GP: Mexican Grand Prix
Date: 12 October 1986
Winner: Gerhard Berger - Benetton-BMW
A maiden win for Gerhard Berger and a first for Benetton, by quite some way ahead of Prost (McLaren) and Senna (Lotus) thanks to the superiority of the Pirelli tyres.
Unlike his rivals, the Austrian never made a pit stop and therefore came home 25 seconds ahead of Alain. Strange but true, Gerhard's final F1 win at the 1997 German Grand Prix, was also Benetton's last victory.
On top of that, prior to the Mexican race came the news that Berger was to join Ferrari.
He spent three seasons in red from1987 to 1989, eventually returning to Maranello for a second stint from 1993 to 1995. In between there were three seasons with McLaren alongside Senna. Berger was born in Wörgl, Austria on 27 August 1959.
He took ten wins and started from pole 12 times, but was never world champion. Quick, intelligent, a prominent figure in the world of motorsport, first as a driver and later as a manager and businessman.
The subject of many amusing anecdotes, many of them involving his friends Ayrton Senna and, during his second stint with Ferrari, Jean Alesi.
He survived a terrifying accident at Imola's Tamburello corner in 1989, the exact same spot that claimed the life of Senna five years later.
In 2025 Pirelli will hit the 500 F1® Grands Prix mark during the season.
Legacy of Speed series looks back at the fifty most significant Grands Prix from Pirelli's time on the F1 World Championship trail.
