Team Lotus may well have qualified both its Renault EFlS-engined 97Ts on the front row of the starting grid, but it was the scarlet, fine-handling Ferraris of Michele Alboreto and Stefan Johansson which stormed through to score an impressive 1-2 triumph in the 70 lap 1985 edition of the Canadian Grand Prix.
A somehow appropriate outcome if you think about it, for Montreal’s sentimentally-titled Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is virtually regarded as hallowed ground by the devotees of the Prancing Horse, the great French Canadian driver having won there for Maranello back in 1978 and starred on several other occasions as well. In some ways, it could be argued, the grid might not have been quite as representative as it should. Alboreto’s final qualifying was badly compromised when an oil leak set the rear bodywork of his car aflame, causing him to abandon it out on the circuit after which he failed to improve during a brief stint in the team spare. He lined up third behind de Angelis and Senna, With Stefan Johansson at last displaying form more representative of his true ability and lining up alongside his team leader on the second row.
The Canadian Grand Prix was a long race, dominated by concern over marginal fuel capacity on the part of many teams. De Angelis went straight into the lead from Senna, the Italian demonstrating a maturity and determination which has been finely honed in recent months by his highly talented, and significantly less experienced, team-mate. Senna ran second for the first six laps before loss of turbo boost pressure, caused by a loose retaining clip, allowing a pipe to work loose, requiring him to stop for attention and lost him five laps on the leaders. However, rather than climbing out of the car and stumping away in a bad mood, the Brazilian hurtled back into the race with tremendous gusto and raced hard all the way to the finish, establishing a new outright circuit record even though all chances of a decent finishing position had vanished.
