1985 German Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Michele Alboreto strengthened his championship lead with victory in the 1985 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. Alain Prost finished second and Jacques Laffite third, while Teo Fabi had earlier given Toleman its only Formula 1 pole position.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Teo Fabi	Toleman
Pole time	1:17.429
Fastest lap	Niki Lauda	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:22.806 on lap 53
First	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari
Second	Alain Prost	McLaren
Third	Jacques Laffite	Ligier

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
2 August 1985	Practice 1	Morning; start unconfirmed
2 August 1985	Qualifying 1	Start time unconfirmed
3 August 1985	Practice 2	Morning; start unconfirmed
3 August 1985	Qualifying 2	Start time unconfirmed
4 August 1985	Warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
4 August 1985	Race	14:30

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Michele Alboreto arrived at round 9 leading the 1985 F1 World Championship on 37 points, with Alain Prost on 35. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 56 points.

Race entries

Renault entered a third car for François Francois Hesnault to carry an onboard television camera; it was not eligible for championship points. Tyrrell gave Stefan Bellof its turbo car for his home race, leaving Martin Brundle in the Cosworth-powered machine. Huub Rothengatter replaced Piercarlo Ghinzani at Osella.

Friday Free Practice

Brake problems disrupted Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell during Friday morning, leaving both short of preparation before qualifying. Keke Rosberg was still working through set-up changes, while Ferrari also had more to resolve. Teo Fabi and Toleman were better placed to exploit the conditions when the timed session began, rather than benefiting from any sudden transformation in their car.

Friday Qualifying

Teo Fabi seized his opportunity on Friday, setting 1:17.429 and beating Stefan Johansson by more than a second. Several leading teams were still resolving morning problems, and Ayrton Senna’s planned late response was thwarted by mechanical trouble.

Friday Qualifying Classification

1985 German Grand Prix first qualifying session, 2 August 1985

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	19	Teo Fabi	Toleman	1:17.429	—
2	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	1:18.616	—
3	2	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:18.725	—
4	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams	1:18.781	—
5	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:18.792	—
6	7	Nelson Piquet	Brabham	1:18.802	—
7	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus	1:19.120	—
8	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:19.194	—
9	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	1:19.338	—
10	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:19.475	—
11	8	Marc Surer	Brabham	1:19.558	—
12	1	Niki Lauda	McLaren	1:19.652	—
13	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:19.656	—
14	25	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier	1:19.738	—
15	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	1:19.781	—
16	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	1:19.917	—
17	17	Gerhard Berger	Arrows	1:20.666	—
18	23	Eddie Cheever	Alfa Romeo	1:21.074	—
19	3	Stefan Bellof	Tyrrell	1:21.219	—
20	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	1:21.237	—
21	10	Philippe Alliot	RAM	1:22.017	—
22	9	Manfred Winkelhock	RAM	1:22.607	—
23	14	Francois Hesnault	Renault	1:23.161	—
24	30	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	1:24.217	—
25	24	Huub Rothengatter	Osella	1:26.478	—
26	4	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	1:27.621	—

Saturday Free Practice

Rain arrived as Saturday morning running began and remained the dominant factor throughout the day. With the dry grid times beyond reach, teams concentrated on learning what they could for a possible wet race. Minardi was already in trouble after an engine failure and Pierluigi Martini’s accident left it unable to record a qualifying time.

Saturday Qualifying

Saturday’s rain prevented any challenge to the dry times. De Elio de Angelis headed the wet session, but Teo Fabi retained pole ahead of Stefan Johansson, Alain Prost and Keke Rosberg. Toleman had its first front-row start, while Pierluigi Martini failed to qualify.

Saturday Qualifying Classification

1985 German Grand Prix second qualifying session, 3 August 1985

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus	1:29.714	—
2	23	Eddie Cheever	Alfa Romeo	1:32.376	—
3	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	1:33.373	—
4	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:36.471	—
5	8	Marc Surer	Brabham	1:38.330	—
6	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams	1:39.547	—
7	25	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier	1:39.623	—
8	29	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi	1:40.506	—
9	17	Gerhard Berger	Arrows	1:41.131	—
10	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:41.490	—
11	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:42.050	—
12	2	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:43.088	—
13	1	Niki Lauda	McLaren	1:44.330	—
14	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	1:46.473	—
15	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	1:46.919	—
16	4	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	1:47.820	—
17	7	Nelson Piquet	Brabham	1:49.347	—
18	9	Manfred Winkelhock	RAM	1:51.109	—
19	30	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	1:51.833	—
20	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	1:54.674	—
21	3	Stefan Bellof	Tyrrell	19:04.270	—

