| 1985 European Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 14 of 16 in the1985 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 6 October 1985 | ||
| Official name | Shell OilsGrand Prix of Europe | ||
| Location | Brands Hatch,Kent,United Kingdom | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.206 km (2.61 miles) | ||
| Distance | 75 laps, 315.5 km (195.8 miles) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:07.169[1] | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Renault | |
| Time | 1:11.526 on lap 55[2] | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Williams-Honda | ||
| Second | Lotus-Renault | ||
| Third | Williams-Honda | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1985 European Grand Prix (formally theShell Oils Grand Prix of Europe[3]) was aFormula Onemotor race held atBrands Hatch on 6 October 1985. It was the fourteenth race of the1985 Formula One World Championship.
The 75-lap race was won byNigel Mansell, driving aWilliams-Honda. It was Mansell's first Formula One victory in his 72nd race start.Ayrton Senna finished second in aLotus-Renault, having started frompole position, while Mansell's teammateKeke Rosberg finished third.Alain Prost finished fourth in hisMcLaren-TAG which, combined withMichele Alboreto's retirement with a turbo failure, secured the Frenchman his first Drivers' Championship.
Ayrton Senna took his sixth pole position of the season in hisLotus-Renault, averaging 140.106 mph (225.479 km/h), the first time anyone had lapped the Brands Hatch circuit faster than 140 mph. CompatriotNelson Piquet was second in hisBrabham-BMW, 0.3 seconds behind, followed by theWilliams-Hondas ofNigel Mansell andKeke Rosberg.Philippe Streiff was a surprise fifth in hisLigier, ahead ofAlain Prost'sMcLaren; the top ten was completed byMarc Surer in the second Brabham,Derek Warwick in the Renault,Elio de Angelis in the second Lotus andJacques Laffite in the second Ligier. Prost's Drivers' Championship rival,Michele Alboreto, could only manage 15th in hisFerrari.
Prost's teammateNiki Lauda was unfit to race due to the wrist injury he had suffered at the previous race inBelgium. His place was taken by former McLaren stalwartJohn Watson, in his first F1 race since the end of1983; the Ulsterman qualified 21st, over five seconds behind Senna. Watson's participation marked the last time to date a Formula One driver raced with number 1 without having been World Champion the previous season.[4]Tyrrell had re-expanded to two cars, withMartin Brundle joined by Italian newcomerIvan Capelli, who qualified 24th.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 |  Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Renault | 1:08.020 | 1:07.169 | |
| 2 | 7 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-BMW | 1:09.204 | 1:07.482 | +0.313 |
| 3 | 5 |  Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 1:10.537 | 1:08.059 | +0.890 |
| 4 | 6 |  Keke Rosberg | Williams-Honda | 1:09.277 | 1:08.197 | +1.028 |
| 5 | 25 | Philippe Streiff | Ligier-Renault | 1:10.396 | 1:09.080 | +1.911 |
| 6 | 2 | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | 1:10.345 | 1:09.429 | +2.260 |
| 7 | 8 |  Marc Surer | Brabham-BMW | 1:09.762 | 1:09.913 | +2.593 |
| 8 | 16 | Derek Warwick | Renault | 1:11.014 | 1:09.904 | +2.735 |
| 9 | 11 |  Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Renault | 1:11.530 | 1:10.014 | +2.845 |
| 10 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Renault | 1:11.312 | 1:10.081 | +2.912 |
| 11 | 22 | Riccardo Patrese | Alfa Romeo | 1:10.963 | 1:10.251 | +3.082 |
| 12 | 18 |  Thierry Boutsen | Arrows-BMW | 1:10.918 | 1:10.323 | +3.154 |
| 13 | 28 |  Stefan Johansson | Ferrari | 1:11.309 | 1:10.517 | +3.348 |
| 14 | 20 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Toleman-Hart | 1:13.517 | 1:10.570 | +3.401 |
| 15 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:10.877 | 1:10.659 | +3.490 |
| 16 | 3 | Martin Brundle | Tyrrell-Renault | 1:11.296 | 1:10.731 | +3.562 |
