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He is still a long way from breaking Carlos Reutemann's record of fifteen consecutive points finishes (in the top six) in a long and rather unhappy career. In any case, Elio De Angelis holds the record for season finishes, with six useful results from the same number of races. A tangible fact about the talent and reliability of the Italian driver who, despite an accident caused by Gerhard Berger at the start of the Detroit Grand Prix, once again managed to drive his Lotus to fifth place in a very difficult race. Something that celebrated drivers such as Prost and Senna failed to do. Second in the championship, seven points behind Michele Alboreto, the Italian is in a difficult situation. He is not well protected by his own team, whose sporting director, Peter Warr, is infatuated with the ebullient Ayrton Senna and drives a car that is very competitive in terms of speed, but less reliable and more unpredictable than the Ferrari. He will also have to contend with new rivals such as the up-and-coming Keke Rosberg, with whom he may have to battle in the coming races.
"In fact, the championship has become very hot. But that does not worry me too much. As the number of favourites for each race increases, it becomes even more important to have the ability to go all the way and finish among the front runners, which I seem to have shown so far. I can still win the championship, that's for sure. And I can also assure you that I will do everything I can to win this title, which is my one and only goal as a rider".
The Italian rider is convinced that he has not yet had the chance to show his full potential.
"In every race I have had problems, both serious and minor. I won at Imola, it's true, but it was a complete success, with which I'm not completely satisfied. The Lotus is the fastest and most versatile car at the moment and sometimes I have to make the most of it. The other day, if Berger had not cut me off and forced me to pit to change the damaged front wing, I could have fought Rosberg for the win. Instead, I had to settle for a place".
De Angelis' confidence is boosted by the World Championship schedule, which includes a move to real high-speed circuits.
"In terms of lap times, we are not afraid of anyone. The Lotus is a lightning rod and we have already set the fastest times in free practice on both tracks. It is a sign that we will be able to compete at the top. As for Ayrton Senna, he is undoubtedly a very good and classy driver. But maybe he lacks a little experience. However, I am not afraid of him and I must say that we have a very good relationship".
At the same time, after the Detroit Grand Prix, Frank Williams tries to play down the importance of the radio intervention that allowed Keke Rosberg to enter the pits, have his car's radiators cleaned and change tyres in just ten seconds. But the truth is that the British team's system of direct communication with its drivers is very interesting and can bring considerable benefits. It is not an absolute novelty. Similar devices are normally used in the World Endurance Championship, both by Lancia and Porsche, as well as in the World Rally Championship. In Formula 1, even Renault had fitted two-way radios to the single-seaters driven by Tambay and Warwick, but then abandoned the project, partly because it was plagued by a thousand other problems.
But the British manufacturer, a great perfectionist, has fine-tuned the relationship with Rosberg and Mansell to the maximum and is beginning to reap the rewards.
"We have a code of conduct. In general, we do not call the drivers. The reason is that the intercom headsets built into the helmets are very powerful to overcome the noise of the engines. If you intervene suddenly, the driver, who may be engaged in a risky manoeuvre, runs the risk of becoming disengaged and having an accident. That is why we set the check points according to the number of laps in the race".
And he adds:
"When we are in a quiet part of the track, Keke and Nigel intervene on the radio and give us the data they get from the fuel consumption gauges on the dashboard. For example, 120 litres of petrol at a given boost pressure will give you a certain number of laps. We check the figures with the computer we have in the pits. If they don't match, we can give the driver the variation so he can adjust to finish the race without problems".
However, the use of radios (which weigh about four kilograms on the cars) has different results. If Keke Rosberg had not alerted his team's engineers in Detroit that the engine was overheating, he would have lost valuable time during the pit stop explaining what was happening. The use of radios could also have other important uses. Take the case of Montreal, when Ferrari was forced to send repeated signals to Stefan Johansson to let him know that Michele Alboreto was not in trouble, but had slowed down to save the car and win safely. A few words would have been enough to control the situation. Anyway, after the North American tour, Formula One returns to the European circuits. The races in Montreal and Detroit were a double success. They managed to increase the enthusiasm of the Canadian and American public (who are still not very familiar with the sport) and, above all, to confirm the uncertainty and balance that had been in evidence since the first races in 1985. For the time being at least, this has put an end to the McLaren domination of the championship, which last year was made all the more exciting by the family feud between Lauda and Prost. The six races so far have been held on a variety of different tracks. Unfortunately, the cancellation of the Belgian Grand Prix prevented testing on a very fast track like Spa-Francorchamps. This is why the Le Castellet and Silverstone tests are so important. These are tracks with very high hourly average speeds, where it will be possible to test the values that have not yet been expressed to the maximum, that is to say the engine's resistance to the highest stresses and the validity of the chassis and aerodynamic solutions for the highest performances. Ferrari's superiority in the first part of the season, confirmed by Alboreto's victory in Montreal, the various placings of the two Maranello drivers and the Italian's lead in the championship standings, is now in danger of being called into question.
