The two McLaren teamsters Prost and Lauda were at the top of the championship ladder separated by only a few points and with only 3 races to go. Zandvoort saw no change in the overall situation but an interesting race unfolded. One can almost feel the pressure that the more experienced Lauda brought to bear on Prost as Lauda shadowed him lap-after-lap. Early on Nelson Piquet scorched into the lead only to drop out with a blown engine whilst Nigel Mansell scorned his critics with a well-earned third place.