The race on the Adelaide circuit was Senna’s first as world champion.
To celebrate, he won pole position, and closed out the year having started 13 times in the most privileged position on the grid.
He headed a respectable row of drivers: Alain Prost (McLaren), Nigel Mansell (Williams), Gerhard Berger (Ferrari), Nelson Piquet (Lotus) and Riccardo Patrese (Williams).
The McLaren drivers had a tough race for 13 laps until they got past by Gerhard Berger, who had set himself up for the victory. That is, until he tried to overtake the French driver René Arnoux (Ligier) and threw his Ferrari off the track.
Everything returned to normal on lap 35, with the McLaren duo in the lead. Prost won, forming the final podium of the year with the 1988 champion, Ayrton Senna and the 1997 champion, Nelson Piquet.
Resumo da Corrida
- 1 Ayrton Senna
- 2 A. Prost
- 3 N. Mansell
- 4 G. Berger
- 5 N. Piquet
- 6 R. Patrese
- 7 D. Warwick
- 8 A. Nannini
- 9 I. Capelli
- 10 T. Boutsen
- 11 A.Caffi
- 12 M. Alboreto
- 13 S. Nakajima
- 14 P. Martini
- 15 A. de Cesaris
- 16 P. Streiff
- 17 J. Palmer
- 18 E. Cheever
- 19 M. Gugelmin
- 20 S. Modena
- 21 L. Perez-Sala
- 22 S. Johansson
- 23 R. Arnoux
- 24 P. Alliot
- 25 O. Larrauri
- 26 P. Ghinzani
| Voltas | 82 |
| Tempo | Nublado |
| Volta mais rápida | A. Prost - 1´21´´216 |
| Podium | 1º A. Prost 2º Ayrton Senna 3º N. Piquet |
| Carros | 26 |
| Abandonos | 15 |
Senna na corrida
| Posição de largada | 1 |
| Posição final | 2 |
| Melhor volta | 1’21’’668 |
| Pontos somados para o Campeonato | 6 |
| Posição no Campeonato após a prova | 1 |