Not so much because of a possible défaillance of the Maranello team, but because of the predictable reaction of their rivals. In addition to the usual suspects, Lotus and McLaren, there is also the resurgent Williams and Renault, who will be presenting a completely new car for the French Grand Prix. In short, it will be a battle with Prost, who was very fast in the Silverstone tests, at the head of the field, and a Niki Lauda who, despite everything, has not given up, if the results so far are anything to go by. This is a particularly delicate moment for Ferrari, on which the outcome of the season will probably depend. Fortunately, the news regarding Stefan Johansson is positive. The Swedish driver is indeed ill (not with German measles, as first rumoured, but with chickenpox), but he has announced from London that he is undergoing appropriate treatment and that, barring any complications, he will certainly be on the track at Le Castellet. That's one less problem, as the Maranello team will need to be at full strength more than ever to withstand the onslaught from their rivals. The French Grand Prix kicks off not only the European stage, but also what many consider to be the decisive stage of the Formula One World Championship. How can one race be considered so important when there are nine others to be contested? It's simple: Paul Ricard is the first of those fast circuits, with straights and corners that will push engines, chassis and aerodynamics to the limit. At Le Castellet, Ferrari remains the dominant force. Having virtually dominated the first half of the season, the Maranello team must now maintain the minimum advantage needed to score at least two more successes. This is the minimum required to win the title, according to Michele Alboreto. There is a lot of news for this race. Ferrari have modified the front part of the chassis and bodywork, where two openings have been made to allow quicker access to the suspension and shock absorbers.
The geometry of the suspension arms was slightly modified and the chassis was reinforced with two beams. Renault had a completely new car (everything redone except the chassis), lower and lighter, entrusted to Tambay. And there was a brand new Ligier for Laffite. All of them, however, were working to cope with a circuit with a straight of 1,800 metres, where the engines were used to the maximum and top speeds of 340 km/h could be reached and exceeded (the Signes corner could be run at 300 km/h). From the Formula 1 infirmary comes reassuring news for everyone. There should be no problems for Johansson, who has recovered from chickenpox, Senna, Mansell and Prost, who have all recovered from the bruises they suffered in Detroit. The Frenchman is the first to throw down the gauntlet to Ferrari.
"I am very confident because I noticed reassuring progress in practice at Silverstone. We have a new front suspension and soon we will have a new rear suspension. Now the McLaren is easier to drive and set up. You will see us being competitive again".
The same goes for Niki Lauda, who is eager to get back to the top, to prove that he is far from finished and to find another top team, as it is almost certain that he will be released by McLaren at the end of the season. It is the Austrian who explains in great detail why he has failed to achieve good results so far:
"I had to settle for fourth place at Imola for the time being. In Monte Carlo we had an off-track incident due to oil on the tarmac and four retirements. Engine, turbines, onboard computer, brakes, I've seen it all. I was not lucky. But I haven't changed".
Rumour has it, however, that Beatrice, the American team who will be making their Formula One debut at the Italian Grand Prix, have contacted him about a partnership with Alan Jones.
"I have relations with several teams. We'll see. But at the moment I'm not thinking about it, and I'm not thinking about Beatrice in particular. I am not interested in a team whose potential is unknown. What will the engine be like? What about the car? What technicians will the team have? If they are going to do something concrete, I am ready to discuss it. If not...".
Otherwise, Lauda might look elsewhere, because on Friday, 5th July 1985, at the Paul Ricard circuit, Lotus was confirmed, Williams grew in power, McLaren rose again, Brabham reappeared and Ferrari unexpectedly gave way. Here is a summary of the results from the first day of practice for the French Formula 1 Grand Prix. The constant is Ayrton Senna, a man who never ceases to amaze with his performances. The Brazilian achieved yet another feat by setting a lap time of 1'32"835, with a fantastic average speed of 225.302 km/h, breaking one of the oldest records in Formula 1.
