Alain Prost

Alain Marie Pascal Prost ( born February 24, 1955 in Saint- Chamond ) is a French racing driver Armenian- French origin. Between 1980 and 1993, he competed in 199 Grand Prix in Formula 1 In the period from 1997 to 2001 Prost ran his own Formula 1 team called Prost Grand Prix. Since 2003 he is active as a racer back and starts regularly in the French Eisrennserie Andros Trophy.

Alain Prost is one of the most successful pilots of Formula 1 history: He was four times each World Champion and Vice World Champion and won a total of 51 Grand Prix. Many of his numerous records had on hand, until they were surpassed by Michael Schumacher. In 1999, Alain Prost at the World Sports Awards of the Century award in the Motorsport category, alongside the likes of Pelé, Muhammed Ali, Carl Lewis and Steffi Graf.

The general public was Prost in the late 1980s known primarily for his time rivalry with the Brazilian Ayrton Senna, with whom he dueled intensely on the race track also. In the four seasons in which both left (1988-1990 and 1993) in the fight for the world title all other drivers behind him, each of them won the title twice. In the course of his Formula 1 career succeeded Cheers to beat all his five world champion team-mate on points.

• 3.1 strengths
• 3.2 weaknesses
• 3.3 racing philosophy
• 3.4 Aftermath of the era Prost

• 6.1 Career stations
• 6.2 Statistics in Formula 1 6.2.1 Grand Prix wins
• 6.2.2 Individual Results

Career

Beginnings in motorsport

At the age of 14 years in 1969 Prost began his motorsport career in karting. He remained until 1975 active in this sport. Among other things, he won the French Karting Championship 1974. In 1976 he moved to the Formula racing and won with 12 wins out of 13 races right away the champion of the French Formula Renault. A year later, he managed to decide for the European Formula Renault. 1978 Prost competed in various Formula 3 race series. The most successful he was in the French Formula 3 Championship where he won the championship title. In the European Formula 3 Championship, he finished ninth. In 1979 he succeeded the champion to decide for themselves both in the French, as well as in the European Formula 3. Prost had the opportunity at the last race of the 1979 season to give already made ​​his Formula 1 debut for McLaren, who wanted to use a third car. He surprised the team with a rejection on the grounds that the use would not even help him to the team.

Formula 1

McLaren (1980 )

For the 1980 Formula 1 season Prost was awarded a contract with the Formula 1 team McLaren, which was still in operation at the time of Teddy Mayer. His teammate was the Briton John Watson, who had moved in the previous year to McLaren. Already in his debut race, the Grand Prix of Argentina on the Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires, he succeeded as sixth score his first World Championship point. Last 1973 the American George Follmer achieved this on his debut. A race later in Brazil, he scored more points than fifth. This result was his best result in his debut season in which he scored two other race in sixth. Prost first season, however, was also marked by some technical problems and accidents. Thus Prost moved in an accident at the Grand Prix of South Africa at Kyalami a wrist injury. As a result, he was unable to start in a race and was represented by Stephen South, who could not qualify. At the season finale in the U.S. had to Prost after a training accident again pause. At the end of the season, he finished with five points on the 16th place in the Drivers' Championship and had only one point less than his teammate Watson. Although he still had a contract for two more years, Prost left McLaren after the season. He founded the disposal, among others, the variety of technical faults in his car.

Renault (1981-1983)

In 1981, Prost to Equipe Renault and was team mate of his compatriot René Arnoux, who had won in the previous two races for Renault. According to the motorsport journalists Nigel Roebuck, there were problems from the beginning between the teammates, since Prost was faster than Arnoux from the start. In the first six races of the racers fell out five times and was third in Argentina for the first time on the podium. In his home Grand Prix at the Circuit de Dijon -Prenois finally succeeded the Frenchman for the first time a race to decide for themselves. Later in the season he won the Grand Prix of the Netherlands and Italy and was in two other race in second on the podium. For all other races, he failed. It is therefore a Frenchman in the season to stand at each target arrival on the podium. In the drivers' world championship, he finished with seven points behind champion Nelson Piquet fifth overall. Team Intern, he sat down with 43 ​​to 11 points clearly against Arnoux through. Besides Prost only World Champion Piquet could produce three wins.

