Introduced partway through the year and driven by Andrea de Cesaris, it was an unreliable car and only finished one race.

[2] It had a carbon fibre monocoque and was powered by the Motori Moderni V6 engine,[1] which had been used in the M186's predecessor, the Minardi M185B.

[2] The M186 was introduced partway through the 1986 Formula One season, at the Hungarian Grand Prix and was raced by Andrea de Cesaris for the rest of the year except for the Austrian Grand Prix, where Alessandro Nannini drove it.

However, like the M185B, the car was very unreliable and only finished one race, an eighth place at the Mexican Grand Prix.

The main sponsors were the footwear brand Simod and fashion company Gilmar, both from Italy.