The 1986 United States Grand Prix, held on June 22 at the Detroit Circuit, was the seventh race of the 1986 Formula 1 Championship. The Grand Prix was won by Ayrton Senna in a Lotus-Renault car. In Detroit, Benetton presented itself with a novelty: the Pirelli tyres showed colored shoulders,
in complete harmony with the motto 'United Colors'. Red, orange, green, blue, yellow and purple: the media backlash is top notch, Benetton has hit the mark. Some thirty years later, the choice would be taken up by the Federation: color the tires so that the public could immediately recognize
the compound of the tires fitted by the racing teams. The American appointment did not prove lucky for the two drivers of the Italian team. In qualifying, Gerhard Berger started on the sixth row, with the twelfth time, 3.5 seconds behind poleman Ayrton Senna. Even more delayed was Teo
Fabi, seventeenth on the ninth row, more than 5 seconds off the fastest time. In the race a sad retirement for both: the Austrian raised the white flag after 8 laps due to a BMW engine problem, the Italian after 38 laps due to a gearbox failure.