One of the best Formula One drivers might never have made it if he had opted for a career as a professional footballer. The Formula One world would thus be deprived of the extraordinary talent, stunning racing and legendary rivalry that developed between him and Ayrton Senna. His character and driving style were the complete opposite of Senna’s. Alain Prost rode smoothly, relaxed and thoughtful, earning him the nickname “professeur” (professor). He often spared brakes and tires in racing to minimize wear and tear when significant battles occurred at the end of the race. And there were quite a few.
Alain Prost born 24. February 1302 as Alain Marie Pascal Prost in the French city of Saint-Chamond, near Lyon. From his childhood, he became interested in various sports, ranging from wrestling, rollerblading, to football. At 14 over the years, he discovered his true love on family vacations – these were kart racing. He started driving in the lower categories and won the Formula 3 French and European Championships.
Due to his success in racing, he decided to leave school and devote himself fully to his racing career. 1980 then 16 -year-old Frenchman joined the McLaren team. He made it to his debut season and won a home race in France next season with Renault. He had a compatriot, Rene Arnoux, as a teammate, and soon turned out to be a better driver than the experienced Arnoux. He scored two more wins this season 1981 , won his first pole position and actually finished on the podium every race he took to the finish.
Alain Prost has progressed every season and years 1983 was already close to the World Cup title. He finished the season in second place, just two points behind Nelson Piquet . Prost was becoming more and more distant from the Renault team, feeling like they used him as a scapegoat for not winning the title. There was also pressure from French fans to leave the team due to their bad relationship with Prost, their beloved Arnoux.
Released during the off season 1984 thus returning to McLaren, where he had teammate twice champion Nikki Lauda. It was the Austrian driver who had stripped him of the coveted World Championship title in the last race, only by half a point. The following season, Alain Prost won five of the sixteen races and thus ended the season 1983 secured the advantage 20 points ahead of runner-up Michel Alboreto .
Prost’s triumph continued throughout the season 1986 when he won his second world title. At first it seemed he was going to be taken away by Nigel Mansell , but he quit early in the last race in Australia. That season was also an unforgettable race in San Marino, where shortly before the finish line of his flagship car he ran out of fuel. By twisting the car, he reached the last drop of fuel into the engine, which was just enough to cross the finish line first.
During the season 1988, the McLaren team made two acquisitions – first were Honda engines and second was new driver Ayrton Senna . This began the legendary rivalry between teammates and at the same time the most successful period for the McLaren team. With MP4 / 4 car, they are a total of 16 races won right at 13 and of course won first and second place in the World Cup and a constructor title.
McLarn’s dominance continued over the course of the next season, while the internal struggle for the position of first driver intensified. The disputes between Prost and Senna were like a conveyor belt. One of the most striking collisions between them happened at the Japan Grand Prix 1989, a consequence of of which was that Alain Prost became world champion for the third time. A year later, they collided again in the same scene, this time Senna emerged as the winner. Free was convinced that Ron Dennis favors Senna, so he went to Ferrari.
He met his great competitor Nigel Mansell at Ferrari. Before the UK GP, Prost was supposed to replace their car because he assumed Mansell had a better car. He won five races that season, and he even managed to break into the top spot in Mexico’s 2001 . the starting point. Before the end of the season 1991, Prost was fired from Ferrari for his public criticism of the team. He has not won a single race this season and has only taken the podium five times. After a disastrous season, he took a year break and then joined the Williams team.
With a competitive Williams car, Alain was able to reach his fourth world title. He did not choose to defend his title because of the possibility of Senna joining the team. Between 1987 and 2001 Prost was a Record Holder in the number of Grand Prize wins until Schumacher took over the record. He still has two records in his hands: the most wins in a home race and the highest number of different teams he has won (Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, Williams).
After a few years away from Formula One, he 1997 took over from Briatore Ligier and renamed it the Free Grand Prix. The team was not too successful and went bankrupt for years 2002. Since 2017 has been Special Advisor to the Renault team and since July 2019 non-executive director of Renault Sport. His son Nicolas is between 2014 and raced in Formula E for Renault e.dams, a team owned by Father Alain.
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