"It wasn't very difficult, I was just hindered by the wind, which pushed me out at the Signes corner, and my hand, which still hurts after the accident in Detroit. You can go harder".
Bravo to the Brazilian for going through the Signes corner at 300 kph in fifth gear, but you also need a competitive car. This is not the case for the Ferrari drivers. Alboreto and Johansson were only 11th and 18th fastest respectively, thanks to their 156/85s. And there is also a serious fact to be noted about the Maranello cars: two engines failed, first on the single-seater of the Swede and immediately afterwards on the Italian. This had not happened for a long time. It seems that the engines have not been modified since the last race, only the turbines. But maybe that is the small problem. Says Michele Alboreto:
"I am quite worried. I knew it would not be easy to come through here. But I thought I could at least finish in the top four. We have no grip. We have worked in every direction: set-up, suspension adjustment, springs, ailerons. There is no acceptable solution. The engineers will work on it all night, and we hope to be back on track in the second race".
The problem seems to be the new suspension. With the old ones, Ferrari lapped in 1'34"06 during the May test, now it is 1'35"421. For this reason, the team's technicians (Postlethwaite is present) are said to have asked for the old suspensions to be brought back from Fiorano as a matter of urgency. With what results, we shall see. It is worth noting the improved performance of Williams, which finished second with a wild Keke Rosberg. Says the Finnish driver:
"The engine is so powerful, it has such acceleration that you have to dose the throttle in order not to damage the soft tyres before completing a single lap".
A good debut for the new Renault with Tambay in eighth place. No surprises, however, for McLaren's return to the top, with Prost third and Lauda fourth. The Austrian explains:
"I always drive the same way, the car has changed. I pushed for a different set-up. This is the result".
Nelson Piquet also reappeared at the top of the provisional standings with the fifth fastest time. Thanks to the power of the BMW engine in the fast parts of the circuit - the fastest at the end of the Mistral straight is Marc Surer, with the other Brabham, 338 km/h. Let's talk about the Italians and the Alfa Romeo drivers.
De Angelis, sixth, is still at loggerheads with Lotus, accusing them of shamelessly favouring Senna. They allegedly fitted him with an engine used by the Brazilian in the Detroit test. One thing is certain: the race will be full of suspense, uncertainty and surprises. This is how the French Grand Prix, the seventh round of the Formula One World Championship at Paul Ricard, looks after a tense and exciting evening. At the end of the practice session, Bernie Ecclestone gathers Italian journalists for a sort of press conference. His team has Italian sponsors.
"Formula One is 50% Italian, with the commitment of teams, drivers, industries and financiers, not to mention the appeal of Ferrari and the presence of numerous fans at all the circuits".
Here is the summary of his speech.
"If I were Piquet, I would also leave Brabham at this time. But I don't think the Brazilian will go to another team. Alboreto? I consider him one of the top six in F1, but not one of the top three, Piquet, Rosberg and Prost. Someone told me that designer Gordon Murray might leave me. It is difficult: he is a shareholder in the team".
Still on the drivers:
"They ask for too much money. To get two top drivers in a team you need 4.000.000 to 6.000.000 dollars, 40% of the budget of a good team. They need to lower their demands. You will see that the market will not move much".
On Saturday 6th July 1985 was a day of near drama as Nigel Mansell suffered a terrible off-track accident. The Williams driver was hospitalised in Marseille, in shock and with a minor head injury. He will not take part in the race and will be flown home to England on Sunday for further assessment. Mansell went off the track with a puncture. Goodyear engineers explain:
"A small puncture could have caused the explosion".
