertain until the last race. But if I had to bet, I would bet on Williams. And among the Williams on that of Nelson Piquet. Too bad we are not there".
When an Italian driver, maybe Michele Alboreto. Can I win in Monza? The last was Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966, exactly thirty years. And Ferrari achieved success in 1979 with Scheckter...
"As soon as we have a competitive car. So far I have never had a good car all season. Probably next year. But I would love to start climbing again at the top starting from Monza".
The Monza circuit has been renovated for the appointment with the Italian Grand Prix. With a total cost of 800.000.000 lire, work was carried out to increase safety and improve the systems as a whole. In practice was partially redone the asphalt surface of the circuit in some particular points of the track (Lesmo, Variante Ascari, Serraglio), were installed five kilometers of new networks, was renewed the broadcasting system and closed circuit tv. Apart from these expenses of updating, in Monza the race will cost, as explained by the president of A. C. Milano, Piero Stucchi Prinetti, 4.700.000.000 lire. Of these, 1.800.000.000 lire will go to the FOCA for engagements and prizes. The other 2.900.000.000 lire includes all overheads and depreciation. Suffice it to say that, in addition to about 1000 members of the police that will serve the circuit, will be engaged 2000 other people: for the safety alone on the track will be deployed 21 fire vehicles and 110 employees, while emergency response will be assured by a helicopter, four mobile resuscitation centers, eight ambulances. Last year (to be added the revenue from advertising) the net revenue was about 2.700.000.000 lire. More or less it should be on the same values again this year: the entrance tickets have been increased (for the day of the Grand Prix you go from a minimum of 22.000 lire for the lawn to 170.000 lire for the central grandstand) but there is to be taken into account a Ferrari effect in reverse. The Maranello cars are struggling, and it is hard to believe that they can get a good result in Monza. But it was enough to see Alboreto and Johansson on the podium of Zeltweg to give back some enthusiasm: the pre-sale has undergone a surge in recent days. The racing novelties concern the debut of the French AGS-Motori Moderni car registered by the Scuderia Jolly Club entrusted to Ivan Capelli, with the #31. The car is new, built in a workshop not too far from the circuit of Le Castellet.
It was built by engineer Vanderplein under the supervision of the owner Henri Julien, already known for having achieved good results in the old Formula 2. The engine will be the six-cylinder Modern Engines engineer Carlo Chiti, Pirelli tires. This debut was wanted and propitiated above all by the Jolly Club, currently the most prestigious Italian team in the world of rallying that wanted to make its entry into Formula 1. A program for the moment is reduced, but with the possibility of outlets if there will be interesting results. The most important fact, however, concerns the return of Ivan Capelli who last year had the opportunity to drive twice the Tyrrell and won an excellent fourth place in Adelaide, arousing considerable impression. The Italian driver, however, has not found a place in Formula 1 this year. Despite this he managed to run in Formula 3000 without too many vehicles, and with a wise administration of the team and a lot of effort is currently leading the continental championship with 32 points, ahead of Pierluigi Martini (27) and the Spanish Sala (22.5). The test of Capelli will have many interested spectators: it is certainly one of the emerging drivers and several teams are keeping an eye on it. Among the observers there will also be the Honda, which currently equips Williams and that from next year will also have the Lotus, of which it is said to have become a co-owner. Honda has the intention to practice a massive expansion in Formula 1 and perhaps next year, after the mid-season, could entrust a car to a young Italian or French driver. Among the names in the runoff there is certainly that of the emerging Italian driver. Will be regularly at the start also the Osella, thanks to a sponsor, the Landis and Gyr, who is committed to this race and that could still help the manufacturer in Turin in the near future.
The Italian Grand Prix, which kicks off on Friday in Monza with the first day of practice, brings the Formula 1 World Championship to a definitive hold. It cannot be argued, however, that the race scheduled at the Monza circuit, as has happened many times in the past, will be decisive in the fight for the title. Four drivers are still vying for the victory of the World Championship. With four trials still to be disputed, it is likely that you will have to get to the last day to know the verdict. But the appointment is still one of the most important, full of tensions, questions. And any success at Monza could be very important in the calculation for the final classification. Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Nelson Piquet shared almost all the spoils in the first three quarters of the season, leaving little satisfaction to the other protagonists. It is therefore unthinkable that other competitors could assume the role of spoilsport. Only Keke Rosberg, having a McLaren identical to that of the reigning World Champion, can theoretically give trouble. Aces poker is therefore the possible winner of the Italian Grand Prix. But which of the four? What are the actual chances that each of the contenders has on their hands? We immediately say that the prediction should be divided between the drivers of Williams, with Alain Prost in the role of dangerous outsider and Ayrton Senna further away, in that of a regularizer able to take advantage of any but difficult opportunities. Williams has won seven out of twelve races. A very high average, interrupted among other things in the last race, the Austrian Grand Prix at Zeltweg, where Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet were forced to retire from two unpredictable failures. Now within the English team it seems that Nigel Mansell, leader of the World Championship, has obtained an equal treatment to that of his teammate. Hitherto, it was Nelson Piquet who always had two cars at his disposal thanks to his first-time contract. If this is true, the good Nigel will probably have a facilitated task. But at the same time he will have to deal with Nelson Piquet, even more difficult to beat. For Alain Prost the problem is only one. If McLaren, together with Porsche, has developed a system to save fuel and use more power in the race, the Frenchman will be able to defend himself at least on equal terms Ayrton Senna’s position is more precarious, whose Lotus has so far made the most only in rather slow circuits. In this race the scoring discards will not come into play again. The regulation provides for the possibility of accumulating eleven results out of sixteen, and no one has already reached the limit. Only Alain Prost, if he arrives in the top six in the Italian Grand Prix, will have to think about eliminating the lowest scores. But it won’t be a big deal, as Alain Prost has two sixth places to his credit.
"Ferrari will have nothing new at Monza, but it will honor the Italian Grand Prix, as well as the subsequent Commitments of the 1986 calendar".
This is what the engineer Enzo Ferrari said during a meeting with a group of British journalists visiting Maranello, Wednesday, September 3, 1986.
"As for the drivers, the technicians, the activities 1987, I will fully expose the programs of Ferrari after the Portuguese Grand Prix of 21 September, at the end of the European racing season".
