1985 French Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 16 in the 1985 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | July 7, 1985 | ||
| Location | Paul Ricard Circuit | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.81 km (3.61 mi) | ||
| Distance | 53 laps, 307.93 km (191.33 mi) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-Honda | ||
| Time | 1:32.462 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Keke Rosberg
|
Williams-Honda | |
| Time | 1:39.914 on lap 46 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Brabham-BMW | ||
| Second | Williams-Honda | ||
| Third | McLaren-TAG | ||
The 1985 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on July 7, 1985. It was the seventh round of the 1985 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was the 63rd French Grand Prix and the ninth to be held at Paul Ricard. The race was held over 53 laps of the 5.81 km (3.61 mi) circuit for a total race distance of 307.93 kilometres (191.33 miles).
This was the last time the entire Paul Ricard circuit was used for the French Grand Prix. In 1986 a shorter, 3.813 km (2.369 mi) 'club' version was used after Elio de Angelis' fatal accident at the circuit during a test session. This was seen as a knee jerk reaction to the crash by the FIA as it was known that the circuit itself wasn't to blame for the crash. The rear wing of de Angelis' Brabham BT55 had broken off at high speed going into the Verriere bends at the end of the pit straight, resulting in a complete loss of downforce at the rear of the car causing it to crash.
Nelson Piquet won the race driving a Brabham BT54-BMW. It turned out to be the Brabham team's last victory in Formula One. It was also the first Grand Prix victory since their return to Formula One for Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli. Piquet won the race by six seconds over pole winner Keke Rosberg driving a Williams FW10-Honda. Third was French driver Alain Prost driving a McLaren MP4/2B-TAG Porsche. Prost's podium finish allowed him to close to within five points of championship leader Michele Alboreto (Ferrari).
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