Ayrton Senna arrived in Spain looking to set up and adjust what he could on his Lotus. After the qualifying session, visibly irritated with the performance of his car and his fifth position for the start, he vented:
“I set up the car for the straight stretches, but it becomes unsteerable on the corners. I change the set-up and then it worsens for both sections.”
The only thing left was motivation, in that last race of the season in Europe, to score points and oppose Alain Prost (McLaren) for third place in the championship.
The maximum that the Lotus permitted him were the fifth place two points, while the Frenchman finished in second.
The winner was Nigel Mansell, who was locked in a duel with Nelson Piquet from Williams for the World Drivers’ Championship. The English team, of course, relished in the title among the constructors.
SPANISH GP
1º
N. Piquet
2º
N. Mansell
3º
G. Berger
4º
M. Alboreto
5º
Ayrton Senna
6º
T. Fabi
7º
A. Prost
8º
T. Boutsen
9º
R. Patrese
10º
A. de Cesaris
11º
S. Johansson
12º
D. Warwick
13º
E. Cheever
14º
R. Arnoux
15º
P. Streiff
16º
J. Palmer
17º
P. Alliot
18º
S. Nakajima
19º
I. Capelli
20º
M. Brundle
21º
A. Nannini
22º
C. Danner
23º
P. Ghinzani
24º
A. Campos
25º
P. Fabre
26º
N. Larini
72
laps
26
cars
10
Retirements
1’26”986
Fastest lap
1º
Cloudy Weather
Podium
1º
N. Mansell
2º
A. Prost
3º
S. Johansson
5º
final position
3º
position in championship following the race
5º
starting place
2
championship points accumulated
1’30”088
best lap