GP: Mexico
Date: 12 October 1986
Winner: Gerhard Berger - Benetton-BMW
First victory for Gerhard Berger, first win for Benetton, comfortably beating Prost (McLaren) and Senna (Lotus) thanks to the superiority of the Pirelli tyres.
Unlike his rivals, Berger did not pit to change tyres, so that he crossed the line 25” ahead of Alain. Coincidentally, Gerhard's final F1 win, in the 1997 German GP coincided with the last win for Benetton.
The German success came just days after it had been announced he would be switching to Ferrari.
He raced for three seasons in red, from 1987 to 1989, returning to Maranello for a second stint from 1993 to 1995, spending the interim three seasons alongside Senna at McLaren.
Berger, born in Worgl, Austria, on 27 August 1959, never became world champion, although he won 12 times, securing an equal number of pole positions.
Quick and intelligent, a prominent figure in the world of motorsport, first as a driver and later as a manager and executive, he was well known for pranks and amusing exploits usually involving first Ayrton and then Jean Alesi, his team-mate during his second stint at Ferrari.
He survived a terrible crash at Imola's Tamburello corner in 1989, the very spot where Senna would lose his life 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.
