History against second McLaren victory

Press, 2 January 1985, Page 25

History against second McLaren victory

With the dust now settled after the 1984 world drivers’ championship, a contest almost totally dominated by the Marlboro McLaren team, preparation for the 1985 series has commenced. Teams that were left floundering behind the McLaren entries are making every effort to ensure that the thrashing they received from the Wokingbased team will not be repeated next year. Perhaps they can take solace from the fact that the last time a Formula One team won two consecutive titles was 1966-67, when Jack Brabham and Denis Hulme won the respective titles driving Repcopowered Brabhams. Another possible hurdle for the McLaren team is that its world champion driver, Niki Lauda (Austria), has history stacked against him for retaining the title he won at Estoril, Portugal, in October. The last driver to have won two consecutive drivers’ titles was Brabham, who achieved the double in 1959-60 driving for the now defunct Cooper team. Lauda did come close to the double in 1975-76, but missed out by a single point, to James Hunt (Britain) in the final round of the series, on a rain-soaked Mt Fuji circuit in Japan. On present form, Alain Prost must be favoured to win the 1985 championship. The Frenchman, who has had the title snatched away from him in the closing stages of the championship last two years, is

unquestionably quicker than his team-mate, Lauda, but yet again the history books show that France, the country that invented grand prix racing, has yet to produce a world drivers champion. Prost’s dilemma is similar to that faced by the legendary Stirling Moss, who, despite winning many grand-prix, never won the world title. The fact that Prost lost the title this year by the narrow margin of half a point must make the Frenchman’s resolve to win the elusive crown next year, even greater than in the past.

Other Frenchmen who have the ability to deny Prost the title are the Ferrari driver, Rene Arnoux, and Patrick Tambay, who drives for the French Renault team. Ferrari is a team that is never off-form for long and if the designer, Mr Harvey Postlethwaite, does his homework correctly during the off season, Arnoux and his Italian team-mate, Michele Alboreto, could be on the winner’s rostrum more often.

The McLaren designer, Mr John Barnard, would dread a fate similar to that which befell the John Player Lotus team after its all-conquering Lotus 79 cars had dominated the 1978 championship. Having sewn up the title with Mario Andretti (United States) winning five grandprix and his team-mate, the late Ronnie Peterson, winning two races, the team then endured a draught last-

ing until Elio de Angelis (Italy) won the 1982 Austrian Grand Prix by a whisker from Keke Rosberg (Finland) driving a Williams. Lotus has failed to win a race since, but that could change next year when de Angelis will be partnered by the Brazilian new-comer, Ayrton Senna. Senna quit the Toleman team at the end of the season and signed up for Lotus, replacing Nigel Mansell, who will now drive alongside Rosberg at Williams next year. An interesting situation could develop at Williams in the new season, as it is no secret that Rosberg has little time for Mansell as a driver and has publicly criticised his style more than once during the last season.

The Brabham team still retains the services of the former world champion, Nelson Piquet (Brazil), and with a little more reliability from its BMW engines, Piquet could win his third drivers' title since 1981.

Piquet was one of only three drivers to beat the McLaren duo last season, twice in fact, at Montreal and Detroit and given better luck next season, he would be the most serious threat to McLaren. With 16 races scheduled next season, stretching from Dallas on March 24 to South Africa on October 26, teams and drivers are busy testing new chassis configurations, engine developments and tyre compounds in an effort to emulate the deeds of the McLaren team in 1984.

Confirmed dates for the 1985 championship are:— April 7, Brazil .(Rio de Janeiro); April 21, Portugal (Estoril); May 5, San Marino (Imola); June 2, Belgium (Spa Francorchamps); June 16, Canada (Montreal); June 23, Detroit; July 7, France (Paul Ricard); July 21, Britain (Silverstone); August 4, West Germany (Nurburgring or Hockenheim); August 18, Austria (Zeltweg); August 25, Netherlands (Zandvoort); September 8, Italy (Monza); September 29, New York; October 13, European Grand Prix, Rome (Italy); November 3, Australia (Adelaide); November 16, South Africa (Kyalami).

By

GEORGE TANNER