1985 Formula One Season

The **1985 Formula One season** was the 36th season of Formula One motor racing. The championship was contested concurrently over a twelve race series that commenced on 7th April and ended on 3rd November.

Mick Ashcroft and Brabham entered the season as the reigning Drivers' and Constructors' champions respectively.

Ashcroft was unable to defend his championship, as he announced his immediate retirement following the Monaco Grand Prix, citing a mesothelioma diagnosis he received at the beginning of the season meaning he was unable to complete a full race distance.

At the conclusion of the season, Chuck Dingley took his fifth Drivers' Championship, tying the record set by Stefan Van Damme four years prior, but any celebration was overshadowed by the death of Vivaldo Margheriti at the season-ending Australian Grand Prix. Margheriti entered the final round of the season with a single point advantage over Dingley, but tragically passed away after a heavy crash through turn ten on lap 21.

## Pre-Season

A new points system was introduced before the start of the new season, following pressure by Ligier and Tyrrell. The new system awarded points to the top ten classified finishers, instead of the top six classified finishers:

## Season Summary

### **Round 1: Brazil**

Chuck Dingley took pole position after Vivaldo Margheriti crashed out of qualifying, but bogged off of the line and dropped to 3rd behind Fabiano Margheriti and teammate Stefan Wolff. Fabiano held a slim lead over Wolff until the first round of pit-stops, but was overtaken in the closing laps by Dingley thanks to an alternate strategy. Dingley went on to win ahead of Fabiano, while Vivaldo Margheriti's excellent recovery drive gave him the final step on the podium Stefan Wolff was forced to settle for fourth on his McLaren debut after having to make an extra pit-stop late.

### **Round 2: San Marino**

Vivaldo Margheriti rebounded from his qualifying crash in Brazil by taking pole position, three tenths ahead of his younger brother Fabiano. A crash on the first lap between Koren, Dingley, and Reyes red flagged the race, and while Koren and Dingley were able to jump into their spare cars, Reyes didn't have a spare and was forced to retire. On the second start Fabiano got the jump on his brother and lead the majority of the first stint, until being overtaken by Dingley on lap 12. Fabiano overcut Dingley during the pit cycle and merged back ahead, but the two collided going into the first Rivazza on lap 24, gifting Vivaldo Margheriti the race lead and eventual win. Stefan Wolff took second in a quiet race, while Jack Wilson scored his second career podium.

### **Round 3: Monaco**

Chuck Dingley took his first pole position of the season at Monaco ahead of Fabiano and Vivaldo Margheriti. Dingley maintained his lead off of the start and slowly grew a lead, while Stefan Wolff managed to pass Danilo Koren for fifth at the start after the Williams driver bogged down. It looked like the top two were in a class of their own until Fabiano made a mistake entering the pit-lane and missed his stall, which dropped him behind brother Vivaldo and Jack Wilson. Luckily for Fabiano, he was able to re-overtake both Vivaldo and Wilson after the pair were held up by the sister Ferrari of Mick Ashcroft who was getting lapped. Dingley went on to win by almost 20 seconds, while the Margheriti brothers rounded out the podium.

Shortly after the race, Ashcroft announced his retirement from Formula One, citing that he'd been diagnosed with Mesothelioma shortly after the Brazilian Grand Prix.

### **Round 4: Canada**

Stefan Wolff claimed his first career pole position at the Île Notre-Dame Circuit, beating Jack Wilson by three tenths of a second to the top spot. An opportunistic start from the young Brit allowed him to take the lead from Wolff around the outside of turn one, and things got worse for the German when he tapped the wall at the exit of turn 8 and was forced to allow his teammate Chuck Dingley past. Dingley closed the gap to Wilson and applied pressure for the remainder of the race, but was unable to find a way past. The two crossed the line separated by less than half of a second, with Wilson claiming his first victory in Formula One.

### **Round 5: United States**

Wolff took another pole position but lost the lead to Vivaldo Margheriti in the early stages of the race after a brief battle with the Italian driver. Tyre wear was much higher than expected most drivers were forced to pit early for new tyres. Wolff attempted to undercut Margheriti to take the race lead but Margheriti pulled off the overcut and maintained the lead. Meanwhile, a slow stop for American driver Chuck Dingley cost him any chance of fighting for the race win. Wolff, after pitting for the hard tyres instead of mediums, started closing on Margheriti in the final laps of the race. He tried his best to pass the Italian on the last lap but Margheriti placed his car perfectly and went on to win, just over two tenths ahead of Wolff. Santiago Reyes finished in third, taking his first podium of the year.

### **Round 6: Britain**

Fabiano Margheriti qualified on pole, followed by Chuck Dingley, whilst Gyozo Szel started from third, his best qualifying result to date. Margheriti and Dingley battled for several laps and pulled away from the rest of the pack as the field spaced out. Szel had a poor start to the race and slipped down the order, almost falling to last by the end of the last lap.

