1985 French Grand Prix

1985 French Grand Prix
Race 7 of 16 in the 1985 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 Finland Keke Rosberg Williams-Honda
Time 1:39.914 on lap 46
Podium
First Brabham-BMW
Second Williams-Honda
Third McLaren-TAG
Lap leaders

The 1985 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on 7 July 1985. It was the seventh race of the 1985 Formula One World Championship. It was the 63rd French 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 driver Nelson Piquet, driving a Brabham-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 manufacturer Pirelli since 1957. Finn Keke Rosberg finished second in a Williams-Honda, having started from pole position, with local driver Alain Prost third in a McLaren-TAG. Prost moved to within five points of Drivers' Championship leader, Italian Michele Alboreto, who retired on lap 6 with a turbo failure in his Ferrari.

This was to be the last French Grand Prix held on the full Paul Ricard circuit until 2018. A shorter, 3.813-kilometre (2.369 mi) circuit would be used from 1986 until 1990, following Elio de Angelis's fatal accident during a test session in May 1986.

  1. ^ "Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1985". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Jenkinson, Denis (August 1985). "The French Grand Prix – Normality returns". Motor Sport. Vol. LXI, no. 8. pp. 849–852. Retrieved 29 August 2018.