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On Monday, October 21, 1985, Niki Lauda flew from South Africa to Paris. While his colleagues enjoyed a vacation in Mauritius in the Indian Ocean before the last Grand Prix of the season on Sunday, November 3, 1985, in Adelaide, Australia, the Austrian driver took care of business. Or rather, he spends his days in a state of tension. After officially announcing his retirement from competitive racing in mid-August, Niki found himself reconsidering his plans and possibly racing for a couple more seasons. The Formula 1 World Champion (a title he held until the end of 1985, when he handed it to Alain Prost) was torn between conflicting emotions.
"I am tired. Just like before, I don't have any more motivation to drive race cars".
However, being the cunning devil he is, he adds:
"Yes, I have seen the Brabham project. Gordon Murray explained to me how extraordinary the new car will be. It's a different car, a different team, and a different engine to test. In short, there are reasons to consider it. If they had told me earlier, in July, this would have been a done deal".
The truth is that Formula 1 still needs Lauda. In fact, Bernie Ecclestone, who has never willingly paid the drivers, lost Nelson Piquet for a much smaller amount of money. Pressed by sponsors who want a prestigious name on their cars, Ecclestone made Lauda an offer he couldn't refuse: $6.000.000. It is one of the highest amounts ever paid to a champion in any sport. Lauda may have been joking, but a decision will be made in the following days. Furthermore, the story is confusing because Brabham should have already signed Patrese and De Angelis. One of them risks losing his spot. Conversely, there is currently an escalation in the prices of top drivers. Prost, Piquet, and Rosberg are worth around $3.000.000. Formula 1 is risking a lot with this failed rupture, which could mark the beginning of an irreversible crisis. This is similar to what happened in Formula 2 a few years ago. It was popular with a well-followed European championship, but it has since disappeared from the scene. The problem stems from the escalating prices, which could significantly reduce the number of teams participating in the World Championship. With few cars at the start, the races would lose credibility and interest, bringing this enormously popular motorsport to the verge of collapse. Giancarlo Minardi, a young constructor from Faenza who arrived in Formula 1 at the start of the year after an honorable career in the minor series, is sounding the alarm.
"My budget for 1986 is over 7 billion lire, supported by figures. And consider that I offer my young driver, Pierluigi Martini, a salary of 120 million lira, which is much less than the average salary of a soccer player. The issues are considerable. It’s necessary that the richer teams help us in some way. Without the small teams, the larger teams would also face many difficulties".
The logic is valid. Renault has retired, Ligier is struggling, and RAM did not participate in the South African Grand Prix because they did not have enough money. Next year, some teams may not be able to find available engines. First, the companies that build them aren’t willing to give engines to everyone. Second, the thrusters for one season cost around 3.5 billion lire, between purchases and reviews. Without Minardi, Osella, RAM, and Ligier, Formula 1 wouldn't lose its main players, but rather the elements necessary to ensure entertainment and growth. Moreover, it appears that Alfa Romeo’s retirement from Formula 1 is almost confirmed. The company's new administrative directors quit due to economic difficulties. The question is under what conditions. Autodelta, the Milan sports society, is developing a new four-cylinder engine that could eventually be sold to other teams, including Ligier. The abolition of the new collaboration with Euroracing seems to be confirmed. Meanwhile, the Formula 1 circus arrives in Australia for the final Grand Prix of the season.
Starting Thursday, October 31, 1985, the first laps will be taken on the circuit that will host the last round of the Formula 1 World Championship on Sunday, November 3, 1985. The official qualifying round on Friday will kick off a busy weekend in this city of one million people in southern Australia. There is a lot of excitement throughout the continent. Newspapers and television continue to present Sunday's event as one of the most important dates in Australian sports history. All the drivers have seen the track, and they have given extremely positive feedback. The champions are returning from a holiday break between the Grand Prix in South Africa, the second-to-last round, and the final event of 1985. Afterwards, many of them will retire. On Wednesday, October 30, 1985, Niki Lauda arrived in Adelaide, surrounded by great interest in the possibility of his racing next year. After getting off the plane, Lauda announced that his attempt to establish a relationship with Brabham was over and that there was no chance of a deal with Bernie Ecclestone. The economic story of this relationship went like this: Bernie Ecclestone offered Lauda the opportunity to race in 1986 for around 4.5 million dollars. Lauda raised the offer to $6.000.000. The sponsors would have divided the obligation into thirds: $2.000.000 from Pirelli, which provides Brabham with tires; $2.000.000 from Olivetti; and $2.000.000 from Brabham. There was even a rumor that Lauda took $1.000.000 from the deal for Ecclestone.
