The 69-lap race was won from pole position by Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Honda, with French teammate Alain Prost second and Belgian Thierry Boutsen third in a Benetton-Ford.

Nelson Piquet was sixth in his Lotus, followed by Thierry Boutsen in the second Benetton, Eddie Cheever in the Arrows and Nigel Mansell in the Williams, while Philippe Streiff put in a strong performance to take tenth, which would turn out to be the best-ever grid position for the AGS team.

Warwick was briefly knocked unconscious and hurt his back; he received aid from fellow Briton Mansell, who had suffered a similar crash at Suzuka the previous year.

By the middle of the race Philippe Streiff had brought his AGS up to fifth place, ahead of Andrea de Cesaris' Rial in sixth.

Warwick, despite his injury, finished just outside the points in seventh, having battled with teammate Cheever until the American retired on lap 31 with a broken throttle cable.

Boutsen's third place marked the first time since the 1983 Dutch Grand Prix that a naturally-aspirated car had legally finished on a Formula One podium.