The Williams, which was travelling at 322 km/h at the end of the Mistral straight, crashed into the barriers with devastating force and lost its left wheels. One of the tyres hit the helmet of the Englishman, who was taken to the infirmary and then to hospital. A terrible blow, hopefully without further complications. Meanwhile, there was a terrible fight for pole position and in the end Keke Rosberg, still the winner of Detroit, beat Ayrton Senna. Another track record, 1'32"462, set at an average speed of 226.211 km/h. Third place went to Michele Alboreto, with a Ferrari miraculously affected by the total change of set-up and the return to the old suspension, already tested on the same circuit in May. Bravo to the Italian driver, who set a time of 1'33"267 (while Johansson, due to a series of circumstances, did not go beyond P16), but above all exceptional were the mechanics of the Maranello team, who completely rebuilt two cars and replaced three engines in twenty-four hours. Old school, great temperament and passion. And what resilience. On Saturday morning, Alboreto and Johansson found themselves with two single-seaters of the usual type and a spare with the new configuration, which still turned out to be bad. The Swede suffered an engine failure (the third in two days) and had to use the third car in qualifying while he waited for the first one to be prepared for repair. Unfortunately, the work took a long time and Stefan was forced to wait for Alboreto to finish his practice session in order to get into his team-mate's car. When he finally got on the track, he realised that his gearbox was stuck in fourth gear and there was nothing he could do. Says Michele Alboreto at the end of the session:
"I'm very happy with the progress we made. Ideally, I would drive a Ferrari with the old suspension in front and the new one in the back. I would have a perfectly manoeuvrable car. Don't ask me to make any predictions about the race. It is too difficult, also because we still have some problems to solve. We are trying to find out what is happening with the engine. We are looking at everything from the electronics to the fuel system, hoping to solve this complicated equation”.
Meanwhile, the rivals are all over the place. There is Rosberg, who is asking for a pink Vespa as a prize and dedicating the record to himself. The Finn explains that his heart was racing for at least ten minutes after the lap that brought him the record. And what about Senna? The Brazilian was the only one of the twenty-six drivers to enter the Signes corner without taking his foot off the accelerator, in fifth gear and at over 300 kph. At the end of the straight, the fastest drivers were: Piquet, 341 km/h, and Rosberg, 339 km/h, while Alboreto did not exceed 322 km/h. Unbelievable courage, but shortly afterwards the Renault engine of his Lotus exploded. Alboreto will also have to defend his championship lead from Prost. The Frenchman will start ahead of Piquet and Lauda. In France, McLaren could play a very important role. Nor should we forget a regular rider like De Angelis. Elio was unable to defend himself because of a worn engine, but he would start in sixth place with a car that he said would be very competitive. On Sunday 7th July 1985, at the start of the French Grand Prix, Ayrton Senna made a good start but was unable to overtake Keke Rosberg. Alain Prost, on the other hand, had a bad start and slipped to seventh. Nelson Piquet was third, followed by Michele Alboreto, Elio De Angelis and Niki Lauda. On the fifth lap, both Andrea De Cesaris, with a broken driveshaft, and Alboreto, who saw his car's engine explode at Signes, retired. Two laps later, taking advantage of the competitiveness of the Pirelli tyres, Piquet overtook Senna. Shortly afterwards, Lauda also moved up a place, overtaking De Angelis.
On lap 10, Senna was forced to return to the pits with his gearbox stuck in third gear. The Brazilian hoped that the repair would allow him to rejoin the race. Meanwhile, on lap 11, Nelson Piquet successfully attacked Keke Rosberg on the Beausset and took the lead of the race. The Williams driver tried to counterattack in the Bendor corner, but was unable to regain the lead. On the same lap, Alain Prost overtook Elio De Angelis. Piquet was able to gain an early advantage over Rosberg, who was now driving a car limited by lack of grip. This allowed the two McLaren drivers to close the gap. A few laps later, Rosberg and the overtaking Lauda had to lap Pierluigi Martini; the Minardi driver let the former pass, but closed the track to the Austrian, who was forced to brake abruptly and over the kerbs to avoid a pile-up. This allowed Prost to close the gap to Lauda. When Martini overtook Lauda, he did not notice the arrival of Prost, who also had to make a gap to avoid an accident. After twenty laps, Piquet was 9.5 seconds ahead of Rosberg, who was 0.5 seconds ahead of Lauda and one second ahead of Prost. De Angelis, in fifth, is more than 17 seconds behind Piquet, while Marc Surer, in sixth, is more than 33 seconds behind his team-mate. On lap 21, Gerhard Berger, also struggling to overtake Martini, made contact with the Italian. Both drivers ended up in the escape route and had to retire. On lap 29, Ayrton Senna, who had returned to the track, was forced to retire after his engine exploded at Signes. Oil fell from the rear of the car onto the rear tyres of the single-seater and the Brazilian spun, ending his race against the barriers. Fortunately, the driver got out of his Lotus unharmed. On lap 31, Lauda was also forced to retire due to a gearbox problem, which occurred as the Austrian entered the Bretelle straight. Over the next few laps, Prost closed in on Rosberg, but was unable to overtake him. On lap 37, Stefan Johansson was sixth after overtaking Patrick Tambay. Two laps later, Alain Prost finally managed to overtake Keke Rosberg on the Verriere S. Prost, now second, was able to gain a second a lap on Piquet, who was 17 seconds ahead, while Rosberg returned to the pits for a tyre change, moving up to fourth behind De Angelis. Surer also decided to change tyres: the Swiss driver dropped back to eighth. This forced Nelson Piquet to slow down in order to save his tyres.
