1985 Formula One season Totally Explained

Everything about The 1985 Formula One Season totally explained

The 1985 Formula One season was the 36th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on April 7, 1985, and ended on November 3 after sixteen races.

Season summary

The 1985 formula one season saw continued success for the McLaren-TAG team. After missing out on the championship by just half a point the previous year, Alain Prost would ultimately secure his first of four titles by a 23-point margin. The Formula One writer Koen Vergeer remarks that "it was about time, everyone knew he was the best", reflecting a general feeling that Prost had been unlucky to finish runner-up twice, to Nelson Piquet and Niki Lauda.
   The reigning champion Lauda competed in his final season of Formula One but was unable to match Prost for results, winning just once at Zandvoort despite being close to his team-mate in terms of pace. For much of the season the points table was headed by Ferrari's Michele Alboreto, who enjoyed his best season in F1. He won the Canadian and German Grands Prix, and was on the podium eight times. Ferrari's results faded badly in the second half of the season as other emerging drivers took the fight to Prost.
   Among these were Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell, both of whom scored their first victories in 1985. Lotus team manager Peter Warr had replaced Mansell with Senna going into the season, a decision which initially seemed justified when Senna took a superb win in the wet at Estoril. However Mansell fought back with Williams, and chalked up two victories near the season's end, including his famous breakthrough win at Brands Hatch. Mansell would go on to mount a serious title challenge in 1986. Perhaps the fastest combination of the year was Keke Rosberg in the other Williams, who used the powerful Honda engine to set a new lap record around Silverstone in qualifying for the British Grand Prix - becoming the first man to lap at an average speed of over 160mph. He finished third in the standings after wins on the street circuits of Detroit and Adelaide, but lacked the reliability to overcome Prost.
   1.5-litre turbo engines had become universal by 1985, heralding the extinction of the Ford Cosworth DFV. Between 1985 and 1986 Formula One engines would achieve the highest levels of power ever seen in the sport, before serious restrictions and their 'phasing out' began in 1987. The power output of the engines was controlled in racing conditions by means of a strict fuel limit; however in qualifying trim teams were commonly able to increase the boost of their engines for optimum power. This fuel economy was key to successful race strategy in 1985; Mansell recalls the added interest of planning his fuel use in his autobiography. It also proved costly for Ayrton Senna, who lost victory just four laps from home at Imola when he ran out of fuel. After Prost was disqualified for an underweight McLaren, victory fell to the other Lotus of Elio de Angelis.
   1985 also saw a welcome return to the calendar of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. Although shortened from its dangerous 1960's form, it remained a challenge for the drivers. Unfortunately it also caused one of the few cancellations of Grands Prix in the sport's history, when the new all-weather track surface broke up badly during practice. Extensive repairs were needed and the race was rescheduled for later in the year; Senna was the winner, with Prost finishing on the podium again to take a big step towards his first championship.

