The 1985 British Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the XXXVIII Marlboro British Grand Prix, was the eighth round of the 1985 FIA Formula One World Championship staged at the Silverstone Circuit on the 21 July 1985.[1] The race would see Alain Prost claim victory for McLaren-TAG Porsche, battling his way up from third on the grid after a record breaking qualifying session.[1]
Indeed, qualifying had seen Keke Rosberg grab pole with the then fastest ever average lap speed, the Finn having lapped Silverstone at 160.9 mph (259 km/h) to record a 1:05.591.[1] That record would stand until the 2002 Italian Grand Prix, with Rosberg sharing the front row with Nelson Piquet, while Prost and Ayrton Senna shared the second.[1]
The start would see Senna's Lotus-Renault storm into the lead, leaving Rosberg, Prost and Piquet to fend off Nigel Mansell and Andrea de Cesaris.[1] They were instantly given means to escape the rest of the field, as a four car accident through Copse eliminated Patrick Tambay, Stefan Johansson, Piercarlo Ghinzani and Philippe Alliot.[1]
Senna and Rosberg would ease away during the early stages, while Prost and Mansell fell behind a charging de Cesaris as the Italian claimed third.[1] Unfortunately for the Ligier-Renault pilot his race was to be immediately hampered by tyre wear, meaning he soon fell back behind both the McLaren and the Williams-Honda.[1]
The two Williams-Hondas would not last much longer, however, with clutch and exhaust failures for Mansell and Rosberg respectively ending their afternoons before half-distance.[1] That left Prost with a clear run onto the back of Senna, while Lauda moved into third after a simple move on de Cesaris.[1]
Indeed, de Cesaris' race was to come to an end with a clutch failure just after the halfway point, while Lauda's race was ended by an electrical failure.[1] Prost, meanwhile, would have to wait until lap 42 before he could catch Senna, although the Frenchman found the young Brazilian a very difficult obstacle to pass.[1]
For twelve laps the duel between the Frenchman's McLaren and the Brazilian's Lotus would rage, with Senna placing his car perfectly to block Prost's lunges.[1] It was therefore a cruel and disappointing end to the fight when Senna's Lotus developed a fault in the fuel system and lost power, handing the lead to Prost.[1]
Senna's race was over a couple of laps later, the engine ultimately getting starved of fuel when the injection system failed completely.[1] Prost was left to cruise home a lap ahead of the rest of the field, the chequered flag having been show a lap earlier than scheduled, with Championship leader Michele Alboreto and Jacques Laffite completing the podium.[1]
The results of the race meant that Alboreto had retained the lead in the Championship, although his advantage over Prost had been cut to just two points. In contrast, Ferrari had managed to extend their lead in the Constructors Championship, moving eighteen clear of the now second placed McLaren-TAG Porsche effort.
Background[]
Into the Championship and Michele Alboreto had retained the lead despite failing to score at all in France last time out, although his advantage had been cut to five points by his two nearest challengers. Indeed, Alain Prost had moved back into second with 26 points, once again overhauling Elio de Angelis courtesy of his two wins to the Italian's one, although both remained serious title contenders. Keke Rosberg, meanwhile, had moved into fourth after his podium finish, while victory in France had catapulted Nelson Piquet up into seventh.
Likewise, there had been very little movement in the Constructors Championship after the battle in Le Castellet, with Ferrari eking out their lead to fifteen points. Lotus-Renault had remained their closest challengers in second, while McLaren-TAG Porsche had closed to within six points of their Norfolk based rivals. Williams-Honda had also made ground in fourth, while Brabham-BMW ended the weekend just outside the top five after Piquet's winning performance.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 1985 British Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview[]
Qualifying[]
Friday Qualifying[]
Saturday Qualifying[]
Qualifying Results[]
The full qualifying results for the 1985 British Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | |||||