This would have allowed the English manager to have his sponsors pay $4,000,000 each, while he would have only paid $500,000. However, this seems to have fallen through due to Lauda's high demands. Olivetti and Brabham took one last shot and proposed a peculiar formula: $3.500.000 paid immediately, plus $1.500.000 if the Austrian managed to earn 70 points the following season. It's also important to mention Capelli's return to Tyrrell and the positive feedback from every driver on the grid. Eighty thousand tickets have already been sold. This final round on a street circuit could favor Ferrari, which has performed well on this type of track this past year. However, the Italian team seems shaken by the recent losses, and there is internal controversy about Michele Alboreto's statements. The driver supposedly received a 42-line reprimand via telex from the Ferrari commander himself. On Thursday, October 31, 1985, a series of impressive spins involving expert drivers such as Prost, Piquet, and Rosberg enlivened the day of free practice sessions inaugurating the new circuit, where the Grand Prix of Australia, the last race of the Formula 1 Championship, will take place on Sunday. However, two and a half hours of training provided the first relevant data on this track, which everyone judged as very beautiful. After the test drive, a few drivers said it was not very favorable. De Angelis found the circuit too short and extremely simple, therefore not very selective. Teo Fabi shares the same opinion, saying:
"The track is less interesting than it seems from the outside. Moreover, the road surface is wavy, especially where we need to brake hard. All of this affects our behavior and the cars' behavior considerably, if not conclusively. We have to be careful; otherwise, we may crash into the protective walls".
On the other hand, almost everyone else says that the track is excellent. Some, like Prost himself, describe it as wonderful and enjoyable. The fastest of them all is, once again, Ayrton Senna; however, his performance is not absolute. The times are only estimates, and it's certain that during official practice, especially qualifying for the starting grid, lap speeds will be higher. Additionally, the road is narrow, and the dust on the track makes it slippery. Everyone pays the price for this by spinning out. For some drivers, like Prost and Piquet, it’s just a scary moment. Others, like Nigel Mansell, collide gently with the walls, and the mechanics only need to replace the front wing. What happened to Italian driver Ivan Capelli was much worse; he crashed his Tyrrell violently into the concrete barriers. The young driver was in fifth gear, therefore traveling at full speed, when the rear end of his car slipped to the side. After spinning, he crashed brutally into the obstacle. Aside from Senna, Thierry Boutsen stands out from the rest. The Belgian driver managed to take his Arrows behind the Brazilian, earning second place for the day. Right behind them are Nelson Piquet and his teammate Marc Surer.
On more than one occasion, the Swiss showed a spectacular drive that sent the large crowd attending the first day of practice into rapture. There was a great performance by the two Williams drivers, Rosberg and Mansell, who took second and third place, respectively. Meanwhile, Alboreto with Ferrari had to settle for seventh place. It was a tough day for Alain Prost, too. The world champion suffered from either a flu attack or an intestinal virus. The little Frenchman suffered from vertigo all day, and driving in those conditions required considerable effort. Niki Lauda is quite behind in terms of performance. Ferrari performed poorly in Australia as well, and Michele Alboreto was disappointed. But he keeps quiet. After the first day of practice, he simply says,
"Let's talk about anything—kangaroos, koalas, anything but cars".
He doesn't say anything else, only offering a charming smile. The Italian driver sets the twelfth time, and Johansson sets the fourteenth. What could he say, after all? It's the same old story. For example, Keke Rosberg, with his Williams-Honda, continues to shine alongside Ayrton Senna. The Lotus driver is slower than the Finn by one infinitesimal millisecond. However, Senna wants to set the record straight:
"Mansell held me up on purpose when I was looking for the best time".