This reduced the gap to Alain Prost to 11 seconds. On lap 44, Keke Rosberg regained his position from Elio De Angelis. Alain Prost, who had reduced the gap to the leader to less than 10 seconds by the end of lap 50, was limited by an engine problem. Every time he slowed down, the engine lost power, forcing the Frenchman to keep the throttle open, even when braking and changing gear. This problem, in addition to depriving the Frenchman of any chance of victory, allowed Keke Rosberg to close the gap, so much so that on the last lap, on the Mistral straight, he overtook him for second place. A few seconds later, Elio De Angelis was also overtaken by Johansson at Signes. The Italian's Lotus suffered a turbocharger leak. Nelson Piquet wins the French Grand Prix, followed by Keke Rosberg, Alain Prost, Stefan Johansson, Elio De Angelis and Patrick Tambay. Seven races, six different winners. And they're all top drivers, or at least considered to be. After Prost (two victories, plus a disqualification at Imola), Senna, Alboreto, De Angelis and Rosberg, Nelson Piquet's name could not be left off the roll of honour for the 1985 F1 World Championship. The Brazilian for Brabham surprisingly won the French Grand Prix, making a strong comeback one year after his last victory. The Brazilian had not been on the top step of the podium since June 1984 (victory in Detroit, immediately after dominating in Montreal). It was a close race that saw Alboreto's Ferrari retiring almost immediately, the always spectacular Rosberg finishing second and Prost third in a McLaren that was probably paying for winning too much last season. Fourth, good and fighting, Stefan Johansson in the other Ferrari, a few moments ahead of the usual De Angelis and, more distant, Tambay in the new Renault. The awakening of 32-year-old Piquet, a two-time world champion, coincides with another resounding comeback, that of Pirelli. For the first time since its return to Formula One in 1981, the Italian tyre manufacturer, which supplied Brabham, beat the giant Goodyear, its only major rival. A great satisfaction for Pirelli and an incentive for the Americans to react. The Italian company's last F1 victory came in 1957 at Monza, with the Vanwall driven by Stirling Moss. Now, after a long period of dominance in rallying, the company has resumed an endeavour that is not only a question of image but also, and above all, a question of technology.
Piquet, with his Brabham, makes himself and the whole team, headed by Bernie Ecclestone, happy. He is a nice man, Nelson, a friendly and spontaneous Brazilian who has found a second home in Italy. His fiancée is from Milan, spaghetti is his favourite dish and he speaks fluent Italian.
"It was not an easy race. I had to concentrate a lot. In the first part I had no problem overtaking Alboreto, then Senna and Rosberg. From the middle of the race I saved the car and waited for them to attack me. When Prost tried to close the gap, I picked up the pace and the rest was history. Only in the last five laps I had to be very careful because the rear tyres had deteriorated. I could have stopped in the pits to change them, but I preferred to continue, I had a good lead".
Piquet says he is not thinking about the title this year.
"The favourites are the Ferrari and McLaren drivers, Alboreto and Prost. Maybe the Italian more than the Frenchman".
Then Nelson makes a surprising statement. Until recently, he had often stated that he did not like the cars from Maranello. In 1982 he had even argued with Enzo Ferrari, albeit indirectly. Now, however, he says with a straight face:
"Ferrari, although it did not shine here, has the best car this year, the best potential. It is also the best looking car, aerodynamically it seems to me the most suitable. It just needs some work on the set-up and then it should have no problem overtaking the competition".
