Alain Prost

1. Who is he?

Alain Prost is a former French pilot born February 24, 1955 in Lorette. He is a four-time Formula 1 world champion (1985, 1986, 1989, 1993).

2. Junior course

Having become passionate about motorsport through his brother, Alain Prost successfully climbed the ranks of national karting. European champion in the discipline in 1973, he narrowly missed repeating such a performance at world level. The Ligerien moved into single-seaters by trying his luck at Volant Elf in 1976. Winner, he moved on to Formula Renault France, winning 12 of the 13 races, then the Formula Renault European Championship as well as European Formula 3. He then prefers to aim directly for a seat in Formula 1 without moving to Formula 2.

3. F1 journey

McLaren offers him a test session at Castellet (Var). There, he drives faster than the incumbent John Watson! Director Teddy Mayer immediately hired him for the 1980 season, but the potential was not transformed into results. Alain Prost finished 16th and returned to Losange for a three-year lease. It is in fact with Renault that he will open his tally of podiums, best laps and victories in the category. More efficient and yet younger than his teammate René Arnoux, Alain Prost is gradually establishing himself as the leader of the French team. Unfortunately, tensions arise internally. In this atmosphere not conducive to concentration, Alain Prost had to put up with the fuel cheating of the Brabham-BMW, which damned him at the last minute in 1983. The Frenchman gave himself a new look by returning to McLaren. Ron Dennis is at the helm and Niki Lauda is finishing his career. But the Austrian veteran first gained the upper hand over his young teammate, by 0,5 points in 1984 (the smallest gap in the history of F1). It's only a postponement for Alain Prost, who collects two crowns in 1985 and 1986, a first for France. He then suffered the law of Williams and their V6 turbo Honda engine, which was more efficient than the TAG Porsche. But McLaren signed a contract with the Japanese engine manufacturer for 1988; simultaneously, Alain Prost validates the arrival of a certain Ayrton Senna in his stand. Thus begins an era of unchallenged domination, which will turn into a duel at daggers drawn. Defeated in the number of best results in 1988, Alain Prost took his revenge a year later, after a controversial clash. “The Professor” understands that there is not enough room for two tenors in the same team, and decides to wear the colors of Scuderia Ferrari in 1990. Still at Suzuka, he is the victim of a decided collision by his best rival and loses a title opportunity. In 1991, the Franco-Italian marriage turned into divorce even before the end of the season. The Prancing Horse did not appreciate the criticism from its driver, who compared the single-seater to “a truck”. With no top-notch steering wheel available, Alain Prost took a sabbatical in 1992, before coming back even stronger in 1993, with Williams-Renault. He signs his masterpiece, 13 poles, seven victories as well as a fourth and final world title. Definitively retired at the end of 1993, he took over the Ligier team in 1997 and renamed it Prost GP until his death in early 2002.

4. AUTOhebdo’s opinion

Like an emeritus professor, Alain Prost had the science of racing. You don't win 51 Grands Prix and four world titles by chance. Often beaten by Ayrton Senna in qualifying, the Frenchman was no novice in time trials, as his 33 poles attest. Above all, Alain Prost had the immense courage to compete against exceptional teammates (Lauda, Senna, Mansell) and never shied away from the challenge internally.