Combined Qualifying Classification

Each driver’s faster time from the two qualifying sessions determined the overall order.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Friday Time	Saturday Time	Best Time	Laps
1	19	Teo Fabi	Toleman	1:17.429		1:17.429	—
2	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	1:18.616	1:46.919	1:18.616	—
3	2	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:18.725	1:43.088	1:18.725	—
4	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams	1:18.781	1:39.547	1:18.781	—
5	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:18.792	1:36.471	1:18.792	—
6	7	Nelson Piquet	Brabham	1:18.802	1:49.347	1:18.802	—
7	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus	1:19.120	1:29.714	1:19.120	—
8	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:19.194	1:41.490	1:19.194	—
9	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	1:19.338		1:19.338	—
10	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:19.475	1:42.050	1:19.475	—
11	8	Marc Surer	Brabham	1:19.558	1:38.330	1:19.558	—
12	1	Niki Lauda	McLaren	1:19.652	1:44.330	1:19.652	—
13	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:19.656		1:19.656	—
14	25	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier	1:19.738	1:39.623	1:19.738	—
15	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	1:19.781	1:54.674	1:19.781	—
16	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	1:19.917	1:33.373	1:19.917	—
17	17	Gerhard Berger	Arrows	1:20.666	1:41.131	1:20.666	—
18	23	Eddie Cheever	Alfa Romeo	1:21.074	1:32.376	1:21.074	—
19	3	Stefan Bellof	Tyrrell	1:21.219	19:04.270	1:21.219	—
20	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	1:21.237	1:46.473	1:21.237	—
21	10	Philippe Alliot	RAM	1:22.017		1:22.017	—
22	9	Manfred Winkelhock	RAM	1:22.607	1:51.109	1:22.607	—
23	14	François Hesnault	Renault	1:23.161		1:23.161	—
24	30	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	1:24.217	1:51.833	1:24.217	—
25	24	Huub Rothengatter	Osella	1:26.478		1:26.478	—
26	4	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	1:27.621	1:47.820	1:27.621	—
27	29	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi		1:40.506	1:40.506	—

Sunday warm-up

The dry warm-up brought a more familiar order, with Keke Rosberg narrowly ahead of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. Teo Fabi nevertheless remained competitive in race trim, suggesting his pole was more than a statistical curiosity. After Saturday’s rain, the session was an important chance to restore dry settings and check the cars before the start.

Warm-up Classification

1985 German Grand Prix Warm-up, 4 August 1985

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams	1:23.116	—
2	2	Alain Prost	McLaren	+0.006s	—
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	+0.280s	—
4	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus	+0.583s	—
5	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	+0.820s	—
6	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	+1.070s	—
7	19	Teo Fabi	Toleman	+1.073s	—
8	25	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier	+1.136s	—
9	1	Niki Lauda	McLaren	+1.153s	—
10	7	Nelson Piquet	Brabham	+1.453s	—
11	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	No time	—
12	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	+1.510s	—
13	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	+1.660s	—
14	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	+1.673s	—
15	8	Marc Surer	Brabham	+1.946s	—
16	23	Eddie Cheever	Alfa Romeo	+2.426s	—
17	9	Manfred Winkelhock	RAM	+2.653s	—
18	3	Stefan Bellof	Tyrrell	+2.810s	—
19	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	+2.873s	—
20	10	Philippe Alliot	RAM	+3.680s	—
21	14	Francois Hesnault	Renault	+4.810s	—
22	17	Gerhard Berger	Arrows	+4.820s	—
23	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	+4.866s	—
24	29	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi	+5.390s	—
25	4	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	+5.826s	—
26	30	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	+6.260s	—
27	24	Huub Rothengatter	Osella	+9.273s	—

What happened in the 1985 German Grand Prix?

Teo Fabi’s poor start allowed Ayrton Senna and Keke Rosberg to take control at the front. Michele Alboreto collided with Stefan Johansson at the first corner, puncturing his team-mate’s tyre, but continued in pursuit of the leaders. Ayrton Senna later retired with a driveshaft failure after fighting Keke Rosberg for the lead.

Keke Rosberg’s brakes deteriorated, allowing Michele Alboreto and Alain Prost through. Alain Prost then spun while chasing the Ferrari, recovering without losing second but surrendering his chance to challenge for victory. Behind them, Jacques Laffite worked past Nigel Mansell as the Williams lost power.

Michele Alboreto won ahead of Alain Prost and Jacques Laffite, with Thierry Boutsen fourth, Niki Lauda fifth and Nigel Mansell sixth. It was Michele Alboreto’s fifth and final Grand Prix victory. His championship lead grew to five points, while Ferrari maintained its position at the top of the constructors’ table.

After the race, Michele Alboreto headed the drivers’ standings with 46 points, followed by Alain Prost on 41. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 65, with McLaren – TAG on 46.

