Race report
De Angelis got the jump on Prost at the start, making use of his inside position. Rosberg was climbing up the order at a rapid pace. Marc Surer's Arrows-BMW had a fuel injection problem and retired at the end of Lap 1.
On Lap 5, Senna had a massive spin on the fast outward leg before the East Curve Chicane and had a massive shunt into the wall due to his rear aerofoil having collapsed, having run an impressive fifth in the Toleman.
On Lap 7, de Angelis' Renault engine in the Lotus blew up and Prost went into the lead, de Angelis trying to drive the blazing car into the pits. Piquet soon overtook Prost and went into the lead. Lauda was following behind in third place, having started off carefully, and had passed Rosberg and Warwick as the race settled down.
Within a lap the two Williams failed. Laffite came into the pits with smoke pouring from an exhaust pipe and signs of a disintegrated piston coming out of the pipe, and Rosberg coasted to a stop out on the circuit with an electrical fault.
Barely after the retirement of both Williams cars, the second RAM entry also withdrew from the race. Shortly thereafter, Piercarlo Ghinzani's Osella was forced into the pit lane due to a fire originating around the right-hand turbocharger of its Alfa Romeo V8 engine. Michele Alboreto retired with an electrical failure, while Riccardo Patrese exited the race as a result of a gearbox malfunction.
The high-speed nature of the circuit, combined with three chicanes that required repeated heavy braking and rapid acceleration, placed considerable mechanical strain on the field and contributed to the high rate of retirements. On lap 22, Nelson Piquet began experiencing difficulties with gear selection and was forced to slow significantly, allowing both Alain Prost and Niki Lauda to pass.
Piquet's Brabham was fitted with a special six-speed gearbox configuration, consisting of five conventional ratios and an overdrive top gear. The Brazilian driver encountered problems engaging second, fourth, and sixth gears. After completing one additional lap without resolving the issue, he entered the pit lane at the end of lap 23 and retired from the race. Before exiting the car, Piquet jokingly signalled to his mechanics for a full tyre change, which was completed in just over ten seconds. He then removed his helmet and left the cockpit, laughing, with the incident reportedly received in good humour by the Brabham team.
The race having settled down, Prost and Lauda secured a 1-2 for the McLaren team, with the Constructors' Trophy in sight for them. Prost extended his championship standings by three points to Lauda. [2]
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Alain Prost 
