BBV10s S11 E4: High drama at Adelaide '86 (early access)
Added 2025-01-16 00:00:04 +0000 UTCBring Back V10s ventures into F1’s fearsome 1980s turbo era for the first time, looking back on the incredible 1986 Australian Grand Prix that decided that year’s title.
Host Glenn Freeman is joined by Edd Straw and Andrew van de Burgt to reflect on how Alain Prost snatched his second championship from the dominant Williams cars, on the day Nigel Mansell suffered a heart-breaking and terrifying tyre failure when it looked like he was on course to become champion.
We also discuss Keke Rosberg’s starring role in helping McLaren team-mate Prost, and if Williams did the right thing by pitting Nelson Piquet as a precaution after Mansell’s failure, which potentially cost the Brazilian the title as well.
Away from the race there’s also the time Adrian Newey suffered the only creative block of his F1 career, plus Ferrari landing the services of John Barnard and Gerhard Berger, and being turned down by Mansell.
Comments
Yes, I don't think any driver has won a title with a comparable car disadvantage since Prost's 1986 triumph. Schumacher 1995 and Hamilton 2008 probably won in next best cars, but I reckon that their cars were only slightly inferior (e.g. in 1995 Williams had the fastest car, but not by a lot, and it wasn't as reliable as the Benetton). Fernando Alonso came agonisingly close to overcoming a similar car deficit in 2010 and 2012, but didn't quite pull it off. I regard Prost and Senna as having reached a similar peak performance level, with counterbalancing pros and cons, and I think they peaked at different times - for me, Prost's peak was around the mid-1980s and 1986 was probably his best season overall.
Ian Simpson
2025-01-25 23:35:18 +0000 UTC1986 was my first full season of watching F1 after starting to take an interest in 1985. Contrarian 8 year old me didn’t like Mansell mania so Prost was my preferred driver at the time. Anyway, I always have a debate with myself about how many times since 86 has the title been won by a driver in an inferior car? I guess 07 might be one but are there any others? In 00, for example, the McLaren was possibly still faster but its fragility cost Hakkinen the title and reliability is a key component of any car. The older I get, the more impressive I feel this title win was!
John O'Hara
2025-01-25 08:45:04 +0000 UTCI think for me there does come a point where it gets too far removed from/before my time - for me that's sometime around the mid-1970s (about 10 years before I was born). Thus, for example, I can see that others in a similar position to me who were born around 2000 or later would end up feeling the same about the 1980s. But personally I'm definitely up for more 1980s Turbo era episodes, I collected a lot of Autocourses going back as far as 1984.
Ian Simpson
2025-01-25 02:35:54 +0000 UTCGreat episode. I only got into F1 around 1992-94 but I purchased a load of Autocourses going back as far as 1984 so I got interested in the turbo era that way, and certainly read the Adelaide 86 race account with much interest. It was good to hear some more background details and details of how different F1 was then compared with even the mid-1990s.
Ian Simpson
2025-01-25 02:29:41 +0000 UTCEdd and VdB are just so incredibly knowledgeable and passionate, aren't they? What an absolutely fantastic episode.
Daniel Hayes
2025-01-22 20:46:39 +0000 UTCFINALLY! And you even picked the race that I'd always envisioned as being the perfect one to go back to from the 80s. Please keep these coming. In line with what a few other people have said, I'm much more interested in learning about races I don't have a good memory of, rather than the V8 / Hybrid era.
Nicholas Langdon
2025-01-22 15:01:51 +0000 UTCThank you. The 1986 Aus GP was the first full race I saw on telly. I had not been allowed to stay up for any of the European or North or South American races on a Sunday night (or early Monday morning)... school night. :( Before that I had been limited to highlights packages on Channel 9's Wide World of Sports, a week after each race. :( This was an excellent first full race! Thanks, also, for the quick mention of Berger's Mexico win. I was a huge Prost fan at the time; but, man, I loved the look and feel of that Benetton B186.
Leanne Genn
2025-01-22 12:39:50 +0000 UTCFantastic episode, thanks for putting in so much research for all these episodes! Maybe Bring Back v10s could be called Bring Back v10s and Classic F1 Stories to broaden the range of storytelling 😀. Without wishing to be rude you guys have a lot more fun and humility than the costly guys. But I'm biased I really like this show! Hope to hear a DFV story someday.
Jordan Stover
2025-01-21 20:30:53 +0000 UTCWhilst I got into F1 in 1990, I ended up getting a lot of videos and books after that which covered the 80s and I almost feel like I watched this one live because I saw and read so much on it
Richard Snape
2025-01-21 12:17:24 +0000 UTCYou could nickname this Bring Forward Turbos as a twist on the brand. I loved the pre-V10s episode and encourage occasional ones like this or detours into Indycar/CART like the Villeneuve 505 special. :)
Andrew Seay
2025-01-21 11:56:59 +0000 UTCFantastic episode, hopefully there's more of these in the future If Mansell does win the title, and Honda does stay with Williams how does that impact engines/drivers in the future? Does Mclaren get Renault engines in 89 instead of Williams? Does Senna end up in Williams instead?