Enzo Ferrari’s statement does not answer the many questions and allegations that have been made about the Maranello team in recent times. Instead, it confirms that the hopes of reversing the predictions at Monza cannot be fueled by useless illusions. The cars of Alboreto and Johansson will presumably do the part they have done so far, that of the extras with the results related to those of the most competitive rivals. They are not excluded, maybe good placements, but no one expects miracles. Thursday, September 4, 1986, in Monza, no one speaks, makes predictions, imbalances in some way. This is the climate in which the Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix begins. Perhaps the classic calm before the storm. Everyone seems calm: drivers, technicians, managers. But, probably, it is a facade that serves to hide the tension. These days you decide the present and the future: world title, engagements for next year, passes. Some teams play supremacy, some survival. In short, there is not only the race to think about. They say when Ferrari doesn’t win, people don’t go to the races.
But on Thursday the circuit is full of spectators, curious people, more than other years. And it is easy to predict that there will be a crowd of great occasions this weekend. Also because the race promises well with the four title candidates tight in the eight points that are between the first (Mansell) and the last (Piquet). The British driver of Williams is apparently the most serene, as if it did not concern him.
"At the World Championship I don’t want to think about it. I prefer to live the day. After all, I still have two points ahead of Prost. At Monza last year the Frenchman won. But I managed to get the fastest lap before stopping for a breakdown. If there are no surprises our Williams should be very competitive".
Yeah, the Williams: 'cause Nelson Piquet’s on the line. The Brazilian knows very well that he can no longer give space to his team-mate, who on the contrary, for him counts only victory.
"I like the track, in 1985 I finished second with a Brabham that did not go. Now I could hit all my opponents and recover some points. But it also takes luck".
Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna are those who do not want to make predictions. The Frenchman, however, has a score to settle with Monza and its fans. It is clear that beyond any consideration I want to make a good impression. The Lotus driver, on the other hand, seems already focused towards the next season. The other twenty-two competitors (indeed twenty-three, because there is also the return of Capelli with the debutant AGS) have different ambitions. Teo Fabi is convinced that his Benetton on this track is not as good as at Zeltweg, and therefore he would be content to run a good race Riccardo Patrese, on the contrary, is quite busy. The tests at Imola showed that the Brabham BT55 is in progress. About Italians. On Thursday, Osella announced, unofficially, that the Canadian Allen Berg was unlikely to drive the second car. The little North American seems to be in the guaì: they look for him in Mexico because he would not have respected a contract with a local team. Osella was waiting for him with money to pay for the expenses of the races he had incurred so far. And he didn’t show up. So, the Turin manufacturer found a substitute: Alex Caffi, 22, from Brescia, winner of the European Formula 3 trophy last year, currently third in the national championship of the same category. He has a super license. But, poor Caffi, he has never driven a Formula 1 car. Hopefully he will be fine. As for the AGS-Motori Moderni, presented by the Jolly Club, will do only this test and the next one in Portugal, waiting to define the programs.
"Alboreto, Alboreto".
The boys shout, behind the great Ferrari motorhome. And the Italian driver responds with a nod, a shy greeting, made with a certain restraint. The driver has not forgotten the great disappointment of last year, when he was forced to retire.
"It is for this reason that it is useless to unbalance oneself. It is clear that hope is the last to die, but how can one deceive these children? Nothing has changed: our cars are the same throughout the season. Small changes, evolutions of details, but nothing revolutionary. In Formula 1, magic wands no longer exist, unfortunately. Even the other teams at this point are no longer able to make substantial changes. And who is good because they should present some news? We hope we count on the reliability found in Austria. We must be satisfied".
Luck is not on Ferrari’s side. At this time of crisis, the Maranello team will probably have to do without the contribution of Michele Alboreto in the Italian Grand Prix. The Italian driver was seriously injured during the night between Thursday and Friday, in a house of friends in Erba. Victim of congestion, Michele Alboreto is the victim of dizziness and falls badly, hitting her shoulder.
The Italian driver has a strong bruise that Friday prevents him from participating in the tests of the race and that could force him to a painful absence. This is not the first time that such an episode has happened to Ferrari. In 1976, Lauda had to miss the Spanish Grand Prix after being run over by a small tractor while fixing his garden.Previously, in 1969, in Monza, Tino Brambilla, called to replace Chris Amon en route with the team, had to give up the race for a fall on the bike. But we came to Alboreto. It’s 10.00 a.m.. The circuit is crowded, the stands in front of the pits crowded. The green light comes on, the cars enter the track for practice. Only one remains stationary. It’s the Italian Ferrari #27. There is wonder: where is the driver, usually very punctual? The first rumors and inferences are born. The men of the Maranello team are vague:
"He is not well".
A mechanic asks for:
"Isn’t it on the other side?"
Then comes the first semi-official confirmation. Michele Alboreto is indisposed, he got hurt. There is consternation, the audience murmurs when the speaker announces the absence of the Italian driver. At the end of the tests a leaflet is published, supplement of a weekly. It says:
"Alboreto fell with the bike".
And in the short article there is also an unfortunate joke by Nigel Mansell:
"Maybe he has a problem with Ferrari".
But what exactly happened? When you race in Monza. Michele Alboreto usually goes to live in the villa of a friend, Ermanno Ronchi, in Erba. It’s an isolated, quiet place. A helicopter takes him back and forth from the racetrack. On Thursday evening a dinner was organized, among others there was Pier Paolo Ghidella, Ferrari’s deputy sports director.
"We normally ate gnocchi, chicken and baked potatoes. But around ten Michele, perhaps for a cold blow, has suffered stomach pain. He slept with the hot water bottle".
At night the disease turns out more serious than expected. The pilot gets sick, gets up to go to the bathroom, to get rid of the blockage in his stomach. He gets dizzy, has a half fainting and falls with a shoulder hitting the edge of a sink. The blow is painful, but Michele thinks he can solve everything with a good sleep. A few hours later, however, Alboreto realizes that the situation is quite serious. And then the alarm goes off. Call Imola at 7:05 a.m. to Dr. Claudio Costa, the traumatologist of motorcyclists, that of the mobile clinic. Orders leave from Maranello. A helicopter takes off and takes the specialist to Erba. Meanwhile, the sports director, Marco Piccinini, warned Arcore where he was with the team and arrived in a hurry. Alboreto is transported around 9:00 a.m. by jeep to Fatebenefratelli, on the hill of Erba. The doctors Fermi, radiologist, and Villa welcomed him to the emergency room. He underwent examinations and x-rays. Then Professor Antonio Cocco, head of the hospital, issued the diagnosis:
"Alboreto suffered a strong contusion with muscle distraction and involvement of the capsule. There is also a general malaise".