1985 German Grand Prix race results

The 1985 German Grand Prix was held on 4 August 1985, with a scheduled start of 14:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	67	1:35:31.337	9
2	2	Alain Prost	McLaren	67	+ 11.661	6
3	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	67	+ 51.154	4
4	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	67	+ 55.279	3
5	1	Niki Lauda	McLaren	67	+ 1:13.972	2
6	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	67	+ 1:16.820	1
7	17	Gerhard Berger	Arrows	66	+ 1 Lap	0
8	3	Stefan Bellof	Tyrrell	66	+ 1 Lap	0
9	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	66	+ 1 Lap	0
10	4	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	63	+ 4 Laps	0
11	29	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi	62	Engine	0
12	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams	61	Brakes	0
Ret	23	Eddie Cheever	Alfa Romeo	45	Turbo	0
Ret	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus	40	Engine	0
Ret	24	Huub Rothengatter	Osella	32	Gearbox	0
Ret	19	Teo Fabi	Toleman	29	Clutch	0
Ret	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	27	CV joint	0
Ret	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	25	Ignition	0
Ret	7	Nelson Piquet	Brabham	23	Turbo	0
Ret	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	19	Spun Off	0
Ret	8	Marc Surer	Brabham	15	Engine	0
Ret	9	Manfred Winkelhock	RAM	8	Engine	0
Ret	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	8	Gearbox	0
Ret	14	François Hesnault	Renault	8	Clutch	0
Ret	10	Philippe Alliot	RAM	8	Oil pressure	0
Ret	30	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	7	Alternator	0
Ret	25	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier		Collision	0

1985 German Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	1	Niki Lauda	McLaren	53	1:22.806
2	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams	59	1:23.481
3	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows	57	1:23.652
4	2	Alain Prost	McLaren	51	1:23.810
5	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	57	1:24.112
6	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	16	1:24.185
7	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	20	1:24.270
8	19	Teo Fabi	Toleman	25	1:24.354
9	3	Stefan Bellof	Tyrrell	54	1:24.476
10	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	5	1:24.486
11	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus	33	1:24.515
12	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	36	1:24.820
13	23	Eddie Cheever	Alfa Romeo	39	1:24.937
14	7	Nelson Piquet	Brabham	19	1:25.132
15	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	18	1:25.502
16	17	Gerhard Berger	Arrows	5	1:25.555
17	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	5	1:25.854
18	8	Marc Surer	Brabham	6	1:26.204
19	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	5	1:26.496
20	9	Manfred Winkelhock	RAM	7	1:26.691
21	4	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell	63	1:28.197
22	29	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi	38	1:28.341
23	10	Philippe Alliot	RAM	7	1:28.424
24	14	Francois Hesnault	Renault	6	1:28.671
25	24	Huub Rothengatter	Osella	31	1:29.263
26	30	Jonathan Palmer	Zakspeed	5	1:30.543

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1985 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1985 German Grand Prix.

1985 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Michele Alboreto	Italian	Ferrari	46
2	Alain Prost	French	McLaren	41
3	Elio de Angelis	Italian	Lotus	26
4	Keke Rosberg	Finnish	Williams	18
5	Stefan Johansson	Swedish	Tyrrell / Ferrari	16
6	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Brabham	13
7	Patrick Tambay	French	Renault	11
8	Jacques Laffite	French	Ligier	10
9	Ayrton Senna	Brazilian	Lotus	9
10	Thierry Boutsen	Belgian	Arrows	9
11	Nigel Mansell	British	Williams	6
12	Niki Lauda	Austrian	McLaren	5
13	Stefan Bellof	German	Tyrrell	4
14	Derek Warwick	British	Renault	4
15	Andrea de Cesaris	Italian	Ligier	3
16	René Arnoux	French	Ferrari	3
17	Marc Surer	Swiss	Brabham	1
–	Martin Brundle	British	Tyrrell	0
–	Gerhard Berger	Austrian	Arrows	0
–	Riccardo Patrese	Italian	Alfa Romeo	0
–	Eddie Cheever	American	Alfa Romeo	0
–	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Italian	Osella	0
–	Philippe Alliot	French	RAM	0
–	Pierluigi Martini	Italian	Minardi	0
–	Jonathan Palmer	British	Zakspeed	0
–	Manfred Winkelhock	German	RAM	0
–	Teo Fabi	Italian	Toleman	0
–	Huub Rothengatter	Dutch	Osella	0
–	Mauro Baldi	Italian	Spirit	0
–	François Hesnault	French	Brabham / Renault	0

1985 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	65
2	McLaren – TAG	46
3	Lotus – Renault	35
4	Williams – Honda	24
5	Renault	15
6	Brabham – BMW	14
7	Ligier – Renault	13
8	Arrows – BMW	9
9	Tyrrell – Ford	4
—	Tyrrell – Renault	0
—	Alfa Romeo	0
—	RAM – Hart	0
—	Osella – Alfa Romeo	0
—	Zakspeed	0
—	Minardi – Motori Moderni	0
—	Toleman – Hart	0
—	Minardi – Ford	0
—	Spirit – Hart	0

Drivers counted their best eleven results; constructors counted every round. The standings here show the position after this race.

1985 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1985 Brazilian Grand Prix	Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro	7 April
2	1985 Portuguese Grand Prix	Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril	21 April
3	1985 San Marino Grand Prix	Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola	5 May
4	1985 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	19 May
5	1985 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	16 June
6	1985 Detroit Grand Prix	Detroit Street Circuit, Detroit, Michigan	23 June
7	1985 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	7 July
8	1985 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	21 July
9	1985 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	4 August
10	1985 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	18 August
11	1985 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	25 August
12	1985 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	8 September
13	1985 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	15 September
14	1985 European Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	6 October
15	1985 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	19 October
16	1985 Australian Grand Prix	Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide	3 November