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| 1985 French Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 16 in the1985 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 7 July 1985 | ||
| Official name | 71e Grand Prix de France[1] | ||
| Location | Circuit Paul Ricard Le Castellet, Var, France | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.810[2] km (3.610 miles) | ||
| Distance | 53 laps, 307.928[2] km (191.338 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry, hot[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Honda | ||
| Time | 1:32.462 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Keke Rosberg | Williams-Honda | |
| Time | 1:39.914 on lap 46 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Brabham-BMW | ||
| Second | Williams-Honda | ||
| Third | McLaren-TAG | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1985 French Grand Prix was aFormula Onemotor race held atPaul Ricard on 7 July 1985. It was the seventh race of the1985 Formula One World Championship. It was the 63rdFrench Grand Prix and the ninth to be held at Paul Ricard. The race was held over 53 laps of the 5.81-kilometre (3.61 mi) circuit for a total race distance of 307.93 kilometres (191.34 mi).
The race was won by Brazilian driverNelson Piquet, driving aBrabham-BMW, his only victory of the season. It was the 35th and final Formula One victory for the Brabham team, as well as the first F1 victory for Italian tyre manufacturerPirelli since1957. FinnKeke Rosberg finished second in aWilliams-Honda, having started frompole position, with local driverAlain Prost third in aMcLaren-TAG. Prost moved to within five points of Drivers' Championship leader, ItalianMichele Alboreto, who retired on lap 6 with a turbo failure in hisFerrari.
This was to be the last French Grand Prix held on the full Paul Ricard circuit until2018. A shorter, 3.813-kilometre (2.369 mi) circuit would be used from1986 until1990, followingElio de Angelis's fatal accident during a test session in May 1986.
Qualifying sawKeke Rosberg take pole position in hisWilliams-Honda with a time of 1:32.462, averaging 140.561 mph (226.211 km/h), withAyrton Senna alongside him on the front row in hisLotus-Renault. On the second row wereMichele Alboreto in theFerrari andAlain Prost in theMcLaren, and on the third wereNelson Piquet in theBrabham andNiki Lauda in the second McLaren. Completing the top ten wereElio de Angelis in the second Lotus,Gerhard Berger in theArrows, and the two factory Renaults ofPatrick Tambay andDerek Warwick, Tambay driving a 'B' specification of theRE60.
Rosberg's Williams teammate,Nigel Mansell, had set a time good enough for eighth on the grid when he had a high-speed crash at the Signes corner, located at the end of the 1.8-kilometre (1.1 mi) long Mistral Straight. A puncture caused the car to plunge off the track at over 200 mph (322 km/h) and into catch fencing; one of the poles struck Mansell on the head, giving him a concussion which forced him to miss the race.
The race was also the first in which theTyrrell team used Renaultturbo engines, thus becoming the last F1 team to go over fromnaturally aspirated engines to turbos. However, onlyMartin Brundle drove the new Renault-powered014 car, while teammateStefan Bellof continued to use the Cosworth-powered012. Brundle could only qualify 20th, but was still over four seconds faster than Bellof in 25th. After qualifying, Brundle described one lap coming onto the Mistral about 50 metres behind Bellof in the Cosworth car (with Bellof also on a quick lap), and by the time the 014 got to Signes, the older car was just a dot in his mirror. While only running the oldest and slowest of the available Renault turbo engines, Brundle was speed trapped at 310 km/h (193 mph), significantly faster than Bellof in the non-turbo who could only reach 278 km/h (173 mph).
