Following a highly eventful Monaco Grand Prix the next stop on the 1984 Formula 1 calendar was Canada. After that the drivers had two American races to face, and Nelson Piquet’s Brabham suddenly found some reliability.
Piquet Wins Two Grands Prix for Brabham
In Montreal Piquet enjoyed a perfect weekend. After claiming pole position the Brazilian went on to win the Canadian Grand Prix, setting fastest lap in the process. The McLaren drivers were his nearest challengers, with Niki Lauda second and Alain Prost third.
Piquet was again on pole in Detroit, but this time his start did not go to plan. Nigel Mansell tried an optimistic move off the line and, in the process, caused a multiple accident which included Piquet’s Brabham, Michele Alboreto’s Ferrari, Ayrton Senna’s Toleman and Marc Surer’s Arrows. Fortunately for Piquet a complete re-start was required, enabling him to switch to his spare car.
While Piquet won the re-started race in his spare Brabham the most impressive performance of the day came from Martin Brundle. In a scintillating drive the Englishman took his Tyrrell all the way up to second place and was right behind Piquet on the final lap. After the race illegal ballast was found in his car’s water tank. Tyrrell lost all their points for the season and were subsequently banned from the last four races of the year. Nevertheless, it had been an impressive performance.
In the official results Elio De Angelis was credited with second position for Lotus. In third was another Brabham, driven by Teo Fabi. In a race of attrition only six cars finished.
Rosberg Gives Honda Victory in Dallas
The second US race of 1984 was staged in Dallas and it descended into farce after the track surface broke up. Unlike permanent road courses street circuits such as Dallas were not required to hold a trial race before hosting a Formula 1 Grand Prix. After a 50-lap Can-Am race the track was left broken and battered. Emergency resurfacing work took place before the race but it was inadequate to cope with the power of Formula 1 cars and continued to disintegrate throughout the race.
Although the race was gruelling for the drivers it provided some great entertainment for the spectators. Mansell started from pole and led for many laps, pursued by Derek Warwick’s Renault. The latter eventually crashed out, leaving Keke Rosberg to take up the chase. The Finn passed Mansell but was then himself passed by Prost. The McLaren driver made an uncharacteristic mistake and clouted the wall, leaving Rosberg in the lead. He was still ahead at the flag, giving Honda their first Formula 1 win since 1967.
René Arnoux drove an extraordinary race, having started last after problems on the grid. By the finish he was up to second place. In third was De Angelis, while his Lotus team-mate Mansell collapsed while pushing his car across the finish line.
Review of the 1984 F1 season continues here.
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