F1 Legend Sim/Seasons/1985

1985 F1 Season

16 races · McLaren MP4/2B

Alain Prost had spent two years falling just short: runner-up in 1983 by two points and in 1984 by half a point. In 1985 he finally won, and he did it beyond doubt. Five wins, 76 points scored of which 73 counted, and twenty clear of Michele Alboreto, who took the Ferrari to second place with 53.

The constructors' fight was far tighter: McLaren 90, Ferrari 82, and Williams and Lotus level on 71. Prost's car was not as superior as the year before, and the difference was the driver.

Behind him, things were happening that would matter for a long time. Ayrton Senna, in his first year with Lotus, took seven poles and won for the first time, at Estoril, in the rain and from pole. Nigel Mansell won his first two races at the end of the year. And Niki Lauda, Prost's team-mate and the reigning champion, won at Zandvoort from tenth on the grid: it was his last victory before retiring.

Drivers’ Champion

Alain Prost

McLaren MP4/2B

Constructors’ Champion

McLaren

16 races

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Key moment

«Senna won his first race at Estoril, in the rain and from pole, in the same year as Prost's first title.»

How 1985 actually ended

The official final standings, from the Brazilian Grand Prix to the Australian Grand Prix. This is the real result.

DriverPointsWinsPodiumsPoles
1Alain ProstMcLaren735112
2Michele AlboretoFerrari53281
3Keke RosbergWilliams40252
4Ayrton SennaTeam Lotus38267
5Elio de AngelisTeam Lotus33131
6Nigel MansellWilliams31231
7Stefan JohanssonFerrari26020
8Nelson PiquetBrabham21121

Prost took it by 20 points with 5 wins and 2 poles across 16 races. 8 different drivers won that season, and the last Grand Prix went to Keke Rosberg.

Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).

1985, race by race

All 16 races: who started first, who won and from where, and how many cars reached the flag.

8different drivers won: Prost 5 · Alboreto 2 · Rosberg 2 · Mansell 2 · Senna 2 · Angelis 1 · Lauda 1 · Piquet 1.

5different teams won: McLaren 6 · Williams 4 · Lotus 3 · Ferrari 2 · Brabham 1.

8different drivers took pole: Senna 7 · Rosberg 2 · Prost 2 · Alboreto 1 · Angelis 1 · Fabi 1 · Mansell 1 · Piquet 1.

13different drivers stood on the podium.

3one-twos for a single team: Ferrari 1 · McLaren 1 · Williams 1.

3 of 16races were won from pole position.

2first-ever wins: Ayrton Senna (Portuguese Grand Prix), Nigel Mansell (European Grand Prix).

From 10ththe win from furthest back: Niki Lauda, Dutch Grand Prix.

25 years, 31 daysthe youngest winner of the year: Ayrton Senna, Portuguese Grand Prix.

42%of starts reached the flag (168 of 396).

5 of 26cars finished the San Marino Grand Prix, the race with fewest survivors.

#Grand PrixWinnerStarted
1Brazilian Grand PrixAlain ProstMcLaren6th
2Portuguese Grand PrixAyrton SennaLotus1st
3San Marino Grand PrixElio de AngelisLotus3rd
4Monaco Grand PrixAlain ProstMcLaren5th
5Canadian Grand PrixMichele AlboretoFerrari3rd
6Detroit Grand PrixKeke RosbergWilliams5th
7French Grand PrixNelson PiquetBrabham5th
8British Grand PrixAlain ProstMcLaren3rd
9German Grand PrixMichele AlboretoFerrari8th
10Austrian Grand PrixAlain ProstMcLaren1st
11Dutch Grand PrixNiki LaudaMcLaren10th
12Italian Grand PrixAlain ProstMcLaren5th
13Belgian Grand PrixAyrton SennaLotus2nd
14European Grand PrixNigel MansellWilliams3rd
15South African Grand PrixNigel MansellWilliams1st
16Australian Grand PrixKeke RosbergWilliams3rd

Pole goes to whoever started first, after penalties. «Finished» counts classified cars that took the flag. Our source has no fastest laps before 2004.

1985 predates 1988, the year our simulator starts, so this page tells what happened and has no simulation. From 1988 on, every season can be run again a hundred times with its drivers and cars.

See 1988, the first simulated season →

Drivers of 1985

Alain Prost★ 4Michele Alboreto5 winsAyrton Senna★ 3Nigel Mansell★ 1
All seasons 1980-2025

Keep reading

What we have measured about 1985 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.

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