The 1985 Canadian Grand Prix was one of the high points of Michele Alboreto’s title challenge with Ferrari. On 16 June 1985, he won at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, leading home teammate Stefan Johansson for a Ferrari one-two, with Alain Prost third for McLaren.
The setting gave the result extra texture. Montreal’s circuit carried the name of Gilles Villeneuve, Ferrari’s lost hero in Canada, and the sight of two scarlet cars at the front fitted the location almost too neatly. Formula 1 rarely does sentiment on purpose, but sometimes it stumbles into it.
Ferrari briefly on top of both tables
Alboreto’s win moved him ahead in the Drivers’ Championship, while Ferrari also took the lead in the Constructors’ Championship. After five races, the season looked as if it might become a genuine Alboreto versus Prost fight, with Ferrari’s turbocharged 156/85 giving Maranello its best title shot for years.
The Montreal race also underlined the range of the 1985 field. Lotus had qualifying speed, McLaren had Prost’s efficiency, Williams-Honda was rising, and Ferrari had a car that could look extremely convincing when its reliability and tyres behaved. Alboreto was not lucking into a title challenge. At that stage, he was driving like a serious contender.
The peak before the fade
The later part of the season went away from Ferrari. Prost and McLaren became the more complete championship package, while Alboreto’s challenge was damaged by poor reliability and lost momentum. That gives Montreal its particular importance: it was not just another Ferrari win, but one of the moments when Alboreto’s championship bid looked fully real.
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