Throwback Thursday: 1985 Australian Grand Prix

30 years ago, the Australian Grand Prix marked the end, not the beginning, of the Formula 1 season, and produced a milestone for the father of one of the drivers expected to figure most strongly in this year's edition of the race.

The blistering 95 degree temperatures produced a race of high attrition the likes of which are rarely seen in the modern era, with only eight cars classified at the finish. Rising above it all was Keke Rosberg in his Williams-Honda who claimed the fifth grand prix win of his career – which would also turn out to be his last.

Rosberg had qualified third behind the consummate qualifier of the era – Ayrton Senna in his Lotus Renault – and his Williams teammate Nigel Mansell; but they, along with other frontrunners including Alain Prost (who had long since wrapped up the World Championship after a dominant campaign in his McLaren-TAG) were long gone by the finish. Instead, it was the Ligiers of Jacques Laffite and Philippe Streiff who joined Rosber on the podium in second and third places.

The triumph further underlined the Rosberg's status as a dynamo on the growing phenomenon of street courses, as three of his previous four wins came on the streets – Monaco (1983), Dallas (1984), and Detroit earlier in the 1985 season.

Click on the thumbnails below for larger images:

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