| Type: | F1 |
| Country: | Italy |
| Grand Prix: | San Marino |
| Official Name: | 6º Gran Premio di San Marino |
| Date: | April 27 |
| Year: | 1986 |
| Race No: | 3 |
| Season No: | 16 |
| Location: | Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
| Course: | Permanent racing facility |
| Course Mi: | 3.131 |
| Course Km: | 5.040 |
| Distance Laps: | 60 |
| Distance Mi: | 187.86 |
| Distance Km: | 302.4 |
| Weather: | Overcast, warm |
| Pole Driver: | Ayrton Senna |
| Pole Team: | Lotus-Renault |
| Pole Time: | 1:25.050[1] |
| Pole Country: | Brazil |
| Pole Flag Suffix: | 1968 |
| Fast Driver: | Nelson Piquet |
| Fast Team: | Williams-Honda |
| Fast Time: | 1:28.667 |
| Fast Lap: | 57[2] |
| Fast Country: | Brazil |
| Fast Flag Suffix: | 1968 |
| First Driver: | Alain Prost |
| First Team: | McLaren-TAG |
| First Country: | France |
| Second Driver: | Nelson Piquet |
| Second Team: | Williams-Honda |
| Second Country: | Brazil |
| Second Flag Suffix: | 1968 |
| Third Driver: | Gerhard Berger |
| Third Team: | Benetton-BMW |
| Third Country: | Austria |
The 1986 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Imola on 27 April 1986. The race was the third round of the year's World Championship. As with the previous year's event, fuel consumption was a big issue, changing the points finishers in the closing laps.
The Autodromo Dino Ferrari had received safety upgrades from the previous year, including slight track modifications after the Variante Alta chicane and extended runoff areas at the Rivazza complex. Alain Prost (McLaren-TAG) dominated the race after Ayrton Senna (Lotus-Renault) and Nigel Mansell (Williams-Honda) retired early, before almost running out of fuel, three corners from the chequered flag. Frantically weaving the car back and forth to slosh the last drops of fuel into the pickup, he managed to keep it running just long enough to creep over the line and win the race (his McLaren teammate Keke Rosberg was classified 5th despite running dry 2 laps from the finish, a problem attributed to Rosberg using too much boost). Nelson Piquet brought his Williams home in second place only 7.645 seconds behind Prost, while Austrian Gerhard Berger finished third to score his and the Benetton team's first Formula One podium finish.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 |  Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Renault | 1:25.050 | 1:25.286 | — | |
| 2 | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda | 1:25.890 | 1:25.569 | +0.519 | |
| 3 | 5 |  Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 1:26.752 | 1:26.159 | +1.109 | |
| 4 | 1 |  Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | 1:26.273 | 1:26.176 | +1.126 | |
| 5 | 27 |  Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:26.428 | 1:26.263 | +1.213 | |
| 6 | 2 | McLaren-TAG | 1:26.956 | 1:26.835 | +1.335 | ||
| 7 | 28 |  Stefan Johansson | Ferrari | 1:27.497 | 1:27.009 | +1.959 | |
| 8 | 25 | René Arnoux | Ligier-Renault | 1:28.362 | 1:27.403 | +2.353 | |
| 9 | 20 |  Gerhard Berger | Benetton-BMW | 1:28.559 | 1:27.444 | +2.394 | |
| 10 | 19 | Teo Fabi | Benetton-BMW | 1:29.328 | 1:27.538 | +2.488 | |
| 11 | 16 | Patrick Tambay | Lola-Hart | 1:29.665 | 1:27.860 | +2.810 | |
| 12 | 18 |  Thierry Boutsen | Arrows-BMW | 1:29.931 | 1:28.022 | +2.972 | |
| 13 | 3 | Martin Brundle | Tyrrell-Renault | 1:29.687 | 1:28.329 | +3.279 | |
| 14 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Renault | 1:28.411 | 1:28.389 | +3.339 | |
| 15 | 17 | Marc Surer | Arrows-BMW | 1:30.156 | 1:28.637 | +3.587 | |
| 16 | 7 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham-BMW | 1:30.641 | 1:28.828 | +3.778 | |
| 17 | 11 | Johnny Dumfries | Lotus-Renault | 1:29.244 | 1:26.607 | +4.194 | |
| 18 | 24 | Alessandro Nannini | Minardi-Motori Moderni | 1:29.985 | 1:29.244 | +4.194 | |
| 19 | 8 | Elio de Angelis | Brabham-BMW | 1:30.881 | 1:29.713 | +4.663 | |
| 20 | 14 | Jonathan Palmer | Zakspeed | 1:33.352 | 1:30.024 | +4.974 | |
| 21 | 15 |  Alan Jones | Lola-Ford | 1:30.087 | 1:30.517 | +5.037 | |
| 22 | 4 | Philippe Streiff | Tyrrell-Renault | 1:30.123 | 1:32.358 | +5.073 | |
| 23 | 23 | Andrea de Cesaris | Minardi-Motori Moderni | 1:31.956 | 1:30.131 | +5.081 | |
| 24 | 29 | Huub Rothengatter | Zakspeed | 1:40.903 | 1:31.953 | +6.903 | |
| 25 | 22 | Christian Danner | Osella-Alfa Romeo | 1:37.485 | 1:33.806 | +8.756 | |
| 26 | 21 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Osella-Alfa Romeo | 1:34.461 | +9.411 |
| Pos | Driver | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayrton Senna | 15 | ||
| 1 | Nelson Piquet | 15 | ||
| 3 | Alain Prost | 13 | ||
| 4 | Nigel Mansell | 6 | ||
| 5 | Gerhard Berger | 6 | ||
| Source:[4] | ||||
| Pos | Constructor | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams-Honda | 21 | ||
| 2 | McLaren-TAG | 18 | ||
| 3 | Lotus-Renault | 15 | ||
| 4 | Benetton-BMW | 8 | ||
| 5 | Ligier-Renault | 7 | ||
| Source: | ||||