A way to mend fences with the Maranello team? Or is there some other mysterious reason behind these statements? We are in the middle of the rider-market phase, and good relations are useful. Either you get what you want from your team, or you prepare for a change. Pirelli engineers explain the reasons for Brabham's surprising success. The tyres prepared by the Italian company were particularly suited to the environmental conditions in which the French Grand Prix was run. Engineer Mezzanotte confirms:
"We did a lot of work in these conditions and we waited to see what our chances were. For the first time this season we have been able to run a car all the way through with great results. There are no hidden secrets, just a lot of hard work and testing. We know very well that another period of intense preparation awaits us, but we will be able to face it with a different spirit".
Also present for Pirelli was engineer Carlo Banchieri, Product Manager for the Italian company.
"Our goal has always been to run a whole race with one set of tyres. We did it and we also showed that our tyres can give remarkable performance and exceptional stability to the car. Did you see how easily Piquet was able to overtake Rosberg?"
But why has Pirelli not yet developed a competitive qualifying tyre like Goodyear?
"We had to prioritise racing first, but little by little we will try to get to the other field as well. Give us some time to work. You also have to bear in mind that we have only been working with a team of a certain level for a year”.
It sounds simple, but it is not. The chemistry of tyres is crucial in motorsport. In Formula 1, engineers go to great lengths to build a 1500cc engine with over 1000 hp to gain maybe 0.2 seconds per lap. But then it only takes one wrong detail, such as the tyre, to lose two seconds in one go. There are hard, intermediate, soft, dry and wet tyres for racing and qualifying. Goodyear mark their products with the letters A to E, based on the softness, the former being more durable, the latter deteriorating in practically one lap. Pirelli uses the numbers to identify the tyres: for example, the number 3 is used for the soft tyres, 2 for the hard ones. Rosberg, in a risky mood, had chosen three B tyres and one A. Piquet had four 2s, Lauda four A's, Tambay three A's and a double A (very hard). It makes you lose your mind. The problem, however, lies mainly in the manufacture of the tyres, which is done with a technology that is as sophisticated as it is handcrafted, because the series is quite limited: between Goodyear and Pirelli, they produce about 2000 tyres per race. The most impressive fact, however, concerns the assembly of the tyres. The compound, i.e. the actual rubber, is made up of at least thirty components (rubber, carbon black, etc.), and there are even more possibilities for making the carcass, which has different designs, thicknesses and compositions, all of which are different from one another. If you add up all these variations, with the percentages of materials according to needs, internal and external temperatures, types of track and asphalt, you get billions of combinations. 3% more or 3% less is enough to change everything. This is just a brief summary of the importance of the rubber factor and the value of Pirelli's success. It is also the factor that makes this Formula 1 World Championship more and more interesting. From race to race, the battle is developing, uncertain, with new and old protagonists coming to the fore. Alboreto still leads the standings, but his lead over De Angelis has shrunk by one point. In addition, the Lotus driver has been joined by Prost on 26 points, while he is beginning to close in on Rosberg - fourth in the standings. Then there is Johansson, who nobody really expected to be in this position, and then Tambay and Piquet. Once again, the Brazilian Ayrton Senna didn't finish in the points. More than 70,000 people attended the Paul Ricard circuit, and the airport next to the circuit was packed with 400 aircraft, including 25 with more than 50 passengers. A sign of the ever-increasing interest and passion. As already mentioned, Nelson Piquet won. A race in which the choice and type of tyres played a decisive role. As for Alboreto, the Italian driver was still hampered by an inconvenience. Despite a good start, Michele did not make it past the fourth lap. His Ferrari returned to the pits with a conspicuously smoking engine. Alboreto left immediately. Someone said they heard him muttering:
"We hope Alliot wins”.
