French squadron
The 1985 Canadian Grand Prix was held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montréal. The 70-lap race was won by Italian driver Michele Alboreto, driving a Ferrari, with teammate Stefan Johansson second and Alain Prost third in a McLaren-TAG.
Picture above: Frenchman Jacques Laffite (at the wheel) takes fellow countrymen Patrick Tambay, Alain Prost and Philippe Alliot for a ride in the paddock of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Four French drivers were taking part in the race: Patrick Tambay qualified his Renault in tenth position, and finished in seventh position, not scoring a point. Philippe Alliot placed his modest RAM-Hart in 21st position, but crashed on lap 28 and was forced to retire, while Jacques Laffite had a difficult weekend: he started in his Ligier-Renault well down the field in sixteenth, drove a steady race and finished outside the points in eighth, one lap down.
Alain Prost (picture below), chasing his first drivers’ title, qualified his McLaren-TAG in fifth and finished third, only 4.3 seconds behind winner Alboreto. At the end of a dominant season, Prost finally clinched the first of his four world drivers’ titles.