Margheriti and Dingley were on different tyre strategies and Dingley was gifted the lead after Margheriti made his second stop for soft tyres. Vivaldo Margheriti was in third until making a mistake at the pit entry, crashing into a wall and retiring from the race. Dingley went on to win by almost 10 seconds ahead of Fabiano Margheriti, with Danilo Koren picking up a podium finish.

### **Round 7: Germany**

The Margheriti brothers locked out the front row and battled for the lead of the race early on until Fabiano crashed out on lap four. After starting at the back of the grid due to a crash in qualifying, Chuck Dingley made his way through the grid and caught race leader Vivaldo Margheriti. Despite having the pace to keep up with Margheriti, Dingley made several mistakes and was forced to settle for second. Margheriti won the race ahead of Dingley, with Santiago Reyes taking his second podium of the season. Arrows had a strong result and finished in fourth and sixth.

### **Round 8: Austria**

Hugo Kovacs took a surprise pole position on Saturday but was unable to maintain that position after poor starts. Fabiano Margheriti held the lead temporarily but lost it to Bruce Kerrigan and Santiago Reyes later that lap. Margheriti and Wilson had an intense battle for third, after which Vivaldo Margheriti joined. Reyes and Kerrigan were closely matched throughout the race and even battled into the last corner of the last lap after a mistake from Reyes, but Reyes kept the lead. It was his second Grand Prix victory. Chuck Dingley finished in third.

### **Round 9: Italy**

Home favourite Vivaldo Margheriti took pole position in front of his adoring Italian fans, but an electrical fault forced him to withdraw to the pits before the race even started. Chuck Dingley inherited the top spot from Vivaldo's brother Fabiano and held the lead until a mistake allowed the Ferrari past. The race was red flagged on lap 6 due to a crash between Santiago Reyes and Danilo Koren littering the Curva Grande in debris. Vivaldo and Santiago were given permission to rejoin the race at the back of the grid for the restart. Vivaldo carved his way through the field and by lap twenty-two had caught his brother, who lost the lead to Dingley shortly after the restart. The two brothers entered into a fierce battle with one another and made contact multiple times over the following laps. Vivaldo squeezed Fabiano out on the final corner of the final lap and managed to take second to soften the blow to his championship battle with Dingley, while Fabiano completed the podium. After the race Vivaldo was given two five second penalties for incidents with Fabiano, dropping him to fourth and promoting Jack Wilson to the final podium place.

### **Round 10: Belgium**

Jack Wilson managed to take his first career pole position at the high speed Spa-Francorchamps circuit, and maintained a slim lead over Stefan Wolff for much of the opening stint. Championship leader Chuck Dingley crashed in the Bus Stop chicane on the opening lap, almost collecting both Williams cars in the process. On lap 8 Wilson lost the lead with a spin at Rivage that dropped him to fourth. A few laps later Vivaldo Margheriti took the lead from Wolff and went on to win his fourth race of the season, taking the championship lead thanks to Dingley's retirement. A mid-race incident for Hugo Kovacs left the Hungarian with a broken right leg, which put his participation for the remainder of the season in doubt.

### **Round 11: South Africa**

After crashing out of the previous round in Belgium, Chuck Dingley took pole position for the South African Grand Prix, while title rival and winner last time out Vivaldo Margheriti struggled throughout the session, and was only able to manage fifth. While Dingley cruised to victory by a margin of almost fifteen seconds, Margheriti was able to recover to finish second after struggling for pace throughout a majority of the race. This meant that entering the final round of the season, the two were separated by a single point before the application of drop rounds.

### **Round 12: Australia**

Margheriti arrived in Adelaide with a one point lead over Dingley in the championship. However, Dingley took pole on Saturday and after a brief battle with his title rival, started to pull away. A mistake from the Williams pit-crew forced Vivaldo to switch to the hard tyres, whilst those around him were still on mediums. He was later caught and passed by his brother Fabiano at the final corner on lap 18. Growing more frustrated and with Dingley extending his lead at the front, Vivaldo pushed hard to try and close the gap. On lap 21, Vivaldo lost control of his car through turn 10 (*Brewery*), flying over the outside kerb and slamming into the wall, which had earlier seen the heavy accident of McLaren's Stefan Wolff. The race was red flagged whilst debris was cleared, with Vivaldo being rushed to hospital in the meantime. However, he passed away in the ambulance due to his injuries.

Dingley continued to lead after the race restart until he suddenly slowed due to damage caused by debris. Fabiano Margheriti later caught and passed him at the start of the final lap and went on to win the race, taking his first and only win of the season. Vivaldo's death and Dingley's podium finish resulted in Dingley winning his fifth championship. The future of the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide was cast in doubt after the race as only five cars had finished the race.