Coming from a big win in Belgium, Ayrton Senna arrived at the Brands Hatch circuit in England as a favorite, even though the race conditions did not favor his Lotus.
After three podium finishes in a row (Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium), Ayrton wanted to be among the top three again to establish one of the best results at the beginning of his Formula 1 career.
There was a void at the starting grid of that weekend in England in the shape of Niki Lauda. The Austrian was having a troubled season and was forced to see his teammate, Alain Prost, lead the championship 16 points ahead of Ferrari’s Michele Alboreto.
This time, Lauda was absent even from the practice sessions due to pain in the wrist he had injured in the previous race. His McLaren replacement was John Watson, a driver who had retired from Formula 1 two years before and was coming back exclusively for a goodbye of sorts.
The qualifying session unfolded with a captivating battle for pole position between two Brazilian legends, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna. In a historic moment for Formula 1, Ayrton emerged victorious, securing the top spot on the grid. The front row showcased the extraordinary talent of these two Brazilian pilots, a sight never seen before in the sport’s history.
Ayrton set a scintillating time of 1min07s169, outpacing his compatriot by a remarkable 0s313. This remarkable achievement marked his sixth pole position of the season, a feat unmatched by anyone in the competitive landscape of 1985.
The second row had Williams’ drivers, Nigel Mansell and Keke Rosberg, in third and fourth places, respectively. The championship leader, Prost, finished the qualifying rounds in a modest sixth place but still ahead of Alboreto, who would be starting in 15th. Senna started the race well and kept the lead with Mansell right behind his Lotus. Piquet was a little slow, so his Brabham fell to fourth place. In the first lap, Mansell’s and Rosberg’s Williams almost crashed. It was the Briton who fared worst, as he lost the Druids corner takeover and saw Piquet retake third position.
Senna was pressured by Rosberg in the course of the following laps. The Finn decided to strike at Surtees on the seventh lap, but Ayrton cut him off, and they almost touched. The Brazilian kept the lead while Rosberg spun in the middle of the track. Piquet was right behind and hit Keke without force, but it was enough for him to lose the front wing and break his suspension. Nelson retired from the race, and Rosberg had to change a flat tire.
Even though he was successful in holding back Rosberg and Piquet, now Senna had to battle it out with Mansell. With a more balanced car, the Britton quickly gained on the Brazilian and, on lap 8, took the lead. He was helped out by Rosberg, who, even as a backmarker (he was now one lap behind), deliberately stood in Senna’s way, as a kind of payback for the previous incident – and also, obviously, as part of a team effort to favor Mansell.
From then on, two drivers displayed incredible performances at Brands Hatch: Alain Prost and Keke. The Frenchman started in 6th place, fell to 14th at the start, and made a spectacular recovery to finish in 4th, securing that year’s world title since Michele Alboreto had left the race with turbocharger problems. Rosberg also had a memorable race, finishing in third place even after blowing up a tire.
Senna knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with Mansell and Rosberg’s Honda engines, so he saved on gas to make it to the end and came in second place, securing his fifth consecutive podium finish in the season – a feat he would repeat in 1988 when he became world champion racing for McLaren.
“At least I had the pleasure of preventing the Williams twosome from finishing in front of Keke Rosberg.”
Stepping onto the Brands Hatch podium as a Formula 1 driver was a familiar experience for Senna, marking his second time achieving this feat. In his debut season the previous year, he had secured a third-place finish at the same circuit. It seemed that Senna’s prior experience in Formula Ford and the British Formula 3 proved to be invaluable whenever he competed in England. The familiarity with the tracks and racing conditions in the country played a significant role in his success on British soil.
Those six points were Senna’s last ones in the 1985 season. Undoubtedly a great season: 38 points and the 4th position in the World Drivers Championship.
The European Grand Prix also marked the first time a Frenchman won the Formula 1 world title and Mansell’s first win ever in the category. Both drivers would be part of the golden age of Formula 1, with Senna as its protagonist. The following race was scheduled to take place in Kyalami, South Africa.
European gp
1º
Ayrton Senna
2º
N. Piquet
3º
N. Mansell
4º
K. Rosberg
5º
P. Streiff
6º
A. Prost
7º
M. Surer
8º
D. Warwick
9º
E. de Angelis
10º
J. Laffite
11º
R. Patrese
12º
T. Boutsen
13º
S. Johansson
14º
P. Ghinzani
15º
M. Alboreto
16º
M. Brundle
17º
P. Tambay
18º
E. Cheever
19º
G. Berger
20º
T. Fabi
21º
J. Watson
22º
A. Jones
23º
P. Alliot
24º
I. Capelli
25º
C. Danner
26º
P. Martini
71
laps
26
cars
14
Retirements
1’11”526
fastest lap
1º
Sunny weather
podium
1º
N. Mansell
2º
Ayrton Senna
3º
K. Rosberg
2º
final position
3º
position in championship following the race
1º
starting place
6
championship points accumulated
1’12”601
best lap
My performance during the race was good nut Nigel Mansell deserved the win. He was much faster than me.
