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The 1985 Australian Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the L Mitsubishi Australian Grand Prix, was the sixteenth and final round of the 1985 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged on the Adelaide Street Circuit on the 3 November 1985.[1] The race, which was the first World Championship race to be held in Australia, would see McLaren-TAG Porsche claim the Constructors Championship as Keke Rosberg swept to victory for Williams-Honda.[1]

The majority of the class of '95 would make the trip to Australia, excluding those who lacked the budget to make a trip halfway around the globe.[1] Furthermore, the new Adelaide circuit was deemed universally popular in-spite of its status as a street circuit, for it was relatively smooth, wide and featured some challenging corners.[1]

Qualifying would see Ayrton Senna round out the season with pole position ahead of Nigel Mansell, while Keke Rosberg shared the second row with new World Champion Alain Prost.[1] Michele Alboreto and Marc Surer shared the third row, while out-going Champion Niki Lauda would start his final Grand Prix from sixteenth on the grid.[1]

It was Mansell who made the best start off the grid, with the Brit scything ahead of Senna to claim the lead into the first corner.[1] However, a collision between the two on the opening lap would leave Mansell with heavy damage, leaving the Brit to limp around to the pits and retire, while Rosberg sneaked into the lead ahead of the Brazilian.[1]

The early stages saw a lot of chopping and changing at the head of the field, with some drivers having to stop early to replace their optimistically soft tyres.[1] Indeed, an early stop for Alboreto would put Prost up into third with Marc Surer fourth, while Nelson Piquet ran in fifth for a short while before he suffered his customary engine failure.[1]

Surer would ultimately cause a stir by passing Prost with ease as the race entered its mid-race phase, although a small slide from the Swiss racer allowed the Frenchman to sneak back ahead.[1] Out front, meanwhile, Rosberg and Senna would squabble for the lead through to half-distance, with the Finn beginning to struggle with his tyres.[1]

Indeed, Rosberg would make a snap decision to pit during their fight, with his sudden dart towards the pitlane catching Senna by surprise,[1] Senna was unable to avoid crashing his Lotus-Renault into the rear end of Rosberg's Williams, destroying the Lotus's front wing, although the petulant Brazilian would carry on for two laps before pitting for repairs.[1]

Rosberg was left with a commanding lead at the head of the field, and even had enough time in hand for a second pit stop late in the race.[1] He would ultimately win the race at a canter, as a series of retirements behind him caused chaos in the closing stages.[1]

Indeed, Lauda would briefly run in second before being passed by Senna, before both were eliminated by mechanical failures.[1] Alboreto was next in line to claim second but fell to a gearbox issue, meaning Jacques Laffite inherited the position having decided it was not worth trying to catch his former teammate.[1] As a result he would be hit in the back by his current teammate Philippe Streiff on the penultimate lap, a collision that ripped the front right wheel from Streiff's Ligier-Renault.[1]

Miraculously Streiff would nurse his car around the final lap on three wheels, and, with Ivan Capelli a lap down, managed to claim third behind his teammate.[1] Capelli, meanwhile, would claim fourth ahead of Stefan Johansson, while Gerhard Berger rounded out his debut F1 campaign in sixth.[1]

Background[]

With Alain Prost already declared as Champion, and Michele Alboreto set to finish second, the interest in the Championship heading into the final round would be on the battle for third. Indeed, four drivers could mathematically take the final end-of-season podium spot, although Ayrton Senna was in the best position on 38 points. Five points separated him from teammate Elio de Angelis, while Nigel Mansell and Keke Rosberg were two further back, level on 31.