1982 Prost started well into the new season and won the first two races. In Kyalami, South Africa Prost led the race first up to a puncture at which promoted him seven positions to the rear. Could then cheers for a set of new tires and a new lap record on the other pilots who were before him and had older tires overtake and win the race. He took over for the first time in his career the lead in the world championship. In Brazil, he was awarded the victory afterwards as Piquet and Keke Rosberg, who came to the goal before him, were disqualified for being underweight. Later in the season, however, failed him win more races. The tense relationship between Prost and Arnoux was charged this season one more time, because Arnoux, who had been invited at the French Grand Prix, Renault to a place exchange, refused to allow his teammates over. He finished the season in fourth place with ten points behind world champion Rosberg and could thus improve again. Once again, he was at the end of the season before Arnoux, Renault then left in the direction of Ferrari.

In 1983, Prost with the American Eddie Cheever a new teammates. Prost won four Grand Prix this season and led the World Cup for a long time. He was also the pilot with the most victories. In the end, however, it was not enough to win the title, as Piquet with a catch-up end of the season was finally able to show two points more than Prost. Prost finished second and sat within the team clearly against Cheever, the seventh place overall occupied by. Following the season, there were differences between Prost and Renault. Prost was of the opinion that Renault had developed the car too conservative, while Renault made ​​the racer responsible for the not won world titles. In addition, the French fans took him evil, that he had Arnoux, who had become starting third for Ferrari this season, forced out of the team. Prost was finally released two days after the season finale of Renault. In addition, Prost left France and moved with his family to Switzerland.

McLaren (1984-1989)

1984 Prost went back to McLaren, replacing his former teammate John Watson. At McLaren in the meantime, some changes had occurred. Mayer had been as team principal Ron Dennis, who took over the team along with Techniques d' Avant Garde ( TAG), superseded. TAG also funded turbo engines from Porsche. The teammate of the Frenchman was Niki Lauda, who won in the seventies, twice the world title, and was returned in 1982 for McLaren in Formula 1. The season started well for Prost, who won the opening race in Brazil. Two races later, he decided the Grand Prix of San Marino for themselves. In the sixth race of the season, the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo Prost scored the first pole position. On race day the starting first had to be postponed for 45 minutes due to heavy rain. Prost led first in following the race with a larger lead. However, Ayrton Senna and Stefan Bellof that lay behind him came along better and better with the conditions and took the leader on. Finally, the race was stopped after 31 laps with the red flag. Senna was pissed about this situation, because he had caught on Prost and with faster lap times had good chances to win. Since not even 75 % of the original distance had been completed, only half points were awarded. Later in the season, Prost won four more races with victories in Germany, the Netherlands, Europe and Portugal. Although he could boast two wins over Lauda, ​​he was beaten by his teammate at the end of the season. Lauda became world champion with 72 points and had only half a point ahead of Prost. The title decision was the most closest decision for the World Champion title in the Formula 1 on the remaining pilots had Prost each more than twice as many points.

1985 remained Prost at McLaren. His teammate Lauda was represented for a race by Watson. As in the previous season succeeded the Frenchman to win the opening race in Brazil. Later in the season he won the Grand Prix of Monaco, the UK, Austria and Italy in the McLaren MP4 / 2. Overall, the racer was eleven times on the podium. Since this season only the best eleven results counted, the remaining races were not included in the scoring. At the end of the season Prost won for the first time in his career and the first Frenchman ever the world title of the drivers. On his biggest rivals for the title, Michele Alboreto, he had a lead of 20 points. Also within the team Prost was clearly the strongest pilot and he suggested Lauda with 73 to 14 points. For his achievements Prost was awarded the Légion d' honneur in France.

After Lauda had finally ended his Formula 1 career at the end of the 1985 season, was Keke Rosberg, the Formula 1 world champion of the 1982 season, 1986 New McLaren team -mate Prost. Although Prost decided the duel against Rosberg, who should leave F1 after this season, clearly for themselves, in the title decision he had to but with the Williams driver Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet, who used Honda engines, deal. At the Grand Prix of San Marino Prost led the race significantly. Three corners from the finish line he realized that he ran out of fuel. He still managed to steer the car to the finish and celebrated his first victory of the season. At the Grand Prix of Germany Prost again went out of petrol. Lying in fourth place, he remained on the home straight lie. Prost got out of his car and tried to push it over the finish line. Not He succeeded, but since enough pilots were lapped, he was considered a sixth. With a total of three wins Prost finished second with six points behind Mansell for the season finale, the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide. Mansell was in the race ahead of Prost and was thus in a position to decide the title for themselves. However, the Briton suffered a puncture at top speed. Piquet, Mansell's team-mate, who was leading the race at this time, was then brought to a safe stop on the box. Prost took over so that the lead of the race and decided it for themselves. He also took the lead in the world championship and defended his title. He had just two points ahead of Mansell, who won this season with five wins most races. Again Prost had been able to score points in more than eleven races and there were eleven podium finishes in the standings.