David Saiya
2025-01-21 07:40:20 +0000 UTCSame here. But we're just wired differently than some other folks, I guess.
Philipp Eitzinger
2025-01-19 17:53:43 +0000 UTCI know that's the reason - I just don't get the "it was before my time, so I'm not interested" mentality (if I was that way, I'd have zero interest in any F1 pre-97). And I wasn't even born when Australia '86 took place
Stuart Coulter
2025-01-19 16:53:17 +0000 UTCMy guess is that these are the races a larger audience has seen themselves and remember them. To have consciously seen even a 1990 race, you'd have to be in your early 40s at least, let alone races in the mid-80s. I reckon there are many younger listeners or those who came to watch F1 later than that.
Philipp Eitzinger
2025-01-19 14:53:37 +0000 UTCJust to add to the many voices saying they loved this episode and would love many more trips back into the 80's (I still don't get why some people are only interested in listening about only races/eras they watched - the BBV10s regular episodes I enjoy the most are frequently those from before I was even aware of F1!)
Stuart Coulter
2025-01-19 13:13:25 +0000 UTCFirst of all, thank you so much for going Turbo! Really enjoyed the episode. Two things stand out, for me. Firstly, how incredibly vast the differences were between the front runners and even the better midfield cars. And secondly, how much the collective memory of F1 fans from the UK is shaped by Murray Walker. I find it fascinating that every country, every language had their own "F1 voices" who did what Murray did to their respective audiences, because up until a few years ago, we - like me coming from Austria - hardly had any idea even of Murray Walker's existence, let alone to what extent he was a cult figure, really.
Philipp Eitzinger
2025-01-18 12:15:27 +0000 UTCDecided to go back and watch the race after listening, and that Nannini crash location, ruddy hell! You are right, it's stunning we didn't have more tragic accidents with marshalls.
Padraig Reilly
2025-01-17 13:31:59 +0000 UTCLove this, thanks guys for covering the 80s turbos, although my most emotional race, blubbing after Mansell crashed out. I was lucky enough to be in Australia and go to Adelaide supercars last year and sat at the corner Mansell came to rest at, amazing
Robin M
2025-01-17 09:00:11 +0000 UTCAbsolutely shocking
The Race
2025-01-17 08:09:15 +0000 UTCQuestion for this episode: just how many compounds of tires were allowed to be manufactured in F1 those days? This concept of multiple compounds used at 1 time, while it makes sense, seems a bit off for the FIA at least in my opinion. Also was there a 107% qualifying rule given the gaps? Even more curious of a "What If?" question, what if Nigel had actually won this championship, how would his future have played out and how would the future driver market of the following few years have played out?
Xerxes Balsara
2025-01-17 04:22:03 +0000 UTCConsidering I've had a week of 90s kids making me feel old in the office this week, thanks for making me feel a little less old by doing a race from before I was born 😂
Caroline
2025-01-16 19:58:55 +0000 UTCEnjoyed that
Matt
2025-01-16 19:54:38 +0000 UTCAnytime I watch this race back I always wince at the way Nannini's car was just left there
Matthew McMahon
2025-01-16 18:05:24 +0000 UTCThis is a monster of an episode. Thank you!
Disc Infiltrator
2025-01-16 15:11:37 +0000 UTCColossally, that's BBV10s. Thanks for this chaps. I know that pre-89 stuff is hard work but it's very much appreciated.
Simon Emms
2025-01-16 09:26:57 +0000 UTCThe first GP i remember I was 6. This was my F1 awakening.
Simon Pope
2025-01-16 08:23:20 +0000 UTCExcellent episode 🙌 Very much enjoyed it.
Ben Johnson
2025-01-16 03:35:34 +0000 UTCTop 5 Murray Walker call
Ken Riegel
2025-01-16 03:28:03 +0000 UTCBEST DECIDING RACE EVER!
Alexander Law
2025-01-16 01:14:22 +0000 UTCSo we knew it would be a pre v10s episode but i still dropped a audible "YES" when this dropped at midnight
Lancelott
2025-01-16 00:21:55 +0000 UTCAgreed! BringBack(OG)Turbos!
Mark Riccetti Jr
2025-01-16 00:11:51 +0000 UTCDelighted you dipped your toe into the 80’s. More please. Much more
Oliver Warman
2025-01-16 00:03:33 +0000 UTC