In the Constructors' Championship, however, it was still all to play for, although with a ten point lead it looked to be McLaren-TAG Porsche's title to lose. Indeed, the Anglo-German squad would need to score five points in Australia to retain their crown, with Ferrari the only team that could deny them. Yet, the Italian team would require a double podium in Oceania just to draw level with their rivals, with a one-two the only realistic chance for them to claim the crown.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1985 Australian Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Austria Niki Lauda United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/2B TAG Porsche TTE PO1 1.5 V6t G
2 France Alain Prost United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/2B TAG Porsche TTE PO1 1.5 V6t G
3 United Kingdom Martin Brundle United Kingdom Tyrrell Racing Organisation Tyrrell 014 Renault EF4B 1.5 V6t G
4 Italy Ivan Capelli United Kingdom Tyrrell Racing Organisation Tyrrell 014 Renault EF4B 1.5 V6t G
5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Canon Williams Honda Team Williams FW10B Honda RA163E 1.5 V6t G
6 Finland Keke Rosberg United Kingdom Canon Williams Honda Team Williams FW10B Honda RA163E 1.5 V6t G
7 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT54 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t P
8 Switzerland Marc Surer United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT54 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t P
11 Italy Elio de Angelis United Kingdom John Player Special Team Lotus Lotus 97T Renault EF4 1.5 V6t G
12 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom John Player Special Team Lotus Lotus 97T Renault EF4 1.5 V6t G
15 France Patrick Tambay France Equipe Renault Elf Renault RE60B Renault EF15 1.5 V6t G
16 United Kingdom Derek Warwick France Equipe Renault Elf Renault RE60B Renault EF15 1.5 V6t G
17 Austria Gerhard Berger United Kingdom Barclay Arrows BMW Arrows A8 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t G
18 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Barclay Arrows BMW Arrows A8 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t G
19 Italy Teo Fabi United Kingdom Toleman Group Motorsport Toleman TG185 Hart 415T 1.5 L4t P
20 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani United Kingdom Toleman Group Motorsport Toleman TG185 Hart 415T 1.5 L4t P
22 Italy Riccardo Patrese Italy Benetton Team Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 185T Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8t G
23 United States Eddie Cheever Italy Benetton Team Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 185T Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8t G
24 Netherlands Huub Rothengatter Italy Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1G Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8t P
25 France Philippe Streiff France Equipe Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS25 Renault EF4B 1.5 V6t P
26 France Jacques Laffite France Equipe Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS25 Renault EF4B 1.5 V6t P
27 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 156/85 Ferrari 031 1.5 V6t G
28 Sweden Stefan Johansson Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 156/85 Ferrari 031 1.5 V6t G
29 Italy Pierluigi Martini Italy Minardi Team SpA Minardi M185 Motori Moderni 615-90 1.5 V6t P
33 Australia Alan Jones United States Team Haas (USA) Ltd. Lola THL1 Hart 415T 1.5 L4t G
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Friday Qualifying[]