The runner also has a fever, quite high. According to the health department the chances of recovering it theoretically are 50%. Fractures were excluded, but the trouble in the right shoulder, the one subjected to the greatest effort for the use of the gearbox, is not easy to overcome, even if Dr Costa has put back on his feet in time of battered bikers records, as recently Randy Mamola. The point of the situation will be made Saturday at 8:00 a.m.. Alboreto, however, improved in the afternoon and, according to his brother, he intends to go to Monza to make some laps. Then, you will see. In any case, Ferrari will not be able to look for a replacement. Either drive Alboreto or the car #27 remains unused. The regulations state that the registration of a driver in a race must be made by 6:00 p.m. on the day of the checks. On the sidelines of this story, not dramatic, but unpleasant, a curious episode. On Wednesday in the newsroom of the weekly magazine Autosprint, the phone rang. A male voice with a Tuscan accent said:
"I am the husband of Licia Castellari. My wife is a seer from Florence. She does not have the courage to communicate it, but she feels that Alboreto will not be able to compete in the Italian Grand Prix because of an accident".
Maybe it will be the absence of Michele Alboreto, or maybe the too much tension or the fatigue at the end of the season. The fact is that the first qualifying round of the Italian Grand Prix does not reserve particular emotions. But there are interesting indications. If Ayrton Senna who scores the best time is almost no longer news, there is the confirmation at the top of the Benetton (according to Berger. third Fabi), ahead of the always tough Mansell. Then there is the good progress of Ferrari, with Johansson in fifth position. A bit in trouble instead Piquet, only sixth, and the two McLaren, with Rosberg seventh and Prost eighth. Probably Saturday very, if not all, can change. Friday the track is a bit dirty and then Arnoux, breaking an engine, spreads oil half circuit. The timed tests are even interrupted for about twenty minutes to give the route stewards time to clean the asphalt. Then all the drivers take to the track and the excessive traffic does not allow to obtain times of great importance. The same Senna, the fastest in 1'25"363 to the already remarkable average of 244.602 km/h, failed to break the record that belongs to him since last year, with a time of 1'25"084.
"But the limit is within my reach. I think I can improve further but I think Benetton and Williams can do the same. You can expect a good fight for pole position. The race will be something else, with Mansell and Piquet absolute favorites".
In front of an audience halved compared to previous years (just 25.000 spectators) the Ferrari divided in half does not disfigure, arousing some enthusiasm, when Johansson makes a thrilling overtaking at the first chicane after the pit straight. In fact, the Maranello car, even with the fifth time (1'26"517), is very fast on the straight. The Swede recorded the speed of 340.342 km/h on the finish line, and 348.162 km/h before the chicane, the highest point ever reached in Formula 1. Who knows how many HP have this engine (but you have to consider that probably the car had a lower aerodynamic load). If you calculate that Senna passed at 321 km/h on the finish line and got the top speed at 333 km/h, you can see that the difference in performance between Lotus and Ferrari is mainly in the corners. As has happened since the beginning of the season. The fans, crowded along the fence, call out loudly. He just shows blond hair, leans out for a smile and a big roar of screams and applause. Johansson enjoys the popularity that comes from driving a Ferrari. Even in the worst moments there are always the loyal. And then, apart from the Alboreto affair, the day was quite satisfying.
"In fact, the car was going pretty well. There was some improvement compared to previous tests. He skips less, has more traction. In the second qualifying round I will try to give more wings. Maybe I will be a little less fast on the straight, but maybe I can improve the lap time with a good grip in the corners. I could also have got a more interesting result if with the second set of tyres I had not found too much traffic on track. Nannini inadvertently blocked me. We hope to start in the first rows".
The Scuderia Ferrari’s technical manager, Harvey Postlethwaite, was also quite optimistic:
"There is nothing revolutionary about the car. We have only studied a set-up that allows us to have a better aerodynamic balance. Too bad there was no Michele".
Adds the sports director, Marco Piccinini:
"We are very sorry for what happened. Alboreto is the first to be grieved. But this isn’t a tennis game, it’s a bigger risk. I am convinced that Michele, just as soon as he can, this morning will arrive to make some rounds. As long as his condition does not worsen and doctors allow it".
The Alboreto problem, of course, did not shake the candidates for the World Championship, namely Mansell, Prost, Piquet and Senna. The two drivers of Williams have taken great care to develop their cars. The Brazilian paid particular attention to the choice of gearbox relations, the Englishman sought the greatest possible balance. As for Prost, the McLaren Frenchman was very satisfied after the morning practice. His single-seater racing set-up was fine. He is less optimistic in the afternoon, but it is normal that McLaren, with a few exceptions, is not particularly brilliant in qualifying. Everything seems to be going well at Benetton. Too bad that the English team has only now realized that the right turbines for the Bmw engine are the small ones. Says Teo Fabi:
"The engine like this is more reliable, although we have less power available. I think pole position is within our reach. I like fast circuits. And if there is no trouble I will try to repeat Zeltweg’s exploits. It would be great to start in front of everyone in Monza".
Otherwise there are no major incidents. Brabham breaks four engines, two of them shatter Ligier. To underline a remarkable performance of the increasingly valid Alessandro Nannini, fourteenth with the Minardi. But it must also be said that his teammate, Andrea De Cesaris, nineteenth, has a car that obviously does not have the same performance, since in the straight is 25 km/ h less fast. More than dignified, the debut of the twenty-two year old from Brescia Alex Caffi, a boy with bright eyes, who - who knows why, perhaps the stature of jockey - remembers, also as a style of driving Gilles Villeneuve. Caffi, at his first experience in Formula 1, shows considerable sensitivity, but perhaps has more restraint than the late Canadian driver. Also because Osella can not allow it to do follies. Novice AGS of Ivan Capelli has practically not tried. First the flat bottom broke, then the failure of a turbine. But who could expect more from a car that in practice never turned? In Formula 1 nothing is improvised. Meanwhile, Jean Marie Balestre is preparing his October revolution. Any reference to the real one is purely random: the only point of contact is the month. Dressed completely in black, dark glasses, the president of the FSIA, in harsh tones, entertains journalists for almost an hour, explaining briefly his programs that will be unveiled on 3 October 1986 in Paris, during the plenary conference of the FIA.