During qualifying,Marc Surer in hisBrabhamBMW recorded a seasons high 335 km/h (208 mph) on the 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long Mistral Straight.[3]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Williams-Honda | 1:33.484 | 1:32.462 | |
| 2 | 12 |  Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Renault | 1:32.835 | 1:33.677 | +0.373 |
| 3 | 27 |  Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:35.421 | 1:33.267 | +0.805 |
| 4 | 2 |  Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | 1:33.547 | 1:33.335 | +0.873 |
| 5 | 7 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-BMW | 1:33.981 | 1:33.812 | +1.350 |
| 6 | 1 |  Niki Lauda | McLaren-TAG | 1:33.860 | 1:34.166 | +1.398 |
| 7 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Renault | 1:34.022 | 1:34.227 | +1.560 |
| 8 | 5 |  Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 1:34.191 | n/a | +1.729 |
| 9 | 17 | Gerhard Berger | Arrows-BMW | 1:34.674 | 1:37.445 | +2.212 |
| 10 | 15 | Patrick Tambay | Renault | 1:34.680 | 1:36.339 | +2.218 |
| 11 | 16 | Derek Warwick | Renault | 1:34.976 | 1:35.190 | +2.514 |
| 12 | 18 |  Thierry Boutsen | Arrows-BMW | 1:36.051 | 1:35.488 | +3.026 |
| 13 | 25 | Andrea de Cesaris | Ligier-Renault | 1:37.335 | 1:35.571 | +3.109 |
| 14 | 8 |  Marc Surer | Brabham-BMW | 1:35.572 | 1:35.640 | +3.110 |
| 15 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Renault | 1:38.173 | 1:36.133 | +3.671 |
| 16 | 28 |  Stefan Johansson | Ferrari | 1:37.546 | 1:36.140 | +3.678 |
| 17 | 22 | Riccardo Patrese | Alfa Romeo | 1:36.729 | 1:38.745 | +4.267 |
| 18 | 23 |  Eddie Cheever | Alfa Romeo | 1:36.931 | 1:38.489 | +4.469 |
| 19 | 19 | Teo Fabi | Toleman-Hart | 1:37.142 | 1:37.657 | +4.680 |
| 20 | 9 |  Manfred Winkelhock | RAM-Hart | 1:37.654 | 1:45.628 | +5.192 |
| 21 | 3 | Martin Brundle | Tyrrell-Renault | 1:40.486 | 1:40.015 | +7.553 |
| 22 | 30 | Jonathan Palmer | Zakspeed | 1:40.647 | 1:40.289 | +7.827 |
| 23 | 10 | Philippe Alliot | RAM-Hart | 1:41.647 | 1:44.221 | +9.185 |
| 24 | 24 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Osella-Alfa Romeo | 1:42.136 | 1:42.968 | +9.674 |
| 25 | 29 | Pierluigi Martini | Minardi-Motori Moderni | 1:47.523 | 1:44.350 | +11.888 |
| 26 | 4 | Stefan Bellof | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:44.404 | 1:45.478 | +11.942 |
At the start, Rosberg led away from Senna and Piquet, while Prost slipped to eighth. The early laps saw bothLigiers retire,Jacques Laffite suffering a turbo failure on lap 3 andAndrea de Cesaris dropping out with steering problems two laps later. Alboreto also suffered a turbo failure on lap 6 while running fourth.
On lap 7, Piquet overtook compatriot Senna on the Mistral Straight. He then closed up to Rosberg, who was struggling for grip, before passing him for the lead at Beausset on lap 11. At the same time, Lauda and Prost moved up to third and fourth respectively, ahead of de Angelis. On lap 21, Berger collided with theMinardi ofPierluigi Martini, putting both drivers out.
Senna, who had dropped down the order due to gearbox problems, retired in dramatic fashion on lap 27, when his engine failed and oil from it leaked onto his rear tyres, causing him to spin off backwards into the catch fencing and crash massively at Signes. He escaped with bruises, while his Lotus caught fire. Lauda retired on lap 31 when his own gearbox failed, promoting Prost to third; Brundle also suffered a gearbox failure on lap 33.
On lap 38, by which time Piquet had extended his lead to over 20 seconds, Prost overtook Rosberg for second at the Verrerie bends. The Finn promptly pitted for new tyres, emerging in fourth behind de Angelis. He then made a charge, quickly passing the Lotus and setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 46, before retaking second from Prost on the final lap.
Up front, Piquet cruised to victory, taking the chequered flag 6.6 seconds ahead of Rosberg. Prost finished 44 seconds ahead of the second Ferrari ofStefan Johansson, who passed de Angelis for fourth on the final lap, with Tambay taking the final point for sixth.
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| Previous race: 1985 Detroit Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1985 season | Next race: 1985 British Grand Prix |
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