The main action at the Italian GP was in the paddock where the Benetton management had decided to break their contract with Roberto Moreno in order to sign up Formula 1 sensation Michael Schumacher. This caught Jordan (which thought it had a contract with Schumacher) unawares. It was a shoddy affair from which none of the Benetton or Schumacher management emerged looking good.

As usual the battle for pole position was fought out between Ayrton Senna's McLaren and the Williams-Renault of Nigel Mansell. Then came Gerhard Berger (McLaren) and Riccardo Patrese (Williams) followed by the two Ferraris, Alain Prost ahead of Jean Alési. Then came Schumacher the wunderkind ahead of Nelson Piquet and Moreno (who had taken over at Jordan) and the top 10 was rounded off by Mark Blundell in his improving Brabham-Yamaha.

At the start Alési got ahead of Prost but then challenged Patrese at the first corner and went off and so he had to pit for repairs. Further round the lap Moreno's hopes of beating the Benettons ended when the brakes on the Jordan locked up and the car spun. At the front Senna led Mansell with Berger third until lap seven when Patrese overtook him. Prost was next ahead of Schumacher.

As Mansell and Patrese began to look for a way to pass Senna, the two Williams men changed places. On lap 26, Riccardo dived ahead as they braked for the Ascari chicane. A lap later, at the same place, he spun off. He would retire half a lap later with a gearbox failure. Mansell then attacked Senna, and on lap 34 Nigel went ahead. Ayrton went straight into the pits and rejoined in fifth. He quickly caught and passed Schumacher and then worked his way up to second ahead of Prost and Berger. Schumacher was fifth while Piquet passed de Cesaris for sixth place in the closing laps.