Saturday Qualifying[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1985 Australian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
Q1 Q2
1 12 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 1:22.403 1:19.843
2 5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Williams-Honda 1:22.564 1:20.537 +0.704s
3 6 Finland Keke Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Honda 1:22.402 1:21.877 +2.044s
4 2 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 1:23.943 1:21.889 +2.056s
5 27 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Ferrari 1:24.666 1:22.337 +2.504s
6 8 Switzerland Marc Surer United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 1:24.404 1:22.561 +2.728s
7 17 Austria Gerhard Berger United Kingdom Arrows-BMW 1:25.362 1:22.592 +2.759s
8 15 France Patrick Tambay France Renault 1:25.173 1:22.683 +2.850s
9 7 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 1:23.018 1:22.718 +2.885s
10 11 Italy Elio de Angelis United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 1:24.543 1:23.077 +3.244s
11 18 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Arrows-BMW 1:23.943 1:23.196 +3.363s
12 16 United Kingdom Derek Warwick France Renault 1:24.372 1:23.426 +3.593s
13 23 United States Eddie Cheever Italy Alfa Romeo 1:23.597 1:24.295 +3.764s
14 22 Italy Riccardo Patrese Italy Alfa Romeo 1:23.758 1:24.128 +3.925s
15 28 Sweden Stefan Johansson Italy Ferrari 1:24.732 1:23.902 +4.069s
16 1 Austria Niki Lauda United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 1:24.691 1:23.941 +4.108s
17 3 United Kingdom Martin Brundle United Kingdom Tyrrell-Renault 1:25.646 1:24.241 +4.408s
18 25 France Philippe Streiff France Ligier-Renault 1:26.618 1:24.266 +4.433s
19 33 Australia Alan Jones United States Lola-Hart 1:25.780 1:24.369 +4.536s
20 26 France Jacques Laffite France Ligier-Renault 1:26.972 1:24.830 +4.997s
21 20 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani United Kingdom Toleman-Hart 1:25.021 1:26.630 +5.188s
22 4 Italy Ivan Capelli United Kingdom Tyrrell-Renault 1:27.120 +7.287s
23 29 Italy Pierluigi Martini Italy Minardi-Motori Moderni 1:27.196 1:27.402 +7.363s
24 19 Italy Teo Fabi United Kingdom Toleman-Hart 1:28.261 1:28.110 +8.277s
25 24 Netherlands Huub Rothengatter Italy Osella-Alfa Romeo 1:30.319 +10.486s
Source:[3][4][5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Ayrton Senna 2
______________ Nigel Mansell
Row 2 3 ______________
Keke Rosberg 4
______________ Alain Prost
Row 3 5 ______________
Michele Alboreto 6
______________ Marc Surer
Row 4 7 ______________
Gerhard Berger 8
______________ Patrick Tambay
Row 5 9 ______________
Nelson Piquet 10
______________ Elio de Angelis
Row 6 11 ______________
Thierry Boutsen 12
______________ Derek Warwick
Row 7 13 ______________
Eddie Cheever 14
______________ Riccardo Patrese
Row 8 15 ______________
Stefan Johansson 16
______________ Niki Lauda
Row 9 17 ______________
Martin Brundle 18
______________ Philippe Streiff
Row 10 19 ______________
Alan Jones 20
______________ Jacques Laffite
Row 11 21 ______________
Piercarlo Ghinzani 22
______________ Ivan Capelli
Row 12 23 ______________
Pierluigi Martini 24
______________ Teo Fabi
Row 13 25 ______________
Huub Rothengatter 26
______________

Race[]

Pre-Race[]

"Senna really has dominated practice and expects to go away from most people, however Prost as usual didn't qualify terribly well but his car was very good this morning in race trim" - James Hunt. BBC.

Report[]

"This race is likely to be decided in the last 20 laps, the big problem area here is brakes". - Murray Walker. BBC.

Nigel Mansell snatched the lead into the first corner with Ayrton Senna, Keke Rosberg, Michele Alboreto, Alain Prost, Gerhard Berger, Marc Surer, Patrick Tambay, Elio de Angelis, Nelson Piquet, Eddie Cheever and Thierry Boutsen following. It was a less successful start for the local hero, Alan Jones, who stalled his engine as he attempted to leave the starting blocks. The marshals were on hand to give him a push start, however he was left trailing behind the rest of the pack.

Entering the Wakefield corner, Senna made a lunge to reclaim the lead, succeeding only in pushing Mansell into the gravel and losing position to the second Williams of Rosberg who reclaimed the lead. Mansell rejoined the track in eighth position, however he quickly began to drop further down the field as it was evident he had suffered damage to his car. At the end of the first lap Mansell headed for the pits. The Williams mechanics attempted to repair Mansell's car, however after two laps in the pits he would be forced to exit the car and retire. He had quite simply "blown it" as noted by Murray Walker. His chance to complete a hat trick of wins at the end of the season were run.

"Senna will be very anxious to get past Rosberg as soon as possible, but the Williams-Honda is very quick in a straight line which is probably why Senna was keen to get the jump on Mansell on the first lap. " noted James Hunt. The two leaders of Rosberg and Senna had begun to pull away, leaving Alboreto behind to defend against Prost's McLaren. James Hunt advised to "watch out for Prost, later in the race". Alboreto notably was creating "a bit of a traffic jam" observed Murray Walker as Prost, Berger, Surer and Tambay remained in close proximity to the Ferrari.

Brundle in the Tyrrell then began to drastically slow along the pit straight. He lost a full lap to the leaders before pitting for repairs. James Hunt noting what had been "a pretty unhappy weekend for the Ken Tyrrell team". Senna remained right on the rear of Rosberg's Williams, however as was described by James Hunt, "Senna's problem is that his superiority over Rosberg seems to be on the wrong parts of the circuit. Its going out where they go out onto the faster parts of the circuit, that opportunities to overtake present themselves. He can't pass on the twisty bit unless he can force Rosberg into a mistake. And Keke is pretty experienced, he doesn't have to push at this point".