| 1 | 6 |  Keke Rosberg
|
 Williams-Honda
|
1:06.107 | 1:05.591 | — |
| 2 | 7 |  Nelson Piquet
|
Brabham-BMW
|
1:08.933 | 1:06.249 | +0.658s |
| 3 | 2 |  Alain Prost
|
McLaren-TAG Porsche
|
1:06.308 | 1:08.532 | +0.717s |
| 4 | 12 | Ayrton Senna
|
Lotus-Renault
|
1:06.324 | 1:06.794 | +0.733s |
| 5 | 5 | Nigel Mansell
|
Williams-Honda
|
1:09.080 | 1:06.675 | +1.084s |
| 6 | 27 |  Michele Alboreto
|
Ferrari
|
1:06.793 | 1:07.427 | +1.202s |
| 7 | 25 | Andrea de Cesaris
|
Ligier-Renault
|
1:11.082 | 1:07.448 | +1.857s |
| 8 | 11 | Elio de Angelis
|
Lotus-Renault
|
1:07.581 | 1:07.696 | +1.990s |
| 9 | 19 | Teo Fabi
|
Toleman-Hart
|
1:07.678 | 1:07.871 | +2.087s |
| 10 | 1 |  Niki Lauda
|
McLaren-TAG Porsche
|
1:07.743 | 1:09.001 | +2.152s |
| 11 | 28 |  Stefan Johansson
|
Ferrari
|
1:08.169 | 1:07.887 | +2.296s |
| 12 | 16 | Derek Warwick
|
Renault
|
1:08.238 | 1:08.604 | +2.647s |
| 13 | 15 | Patrick Tambay
|
Renault
|
1:09.898 | 1:08.240 | +2.649s |
| 14 | 22 | Riccardo Patrese
|
Alfa Romeo
|
1:08.384 | 1:10.110 | +2.793s |
| 15 | 8 |  Marc Surer
|
Brabham-BMW
|
1:09.572 | 1:08.587 | +2.996s |
| 16 | 26 | Jacques Laffite
|
Ligier-Renault
|
1:10.756 | 1:08.656 | +3.065s |
| 17 | 17 | Gerhard Berger
|
Arrows-BMW
|
1:09.870 | 1:08.672 | +3.081s |
| 18 | 9 |  Manfred Winkelhock
|
RAM-Hart
|
1:10.299 | 1:09.114 | +3.523s |
| 19 | 18 |  Thierry Boutsen
|
Arrows-BMW
|
1:09.413 | 1:09.131 | +3.540s |
| 20 | 3 | Martin Brundle
|
Tyrrell-Renault
|
1:10.718 | 1:09.242 | +3.651s |
| 21 | 10 | Philippe Alliot
|
RAM-Hart
|
1:11.162 | 1:09.609 | +4.018s |
| 22 | 23 |  Eddie Cheever
|
Alfa Romeo
|
1:11.072 | 1:10.345 | +4.754s |
| 23 | 29 | Pierluigi Martini
|
Minardi-Motori Moderni
|
1:13.645 | 1:15.363 | +8.054s |
| 24 | 30 | Jonathan Palmer
|
Zakspeed
|
1:17.856 | 1:13.713 | +8.122s |
| 25 | 24 | Piercarlo Ghinzani
|
Osella-Alfa Romeo
|
1:16.400 | — | +10.809s |
| 26 | 4 | Stefan Bellof
|
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
|
1:17.009 | 1:16.596 | +11.005s |
| 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 |
| 2 | Keke Rosberg | |
| Nelson Piquet | ______________ | |
| Row 2 | ______________ | 3 |
| 4 | Alain Prost | |
| Ayrton Senna | ______________ | |
| Row 3 | ______________ | 5 |
| 6 | Nigel Mansell | |
| Michele Alboreto | ______________ | |
| Row 4 | ______________ | 7 |
| 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | |
| Elio de Angelis | ______________ | |
| Row 5 | ______________ | 9 |
| 10 | Teo Fabi | |
| Niki Lauda | ______________ | |
| Row 6 | ______________ | 11 |
| 12 | Stefan Johansson | |
| Derek Warwick | ______________ | |
| Row 7 | ______________ | 13 |
| 14 | Patrick Tambay | |
| Riccardo Patrese | ______________ | |
| Row 8 | ______________ | 15 |
| 16 | Marc Surer | |
| Jacques Laffite | ______________ | |
| Row 9 | ______________ | 17 |
| 18 | Gerhard Berger | |
| Manfred Winkelhock | ______________ | |
| Row 10 | ______________ | 19 |
| 20 | Thierry Boutsen | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 11 | ______________ | 21 |
| 22 | Philippe Alliot | |
| Eddie Cheever | ______________ | |
| Row 12 | ______________ | 23 |
| 24 | Pierluigi Martini | |
| Jonathan Palmer | ______________ | |
| Row 13 | ______________ | 25 |
| 26 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | |
| Stefan Bellof | ______________ |
- * Brundle would start from the pit lane after an issue on the formation lap.[6]
Race[]
Report[]
Results[]
Results[]
The full results for the 1985 British Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Alain Prost
|
McLaren-TAG Porsche
|
65 | 1:18:10.436 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | 27 | Michele Alboreto
|
Ferrari
|
64 | +1 Lap | 6 | 6 |
| 3 | 26 | Jacques Laffite
|
Ligier-Renault
|
64 | +1 Lap | 16 | 4 |
| 4 | 7 | Nelson Piquet
|
Brabham-BMW
|
64 | +1 Lap | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | 16 | Derek Warwick
|
Renault
|
64 | +1 Lap | 12 | 2 |
| 6 | 8 | Marc Surer
|
Brabham-BMW
|
63 | +2 Laps | 15 | 1 |
| 7 | 3 | Martin Brundle
|
Tyrrell-Renault
|
63 | +2 Laps | 20 | |
| 8 | 17 | Gerhard Berger
|
Arrows-BMW
|
63 | +2 Laps | 17 | |
| 9 | 22 | Riccardo Patrese
|
Alfa Romeo
|
62 | +3 Laps | 14 | |
| 10* | 12 | Ayrton Senna
|
Lotus-Renault
|
60 | Fuel injection | 4 | |
| 11 | 4 | Stefan Bellof
|
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
