Prost and Renault, 46 years of ups and downs

By ending their collaboration, the four-time world champion of F1 et Renault put an end to a common history dating back almost half a century. An idyll marked by several interruptions, successes and failures. Each has been the common thread in the story of the other, from the beginning of the young person's car career. Alain Prost. After winning the Elf steering wheel, the French driver made his debut in the French Formula Renault Championship, winning the title with authority in 1976, before tackling Europe with the same success the following year, still within the series promoted by the Diamond brand. The first real collaboration between Prost and the Boulogne-Billancourt firm occurred in 1981, when he joined the F1 team after a year with McLaren. For three years, the one we nicknamed “The Professor” will become more experienced in his car yellow powered by a V6 turbo engine. Seasons during which he cleared his account in Grand Prix (in Dijon-Prenois, July 5, 1981) even finishing vice-world champion behind Nelson Piquet in 1983. Already at the time, the story ended in bitter blood sausage ... Alain Prost keeps in his throat the fact that his team boss at the time, Gérard Larrousse, did not file a complaint against Piquet and Brabham, who were suspected of having used gasoline with an octane level was irregular. Prost, like the inveterate competitor he already was, slammed the door to return to McLaren. We then had to wait ten years to see the Frenchman and the brand collaborate again. This time indirectly, since Renault motorized Williams, for whom Prost, then three-time world champion, rode. Powered by the French engine, Alain Prost won his last world title in 1993, winning ahead of his lifelong rival Ayrton Senna and his teammate Damon Hill.

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During his second life, Alain Prost was named brand ambassador in 2012, without us really knowing what the goal was. He uses his new role to join forces with Jean-Paul Driot and found the e-DAMS team in Formula E, obtaining technical support and title sponsorship from the brand. The business is a real success. e-Dams Renault wins the first three editions of the 100% electric championship (2015, 2016, 2017), thanks to Sébastien Buemi. The Swiss then teamed up with Nicolas, Alain's son. Prost eventually sold his stake when Renault decided to withdraw in order to fully concentrate on F1. Meanwhile, in 2017, Alain Prost became special advisor to Renault F1 Team, the brand believing that the presence of a former driver of his caliber was a real plus to take it to the top. For two seasons, he provided valuable advice without being directly involved in the daily life of the team. He takes on even more importance in 2019. In addition to his functions as ambassador and special advisor, he officially becomes non-executive director ofenstone, and is by definition involved in the team's strategic decisions. When Renault became Alpine in 2021, he ran for president ofAlpine F1, and even claims to have had a proposal to which he would have responded favorably, but the arrival of Laurent Red at the head of the brand changed everything. The climate, internally deleterious according to him, ended up giving birth to an inevitable divorce. Between Prost and Renault, the end of the cycle was often complicated, but that never stopped them from meeting again years later. So, who knows if it won't be the case again?