The 1985 season

Prost Finally Takes His Crown

After two near misses, Alain Prost won his first title for McLaren, while Ayrton Senna announced himself in the rain at Estoril.

Alain Prost came into 1985 having lost the two previous championships while winning more races than the man who beat him, a distinction nobody wants twice. This time there was no near miss. Over sixteen rounds, from Rio de Janeiro in April to Adelaide in November, where Australia hosted its first world championship race, he won five times and settled matters with races to spare. McLaren kept the constructors' title, and Niki Lauda, the reigning champion, retired at the end of the year.

The calendar

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