The surprise comes from Alfa Romeo, which places Cheever and Patrese in fifth and sixth position. Despite the promising results in Thursday’s free practice, Ferrari is struggling, even on the Adelaide Street circuit, where it should have fared as well as in Monte Carlo, Montreal, and Detroit. These tracks don't require as much power as the fast circuits. Cheever and Patrese’s performances are living proof of this. The two of them achieved results close to the top with the Alfa Romeos, even though they could squeeze a few more horsepower out of the engine. In qualifying, they usually don't place higher than tenth. Rosberg and Mansell's Williams clamped onto Senna, but the Brazilian explained that he used qualifying tires that had already been used. The soft tires on this track cause problems for many drivers. Almost none of the drivers using Goodyear tires can use a full set because the tires degrade after one lap. Senna has another advantage here: Lotus allows him to use softer tires and reuse them. Nelson Piquet also has a real chance of getting into the fight. The Brazilian driver is in fourth place with Brabham, even though he partially ruins the tires when he first comes on track, as the circuit doesn’t provide the ideal grip at that time. Nevertheless, Piquet is satisfied with the car, and he has secured a spot among those aiming for success. Niki Lauda and Alain Prost are in crisis. The two McLaren drivers aren't setting times that live up to their fame. Additionally, the Frenchman is still experiencing physical issues. He has a touch of the flu, intestinal issues, and violent dizziness, which causes him to make several mistakes. He even hits the protective barrier when returning to the pits.
"I was feeling dizzy, and because of this, I spun three more times unconsciously. I think it's because of the physical exhaustion that has accumulated over the last month between races and promotional events with sponsors. Besides, the car has significant braking issues. I want to come back stronger and have a good race".
Lauda is more concise. The Austrian sums up his problems like this:
"The brakes aren’t working, and I think I have the car with the least grip".
McLaren has struggled on the first day of practice before, but has managed to recover before the race. De Angelis has goals to achieve as well. Due to engine issues, he can only use one set of qualifying tires. Teo Fabi is second to last because he stopped on the track during the warm-up lap, betrayed by the thruster.
Meanwhile, the silly season in Formula 1 is in full swing as teams try to finalize next season's roster. Benetton will officially announce its future plans to use BMW engines on Toleman. BMW will review the thrusters, though this doesn't please Ecclestone. The Brabham patron clearly preferred to avoid possible comparisons between his cars and the Toleman. And Hart? After leaving Toleman, the four-cylinder engine manufacturer has been negotiating with RAM directors to purchase engines. Regarding the drivers, Berger will most likely be Fabi’s teammate at Toleman. BMW is backing the Austrian driver; without him, there is no deal. At Brabham, there are several hypotheses. These are the latest statements made by Ecclestone regarding the future team:
"I will announce the drivers for 1986 in December. With Lauda, anything is possible; the only barrier between his yes and no is strictly economic. However, I would like to have an American driver on the team. It would benefit everyone in Formula 1. Currently, I am negotiating with Willy Ribbs, a promising Black racing driver".
On Saturday, November 2, 1985, while Italian racing fans were dreaming of a Ferrari win in Adelaide, Australia - nine and a half hours ahead of Italy - a long Formula 1 season came to an end. There were sixteen races, an already appointed champion, and two goodbyes: Niki Lauda's and Renault's. On the last day of practice, Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell evoked emotions. The Brazilian achieved his seventh pole position of the year with a breathtaking lap. Senna’s prowess highlights the ease with which Lotus adapts to most tracks while maintaining a high level of grip. Mansell was fast in this golden season finale. After overcoming the second-driver complex and his reverence for his award-winning teammate, Keke Rosberg, with the team's support, Mansell plans to become Nelson Piquet’s alter ego in 1986, with no half measures. The English driver explains:
"Adelaide is a track that tests tires, brakes, and drivers. The double right turn after the start is crucial, like a funnel. We will have to be careful. I think the start is decisive".
