The 77-lap race was won from pole position by Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Honda, with teammate Alain Prost second and Stefano Modena third in a Brabham-Judd.

The field was one fewer in Monaco as Ferrari had elected not to run a second car to replace Gerhard Berger, who had been injured in an accident during the last race at Imola.

Brabham again topped the time sheets during the Thursday morning pre-qualifying session, with Stefano Modena fastest, but the Dallara of Alex Caffi was only 0.141 seconds behind.

Ayrton Senna was on pole by a full second over teammate Alain Prost with Thierry Boutsen sharing row two with the surprisingly competitive Brabham of Martin Brundle.

Alex Caffi, Michele Alboreto, and Brundle, who was promoted to sixth on the final lap as a result of the retirement of Ivan Capelli, completed the point scoring positions.