For the 1987 season Prost was again a new team-mate Stefan Johansson. The Swede moved from Ferrari to McLaren. He benefited from good contacts to Marlboro, the main sponsor of McLaren. Although Prost began with two wins from the first three races well into the season, but in the rest of the season showed that he had no chance on the world title, the pilots made ​​up the Williams Piquet and Mansell among themselves. However, Prost managed the Grand Prix of Portugal at Estoril his third victory of the season, which was his 28th Formula 1 win. He broke the hitherto held by Jackie Stewart record and became the Formula 1 driver with the most wins. He lost that record only in the 2000s to Michael Schumacher. In the drivers' world championship he finished fourth in this year and sat within the team with 46 points compared to 30 by Johansson.

Although Williams had won with Piquet the drivers and the constructors' world championship titles, left engine partner Honda, the team since Williams did not use a Japanese driver. Honda finally moved to McLaren in 1988. Prost had his team boss Ron Dennis advised Senna, who had been in the previous year for Lotus with Honda engines Third, to give a three -year contract in order to entice Honda to McLaren. During the season, a rivalry between the two pilots developed. McLaren dominated the season and won 15 of 16 races. Senna decided eight, Prost seven races for themselves. At the Monaco Grand Prix Prost benefited from an accident Senna, the lying turned in management and resigned. Prost received criticism after he had abandoned the Grand Prix of Great Britain due to heavy rain, while Senna won the race. In the further course of the season Prost was just another instance of a technical defect. At the end of the season Prost was able to boast seven wins and seven second places. Since only the best eleven results counted, three second places from Prost were not included in the scoring. Senna, who was not at several races on the podium, thus benefiting from the fact that he had one more win than Prost. After deduction of the worst scores Senna was world champion with 90 to 87 points ahead of Prost. All other pilots had achieved less than half as many points as Prost or Senna.

1989 McLaren was with 10 wins from 16 races similarly dominant as in the previous season. Already at the second Grand Prix of the year in San Marino, the relationship between the two pilots was passed on. Despite an agreement not to overtake the leading teammate, Senna drove past and Prost won the race. The communication within the team was consequently only indirectly about the mechanics. After the first four races Senna could boast three wins, while Prost had occupied three times second place. When the U.S. Grand Prix, the team-internal duel turned in favor of Prost. By the penultimate race he won three more races and led the championship with 16 points. Result of the previous regulations, in which only the best eleven results were included in the World Cup, Prost was introducing less because he already had eleven podium finishes ( four wins, six second places, one third place ), while Senna until seven races could score points. Thus, the Brazilian was to become world champion with two wins under its own power despite the backlog of 16 points in the situation, even if Prost would have been at both races in second place. In the second last race, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, it finally came to a collision between two pilots. After Prost led the race in the 46th lap, Senna tried to overtake his team-mate in the chicane. Prost tried to stop, whereupon both hooked and stopped in the outlet zone the overtaking maneuver between the two. While Prost left the car immediately, Senna was further pushed by the marshals to salvage something. Since it went downhill, Senna took on Bolide pace and succeeded in the car to start again. After a repair stop managed to win the race against him after a passing Alessandro Nannini. However, Nannini was honored at the podium ceremony as the winner. Senna was disqualified because he had skipped the chicane. Although McLaren lodged an appeal against this decision, the disqualification was confirmed. Senna also received a fine of 100,000 U.S. dollars.

Was thus prematurely Cheers for the third time world champion. Since both McLaren drivers turned out in the season finale, another FIA decision at the Grand Prix of Japan would have led to no other title decision. Prost left McLaren after six years at the end of the season.

Ferrari (1990-1991)

In 1990, Prost for Scuderia Ferrari and replaced Gerhard Berger, Prost's successor at McLaren was in return. His teammate was Mansell, who was a year before switching to the Italian team. After a failure in his Ferrari debut, he won the second race of the season in Brazil. Four races later, at the Grand Prix of Mexico, he won another race, which he recorded from the 13th starting. With Mansell in second place Ferrari also celebrated a double victory. The two following Grand Prix of France and Great Britain decided Prost also for themselves. At the Grand Prix of Spain, another double victory for Ferrari followed with Prost at the first place. Like last year, the title duel came down to a duel between Prost and Senna. At the Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Prost decided to start for themselves. However, it was already in the first turn to a collision between the two pilots, in which both failed. The World Cup was therefore decided to Senna. Prost was 71 to 78 points runner-up. He had almost twice as many points as his team-mate Mansell, who could enter 37 points achieved.