Drivers & Constructors

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	No	Driver	Test driver(s)
Marlboro McLaren International	McLaren	MP4/2B	TAG TTE PO1 1.5 V6T	1	Niki Lauda	n/a
				1	John Watson
				2	Alain Prost
Tyrrell Racing Organisation	Tyrrell	012	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Renault EF4B 1.5 V6T	3	Martin Brundle	n/a
				4	Stefan Johansson
					Stefan Bellof
					Ivan Capelli
					Philippe Streiff
Canon Williams Honda Team	Williams	FW10	Honda RA164E 1.5 V6T	5	Nigel Mansell	Mike Thackwell
Canon Williams Honda Team	Williams	FW10	Honda RA164E 1.5 V6T	6	Keke Rosberg	Mike Thackwell
Motor Racing Developments	Brabham	BT54	BMW M12/13 1.5 L4T	7	Nelson Piquet	Barry Sheene Emanuele Pirro Franco Uncini Marco Lucchinelli Willy T. Ribbs
				8	François Hesnault
				8	Marc Surer
Skoal Bandit Formula 1 Team	RAM	03	Hart 415T 1.5 L4T	9	Manfred Winkelhock	n/a
				9/10	Philippe Alliot
				10	Kenny Acheson
John Player Special Team Lotus	Lotus	97T	Renault EF15 1.5 V6T	11	Elio de Angelis	n/a
John Player Special Team Lotus	Lotus	97T	Renault EF15 1.5 V6T	12	Ayrton Senna	n/a
Equipe Renault Elf	Renault	RS60 RS60B	Renault EF4B 1.5 V6T Renault EF15 1.5 V6T	14	François Hesnault	n/a
				15	Patrick Tambay
				16	Derek Warwick
Barclay Arrows BMW	Arrows	A8	BMW M12/13 1.5 L4T	17	Gerhard Berger	n/a
Barclay Arrows BMW	Arrows	A8	BMW M12/13 1.5 L4T	18	Thierry Boutsen	n/a
Toleman Group Motorsport	Toleman	TG185	Hart 415T 1.5 L4T	19	Teo Fabi	Alessandro Nannini Emanuele Pirro Luis Perez-Sala Gabriele Tarquini Oscar Larrauri Volker Weidler
Toleman Group Motorsport	Toleman	TG185	Hart 415T 1.5 L4T	20	Piercarlo Ghinzani
Spirit Enterprises Ltd	Spirit	101D	Hart 415T 1.5 L4T	21	Mauro Baldi	n/a
Benetton Team Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	184TB 185T	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8T	22	Riccardo Patrese	Giorgio Francia
Benetton Team Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	184TB 185T	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8T	23	Eddie Cheever	Giorgio Francia
Osella Squadra Corse	Osella	FA1F	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8T	24	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Giorgio Francia
Osella Squadra Corse	Osella	FA1F	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8T	24	Huub Rothengatter	Giorgio Francia
Equipe Ligier Equipe Ligier Gitanes	Ligier	JS25	Renault EF4B 1.5 V6T	25	Andrea de Cesaris	Michel Ferté
				25	Philippe Streiff
				26	Jacques Laffite
Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari	156/85	Ferrari 031 1.5 V6T	27	Michele Alboreto	Johnny Dumfries
				28	René Arnoux
				28	Stefan Johansson
Minardi Team SpA	Minardi	M185	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Motori Moderni Tipo 615-90 1.5 V6T	29	Pierluigi Martini	Michele Alboreto
West Zakspeed Racing	Zakspeed	841	Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4T	30	Jonathan Palmer	n/a
West Zakspeed Racing	Zakspeed	841	Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4T	30	Christian Danner	n/a
Team Haas (USA) Ltd	Lola	THL1	Hart 415T 1.5 L4T	33	Alan Jones	n/a

Season review

Round	Race	Date	Location	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
1	Brazilian Grand Prix	April 7	Jacarepaguá	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
2	Portuguese Grand Prix	April 21	Estoril	Ayrton Senna	Lotus-Renault	Report
3	San Marino Grand Prix	May 5	Imola	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Renault	Report
4	Monaco Grand Prix	May 19	Monaco	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
5	Canadian Grand Prix	June 16	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	Report
6	United States Grand Prix	June 23	Detroit	Keke Rosberg	Williams-Honda	Report
7	French Grand Prix	July 7	Paul Ricard	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	Report
8	British Grand Prix	July 21	Silverstone	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
9	German Grand Prix	August 4	Nürburgring	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	Report
10	Austrian Grand Prix	August 18	Österreichring	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
11	Dutch Grand Prix	August 25	Zandvoort	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	Report
12	Italian Grand Prix	September 8	Monza	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
13	Belgian Grand Prix	September 15	Spa-Francorchamps	Ayrton Senna	Lotus-Renault	Report
14	European Grand Prix	October 6	Brands Hatch	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	Report
15	South African Grand Prix	October 19	Kyalami	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	Report
16	Australian Grand Prix	November 3	Adelaide	Keke Rosberg	Williams-Honda	Report

1985 Constructors Championship final standings

Place	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Points	Wins	Podiums	Poles
1	McLaren-TAG	MP4/2B	TAG Porsche P01	90	6	12	2
2	Ferrari	156/85	Ferrari 031	82	2	10	1
3	Williams-Honda	FW10 FW10B	Honda RA163E	71	4	8	3
4	Lotus-Renault	97T	Renault EF4B Renault EF15	71	3	9	8
5	Brabham-BMW	BT54	BMW M12/13	26	1	2	1
6	Ligier-Renault	JS25	Renault EF4B	23		4
7	Renault	RE60 RE60B	Renault EF4B Renault EF15	16		2
8	Arrows-BMW	A8	BMW M12/13	14		1
9	Tyrrell-Ford	012	Ford DFV	4
10	Tyrrell-Renault	014	Renault EF4B Renault EF15	3
11	Minardi-Motori Moderni	M85B	Motori Moderni Tipo 615-90
12	Alfa Romeo	184T 185T	Alfa Romeo 890T
13	RAM-Hart	03	Hart 415T
14	Osella-Alfa Romeo	FA1F FA1G	Alfa Romeo 890T
15	Toleman-Hart	TG185	Hart 415T				1
16	Spirit-Hart	101D	Hart 415T
17	Lola-Hart	THL1	Hart 415T
18	Minardi-Ford	M85	Ford DFV
19	Zakspeed	841	Zakspeed 1500/4