Rosberg had to settle for third place in the qualifying session. After practice, the bearded Finn implied that his move to McLaren caused Williams to shift their attention to Mansell:
"I don’t understand why I went so slow".
Having slightly recovered from his recent stomachache, Alain Prost honors his new World Champion title by placing fourth in qualifying.
"It has been hard to balance the car, especially since our car hasn’t improved as much as Lotus and Williams' cars have at the end of the season".
Prost then confessed that he would like to achieve one last success before closing his illustrious year in the best way possible. Johansson falls far behind, while Michele Alboreto, after patiently working in recent days, secures Ferrari's fifth position, placing him in the third row of the grid. The Italian hops into his car with carbon brakes and increased turbines ("to have more chances on a track where brakes become as fundamental as tires and drivers"), and he found that his car is better than it was on Friday.
"It's pointless to aim for a specific placement. It's better to take a risk on the technical side and aim for the podium. For this reason, I will race with carbon brakes tomorrow".
Compared to Friday, Alfa Romeo falls behind due to engine problems. Cheever, whose brother Ross won the Formula Mondial race (a sort of Australian Formula 3), was left stranded after the thruster broke. Patrese complained that on the straightaway, he was driving 20 km/h slower than the fastest driver due to a drop in power. For Lauda, in the last race of his career, it’s a poor qualifying performance unless he changes course.
"Overall, I’m happy to start in sixteenth place. If I had made it to the front row, I might have gotten excited again and not left Formula 1. During practice, the car had electrical issues, so I opted for the reserve car. However, I would like this race to end well".
Once practice is over, BMW's official supply of engines to Toleman for 1986 is announced. Starting January 1, the English team will be named Benetton Motorsport and will have on its board of directors not only the directors of the Italian company but also the designer Rory Byrne. This is a move to prevent the English technician from accepting any offers from Ferrari, who may want to hire him for next season.
"The choice of German engines has been made necessary because the new Alfa Romeo engine isn’t ready yet, and we couldn't risk another season of failures".
Alfa Romeo won't completely leave Formula 1. After closing Autodelta, its racing department, and gradually disengaging from the sport, the Milan-based company plans to stay in the World Championship as an engine supplier. Dr. Felici, Alfa Romeo's head of sports, states that:
"The new four-cylinder engine is ready, and five have been bench tested since June. Another five are in an advanced stage of assembly, and we are already negotiating with Ligier for next season. Initially, we wanted to provide these engines to Toleman, so we made a deal in which Toleman would adapt one of its cars to the engine and conduct the initial tests. Unfortunately, the relationship ended when the English team decided to stick with BMW for next season. Nonetheless, this doesn’t affect our decision. Alfa Romeo will continue developing the new thruster independently from the deals with other teams".
On Sunday, November 3, 1985, at the start of the Australian Grand Prix, Mansell overtook Senna, who was in pole position. A few hundred meters later, the Brazilian attempted a desperate pass. The Englishman, who was going in the right direction, found his way blocked, and a collision was inevitable. Senna pushed toward the outside, but Mansell did not give in. The collision was so severe that the gear shift broke, leaving Mansell stranded. Rosberg took advantage of this, taking the lead ahead of Senna, who came out unscathed; Alboreto, who overtook Prost; and the wild Boutsen and the equally aggressive Surer. Meanwhile, Lauda makes his way from the center of the group. De Angelis started last to do the warm-up lap. Instead of starting from last position, he gains his position back at the start and is disqualified. Cheever and Piquet retire, too. Alboreto is the first to change tires. With a full tank, the harsh braking on this track wears out the tires, and the Italian driver comes into the box on lap 12. Rosberg creates a gap; Senna resists at a distance. The race loses another protagonist when Prost's engine betrays him, preventing him from honoring his newly won World Champion title. Rosberg’s car is so competitive that it leaves little to no room for his rivals. Only Senna is ready to slide into his slipstream when Rosberg's tires start to wear out. In the rush, the Brazilian gets within a few millimeters of the rear wing of the Williams. When Rosberg slows down to enter the pits, Senna touches him and loses his front wing. Senna tries to do too much. Instead of stopping to fix his car, he pushes it to the limit, resulting in him spinning out before the necessary pit stop.