"We are preparing three new World Championships for motoring, which will certainly succeed with new regulations. Formula 1, however, will always be the driving force of our sport, the spearhead. The FIA and FISA will take all measures to give a different image to these disciplines and will work for safety and entertainment. The new Formula 1 will start on different bases from the current ones. At the end of the year the famous Covenant of Concord that tied our hands will expire. We had to make a lot of compromises to get unanimity. From now on, instead, it will be the sports power to issue laws that must be respected".
Can the Commission say what rules will be adopted, particularly with regard to engines, a sector which has provoked a great deal of controversy and controversy at the moment?
"I can’t anticipate anything. For two years we have taken decisions with great difficulty but we have not been able to find suitable solutions because we had the imperative to keep at least twenty-five cars in Formula 1 and one hundred in a World Rally Championship race. Now we have realized that we must start anew".
But on what grounds?
"We’ve heard from everyone, big companies and small assemblers. We’ve got ideas, we’ve developed regulations".
What will you do?
"You will see on October 3. We have a stronger sports power. We can afford to do without those who do not adapt, because public opinion is on our side. FISA is free to make all the decisions it wants. And it will also take its responsibilities. We will present a four-year programme, that is until 1990, with absolute stability, perhaps even with gradual changes. We will not be influenced by anyone: Thursday I went to lunch with Ferrari and told him how I thought. We consulted them all. If a Renault, a Honda, the same Ferrari won’t agree, they can leave. We’ll do the races anyway. And I assure you that they will be interesting".
Back to the Italian Grand Prix. Saturday, September 6, 1986, to put all the contenders to the title of World Champion we think, once again, Teo Fabi. The Valtellina driver, former national ski team, won pole position in the Italian Grand Prix. Behind him the celebrated champions, the pretenders to the world title. Prost, Mansell, Senna and Piquet were leading at one point. Then he took to the track, Teo Fabi, and left them amazed, giving a bit of satisfaction to the fans present in Monza. An Italian at the top, an English team in fact, but tricolor (or rather multicolored in all respects), the Benetton. And Italian tires, the Pirelli, for the fifth time faster. If everything is combined with the recovery of Michele Alboreto, it is to be hoped that on Sunday the circuit will fill up like on great occasions. Saturday the lawns are crowded with spectators, but the bleachers are a little empty and melancholy. Teo Fabi completes his masterpiece twenty minutes from the end. First Mansell and Prost take over. The Italian driver runs in 1'24"078, marking the absolute record of the circuit, at an average of 248.341 km/h. When the weather appeared on the monitor, the celebrated champions returned to the track. But none could do better. Senna blew up a turbine, Berger, Fabi’s teammate, arrived in front of the pits wrapped in a cloud of smoke. In his attempt the Austrian has however accomplished a memorable feat: he recorded before the chicane after the pits the highest speed ever marked by a Formula 1 car, breaking all previous records: 351.220 km/h. A plane speed. And remember, all this happens with engines of only 1500 cc. With this pole position, the third of his career, the second consecutive, Teo Fabi increased the interest for the Italian Grand Prix. It should not be forgotten that the Benetton driver, even with the advantage of the first place, remains an outsider in the race. We rarely saw Teo Fabi smile so happily. Usually the tiny pilot is rather closed, taciturn, a little sad. After the pole position, however, he was full of joy. It almost seemed that he had grown in stature or that he had drunk in one fell swoop all one hundred bottles of grappa that was awarded as a prize. But after all, it is a normal attitude, for an Italian driver who starts in first position in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. And then Fabi is going through a delicate period. At a time when the drivers most in demand in the market are talking about millions of dollars as peanuts, no one seemed to consider it. And even within Benetton (or rather the Bmw that supplies the engines to the team) it seemed that the favors were all for the rising star, Gerhard Berger. I mean, this performance is a liberation for Fabi. So much so that Teo no longer talks about his intention to return to racing in the United States, where he is highly appreciated thanks to his victories in Formula Cart and the pole obtained in the 1983 Indy 500.
"Let me write a piece for every race, because it seems to bring me luck".
The pilot writes, on this occasion, for the Italian newspaper La Stampa. Then he gets serious, and says:
"Every time a driver makes the fastest lap he is never satisfied. There is always something to complain about. And I’m not far behind: I didn’t do a perfect lap. At the exit of the parabolic curve the engine missed a moment. I feared the worst, but it went well".
What was the winning move to achieve this result?
"We fixed a trim problem. The chassis was great. Then we fitted a special, bigger turbine. Berger also had it at his disposal... The rest was made by the tyres, really good and - let me tell you - also a little by the driver".
On the eve, you weren’t too optimistic about this track...
"Actually, I wasn’t. There are tight chicanes here. It takes low-rpm power and we don’t have it. This means that I had to cut the bottlenecks to the maximum, risking the impossible. The car is however very fast, perhaps even too much. It is not excluded that for the race we will put a little more wing to have better grip. However, also in the tests with a gas tank I went strong".
So you can win?
"Let’s go slowly. If everything works properly we can fight for first place. But I have no illusions, given what has happened so far. We lack reliability, for fuel consumption should not be a problem".
A prediction?
"Done with the heart: first me, second Alboreto, two Italians. In any case I would gladly change between my pole position and a victory. That’s what I still miss".
It is said that Gerhard Berger will no longer be Benetton’s next year. Perhaps this was an extra boost to make the result?
"I don’t know. Over the past few months I’ve been complaining about the treatment I was getting. I felt unclean. But maybe I was just unlucky. In any case next year I would also like to make a team in the family. That is, run with my brother Corrado. Much depends on the last races. So I will definitely try my best".
The favorites to win the Italian Grand Prix, however, remain the usual four aces, namely Mansell, Prost, Piquet and Senna. None of them can give space to their direct rivals. The victory is not worth the title, for the moment, since there are still three races to play, but it could have a decisive weight. The most favorable position is that of Mansell who already has four successes, followed by Prost and Piquet with three and Senna with two. The Brazilian driver of Lotus, considering the characteristics of his car, could lose ground here, but he could make up for it in the following circuits, less fast, of Estoril, Mexico City and even better on the city track of Adelaide. The game involves fuel consumption (so Williams with the favors of the prediction) and reliability.
