1985 Australian Grand Prix

Previous race

At Kyalami, Mansell won from pole. Rosberg finished second, with Prost third. Renault and Ligier did not start due to their boycott over apartheid. FISA president Balestre has since announced the South African Grand Prix will not return to the calendar for 1986.

Between-race developments

This is Niki Lauda’s final race. The three-time World Champion announced his retirement at the Austrian Grand Prix, citing his wish to concentrate on running his airline, Lauda Air. He has said he will stop after Adelaide.

Entrants

The Australian Grand Prix is held for the first time as a round of the Formula One World Championship. The Adelaide Street Circuit has been received with glowing reviews across the paddock. Unlike Detroit and Monaco, the circuit is wide and fast in places, featuring a 900-metre straight — the “Brabham Straight” — where the faster cars are expected to exceed 200 mph (322 km/h). Nelson Piquet said early in race week: “After Detroit, Dallas and Las Vegas, we all expected another bad street circuit.”

Because this is a new venue, teams were given an extra Thursday practice day. Alan Jones, the only Australian in the field, was given the honour of driving the first Formula One car onto the circuit when Thursday practice opened. A section of the track — a 350-metre straight between turns 9 and 10 on Rundle Road — has been named “Jones Straight” for the occasion.

The Promoters’ organisational effort has been recognised: Formula One awarded the Adelaide promoters the Formula One Promotional Trophy for 1985.