Rosberg continued to drive conservatively, Murray Walker noting "brakes are going to be the problem. The Williams team are very worried about their ability to finish. This is undoubtedly the toughest course in grand prix racing on brakes". However Walker would further note that "Senna is using carbon fibre brakes that are unlikely to last as long as the steel brakes that Keke Rosberg is using".

Martini made what was described as a "traditional" move from him as he spun his Minardi into the gravel at turn 3. With assistance from the marshalls, Martini was luckily able to be pushed out of the sand trap. There was further controversy added to the race when James Hunt alerted viewers that "there is some discussion as to whether Elio de Angelis departed the grid from exactly the right position. There may be some sort of penalty for De Angelis if he got off from the wrong position".

Results[]

The full results for the 1985 Australian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 6 Finland Keke Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Honda 82 2:00:40.473 3 9
2 26 France Jacques Laffite France Ligier-Renault 82 + 43.130s 20 6
3 25 France Philippe Streiff France Ligier-Renault 82 + 1:28.536 18 4
4 4 Italy Ivan Capelli United Kingdom Tyrrell-Renault 81 + 1 Lap 22 3
5 28 Sweden Stefan Johansson Italy Ferrari 81 + 1 Lap 15 2
6 17 Austria Gerhard Berger United Kingdom Arrows-BMW 81 + 1 Lap 7 1
7 24 Netherlands Huub Rothengatter Italy Osella-Alfa Romeo 78 + 4 Laps 25
8 29 Italy Pierluigi Martini Italy Minardi-Motori Moderni 78 + 4 Laps 23
Ret 12 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 62 Engine 1
Ret 27 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Ferrari 61 Transmission 5
Ret 1 Austria Niki Lauda United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 57 Brakes 16
Ret 16 United Kingdom Derek Warwick France Renault 57 Transmission 12
NC* 3 United Kingdom Martin Brundle United Kingdom Tyrrell-Renault 49 + 33 Laps 17
Ret 8 Switzerland Marc Surer United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 42 Engine 6
Ret 22 Italy Riccardo Patrese Italy Alfa Romeo 42 Exhaust 14
Ret 19 Italy Teo Fabi United Kingdom Toleman-Hart 40 Engine 24
Ret 18 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Arrows-BMW 37 Oil Leak 11
Ret 20 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani United Kingdom Toleman-Hart 28 Clutch 21
Ret 2 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 26 Engine 4
Ret 15 France Patrick Tambay France Renault 20 Transmission 8
Ret 33 Australia Alan Jones United States Lola-Hart 20 Electrical 19
DSQ 11 Italy Elio de Angelis United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 18 Disqualified 10
Ret 7 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 14 Fire 9
Ret 23 United States Eddie Cheever Italy Alfa Romeo 5 Engine 13
Ret 5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Williams-Honda 1 Transmission 2
Source:[6]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Brundle was unable to be classified as he failed to complete 90% of the race distance.[6]
  • de Angelis was disqualified for starting from his grid slot after receiving a push-start on the formation lap.[6]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

With the chequered flag falling at the end of the Australian Grand Prix the 1985 FIA Formula One World Championship was brought to a close. Alain Prost was officially declared as Champion after the race, with a twenty point gap between himself and runner-up Michele Alboreto. Third, meanwhile, would go to race winner Keke Rosberg, who would edge out Ayrton Senna by two points with his end-of-season triumph.

