Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog where I share some interesting stories from the world of Formula 1. Today I want to tell you about one of the most incredible and dramatic races in F1 history: the 1985 German Grand Prix at Zolder. This race had it all: a fatal accident, a protest, a chaotic start, a punch-up and a surprise winner. Let’s dive into it!
The 1985 German Grand Prix was overshadowed by two serious incidents that happened on Friday practice. The first one was when an Osella mechanic fell off the pit wall and was fatally hit by Williams driver Carlos Reutemann. The mechanic was trying to signal his driver Piercarlo Ghinzani to stop for a tyre change, but he lost his balance and fell onto the track. Reutemann had no chance to avoid him and hit him at full speed. The mechanic died instantly.
The second incident was when Ferrari driver Michele Alboreto suffered a huge tyre blowout on the main straight and crashed heavily into the barriers. His car was badly damaged and caught fire, but Alboreto managed to escape with minor injuries. The tyre failure was caused by debris from the previous accident.
The two accidents sparked a protest from the mechanics and drivers about the safety standards at Zolder. They demanded better protection for the pit crews, better barriers and more marshals. They also complained about the narrow pit lane and the lack of run-off areas. Some drivers threatened to boycott the race if their demands were not met.
The race organisers agreed to make some changes, such as installing new barriers, adding more marshals and widening the pit lane entrance. They also agreed to delay the start of the race by 15 minutes to allow more time for the drivers to warm up their tyres. The race went ahead as planned on Sunday.
However, the start of the race was anything but smooth. There was confusion on the grid with some cars being empty, some stalling and some missing their positions. The pole sitter Riccardo Patrese switched off his Arrows engine after waiting too long for the lights to come on. His mechanic Dave Luckett dived behind the car to restart it, but just as he reached it, the lights came on and the race started.
Sadly, the second Arrows of Siegfried Stohr crashed into Patrese’s stationary car, hitting Luckett. The impact was so hard that both cars lost their front wheels and flew into the air. Luckett was trapped under Stohr’s car and had to be rescued by marshals and other mechanics. He amazingly survived and still works in motorsport.
The race was red-flagged and restarted after a long delay. Patrese and Stohr were out of the race, as well as Reutemann who had damaged his car in avoiding the crash. The new pole sitter was Nelson Piquet in his Brabham-BMW, followed by Alain Prost in his McLaren-TAG and Niki Lauda in his Ferrari.
Piquet took the lead at the restart and dominated the race until lap 17, when he collided with backmarker Eliseo Salazar at the Ostkurve chicane while lapping him. Piquet tried to pass Salazar on the inside, but Salazar closed the door and they both spun off into the gravel trap.
Piquet was furious and got out of his car to confront Salazar. He kicked him, punched him and pushed him, while Salazar tried to defend himself. The two drivers had a heated argument until they were separated by marshals. Piquet later said that he lost his temper because he felt that Salazar had ruined his chance of winning.
The incident handed the lead to Prost, who looked set to win until he suffered an engine failure on lap 42. Lauda then inherited the lead, but he also retired with an electrical problem on lap 54. The new leader was Patrick Tambay in his Renault, who had started from 19th on the grid after a poor qualifying.
Tambay held on to win his first F1 race by 16 seconds over Keke Rosberg in his Williams-Honda and Jacques Laffite in his Ligier-Renault. It was also Renault’s first win since 1983 and their first with turbocharged engines.
The 1985 German Grand Prix was one of the most eventful and memorable races in F1 history. It showed how dangerous and unpredictable F1 could be, but also how exciting and rewarding it could be for those who survived.
