As of May 2022[update] Patrese holds the record for the longest waiting period between two Grand Prix wins, at 6 years, 6 months and 28 days.

David Brabham's older brother Gary had quit the Life team, describing it as "totally disorganised and unprofessional",[3] and had been replaced by Italian veteran Bruno Giacomelli, who had last raced in F1 in 1983.

Apart from the AGS cars, the other runners who failed to pre-qualify included Bertrand Gachot in the Coloni, which, despite revised aerodynamics and a 23kg weight reduction, was still seven seconds away from Bernard's time.

In the qualifying sessions, the McLarens filled the front row, with Ayrton Senna on pole and team-mate Gerhard Berger alongside him.

The top ten was completed by the Tyrrell of Jean Alesi, the Benettons of Nelson Piquet and Nannini, and the Lotus of Derek Warwick.

At Tamburello, Mansell ran wide and kicked up dust, which caused the Leyton House of Ivan Capelli and the second Tyrrell of Satoru Nakajima to collide with each other, while at Tosa Martin Donnelly spun his Lotus, narrowly avoiding other drivers.

The Englishman avoided hitting anything and ended up pointing in the right direction, he continued in second place, however, dirt and debris had entered Mansell's engine, causing it to overheat and blow-up a few laps later.

Patrese duly won his first race since the 1983 South African Grand Prix, leading home Berger, Nannini, Prost, Piquet, and Alesi.