|
59 | +6 Laps | 26 | |
| Ret | 1 | Niki Lauda
|
McLaren-TAG Porsche
|
57 | Electrical | 10 | |
| Ret | 18 | Thierry Boutsen
|
Arrows-BMW
|
57 | Spin | 19 | |
| Ret | 25 | Andrea de Cesaris
|
Ligier-Renault
|
41 | Clutch | 7 | |
| Ret | 29 | Pierluigi Martini
|
Minardi-Motori Moderni
|
38 | Transmission | 23 | |
| NC† | 11 | Elio de Angelis
|
Lotus-Renault
|
37 | +28 Laps | 8 | |
| Ret | 9 | Manfred Winkelhock
|
RAM-Hart
|
28 | Turbo | 18 | |
| Ret | 6 | Keke Rosberg
|
Williams-Honda
|
21 | Exhaust | 1 | |
| Ret | 5 | Nigel Mansell
|
Williams-Honda
|
17 | Clutch | 5 | |
| Ret | 23 | Eddie Cheever
|
Alfa Romeo
|
17 | Turbo | 22 | |
| Ret | 30 | Jonathan Palmer
|
Zakspeed
|
6 | Engine | 24 | |
| Ret | 19 | Teo Fabi
|
Toleman-Hart
|
4 | Transmission | 9 | |
| Ret | 28 | Stefan Johansson
|
Ferrari
|
1 | Damage | 11 | |
| Ret | 15 | Patrick Tambay
|
Renault
|
0 | Collision | 13 | |
| Ret | 10 | Philippe Alliot
|
RAM-Hart
|
0 | Collision | 21 | |
| Ret | 24 | Piercarlo Ghinzani
|
Osella-Alfa Romeo
|
0 | Collision | 25 | |
| Source:[6] | |||||||
- T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
- * Senna was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[6]
- † de Angelis was unable to be classified as he failed to complete 90 of the race distance.[6]
Milestones[]
- Marc Surer entered his 75th Grand Prix.[7]
- 50th Grand Prix for Derek Warwick.[8]
- Keke Rosberg recorded the fastest ever average lap speed for a qualifying lap - 160.9 mph (259 km/h).
- This would stand until Juan Pablo Montoya recorded an average lap speed of 161.449 mph (259.827 km/h) at the 2002 Italian Grand Prix.
- Nineteenth victory for Alain Prost.[8]
- McLaren secured their 45th victory as a constructor.[8]
- Prost also claimed McLaren's 30th fastest lap.[8]
- TAG Porsche earned their fifteenth victory as an engine supplier.[8]
- Also TAG Porsche's tenth fastest lap.[8]
Standings[]
The gap at the top of the Championship had been cut to just two points as a result of Alain Prost's victory, the Frenchman ending the weekend on 35 points to Michele Alboreto's 37. Indeed, they also now had clear air between themselves and third placed Elio de Angelis, who slipped nine behind the aforementioned Prost, although he was still eight ahead of fourth placed Keke Rosberg. Elsewhere, Stefan Johansson had retained fifth ahead of Nelson Piquet, while Jacques Laffite moved into the top ten after his trip onto the podium.
Ferrari, in contrast, had extended their lead in the Constructors' Championship, moving eighteen clear of their nearest challengers. Those challengers were now defending Champions McLaren-TAG Porsche, who jumped three ahead of Lotus-Renault as the season hit its halfway point. Elsewhere, Williams-Honda had remained in fourth ahead of Renault, while Ligier-Renault moved ahead of Arrows-BMW and Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth.
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Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 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 'British GP, 1985', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr412.html, (Accessed 25/03/2019)
- ↑ 'Britain 1985: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1985/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 25/03/2019)
- ↑ 'Malboro British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1985/races/489/great-britain/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 25/03/2019)
- ↑ 'Malboro British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1985/races/489/great-britain/qualifying-2.html, (Accessed 25/03/2019)
- ↑ 'Britain 1985: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1985/grande-bretagne/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 25/03/2019)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 'Britain 1985: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1985/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 25/03/2019)
- ↑ '1985 British GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1985&gp=British%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 20/03/2019)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 '8. Britain 1985', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1985/grande-bretagne.aspx, (Accessed 25/03/2019)
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