As if to say, let's hope that none of my rivals take important points. But that was not the case. Many of my direct rivals have moved up in the standings and from now on the fight will be harder and tougher. The protagonists of the race were practically two. Nelson Piquet, who made an amazing start that took him to first place by lap 11, and Rosberg, the author of a spectacular attack and then a comeback that once again confirmed his incredible ability to balance. Fighting with them, almost on a par, were Niki Lauda and Alain Prost. But their race was not particularly fortunate. The Austrian had to retire, while in third position he tried in vain to attack Rosberg because of a broken gearbox. Lauda even had a problem overtaking Martini, who was driving a very slow Minardi. In the action, Niki hit the kerb quite hard. Immediately afterwards the gearbox gave way. It is not known if it was a consequence of the incident or if the mechanism was about to fail. The fact is that Lauda, who was hoping for a breakthrough, now has to chase the competition. If Piquet is celebrating his success with the Brabham men, as far as the other teams are concerned, only Williams has been able to achieve a completely positive result. And indeed, Keke Rosberg, always relaxed and ready for a joke, says he had a good time:
"Second place is good for me and maybe I could have even won if I hadn't waited too long to change the tyres that had deteriorated. But that's what happened and I was able to show that I was always up to the task. When Lauda and Prost attacked me, I smiled in my helmet and saw their McLarens in the rear-view mirrors. They would never have been able to pass me if I hadn't had any problems. Then, when I changed tyres, it was easy to follow Prost. The car runs well and was very balanced. I think we'll go a long way together, although I'm not thinking about the championship yet".
Dark faces in an already all-black Lotus environment. Elio De Angelis could not contain his anger when he reached the finish line. He stalled the car, causing the brakes to smoke, got out, jumped over the pit wall and threw off his helmet and gloves:
"You can't go on like this, you can't run around the track with people passing you on all sides. Nothing was wrong with the car, from the brakes to the engine to the tyres. In short, we lost competitiveness and we have to work to improve".
Ayrton Senna was also very nervous after being sidelined by a double problem. First the Brazilian was forced to stop in the pits because his gearbox was stuck in third gear. Then, when he rejoined the track to attempt an impossible comeback, he crashed violently into the rubber barriers of the famous Signes corner. But it wasn't all the young South American's fault.
"My engine suddenly stopped, I saw the oil pressure light come on. At the same time, some fluid must have got onto one of the tyres, because I slipped like on ice. I had quite a scare".
For Prost, it was another day of bad luck.
"It was difficult to overtake Rosberg. At the start, my McLaren's engine was erratic and I was even struggling to stay in Lauda's slipstream. Then, when Niki had to stop and I was running low on fuel, the car started to balance out. I thought I could attack Rosberg and after several attempts I did. At one point I even thought I had won the race because I was getting closer to Piquet. But a problem, almost certainly electrical, stopped me. Every time I braked, the engine suddenly dropped in revs and was in danger of stalling. This allowed Rosberg to pass me very easily. I cannot throw away a third place, but I am not happy either".
Niki Lauda is even angrier.
"I couldn't get a break, I kept the pressure on Rosberg, I was about to overtake him when a defect forced me to line up on the side of the track. And to think that last year the McLaren was the most reliable and competitive car in F1. I really hope that in the next few races I can prove that I am still capable of winning a race".
On the eve of the French Grand Prix, no one would have bet on a positive test for Scuderia Ferrari. Everything pointed to a decline in the performance of the Maranello cars. What caused this regression is difficult to say. Even the team's engineers could not explain the reason for the setback. Says sporting director Marco Piccinini:
"Actually we are not very happy because we are not even on the podium. But I have to say that we are already working to try and solve the problems we have encountered along the way. At the moment, in the Fiorano workshops, they are testing the engines in conditions similar to the race. In other words, we are trying to find out why there are so many breakdowns and lack of performance. On the other hand, as far as the set-up of the cars is concerned, the fact should be contingent and we hope that it will not be repeated in the next race at Silverstone".
At the end of the race, Stefan Johansson was very tired. The Swede says very little, but it is clear from his tone that the race was particularly difficult for him:
"Terrible understeer and then I ran out of tyres at the end. It's a miracle that I was able to catch De Angelis and pass him in the last few metres. I had no problems with fuel consumption, but I assure you it was one of the most difficult tests of my career”.
According to engineer Antonio Tomaini, Johansson's performance was remarkable. However, when we look at the chronometric lap results, we can see that the times achieved by the Swede were far below expectations. Rosberg, who set the record, set a lap time of 1'39"914. Piquet did several laps under 1'42"0, as did Prost and Surer. Faster than Johansson were also Boutsen, Fabi, De Angelis, Senna, Alboreto himself and De Cesaris. Stefan's best time was 1'43"411, which meant that the car was not competitive. It was only the perseverance of the driver and the misfortunes of the other competitors that saved what could be saved. Ferrari now had a very busy schedule. On Tuesday 9th July 1985, one team would travel to the Nürburgring, while the other would be in Zeltweg on the same day. An attempt would be made to test on track what had been understood in the workshop. Michele Alboreto is bitter, but not particularly pessimistic:
"There is still a long way to go. I said that not to get our hopes up. We have to keep working and that is the only way to be confident".