For the 1991 season, Mansell left Ferrari because of his unstable relationship with Prost and returned to Williams. Prost's new teammate was his compatriot Jean Alesi, who had previously started for Tyrrell. Ferrari could not build on the results of the previous year this year. Also, a revision of the chassis brought the team no closer to the competitors McLaren and Williams. For the first time since his debut season, Prost remained without a win. Three second places were his best results. After comparing the handling of his car with a truck at the Grand Prix of Japan, he was fired one race left in the season from the team. Prost was replaced by Gianni Morbidelli. In the world championship took Prost fifth place. Team Intern he sat down against Alesi by 34 to 21 points.

Williams ( 1993)

In 1992, Prost participate in any Formula 1 race and completed only tests for Ligier. Prost's former teammate Mansell won this season's world championship title for Williams. The British team took Prost during the season for the coming year under contract. Mansell subsequently announced that he would leave the team for next season. In order not to meet again on Senna, Prost's contract with Williams included a clause that Senna could not switch to Williams in 1993. Prost's team mate for the 1993 season was Damon Hill, who had participated in the previous year for Brabham at some races.

Cheers decreed this year with the Williams FW15C a racing car, which enabled him to ride the track. Prost was with seven wins from 16 races of the pilot with the most victories. In addition, his previous weakness was no longer present in qualifying and he scored 13 times the pole position. At the end of the season he won with 26 points ahead of Senna for the fourth time the world title. Three races to Prost announced his retirement from Formula 1. Senna was finally taken as the successor to Cheers from Williams under contract. Prost celebrated his last victory at the Grand Prix of Germany at the Hockenheimring. In the same year he was chosen by the sports newspaper L' Équipe for the fourth time after 1985, 1986 and 1991 French Sportsman of the Year ( " champion of champions" ).

In 1995 he took part in for the last time McLaren Formula 1 test drives.

Second racing career (since 2003)

Currently, Prost is active as a racing driver again. Since late 2003, he takes part every year in the winter Eisrennserie Trophée Andros, he with all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering was able to win in early 2007 in a Toyota Auris first time. 2003/2004 and 2005/2006 Prost had finished the championship with the second and 2004/2005 with the third place in the overall standings. After a total of 14 championship rounds of 2007/2008-Meisterschaft Prost was 2 February 2008 with his Toyota Auris, the 300 was powered by a V6 engine from the Lexus RX with 3 liters and 350 hp well decide this race series again for themselves and the coveted Andros trophy defend. 2009/2010, he secured behind Škoda Fabia driver Jean -Philippe Dayraut for the fourth time, the Andros - runner. For the 13 races comprehensive series 2009/2010, Prost joined by Toyota to Dacia, and stood in for the Renault subsidiary with the only commercially available from April 2010 Dacia Duster SUV model.

Prost also began in 2005 in the French GT Championship. In a Chrysler Viper GTS -R, he participated in twelve races and chose a race for themselves. The season he finished in eleventh place overall. In July 2005 he won the DTM show event Race of Legends at the Norisring against some of his former rivals.

Prost Grand Prix (1997-2001)

In 1997, Prost French tradition Ligier team and called him into Prost Grand Prix. Prost himself was active as team manager of the racing team. Prost Grand Prix took part in the Formula 1 until 2001. The end of 2001 the team went bankrupt.

In five seasons, the team took part in 83 races. The best overall finish was sixth place in the drivers' world championship in 1997. A victory was the team that could produce two second places for the best results, denied.

Driving

Strengthen

Cheers embodied as a racing driver the type of the analyst behind the wheel. His scientific approach to the setup of the car, his tactical wisdom and his ability to " read " the race from the cockpit, cheers helped too active times for nickname " Professor ".

In addition to his basic speed his consistency as well as the precise and clean driving style were more strengths of the French. Prost seemed to turn as if on rails his rounds. His quiet and soft riding style, its advantages Prost had learned to appreciate in his footsteps Jim Clark, the naked eye often hid the speed at which he was traveling.

Prost was in his playing days as generally fair driver. However, the controversial collision with Senna at Suzuka in 1989, for the Prost until today, has absolutely no intention of tarnished this image at many.

The intense rivalry between the arrivierten Prost and the ascending Senna, which was fought not only on the slopes, but also through the media, was one of the great rivalries in motorsports. In motor sports experts from the struggle between Prost and Senna par excellence is considered the archetypal struggle between two fundamentally different types: on the one hand, the calculated Prost, on the other, the impulsive Senna. The longstanding rivalry of these two exceptional drivers culminated in the controversial collisions of Suzuka in 1989 and 1990 and ended only in 1993 Prost's withdrawal from Formula 1

Prost had more than any other driver in Formula 1 history to fight against top-class competition in his own team: five of his teammates were already or were later world champion. With few exceptions, it always succeeded Cheers to beat his teammates in the World Cup. In his debut season in which he had an accident sidelined two races, he lost the duel against Watson. Four years later he lost the duel and internal stable so that the world championship against Lauda by half a point - the smallest distance in Formula 1 history. 1988 Prost remained under the conditions of the discard control despite higher score only the runner-up title behind team-mate Senna. Prost next Lauda is the only Formula 1 driver who once again became world champion for a Comeback ( 1993).

