Two Broken Legs, a Broken Drive Shaft and an Unexpected Victory

Image: TheCahierArchive©

In a particularly eventful day’s racing, the 1986 British Grand Prix made a generous contribution to the annals of Formula 1 history.

It was the last Formula 1 Grand Prix at the venerable Brands Hatch circuit, which had shared British Grand Prix hosting duties with Silverstone since 1963. It would be Jacques Laffite‘s final Formula 1 appearance; a crash at the start leaving him with two broken legs and a tied record with Graham Hill for the most Formula 1 starts at the time. It was the first time that Frank Williams entered the Williams pits since the car crash that left him a paraplegic. And the race start pile up that ended Jacques Laffite’s career would prove a stroke of good luck for one Nigel Mansell and eventually give Frank Williams something to smile about.