Rosberg is ready to take the lead while Senna must overtake Lauda, who is in the midst of a textbook comeback. Despite his brake crisis, the Austrian champion sees the chance and doesn’t miss the opportunity to overtake the Brazilian and take the lead. In the meantime, Rosberg has pitted again to change his tires. The crowd applauds; Lauda has once again given everyone a driving lesson. He went from sixteenth to first, overtaking one after the other with the same tires while his rivals had already changed theirs once or twice. It's a dream come true for everyone: Niki, in his last race, is one step from winning. But one of the McLaren brakes gets stuck, causing the car to stop and slide sideways into one of the cement barriers. Unfortunate. Meanwhile, Senna takes the lead, with Rosberg close behind, and Alboreto in third. A few laps later, the race reaches a breaking point. Alboreto retires due to a bolt securing the rear shift lever coming loose. Senna retires due to engine failure. Rosberg begins his triumphant march. But the emotions aren't over yet. Latifte, with his experience, is ready to give Ligier an important place of honor. However, he is forced to defend himself from his young teammate, Streiff, who is tired of being in third place. His team manager is signaling him to slow down. The Frenchman ends up hitting his teammate, bending the front left tire, and scraping the bottom of his car against the ground. Congratulations to Rosberg and to the young Ivan Capelli, who finishes fourth. The Italian driver is in a lot of pain because his seat is too big, but he endures. Ultimately, he faints in the box, exhausted and with his back muscles contracted. When he regains consciousness, he has no memory of finishing fourth. Johansson is fifth, having had a good race with a textbook overtake of Berger. However, this is not enough for the Maranello team, which had high hopes after the first races but ended this season quietly. They have been in Formula 1 for a total of seventy-nine years, an average of thirty-nine and a half years each, which is a retirement age for drivers. Meanwhile, on the podium in Adelaide, Rosberg and Laffite look like kids. This race was anything but relaxing.
"It was the toughest race of the season. In comparison, the other street circuits, Monte Carlo and Detroit, are a joke. This track doesn’t leave you time to breathe. It’s deadly for the brakes." Maybe the key to victory was the choice of brakes. I used the old, conventional ones rather than the carbon ones. They’re more efficient, but harder to use on a track like this one".
Senna accuses him of braking on purpose at a turn where you can’t brake.
"Ayrton is undoubtedly a fast driver, but he doesn’t have the experience. I didn’t brake on purpose. I slowed down because I had to pit and change a tire. I didn’t even acknowledge the collision. Nevertheless, he has to be careful when blaming others".
As expected, Nigel Mansell is also particularly hard on Senna:
"He’s irresponsible. He could have caused a big accident. Every time he takes unnecessary risks. I don't want to say anything else because I'd just end up cursing".
Obviously, Senna sees things differently.
"Keke was smart when he braked. He waited for me to get as close as possible before braking somewhere unexpected. I couldn’t avoid the collision. That's probably when I lost the race. It’s a shame because the car was efficient, and I would have won if Rosberg hadn’t pitted again".
However, he also has something to say about Mansell's behavior:
"Nigel had a better start than I did, but on turn two, I was next to him. He didn’t want to take his foot off the pedal. He tried to go through the turn side by side, but only one car can fit through, so the collision was unavoidable".
It wasn’t easy for Laffite to take second place on the podium. His young teammate, Streiff, blocked his way in order to overtake him and then crashed into him violently. Ligier manager Gérard Larousse harshly criticized his behavior:
"He risked ruining everything with one unforgivable mistake that will cost him his seat next season".
Stefan Johansson’s fifth-place finish was bittersweet for Ferrari. Marco Piccinini, the team sports director, commented on it:
"Two points that could have been so much more, because today, the win was within Michele's reach. Second place in the Constructors Championship, eight points behind McLaren, is still a good result".
Alboreto’s dream of salvaging a season full of disappointments faded due to a gear shift bolt that unscrewed, preventing the driver from changing gears.
