Berger's teammate Michele Alboreto was fourth, while Nigel Mansell was fifth in the Williams, the quickest of the naturally-aspirated cars, albeit some 3.6 seconds behind Senna.

Behind them, a variety of accidents occurred at Sainte-Dévote: Alex Caffi hit the wall in his Dallara; Philippe Streiff, who had started 12th in his AGS, retired when an accelerator cable broke; and World Champion Nelson Piquet collided with Cheever, which forced the Brazilian to retire at the end of the first lap and thus end a disastrous weekend for the Lotus team.

With 11 laps remaining, McLaren team boss Ron Dennis radioed Senna to slow down to ensure a safe 1-2 finish, allowing Prost to gain six seconds.

[2] On lap 67, Senna lost concentration at Portier, causing him to spin his McLaren into the barrier and damage the car's front suspension.

Warwick finished fourth after a race-long battle with Palmer, while Patrese recovered from his collision with Alliot to take the final point, passing the other Lola of Yannick Dalmas on the last lap.