Frenchman Alain Prost finished second in his Williams-Renault, a result which secured him his fourth Drivers' Championship.

Prost's British teammate Damon Hill finished third, having taken pole position before stalling on the dummy grid and having to start from the back.

In between the Italian and Portuguese Grands Prix, Michael Andretti left Formula One to return to the United States, his McLaren seat being taken by Mika Häkkinen.

On the Friday before the Portuguese race, Alain Prost announced his retirement from Formula One at the end of the season, with Ayrton Senna set to take his place at Williams alongside Damon Hill.

Häkkinen was third in the McLaren, surprisingly ahead of teammate Senna by just under 0.05 seconds, with Jean Alesi fifth in the Ferrari and Michael Schumacher sixth in the Benetton.

Three laps later, Berger's suspension failed dramatically at the exit of the pitlane, sending him across the start-finish straight, being nearly hit by a Footwork.