And in this sense McLaren (even with Rosberg) seems to be very fierce. Nelson Piquet says:
"I made my best lap with the first set of tyres, then there was no way down with time. The thing is, these chicanes that are just set up to slow down speed are crap. There’s no comparison to Imola. To make a result here you have to cut, pass on the curbs. My Williams jumps and flies in the air. It seems inappropriate to take certain risks. There is to be fear. And then, being in contention for the title, I must also think about the race".
The race. What is the prediction of the Brazilian? Piquet gets fake serious.
"So, these are my predictions: Senna and Mansell hit the first chicane and go out immediately. Prost breaks the engine and gets out of the way. The two Benetton cars do not finish the race for fuel consumption. You draw your conclusions".
Who gets there first?
"Me of course. We must also consider that I consider this test the most favorable for us".
However, Mansell himself, usually cautious, is biased in a positive sense:
"I started in a good position and I must say that I was also quite lucky. In my car there was a bit of pressure on the turbines. When I went out with the first set of tires I scored the best time of the moment. Then the second I realized that the others were going stronger I changed the set-up, but I could not recover. In any case, I am very optimistic".
It can therefore be expected, as has already happened in Austria, an initial attack by the Benetton (Berger can also do its part) and then a settlement in favor of the pretenders to the title. Ferrari remains. The ninth time of Alboreto and the twelfth of Johansson show that nothing has changed for the Maranello team. Perhaps the performance has slightly improved at the chronometric level, probably the gaps will be less than those experienced at Zeltweg. But the hopes of placement are linked above all to the fortunes or misfortunes of others. It is very difficult to predict anything more, even if there is the impression that the F1-86 has made some very small steps forward in terms of road holding and overall competitiveness. We will have to see if these changes will not be at the expense of the reliability that has been lacking on many occasions. When you take an engine to the limit, you increase the risks. If, on the contrary, we look for the result at all costs, we must accept a reduction in competitiveness. This is an equation from which one cannot escape. The same thing, more or less, applies to Ligier and Brabham. And it is a shame that we cannot see in this sense the real value of Pirelli tires, as the Italian company does not have among the teams that equips a team able to win the race, except unthinkable reversals in front. Apart from the Lola-Ford, in a severe crisis, for the rest of the line-up there are only extras, despite the commitment of the drivers. In the middle of the fray, in relation to the means available, stands the Minardi with the usual Alessandro Nannini, nineteenth. However, everyone will leave, even the young Alex Caffi, who scored the twenty-seventh time and should have been excluded. The Osella team has made a petition, the other teams have accepted, so nothing changes. The 22-year-old Italian driver will at least have the satisfaction of saying:
"I was there too".
But the fight will take place far from his eyes, indeed let pass with extreme attention the drivers vying for the victory of the title, which will certainly impose a hellish pace to the race. Michele Alboreto will participate in the Italian Grand Prix with Ferrari #27. This is not a miracle, but certainly a prodigious recovery. The Italian rider brilliantly overcame the crisis: congestion first and then contusion to the shoulder for the fall in the bathroom Thursday night. Alboreto showed up at Monza at 9:30 a.m. arriving by helicopter, took part in free practice, completing 22 laps, then took part in the second qualifying round scoring the ninth time (1"25"549). So he beat his teammate, Stefan Johansson, who will start twelfth. A bit stiff and gray face under the tan of recent days, Michele is accompanied by Marco Piccinini. The sports director seems almost more battered than the driver: certainly in these two days he has not rested between two pillows. Alboreto joined the team’s motorhome to do some break-up exercises with physiotherapist Toni Mathis. For him speaks Doctor Claudio Costa, the traumatologist specialist of Rizzoli of Bologna who normally follows the world championship with his mobile clinic.
"Michael’s psychophysical condition is very good. We put him in intensive care, excluding the drugs that they could mobilize, which are infiltrations and things like that. The contusion was treated with manipulations and electric waves. And the results are excellent. But now we wait for the most important test, that of the track".
After passing the tax examination by the circuit doctor, Dr Rovelli (a few bends, some questions), Alboreto climbed into his car #27, greeted by a burst of applause. A test lap, a stop to adjust the car, then again on track, until 11:30 a.m. Before the others put in qualifying tyres, the Italian driver kept the third time for a long time, while Johansson remained on track due to a turbine failure. Then rest, light food and then qualifications. After the first lap the pressure of the oil on the race car dropped and Alboreto climbed on the reserve one. With fairly hard tyres he made a couple of laps, scoring his best time, then tried the softer ones but could not improve. The mechanics had to change the front of the flat bottom that had been damaged and Michele got out of the car, taken by Johansson who in his car had had problems with the engine losing shots. Back in the van, all the doubts have finally been solved. Michele Alboreto explains:
"All right, more than expected and predictable. If I still felt some pain before getting in the car, now I’m fine. They explained to me that the body produces painkillers on its own under strain. I don’t feel any discomfort when I drive. The problem will be overcoming the first half of the race. I am the most fearsome opponent of myself".
The Italian driver also manages to joke:
"After all, I had one day less practice, so I had less effort...".
Two Ferraris, therefore, at the start, to try to repeat the result of Zeltweg. Alboreto and Johansson say the cars have slightly improved: no revolution, but little progress. There are always grip problems at the narrowest points of the circuit (chicanes), but the performance is comforting, beyond the chronometric results. It would not be surprising to see Ferrari in the top positions after a few laps, if there will be no mechanical problems. We are still far from what the fans would like but, given the situation, there is already something to rejoice. The so-called Ferrari effect (in a negative sense, given the results) with the first news of the possible forfeit of Alboreto has caused many damages to the organizers of Monza. There is talk of about 50.000 paying spectators in less in the first two days, that is to say about receipts reduced by 1.000.000.000 lire compared to forecasts. It is not little: it is hoped, however, that the-Fabi effect can make up for something, also because the spectacle of the crowd is an integral part of the Italian Grand Prix. And a semi-desert circuit would give a bad image to Formula 1.