| 17 | 15 | Patrick Tambay | Renault | 1:13.048 | 1:10.934 | +3.765 |
| 18 | 23 |  Eddie Cheever | Alfa Romeo | 1:12.766 | 1:11.500 | +4.331 |
| 19 | 17 |  Gerhard Berger | Arrows-BMW | 1:11.608 | 1:11.638 | +4.439 |
| 20 | 19 | Teo Fabi | Toleman-Hart | 1:13.024 | 1:12.090 | +4.921 |
| 21 | 1 | John Watson | McLaren-TAG | 1:12.496 | 1:12.516 | +5.327 |
| 22 | 33 |  Alan Jones | Lola-Hart | 1:14.050 | 1:13.084 | +5.915 |
| 23 | 9 | Philippe Alliot | RAM-Hart | 1:14.355 | 1:13.537 | +6.368 |
| 24 | 4 | Ivan Capelli | Tyrrell-Renault | 1:16.879 | 1:13.721 | +6.552 |
| 25 | 30 |  Christian Danner | Zakspeed | 1:15.947 | 1:15.054 | +7.885 |
| 26 | 29 | Pierluigi Martini | Minardi-Motori Moderni | 1:16.642 | 1:15.127 | +9.473 |
| DNQ | 24 |  Huub Rothengatter | Osella-Alfa Romeo | 1:16.994 | 1:18.022 | +9.825 |
Senna led off the line from a fast-starting Mansell, while Prost slid onto the grass and fell to 14th. Mansell then ran wide at Druids, allowing Rosberg and Piquet past.
On lap 7, Rosberg attempted to overtake Senna, but the Brazilian blocked the move causing Rosberg to spin at Surtees Corner and was unavoidably hit by Piquet in third. The Brabham was out on the spot with a broken front suspension, while Rosberg limped back to the pits with a puncture, losing a full lap in the process. Mansell was now second again, followed by de Angelis,Stefan Johansson in the second Ferrari and Surer, with Prost up to seventh following a charge through the field. When Rosberg exited the pits, he rejoined in front of the leaders. An aggrieved Rosberg blocked Senna (who he felt was responsible for the earlier incident). Rosberg cleverly positioned his car which allowed teammate Mansell to catch up to the Lotus before getting past at Surtees. Rosberg then allowed Mansell through, and the Englishman then set about building a lead, while Rosberg continued to hold up Senna.
On lap 14 Alboreto, who had made a good start and had run as high as sixth, suffered a fieryturbo failure, effectively ending his Championship challenge. Prost, running sixth at this point, now only needed to finish fifth to secure the title. Surer had moved ahead of Johansson by this stage and was closing on de Angelis, while Laffite was also on a charge, passing Prost and Johansson in quick succession.
Surer overtook de Angelis on lap 21, followed soon after by Laffite. The two then closed up to Senna, Surer getting past on lap 35 and Laffite one lap later. At this point, Mansell's lead was 14 seconds, while Prost was still seventh.
On lap 51, having just been re-passed by Senna, Laffite pitted for new tyres, dropping to eighth and promoting Johansson to fourth. Shortly afterwards, Prost passed de Angelis for fifth as the two were lapping Watson; this became fourth when Johansson started to suffer an electrical problem. Laffite retired on lap 59 with an engine failure, followed one lap later by Johansson.
Surer was still running second when on lap 63, he suffered a turbo failure similar to Alboreto's. This left Mansell around 20 seconds clear of Senna, with Prost now third, de Angelis fourth and Rosberg back up to fifth. Rosberg soon passed de Angelis before Prost, taking no chances, allowed the Finn through into the final podium position.
Up front, Mansell cruised to his first Formula One victory, his final margin over Senna being 21.4 seconds. Rosberg finished 37 seconds behind Senna and eight ahead of Prost, who celebrated becoming France's first Formula One Drivers' Champion. De Angelis and theArrows ofThierry Boutsen rounded out the top six, Boutsen holding off Watson for the final point in what would turn out to be the Ulsterman's last F1 race.
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| Previous race: 1985 Belgian Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1985 season | Next race: 1985 South African Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1984 European Grand Prix Previous race at Brands Hatch:1984 British Grand Prix | European Grand Prix | Next race: 1993 European Grand Prix Next race at Brands Hatch:1986 British Grand Prix |
