P10 TO P1: LAUDA’S FINAL F1 VICTORY

Niki Lauda beat Alain Prost by 0.232 seconds at Zandvoort to claim the 25th and final victory of his Formula 1 career.

Photo: Sporti / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

The 1985 Dutch Grand Prix came one week after Lauda announced that he would retire at the end of the season. While McLaren teammate Prost qualified third, Lauda started from 10th after another difficult qualifying session.

FIVE PLACES ON THE OPENING LAP

Lauda’s race changed immediately. He climbed to fifth by the end of Lap 1 and moved closer to the lead as the race developed.

After making an early tyre stop, Lauda temporarily dropped to eighth. His pace brought him back into contention before Prost’s slower stop left the Frenchman approximately 15 seconds behind his teammate.

DECIDED BY 0.232 SECONDS

Prost passed Ayrton Senna and steadily reduced Lauda’s advantage during the second half of the race.

By the closing laps, the two McLarens were running together. Lauda positioned his car carefully around Zandvoort’s narrow layout and prevented Prost from finding a way past, taking victory by just 0.232 seconds.

THE LAST WIN BEFORE THE LONG BREAK

The result was Lauda’s 25th and final Grand Prix victory. It also matched Jim Clark’s career total and produced the final championship points of Lauda’s Formula 1 career.

The race became the last Dutch Grand Prix held before Formula 1 began a 36-year absence from Zandvoort.