Sunday, September 7, 1986, when the race director lowers the green flag for the deployment lap of the Italian Grand Prix, Alain Prost immediately realizes that the alternator of his McLaren does not work and does not charge the battery. Then he stands at the side of the track, gets out of the car and runs to the pits to get on the reserve one. Then it starts from the inner lane, when the cars take the official start, in last position. But Alain Prost and his team run into a mistake: the regulation says that it is not possible to change cars after the green flag. For this reason it is useless the beautiful chase that leads the Frenchman to occupy the fifth position on the twenty-first lap, when, with guilty delay, after almost an hour of competition, he is exposed to another flag, the black one, to stop him, as he is disqualified. After all, it is not a day for the reigning World Champion: just then he was forced to slow down: the engine showed signs of fatigue. But it is more unlucky Teo Fabi, who despite having to start from pole position stops four-five meters from the finish line, with the engine off. An electrical problem, already highlighted several times on the Benetton, prevents him from starting regularly. So the Italian driver, after another start, leaves last. But his adventures are not yet over. In the moment in which he is already - also after an incredible chase - in fifth position during lap 23, he stops at the pits to change the tires and remains stationary for almost three laps. The control unit is also replaced on your car. Fabi starts once again, recovers positions, but during lap 45 he stops permanently for a puncture that sends him straight into the sand of a chicane, on which his adventure ends in Milan. For Ayrton Senna the ordeal is much faster. The Brazilian Lotus driver is the first to retire, after a few hundred meters, due to the broken transmission. An abandonment that deprives the race of a driver who might not have won but who certainly would have said something at the level of placings. To Gerhard Berger and Nigel Mansell, meanwhile, it does not seem true to find, without overtaking, in front of everyone. And the Austrian is faster than the English at the start. Berger immediately imposes an infernal rhythm for about ten minutes. It is clear, however, that he could not resist. And in fact Nigel Mansell, during the seventh lap, passed the Austrian driver. Shortly after, the Benetton driver, in difficulty even for the engine that does not work regularly, loses several positions. Meanwhile, the surprising Ferraris enter the scene.
Michele Alboreto and Stefan Johansson, both authors of a splendid start, take themselves close to the two Williams. First Michele Alboreto passes Gerhard Berger with an extraordinary maneuver, and then he approaches Nelson Piquet, with whom he travels in formation. Ferrari gives the impression of being able to attack the Brazilian, but the joy of the fans who are beginning to agitate lasts little. During lap 17, just after the first chicane, the Ferrari #27 ended on the dirty trajectory on the left, embarked and lost in a spin. Michele Alboreto continues more slowly and returns to the pits to change the deteriorated tires. Back on track in tenth place from the third he had. The comeback begins again, one overtaking after another, and returns to fifth place, behind the team-mate, regular. But it is an illusion: in the course of lap 33 he is again seen slowing down and then pulling to the side, at the end of the pits, to leave the car due to a mechanical failure. From that point the interest shifts to the duel involving Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. After the change of tyres (penalizing Piquet, forced to wait 17.68 seconds), for a couple of laps Gerhard Berger was back in first position, followed by Nigel Mansell and the aggressive René Arnoux. But with the stop of the Austrian and the break of the clutch of the Ligier of the French, the situation normalized in favor of the Williams. Nigel Mansell seems to be able to stretch his lead, but Nelson Piquet reacts with anger, recovers almost a second on the lap and, after warning his teammate with a couple of attempts, passes him inside the curve after the first variant. Then the Brazilian driver increased his lead and won the Italian Grand Prix, ahead of Nigel Mansell. Stefan Johansson is third, while Keke Rosberg takes fourth place against Gerhard Berger, who is struggling with the engine. And Alan Jones gets a point, even if he’s two laps behind. In the race that brought Ferrari back to the forefront, third with Stefan Johansson, Nelson Piquet placed a serious mortgage for the conquest of the third world title. At the top of the standings is always his team-mate, Nigel Nigel Mansell, but the Brazilian drew the score in terms of first places: four each. The race, held on a beautiful sunny day but with a smaller audience in recent years, has revived the dominant theme of the 1986 season, the duel between Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell.
The disqualification of Alain Prost, now practically eliminated from the fight, and the sudden abandonment of Ayrton Senna, betrayed by the transmission of his Lotus, allowed the two Williams drivers to challenge on equal terms, just disturbed by the initial outburst of Gerhard Berger and facilitated by the misadventures of Michele Alboreto. The two contenders, after looking at each other in a doggy way so far, now manifest an unexpected FairPlay. Piquet just across the line applauds the Englishman, who reciprocates by almost praising the superiority of the Brazilian. Nice sentences, funny jokes, slaps on the back. But underneath, there is certainly the fire of rivalry, which will develop when the tension grows stronger, when one of the two feels beaten or mocked.At Monza the smart Piquet is happy, because he had to win and he won. Mansell is not dissatisfied, as with the second place he retains the leadership of the World Championship. Both, in short, know that they have lived a positive day. He had almost guessed Nelson Piquet in making his playful prediction on Saturday. He had foreseen his victory and the immediate elimination of Prost and Senna. He was wrong only on Mansell. He resisted to the end.
"A fantastic course. The exit from the scene of Fabi, Prost and Senna facilitated me a lot, there is no doubt. I tried to drive mostly with my brain. I put myself in Mansell’s wake, trying to save fuel and tires. I kept adjusting my turbo pressure so I wouldn’t waste gas. Unfortunately I risked everything in the tire change when they made me lose precious seconds".
Maybe a Williams attempt to help Mansell?
"Ask the mechanics. No, I don’t think, in these situations it’s very difficult to take political action. There was simply a wheel that didn’t screw. Anyway, it was this episode that gave me the decisive charge".
What do you mean?
"In the sense that when I got back on track I decided to risk everything and I definitely started the attack. The computer tells me that I had plenty of gas available and I used the maximum pressure. When I passed Nigel we touched, a nice fear. I think he too, however, did not have fun...".
What about the World Championship?
"It’s a very important win. I needed to finish first for so many reasons. But I’ve already won the title twice and I don’t care. My main opponent is, as I have always maintained, Mansell himself. To get to success, however, now I hope that Ferrari always wins".
Nigel Mansell accepts defeat with philosophy, also expressing a certain English spirit:
"You have to go fast and get lucky. All in all, given how it went I can settle for second place. I’m fine with six points that allow me to stay at the top of the world ranking".
Why did Piquet manage to overtake so easily?
"At the beginning my Williams was very competitive. I started well, I had no difficulties. After the tyre change, however, a seat belt loosened, in the curves it hits on one side and the other in the cockpit. On the rectifiers I was driving with one hand, trying to fasten the strap better, but I couldn’t. Then a front tire deteriorated. And I couldn’t defend myself".