The Constructors Championship, meanwhile, would be concluded in favour of the McLaren-TAG Porsche, although the Anglo-German alliance had not enjoyed the domination that they had had in 1984. Indeed, Ferrari were just eight points off come the end of the season, while Williams-Honda and Lotus-Renault were only nineteen off in third and fourth. Those two would end the season level on points with 71 apiece, but with the former ahead courtesy of their four wins to Lotus' three, while Brabham-BMW completed the top five.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 France Alain Prost 73 (76)
2 Italy Michele Alboreto 53
3 Finland Keke Rosberg 40 ▲3
4 Brazil Ayrton Senna 38 ▼1
5 Italy Elio de Angelis 33 ▼1
6 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell 31 ▼1
7 Sweden Stefan Johansson 24
8 Brazil Nelson Piquet 21
9 France Jacques Laffite 16 ▲3
10 Austria Niki Lauda 14 ▼1
11 Belgium Thierry Boutsen 11 ▼1
12 France Patrick Tambay 11 ▼1
13 Switzerland Marc Surer 5
14 United Kingdom Derek Warwick 5
15 France Philippe Streiff 4 ▲7
16 West Germany Stefan Bellof 4 ▼1
17 Italy Andrea de Cesaris 3 ▼1
18 Italy Ivan Capelli 3 ▲11
19 France René Arnoux 3 ▼2
20 Austria Gerhard Berger 3 ▼2
World Championship for Manufacturers
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 90
2 Italy Ferrari 82
3 United Kingdom Williams-Honda 71 ▲1
4 United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 71 ▼1
5 United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 26
6 France Ligier-Renault 23 ▲2
7 France Renault 16 ▼1
8 United Kingdom Arrows-BMW 14 ▼1
9 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 4
10 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Renault 3

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 'Australian GP, 1985', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr420.html, (Accessed 26/03/2019)
  2. 'Australia 1985: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1985/australie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 26/03/2019)
  3. 'Australian Grand Prix 1985 - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1985/races/497/australia/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 26/03/2019)
  4. 'Australian Grand Prix 1985 - QUALIFYING 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1985/races/497/australia/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 26/03/2019)
  5. 'Australia 1985: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1985/australie/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 26/03/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 'Australia 1985: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1985/australie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 26/03/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 '1985 Australian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1985&gp=Australian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 26/03/2019)
  8. 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 '16. Australia 1985', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1985/australie.aspx, (Accessed 26/03/2019)
V T E 1985 Formula One Season
Teams McLaren • Tyrrell • Williams • Brabham • RAM • Lotus • Renault • Arrows • Toleman • Spirit • Alfa Romeo • Osella • Ligier • Ferrari • Minardi • Zakspeed • Lola
Engines Alfa Romeo • BMW • Ferrari • Ford • Hart • Honda • Motori Moderni • Renault • TAG • Zakspeed
Drivers Lauda • 2 Prost • 3/4 Brundle • 4 Johansson • 3/4 Bellof • 4 Capelli • 4 Streiff • 5 Mansell • 6 Rosberg • 7 Piquet • 8 Hesnault • 8 Surer • 9 Winkelhock • 9/10 Alliot • 10 Acheson • 11 De Angelis • 12 Senna • 14 Hesnault • 15 Tambay • 16 Warwick • 17 Berger • 18 Boutsen • 19 Fabi • 20 Ghinzani • 21 Baldi • 22 Patrese • 23 Cheever • 24 Ghinzani • 24 Rothengatter • 25 De Cesaris • 25 Streiff • 26 Laffite • 27 Alboreto • 28 Arnoux • 28 Johansson • 29 Martini • 30 Palmer • 30 Danner • 33 Jones
Cars McLaren MP4/2B • Ferrari 156/85 • Williams FW10 • Lotus 97T • Brabham BT54 • Ligier JS25 • Renault RE60 • Arrows A8 • Tyrrell 012 • Tyrrell 014 • Osella FA1F • Minardi M185 • Alfa Romeo 184TB • Alfa Romeo 185T • RAM 03 • Zakspeed 841 • Toleman TG185 • Spirit 101D • Lola THL1
Tyres Goodyear • Pirelli
Races Brazil • Portugal • San Marino • Monaco • Canada • Detroit • France • Britain • Germany • Austria • Netherlands • Italy • Belgium • Europe • South Africa • Australia
See also 1984 Formula One Season • 1986 Formula One Season • Category
V T E Australia Australian Grand Prix
Circuits Adelaide Street Circuit (1985–1995) • Albert Park Circuit (1996–present)
Albert Park
Races 198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
V T E Promotional Trophy
Races 197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
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