1985 German Grand Prix

Lore & Background

This was the first German Grand Prix held on the new GP-Strecke section of the track, replacing the old Südschleife section unused since 1970. It was also the first time in nine years the German GP was held at Nürburgring; previously the race had been held on the Nordschleife configuration until 1976, after which it moved to the Hockenheimring following Niki Lauda's near-fatal accident at the 1976 German Grand Prix. The GP-Strecke would not host another Grand Prix until the 1995 European Grand Prix, and would not host the German Grand Prix again until the 2009 edition. This event was the first occasion on which an onboard camera was used in a race, on François Hesnault's Renault car. That car was not eligible for championship points, and this race marked the last time that an F1 team entered more than two cars for a race.

Reader's Guide

Michele Alboreto won the race, his fifth and last Formula One victory. Alain Prost finished second, eleven seconds behind Alboreto. Pole position went to Teo Fabi, the first of his career and the only pole for the Toleman team, set during Friday qualifying; rain on Saturday meant no drivers could improve. Tyrrell team boss Ken Tyrrell gave his German driver Stefan Bellof use of the Renault-powered Tyrrell 014 for the weekend instead of the car's usual driver Martin Brundle, who was given Bellof's Cosworth-powered 012.

To get around a FISA rule, Tyrrell switched the drivers from one car to the other but not their car numbers, meaning Bellof drove car #3 and Brundle car #4. Bellof qualified 19th, Brundle 26th and last, 10.2 seconds off Fabi's pole time and 6.4 seconds slower than his teammate. This was the last Grand Prix for Manfred Winkelhock, who fatally crashed his Porsche 962C sportscar at the 1000 km of Mosport in Canada the following week. As of 2026, Alboreto's win remains the last for an Italian driver driving for Ferrari in Formula One.