1985 Belgian Grand Prix

  1985 Belgian Grand Prix

Race details
Race 13 of 16 in the 1985 Formula One season
Date	September 15, 1985
Location	Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium
Course	Permanent racing facility 7.004 km (4.352 mi)
Distance	43 laps, 301.172 km (187.136 mi)
Weather	Wet/Dry, drying up in later stages
Pole position
Driver	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG
Time	1:55.306
Fastest lap
Driver	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG
Time	2:01.730 on lap 38
Podium
First	Ayrton Senna	Lotus-Renault
Second	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda
Third	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG

The 1985 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on September 15, 1985. It was the thirteenth round of the 1985 Formula One season.

The top 5 finishers all were or went on to be World Drivers' Champion.

This race was originally to be run on 2 June but was re-scheduled to 15 September after the then newly laid surface had badly broken up. Because this was a re-scheduled race Formula One's newest team Haas Lola and their driver, ex-World Champion Alan Jones, who had debuted at the previous race in Italy were not permitted to enter as they were not on the original entry list.

Missing from the grid was an injured Niki Lauda. At the end of Friday's practice session before qualifying proper, his McLaren-TAG's throttle struck open while he was only touring back to the pits. The car slid off the track on the newer section of track and the three time (and defending) World Champion hit a guardrail and on impact the steering wheel whipped around wrenching his wrist as it did so. X-rays revealed no break but Lauda was not fit to race so he returned home to Austria for further inspection and treatment. McLaren initially hoped to put John Watson in Lauda's car but this would have required the approval of all other teams. Mindful of the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari refused to agree, leaving Alain Prost as McLaren's only driver in Belgium.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Gap
1	2	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	1:56.563	1:55.306	—
2	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus-Renault	2:00.710	1:55.403	+0.097
3	7	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	1:56.643	1:55.648	+0.342
4	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:56.999	1:56.021	+0.715
5	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	1:56.585	1:56.746	+1.279
6	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows-BMW	1:59.046	1:56.697	+1.391
7	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	1:56.727	1:56.996	+1.421
7	17	Gerhard Berger	Arrows-BMW	1:56.770		+1.464
8	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Renault	1:58.852	1:57.322	+2.016
9	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams-Honda	1:57.582	1:57.465	+2.159
10	19	Teo Fabi	Toleman-Hart	1:57.588	1:57.857	+2.282
11	8	Marc Surer	Brabham-BMW	2:00.154	1:57.729	+2.423
12	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	1:58.105	1:59.335	+2.799
13	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	1:59.761	1:58.407	+3.101
14	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	1:59.703	1:58.414	+3.108
15	20	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Toleman-Hart	1:58.820	1:58.706	+3.400
16	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Renault	2:01.745	1:58.933	+3.627
17	25	Philippe Streiff	Ligier-Renault	2:00.599	1:59.245	+3.939
18	23	Eddie Cheever	Alfa Romeo	2:00.861	1:59.370	+4.064
19	9	Philippe Alliot	RAM-Hart	1:59.626	1:59.755	+4.320
21	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell-Renault	2:00.950	2:01.364	+5.644
22	30	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	2:05.059	2:07.046	+9.753
23	24	Huub Rothengatter	Osella-Alfa Romeo	2:06.083	2:05.776	+10.470
24	29	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi-Motori Moderni	2:06.007	2:06.606	+10.701

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus-Renault	43	1:34:19.893	2	9
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	43	+ 28.422	7	6
3	2	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	43	+ 55.109	1	4
4	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams-Honda	43	+ 1:15.290	10	3
5	7	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	42	+ 1 Lap	3	2
6	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	42	+ 1 Lap	14	1
7	17	Gerhard Berger	Arrows-BMW	42	+ 1 Lap	8
8	8	Marc Surer	Brabham-BMW	42	+ 1 Lap	12
9	25	Philippe Streiff	Ligier-Renault	42	+ 1 Lap	18
10	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows-BMW	40	+ 3 Laps	9
11	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Renault	38	Accident	17
12	29	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi-Motori Moderni	38	+ 5 Laps	24
13	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell-Renault	38	+ 5 Laps	21
NC	24	Huub Rothengatter	Osella-Alfa Romeo	37	Not Classified	23
Ret	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	31	Engine	15
Ret	23	Eddie Cheever	Alfa Romeo	26	Gearbox	19
Ret	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	24	Gearbox	13
Ret	19	Teo Fabi	Toleman-Hart	23	Throttle	11
Ret	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Renault	17	Turbo	9
Ret	30	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	16	Gearbox	22
Ret	9	Philippe Alliot	RAM-Hart	10	Accident	20
Ret	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	7	Spun Off	5
Ret	20	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Toleman-Hart	7	Accident	16
Ret	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	3	Clutch	4
DNS	1	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG		Driver injury

Notes

• FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre announced at this race that the controversial South African Grand Prix would take place.
• The race was scheduled for June 2, but the disintegration of the new track surface under the heat forced the postponement of the race.
• The Minardi team was running at the finish of a Grand Prix for the first time.
• Niki Lauda did not start the race due to injuring his wrist in a shunt during practice before the start of qualifying.
• Although the marshals led the cars directly into the pits after finish, Ayrton Senna drove around them and took a lap of honour.
• Although the Haas Lola team had made its debut at the previous race in Italy it was not allowed to run at Spa as the team was not on the original entry list for the race that was scheduled for June 2.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Alain Prost	69
2	Michele Alboreto	53
3	Ayrton Senna	32
4	Elio de Angelis	31
5	Keke Rosberg	21

Constructors' Championship standings

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	McLaren-TAG	83
2	Ferrari	77
3	Lotus-Renault	63
4	Williams-Honda	34
5	Brabham-BMW	26

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

Unless otherwise indicated, all race results are taken from "The Official Formula 1 website". http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1985/306/. Retrieved 2007-06-17. 

Previous race: 1985 Italian Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 1985 season	Next race: 1985 European Grand Prix
Previous race: 1984 Belgian Grand Prix	Belgian Grand Prix	Next race: 1986 Belgian Grand Prix