A forecast for the next races?
"Let’s hope Ferrari wins all three. So I’ll stay in the lead...".
On the day of Williams (eighth out of thirteen races), there is also the first sign of rebirth for Ferrari. Not so much for the placement of Johansson, as for the regained competitiveness of the cars. In theory, given the lap times, Alboreto, who had risked a banal accident on Friday not to participate in the Italian Grand Prix, could also win, or at least fight for first place. A spin drove Michele away from the best, and then the engine failure deprived him of a possible positive result. But, for the first time (too late unfortunately), the F1-86 proved to be good. Alboreto made several times the fastest lap. Johansson made a regular race, always at the top. His position would not have been much different even if there had not been many retirements. Better this third place at 22 seconds from the first, than the second place won at Zeltweg with a lap delay. This is the most comforting fact for Scuderia Ferrari after so much bitterness. Another disappointment for Teo Fabi and for the Italian colors in general, since of the Italian drivers only the twenty-two year old Alex Caffi, debutant, with Osella, managed to get to the finish line, eleventh, with six laps behind. The Italian driver, who started for the second time in a row in pole position, at the end of the race can not hide his anger.
"Always the usual story with the engine that is not running, as it loses shots because of the electrical control unit. I feared this inconvenience. And to say that my Benetton was very fast. I showed it with an incredible recovery. I could still enter among the very first after starting right in the back row".
And then what happened to her again?
"Guess what. I was three laps in the pits to change the damn control box. But then there was nothing more to do. Then I deflated a tire that I had subjected to incredible wear by cutting the chicanes to overcome, and I ended up like a fish in the net, that is on the sand. A day to forget. But when will there be one to remember? I can’t just settle for pole positions".
Riccardo Patrese is also furious, removed from an accident with Patrick Tambay.
"I had been following him for a while, and I was going a lot faster than him. I flanked him and he turned, hit me in the side, destroying a suspension, damaging the body. In the morning in the warm-up I had set the best time. I was confident, I could make a good race. But I also need to go to Lourdes to get rid of the misfortune that has long haunted me".
Finally Ferrari. At the end of a weekend troubled by Alboreto’s injury. The team gathered new satisfactions in the Italian Grand Prix. Certainly the balance could also be better if the Italian driver, persecuted by a bad fate, had not to collect the ninth retirement of this championship. But yesterday in the clan of Mannello you could see after so long faces serene and smiling. The F1-86 suddenly, with no apparent signs of change, were back to fight among the best cars. Engineer Harvey Postlethwaite is then asked about the secret of this recovery.
"It was the recent free practice at Imola that showed us the right way. We made small changes that helped us make better use of the aerodynamic balance. Work on the wind tunnel in France shows that it is now essential to have these resources available for research and development. Our gallery in Fiorano is ready but unfortunately is not yet usable concretely".
Even Michele Alboreto, with his anger at the new disappointment gone, expresses words of encouragement and confidence.
"I don’t like one, I think I’ll have to go somewhere and get blessed or take off the bill that someone has made me. This time the car was perfect. When I was behind Piquet, I controlled it very well, waiting for the race to evolve. I seemed to hear the music of the angels. I didn’t believe my eyes, accustomed to being in the group, detached from the first".
Shoulder was all right?
"The shoulder? I didn’t even realize it, I didn’t remember being injured anymore. We could have won this race. Anyway we’re back in the old days. I’m starting to see something good and I’m also optimistic for the next races. Progress is not necessarily only for fast circuits. Maybe we can get some satisfaction before the end of the season".
What exactly happened on lap 17?
"I don’t know, there was some dirt on the track, maybe brought by a Minardi, the Nannini’s one. I ended up on it when I was glued to Piquet’s Williams. The car ahead of me had a gap, I started against the guardrail on the right, spinning. It was a good thing I was able to continue and maybe I could still make it to the top. But then the engine started not working and then I realized that it was time to give up hope and illusions again. But I’m not the type to be shot down. You’ll see that maybe I can recover everything in one shot. It was still nice".
Cesare Romiti, CEO of Fiat who attended the Ferrari test with pleasure also enjoyed the race:
"I had fun this time. Ferrari was up to the task. A good day".
The comment of Marco Piccinini, sports director of the Maranello team, is laconic:
"After the apprehensions of these days, and also a bit of speculation about the accident of Alboreto, we found together form, car and driver. We were among the best and the Ferraris were the fastest in the first laps. Despite Michael’s first inconvenience a good result could still be achieved. Too bad. I’m very happy for Johansson".
What has been done on the cars to determine this change?
"A systematic work of aerodynamic analysis, tiring but profitable. We hope that this is the beginning of a trend reversal. However, Ferrari has proved to be an organism that can react".
Some people claim that John Barnard is already behind this...
"I rule out the possibility of any intervention by the English coach, who is still under contract with another team. Be patient: the organic future of the team will reveal Enzo Ferrari after the Portuguese Grand Prix".
Finally Stefan Johansson. The Swede appreciated the applause and the joy of the crowd at Monza. But his race was not an easy one:
"With the first set of tyres I had a lot of problems. I had no grip. Then when I changed the tyres, the situation changed radically. I could attack Berger after checking fuel consumption. I’m very happy. A third place in Monza was needed. An important result for the team and also for my career".
Who knows that the overtaking of Gerhard Berger is not worth anything for the future of Stefan Johansson, since everyone claims that the Austrian will be his substitute for the 1987 season. Assuming that another war doesn’t break out between Ferrari and Jean Marie Balestre, president of the FISA, despite the fact that last Thursday the French manager had lunch in Maranello with the manufacturer from Modena. There is something in the announced October revolution of Balestre that Enzo Ferrari doesn’t like too much. So much so that on Saturday Marco Piccinini, Scuderia Ferrari’s sports director, said:
"Last year the idea of possibly abandoning Formula 1 to go racing in the American Chart could only be a theoretical threat. Now we have the car almost ready. So if the new regulations are not based on a balanced and responsible policy we could reconsider our participation in next year’s world championship".