1985 Drivers Championship final standings

Pos	Driver	BRA	POR	SMR	MON	CAN	USE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	BEL	EUR	RSA	AUS	Points
1	Alain Prost	1	Ret	DSQ	1	3	Ret	3	1	2	1	2	1	3	4	3	Ret	73 (76)
2	Michele Alboreto	2	2	Ret	2	1	3	Ret	2	1	3	4	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	53
3	Keke Rosberg	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	4	1	2	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	4	3	2	1	40
4	Ayrton Senna	Ret	1	7	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	2	3	3	1	2	Ret	Ret	38
5	Elio de Angelis	3	4	1	3	5	5	5	NC	Ret	5	5	6	Ret	5	Ret	DSQ	33
6	Nigel Mansell	Ret	5	5	7	6	Ret	DNS	Ret	6	Ret	6	11	2	1	1	Ret	31
7	Stefan Johansson	7	8	6	Ret	2	2	4	Ret	9	4	Ret	5	Ret	Ret	4	5	26
8	Nelson Piquet	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	6	1	4	Ret	Ret	8	2	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	21
9	Jacques Laffite	6	Ret	Ret	6	8	12	Ret	3	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	Ret		2	16
10	Niki Lauda	Ret	Ret	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	Ret	1	Ret			Ret	Ret	14
11	Thierry Boutsen	11	Ret	2	9	9	7	9	Ret	4	8	Ret	9	10	6	6	Ret	11
12	Patrick Tambay	5	3	3	Ret	7	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	7	Ret	12		Ret	11
13	Marc Surer					15	8	8	6	Ret	6	10	4	8	13	Ret	Ret	5
14	Derek Warwick	10	7	10	5	Ret	Ret	7	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	Ret		Ret	5
15	Philippe Streiff												10	9	8	Ret	3	4
16	Stefan Bellof		6	Ret	DNQ	11	4	13	11	8	7	Ret						4
17	Andrea de Cesaris	Ret	Ret	Ret	4	14	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret						3
18	Ivan Capelli														Ret		4	3
19	René Arnoux	4																3
20	Gerhard Berger	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	11	Ret	8	7	Ret	9	Ret	7	10	5	6	3
21	Martin Brundle	8	Ret	9	10	12	Ret	Ret	7	10		7	8	13	Ret	7	Ret	0
22	Huub Rothengatter									Ret	9	NC	Ret	NC		Ret	7	0
23	John Watson														7			0
24	Pierluigi Martini	Ret	Ret	Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	8	0
25	Riccardo Patrese	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	11	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	0
26	Eddie Cheever	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	17	9	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	Ret	0
27	Piercarlo Ghinzani	12	9	NC	DNQ	Ret	Ret	15	Ret		DNS	Ret	DNS	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	0
28	Philippe Alliot	9	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret			0
29	Jonathan Palmer		Ret	Ret	11			Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret						0
30	Manfred Winkelhock	13	NC	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	Ret								0
31	Teo Fabi				Ret	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	0
—	Francois Hesnault	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNQ					Ret								0
—	Alan Jones												Ret		Ret	DNS	Ret	0
—	Mauro Baldi	Ret	Ret	Ret														0
—	Christian Danner													Ret	Ret			0
—	Kenny Acheson										Ret							0
Pos	Driver	BRA	POR	SMR	MON	CAN	USE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	BEL	EUR	RSA	AUS	Points

Place	Driver	Number	Points	Wins	Podiums	Poles
1	Alain Prost	2	73 (76)	5	11	2
2	Michele Alboreto	27	53	2	8	1
3	Keke Rosberg	6	40	2	5	2
4	Ayrton Senna	12	38	2	6	7
5	Elio de Angelis	11	33	1	3	1
6	Nigel Mansell	5	31	2	3	1
7	Stefan Johansson	28	26		2
8	Nelson Piquet	7	21	1	2	1
9	Jacques Laffite	26	16		3
10	Niki Lauda	1	14	1	1
11	Thierry Boutsen	18	11		1
12	Patrick Tambay	15	11		2
13	Marc Surer	8	5
14	Derek Warwick	16	5
15	Philippe Streiff	25	4		1
16	Stefan Bellof	4	4
17	Andrea de Cesaris	25	3
18	Ivan Capelli	4	3
19	René Arnoux	28	3
20	Gerhard Berger	17	3
21	Martin Brundle	3	0
22	Huub Rothengatter	24	0
23	John Watson	1	0
24	Pierluigi Martini	29	0
25	Riccardo Patrese	22	0
26	Eddie Cheever	23	0
27	Piercarlo Ghinzani	20	0
28	Philippe Alliot	9	0
29	Jonathan Palmer	30	0
30	Manfred Winkelhock	9	0
31	Teo Fabi	19	0			1
—	Francois Hesnault	14	0
—	Alan Jones	33	0
—	Christian Danner	30	0
—	Mauro Baldi	21	0
—	Kenny Acheson	10	0

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