Alain Prost

Alain Prost (born February 24, 1955, Saint-Chamond, France) former French race car driver and motorsport executive. Prost competed in Formula One (F1) racing from 1980 to 1993, winning four championships. He won 51 races, a record at the time of his retirement. Nicknamed “the Professor” and “the Calculator” for his methodical approach to races, Prost is also remembered for his rivalry with Ayrton Senna. After retirement, Prost worked as a TV commentator and racing team adviser. He also owned F1 team Prost Grand Prix from 1997 to 2001.

Early life and interest in racing

Alain Prost was born on February 25, 1955, to an Armenian mother, Marie-Rose Karatchian, and a French father, André Prost, who manufactured kitchen furnishings. He had a brother, Daniel, who died of cancer in 1986. Alain was a physically active and competitive child who participated in several sports including football, wrestling, and roller skating. He discovered his love for racing when he started karting at age 14. At 16, he bought his own go-kart using money saved by working in his father’s store. In 1974 he left school to focus full-time on racing, becoming a kart distributor and tuning engines to support himself.

Prost won the French senior karting championship in 1975, earning a place in the 1976 French Formula Renault championship; he won 12 of 13 races to win the latter title in his rookie year. Prost then won the Formula Renault European championship in 1977, progressing to Formula Three (F3) in 1978. Prost won both the French and European F3 championships in 1979. Highly sought after by multiple F1 teams, Prost chose to join the McLaren team in 1980 to kick off his F1 career.

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Formula One career and title wins

Prost made his F1 debut for the McLaren team at the Argentine Grand Prix in 1980, placing in the top six and scoring points in his first-ever race. But his first season featured multiple crashes due to mechanical failures; he also suffered from a concussion and a broken wrist. Unhappy with McLaren, he broke his contract and moved to Renault at the end of the season.

Prost won his first F1 race in 1981, aptly at the French Grand Prix in Dijon while driving a French car. He won eight more races with Renault over three seasons, but his relationship with the team management deteriorated over time. Prost was blamed for Renault failing to win a constructors’ championship title, and fans preferred his teammate and fellow Frenchman René Arnoux, even though Prost finished runner-up in the drivers’ championship in 1983 and 1984. Things came to a head in 1984 when Renault factory workers went to Prost’s home and burnt one of his cars; he promptly moved his family to Switzerland and rejoined McLaren.

Prost spent the next six seasons with McLaren, winning 30 races and three drivers’ championship titles in 1985, 1986, and 1989; he also finished runner-up two times in 1988 and 1990. His 1985 win made him the first French F1 champion, and his 1986 championship win made him the first driver since Jack Brabham in 1960 to win back-to-back titles. At the 1987 Portuguese Grand Prix, Prost won his 28th career race, breaking the then record held by Jackie Stewart. “People might not believe me, but I’m glad to see Alain take my record—I’m glad it’s he who has done it, because he’s the one who deserves it. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s the best race driver of the generation,” Stewart remarked after Prost broke his record.

Prost moved to Ferrari in 1990, winning five races in the year and finishing runner-up for the championship, but he failed to win a single race in the 1991 season, following which he publicly criticized the team management. Prost was sacked from the Ferrari team. He spent the 1992 season on the sidelines as a commentator, before returning to racing in 1993 with Williams-Renault. He won seven races that year, taking his career tally to a then-record 51 race wins from 199 attempts, and claimed his fourth drivers’ championship win before retiring.

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Rivalry with Ayrton Senna

Prost had a long-running rivalry with Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna. The two were teammates at McLaren in 1988, a season in which Prost won seven races but saw Senna win eight races as well as the championship. Prost was a more calculated and economical driver, while Senna raced flat out even in wet conditions. In 1989 Prost accused Senna of dangerous driving. Things came to a head at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, the penultimate race that year. Senna attempted to overtake Prost on the 47th lap but was cut off, and the two ran into each other, ending Prost’s race. Senna completed the race but was disqualified by F1 authorities for what was deemed an incorrect race reentry (a judgment he remained unhappy with), which handed Prost the drivers’ championship.

At the Japanese Grand Prix in 1990, Senna had a points lead, but Prost, now with Ferrari, was also in contention for the championship. Senna drove his car into Prost’s at the first corner, ending both their races but clinching the championship by virtue of his points advantage.

However, their relationship thawed after Prost’s announcement to retire at the end of the 1993 season, and the rivals became friends with a mutual admiration for each other. At the season-ending Australian Grand Prix in 1993, Senna won the race. Prost finished second but clinched the championship. Senna insisted at the podium that Prost stand up with him at the top step. Before Senna’s fatal crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Senna spoke multiple times with Prost, who was commentating on races. Senna sent a radio message, “a special hello to my dear friend Alain—we all miss you, Alain” over his car radio during practice that San Marino weekend.

Post-retirement career and personal life

Prost returned to commentating after his retirement. In 1997 he purchased the F1 team Equipe Ligier and renamed it Prost Grand Prix. The team reached the race podium three times, but was beset by financial problems. Prost disbanded the team in 2001. He spent some time out of F1, participating in the Andros Trophy, an ice racing championship, from 2003 to 2012 and winning three championships. Prost returned to F1 in 2017 as an adviser to Renault, serving in the role until 2022.

Prost has received several awards. He was awarded the Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honor) by French Pres. François Mitterrand in 1985. In 1988 the Grand Prix Former Drivers’ Club awarded him the Champion of Champions award. He received an honorary OBE from the United Kingdom in 1993 and was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1999.

Prost married his childhood sweetheart Anne-Marie Barges in 1980; they divorced in 2017. They have two sons, Nicolas, also a race car driver, and Sacha. Prost also has a daughter Victoria from a 1996 relationship with Bernadette Cottin.