In Monza the FISA issued another statement in which, after repeating what Balestre had already exposed in recent days, specified in more detail which directions the Federation is moving in preparing the regulations for Formula 1 for the next five years. These are the choices that will be considered at the meeting of October 3, 1986: the 1000cc turbo engine, or 1500 cc turbo with valve for pressure and restriction of air admission. Or engines 1500 cc turbo with valve or restriction of the air intake. Or prohibition of the turbo engine and adoption of aspirated engines of 3300 cc and weight of the car free. Or else prohibition of turbo engines and adoption of aspirated engines of 3500 cc, with 120-liter gasoline tank and supplies allowed in the race. Another idea could be the prohibition of turbo engines and the adoption of aspirated engines of 3500 cc, with the weight of cars to be defined. With regard to sports regulations, the current rules should remain in force, with only one hour of testing on Saturday and a race of 50 kilometers to determine the starting lines, or the current rules and a reduction of the fuel tank to 1S0 liters. Otherwise the current rules and a reduction in the octane rate of gasoline. As you can see the possibilities are different, but there is something that does not add up. The drivers are absolutely against the race on Saturday. And reducing the displacement of the engines would be madness, for the necessary investments and because Formula 1 can not be reduced to racing with smaller engines than those of one of the many bikes on the road. That would be a very bad picture. In the package of ideas presented by Balestre there is however something that Ferrari does not like, and that in the coming weeks could cause bitter controversy. As if that were not enough, there is a background that has led to the delay of the disqualification of Alain Prost. The sports stewards were only able to display the black flag to the Frenchman on lap 26 due to interference from the president of FISA. Jean Marie Balestre, in fact, has tried in every way to help his compatriot, who certainly does not need this type of support. The change of car after the normal time involved an immediate disqualification of the McLaren driver. Instead, Balestre staggered, arguing that the regulation was not clear, that it had to wait. Then, when McLaren showed signs of weakness, the sports stewards were able to display the black flag. In short, a gesture not very sporty, reprehensible. Prost however was not aware of it. Immediately after his retirement, caused by a drop in engine power (at the start the alternator had not worked) Alain Prost also became the unintentional protagonist of another episode to be stigmatized. As you know, the Frenchman is not very nice to Italian fans, with whom in the past he has had to say, so much so that he has always been poorly received and in recent years had also shown up escorted by private police officers. As he recounts what happened, the pilot is attacked by a fan who tries to rip off his shirt. Prost drives him away, defending himself as he can, and then escapes to the helicopter that would take him to the hotel. Before he had only had time to say that the World Championship was still open, even if more difficult to approach and that he had been forced to stop to replace the damaged nose to have punctured a tire and touched a curb. Ayrton Senna, who seems resigned to the lack of competitiveness and reliability of his car, also speaks a few words.
"The transmission broke immediately, and I saw the race from the pits. So I struggled a little. But this is not the kind of racing I like".
There are also some complaints from Keke Rosberg, who says:
"An anonymous race, conditioned by fuel consumption. The on-board computer kept telling me I couldn’t finish the test".
The attack on Alain Prost, however, is not the only act of vandalism recorded this race weekend. Nor is it the only problem. Once upon a time Monza was home to motorsport, the track on which every driver dreamed of competing and winning. But legends alone are not enough to remedy the failures of the weather and this is witnessed by the painful conditions in which the circuit, which has become one of the worst in Formula 1. The list of shortcomings is long: from pits too narrow and dangerous, in which the mechanics struggle to make their way among thousands of strangers and curious, phones and services that do not work, the same track that as it has been changed in recent times no longer has reason to be: Only two difficult turns in Lesmo and a series of boring straights and bottlenecks. Viewers see much less of those who stay at home in front of the television, but pay for a ticket almost the equivalent (170.000 lire a central grandstand) of a subscription to the football championship. But the worst, unfortunately, happens around the race. The Grand Prix is frequented by thousands of vandals that no one can or wants to control: theft, burglaries, violence are the order of the day. You can not park a car inside the circuit (even in controlled parking) without being sure to find it ruined or robbed. The toll is 100 injured (almost all while climbing fences) and ten arrests. Hundreds of people enter without paying, sometimes with the complicity of the security guards or with fake passes. And among these people there are also those who enjoy, as happened Saturday night, to smear oil on the parabolic curve. However, after the Italian Grand Prix, Williams, with the success of Piquet and Mansell’s second place, achieved an important goal. In practice the English team wins for the third time after those of 1980 and 1981 the Constructor World Championship. The title is not mathematical yet. But to lose it the two drivers would not have to accumulate at least three points in the three races that remain to be disputed, and McLaren would have to score three braces in a row. And given the way things have been going so far, it would be a little difficult for this situation to happen. What matters, however, is the fight for the Drivers' World Championship.
There are always four candidates for the final victory: Mansell. Piquet, Prost and Seine. Theoretically, the Englishman, first in the standings with 61 points, is the biggest favorite, followed by his team-mate, Nelson Piquet, with 56 points, Alain Prost, stopped at 53 points, and Ayrton Senna, who has 48 points. These scores, however, hide pitfalls, due to the regulation that allows to assimilate only eleven results out of sixteen races to be played. The only two to have almost reached this goal are Mansell and Prost, who have ten points. If in the next three races the two drivers were to always place in the top six, they will be forced to discard the worst results. A small advantage for Piquet and Senna, who, however, will have nothing to eliminate. In essence, Nigel and Nelson, who are just 5 points apart, are practically equal. Also because now they can boast four wins each. A family fight, therefore, for what could be called the challenge of the three continents, given that we still have to compete in Europe, North America and Australia. In the Formula 1 environment it is argued that the game is made for Nelson Piquet, more experienced, more cunning. Nothing more likely than that. But we must not forget two aspects of the issue: the next tracks, slow and winding, could favor an aggressive driver like Nigel Mansell. And then we should not underestimate the reaction of Alain Prost, now accustomed to the run-up of the last hour. In circuits where fuel consumption should affect McLaren less, the Frenchman can still say his word. Alain Prost is also looking for revenge, after the FISA fined him 5000 dollars for lying and insulting statements against sports stewards (he called their decisions idiotic) who disqualified him at Monza. Evidently the pilot wanted to condemn the fact of having waited an hour to expose the black flag. But he did not know that it was Jean Marie Balestre, the president of FISA, who delayed the decision. And so he was punished. The same applies to Ayrton Senna. But the lack of reliability (compared to Williams and McLaren) of Lotus offers little chance to the young Brazilian, which is now also detached by 13 points. Only a series of miracles and misadventures of rivals could allow him to hit the target.