"It's a shame because I could have easily gotten on the podium in this race. After a good start, I had overtaken Prost, and by the middle of the race, I was catching up to Rosberg. The car was perfect; the carbon brakes were efficient. In short, it was a missed chance".
Johansson replies:
"My brakes, on the other hand, were torture. By the fifteenth lap, I had to slow down to make it to the finish line. The tires were also an ordeal; they were constantly degrading, so I had to pit twice to change them".
The Australian Grand Prix was unkind to Prost and Lauda as well. Both were forced to retire when they were in good positions. Lauda was even in first place when his brakes betrayed him.
"For over ten laps, the braking pedal lengthened the stroke with every braking. Then, suddenly, it got stuck, the car turned left, and my race was over".
In his last race with Lotus, Elio de Angelis was disqualified on the eighteenth lap. During the warm-up lap, his car stopped, so it was started with a push. Instead of starting last on the grid as the regulations state, De Angelis positioned himself in his previous fifth row. Ivan Capelli was overjoyed, having achieved a brilliant fourth place in only his second race. This marked the end of the Formula 1 World Championship. Alain Prost had already won the title with two rounds to go. McLaren finished its job by winning the Constructors' Championship, even though neither of its drivers made it to the finish line. This is an impressive result for the English team powered by the Porsche engine. Two consecutive successes (Lauda won last year) show strength and are an achievement reached by few teams. The last one-two finish was in 1966–1967 with Brabham. The championship ended with Williams' third consecutive victory. After Nigel Mansell's one-two finish at Brands Hatch and Kyalami, Keke Rosberg triumphed in the final race in Adelaide. Rosberg leaves the team with his second personal win of the season. In 1986, he will join Prost at McLaren. Rosberg is a great driver and the car is great, given that he achieved first place despite his three pit stops to change tires.
It’s a shame Mansell retired due to a broken gearshift, or rather, Senna’s impulsiveness. Senna was the protagonist of the race, for better or worse. However, there was nothing to say about McLaren's double win in the World Championship. The English team proved to be the most consistent and competitive throughout a championship in which cars raced 4,800 km. Ron Dennis’s team was able to overcome tough situations, such as the change in tire suppliers, and efficiently develop the car's evolution. Alain Prost, having matured from past experiences, didn’t make any mistakes. The series of failures that prevented his teammate Niki Lauda from reaping the rewards of his talent remains unsolved. It's a shame because Lauda has proven himself to be a champion and has been the main character of many races. Behind McLaren, Ferrari has been the best team, with figures to back it up. Alboreto achieved the best placement ever by an Italian driver since Ascari with his second-place finish in the World Championship standings. The Maranello team kept the vice-champion position among the constructors. This could be considered a positive summary if Ferrari hadn’t last won a race in 1979. What stings the most, though, is the illusion created in the first part of the season, when fans started to dream thanks to victories in Montreal and Nürburgring, with Alboreto leading the standings.
In sports, you either win or lose. When you lose, it would be nice to fight back. Ferrari experienced a progressive decline in performance that dismayed its drivers. It’s difficult to explain what happened. Perhaps a series of factors led to the red cars' loss of competitiveness. When the engine could overcome deficiencies in the chassis and aerodynamics, the results were consistent. As soon as the rivals made progress and more power was necessary, the troubles began. Ferrari was also unlucky because it could have pressured McLaren at some key moments. Alboreto’s puncture in Monte Carlo, the breakage that stopped the Italian driver in Imola, and the cancellation of the Belgian Grand Prix in spring were three missed chances. Now, Ferrari must start from scratch and design and build an entirely new car. Other teams' technicians are ahead. In less than a month, we will see the first practices on the track. Recovery will be difficult, but a relaunch schedule must be set under tight deadlines. Williams-Honda is the car to beat in 1986. McLaren-Porsche can't be underestimated. BMW is counting on a revolutionary Brabham and on Arrows and Toleman. Renault will only focus on engines, which will benefit Lotus and Tyrrell. Then, there will be the Ford debut with Beatrice. The challenge will be especially difficult for Enzo Ferrari, who turns 88 on February 18.