The Maranello team continues to lead the Constructors' Championship by a comfortable margin over Lotus (15 points). This means that it has been the most reliable team so far, and that the French Grand Prix could be considered a bad adventure. However, in 15 days' time at the English circuit of Silverstone, there will be an important counter-event from which Ferrari must try to emerge with its head held high. Meanwhile, Nigel Mansell has been flown back to the UK. The driver, who was the victim of a very serious accident on Saturday morning, appears to be out of danger. But the terrible blow to his head from a wheel that came off his Williams has certainly left its mark. Mansell will undergo a thorough examination. At the moment, he is still in a state of shock and his balance is unstable. However, the Williams team were quick to say that the Englishman would in all probability be available for the next British Grand Prix on Sunday 21 July 1985. A possibility which will have to be checked by the doctors. On Sunday evening, the cashiers at the Paul Ricard circuit were astonished. The organisers finished counting the money late at night and could not believe their eyes. The number of spectators had set a new record for a French Formula 1 Grand Prix: to give an idea of the movement generated by the race, jets were still queuing to take off at the private airport next to the circuit five hours after the end of the race. It is a tangible sign of the interest generated by an uncertain and fiercely contested world championship that has different protagonists and winners at each stage. This time it was Nelson Piquet who crossed the finish line first. In the midst of so many wild drivers, the Brazilian showed that his class has not diminished and that his will to win remains intact.
"It's strange because I think I've always had a good reputation in our circle, at least among the drivers and engineers: but I'm convinced that out there, in the world of the fans, someone stopped believing in me. The parable of the champion: some people think that once the money is made, once the thirst for glory is quenched, everyone loses motivation, concentration. Fortunately I am not like that, I still enjoy racing and driving, I really enjoy it, especially when I can reap the fruits of my labour. And you have to admit that in all this time, a year or so, when I have not been able to reap any major results, I have put a lot of effort into it. This winter I have done thousands of kilometres of testing, not counting transfers".
What was behind Brabham's victory in the seventh race of the season?
"The will to win. We did not spare any effort: the team, the collaborators like the men from Pirelli, from BMW, the sponsor Olivetti. It would have been easier to cry over our misfortune. Instead, we reacted in the right way. And I can also say that I have no illusions. It may be some time before we win another race. But that's not a problem, I know how to wait".
Like many of his colleagues, Piquet is now cautious in his predictions. The Brazilian is not saying that the supremacy demonstrated at Le Castellet could be repeated at Silverstone in two weeks' time:
"The track is suitable for our car. We should also have some interesting new upgrades for the British Grand Prix. But that doesn't mean we can beat everyone. Every race is a different story and we need high temperatures to perform at our best".
How can this need be explained?
"It is simple. It depends mainly on the tyres. Pirelli started from scratch with us. In previous years, the Italian company's tyres were great during the tests, which are usually held in winter with cold temperatures. Then, when the races came in the summer, there were unforeseen problems. So we started from the principle of making tyres that could withstand a lot of wear and tear in hot weather. We spent months testing in South Africa and Brazil. And the results are there. Now we have to move forward and prepare the cars for cold conditions, rain and qualifying. In short, we need to broaden our field. And I believe we will succeed because the Pirelli technicians, led by Mezzanotte and Turchetti, are working methodically".
Does this mean that Piquet can challenge for the World Championship this year? On the other hand, with nine races to go, the battle is still wide open.
"I don't think so. I am sure it will be between Alboreto and Prost, with Rosberg possibly thrown into the mix. I would put my money on Ferrari, and I can explain why: at Le Castellet the Maranello team had the most difficult day since the start of the championship. But they managed to limit the damage. Johansson took points from De Angelis and I, involuntarily, denied them to Prost and Rosberg".
One last clarification. The winner of the French Grand Prix changed cars and tyres before the start. What happened?
"On the formation lap I felt strange vibrations in the engine that had been changed in the morning. And then I decided to be cautious and choose more durable tyres. With a hundred F1 races behind me, experience counts for something”.