When a brand new Grand Prix car wins on its maiden outing, it is an event which always raises one’s eyebrows: not simply over the quality of the individual victory, but what that victory might portend in the near future. When the Mercedes-Benz W196 won on its first appearance at Reims in 1954 it served as a preview for two seasons near-dominance by the three-pointed star; when the Lotus 49-Cosworth V8 won at Zandvoort in 1967, it marked the start of another era in which Keith Duckworth’s V8 racing engine would become established as one of the sport’s technical cornerstones for almost two decades.
Ayrton Senna (left) and Nigel Mansell duel at the start
Nelson Piquet’s convincing triumph in the opening round of the 1986 World Championship at the wheel of the brand new Williams-Honda FW11 raised several interesting questions as well as answering a few others. It not only underlined the fact that the twice World Champion had made a shrewd move severing his links with the Brabham team, but underlined just what enormous strides had been made by the Williams Honda partnership since its first turbocharged F1 car saw its dawn of competitive action at Kyalami at the end of 1983.