Weaken

In the qualification brought Prost's material -driving drawbacks: Measured by its qualities in the race was Prost's relative weakness in the fast round where he had with his soft style of driving difficulties to bring the qualifying tires to operating temperature. In addition, he was here even less than in the race inclined to put everything on one card. The launch site was in Prost's racing calculus of secondary importance.

Another weakness revealed Prost driving on damp or wet surfaces. When he went in 1988 at the Grand Prix of Great Britain in the middle of the race in the rain to the pits and handling problems stated, taught him this is a harsh criticism. When a year later the start of the race in Adelaide in the face of torrential rainfall considered irresponsible and turned off to the only pilot as agreed after the warm-up lap in the pits, earned him not only the already familiar criticism but also the secret respect to some colleagues. Prost's deep aversion to wet races, because he has left no doubt itself, not the result of the slippery ground, but from the lack of view and from his experiences on the Hockenheimring 1982, when the world championship leader Didier Pironi did not suspect him in the fluidized spray water on Prost's Renault ascended, ascended into the air and had to end his career because of injuries sustained in this accident serious injury. Prudent already inherently Prost spared unnecessary risks then even more.

Racing philosophy

Prost's racing philosophy throughout his career can be to the glory days of racing truism "to finish first, you have to finish first" describe. Victories was the most important thing for Prost. The finding, however, that every victory requires to convey the work vehicle safely across the finish line, cheers, thanks iron self- discipline more deeply internalized than many of its rivals. In particular, in the times of Nachtankverbots mid 80s Prost began his race usually careful to make good positions towards the end of the race.

Aftermath of the era Prost

The importance Prost for the development of modern pilots is that he brought a level of professionalism that time in Formula 1, which sought success in unprecedented intransigence and the pilot profession took as a full-time job. Prevailed even in the generation before Prost the type of racer who, after crossing the finish line virtually had off duty, as already recorded the generation after him routinely by those properties that increasingly became the key to success in Formula 1 next to the talent: the methodology of a scientist, the fitness of a high -performance athlete and the absolute concentration of a chess player.

Recognized early Prost the value of meticulous work outside the cockpit: In an era when Formula 1 unwinding of scientific test programs and the implementation of challenging fitness programs by no means constituted a matter of course for teams and drivers to meet Prost recorded in the work on car by its special mechanical understanding and his intense working relationship with the engineers.

A record Prost are its 126 Formula 1 starts on turbo cars.

Personal

Alain Prost was born near Saint- Chamond in the French Loire. His parents are the French cabinetmaker André Prost and Marie-Rose Prost- Armenian Karatchian. Daniel Prost (1953-1986), the elder brother of Alain Prost, died in 1986 from cancer.

Alain Prost practiced in his childhood from different sports and broke several times in his childhood his nose. For a family holiday in the south of France he was 14 years old the first time in a kart

Prost is married to Anne -Marie since 1980. They have two sons ( born 1981 and 1990). In addition, Prost has a daughter from another relationship (* 1996). His eldest son, Nicolas Prost is also a racing driver.

Others

As introduced by the FIA ​​a former racing driver as the fourth race Commissioner for Formula 1 2010 season, Prost was the first former Formula 1 pilot, who held this position at the Grand Prix of Bahrain.

Since February 2012, Alain Prost has also worked as a brand ambassador for Renault, and is the French manufacturer in this function with advice and practical help. In addition, he sits at demonstrations at the wheel.

Statistics

Career stations

Statistics in Formula 1

Grand Prix victories

Individual results

Statistics in the Trophée Andros series

• 2003/2004: 2nd overall on Toyota Corolla 4 × 4
• 2004/2005: 3rd overall on Toyota Corolla 4 × 4
• 2005/2006: 2nd overall on Toyota Corolla 4 × 4
• 2006/2007: Overall winner on Toyota Auris 4 × 4
• 2007/2008: Overall winner on Toyota Auris 4 × 4
• 2008/2009: 2nd overall on Toyota Auris 4 × 4
• 2009/2010: 2nd overall on Dacia Duster 4 × 4
• 2011/2012: Overall winner on Dacia Lodgy 4 × 4