Williams-Renault
FW15C 1993
Alain
Prost, nicknamed "The Professor," won four
F1 World Championships, missed another by a margin of
just 1/2 point (to Niki Lauda
in 1984) and, until finally bested by Michael
Schumacher in the 2002 season, posted the most race
wins of any Formula One driver in history. Prost's scientific,
methodical approach to racing set him apart from many
of his contemporaries, and led to a series of magnificent
duels with his teammate and arch-rival Aryton
Senna.
The
action photo below is from the Canadian GP in Prost's
final Formula One season a race the F1A&G
webmaster attended with his wife and then 2-year old
son when Alain came out of retirement to take
over Nigel Mansell's seat
at Williams and drove the brilliant FW15C, the last
of the "active suspension" F1 cars, to a dominating
championship. His victory was overshadowed to a large
extent, however, by the brilliant performance of Senna
in a less-competitive McLaren, including dazzling wins
in several wet races that confirmed Senna's status as
the "rain master."
Prost
retired from F1 after the 1993 season, made a brief
reconciliation with Senna just prior to the Brazilian's
untimely 1994 death, and returned to Grand Prix racing
in the 1997 season by purchasing the famed French
Team Ligier, renamed Prost GP. The Prosts have not
proven particularly competitive to date, owing in
part to the massive development costs and technical
challenge of today's F1 specifications, but in that
regard Prost shares the back of the current F1 grid
with Jaguar Racing (formerly Stewart Grand Prix),
the offspring of another famed Formula One World Champion,
Jackie Stewart.
Alain
Prost's Career Profile |
Seasons |
Races |
Wins |
Poles |
Fastest
Laps |
Points |
F1 Titles |
13 |
199 |
51 |
33 |
41 |
798.5 |
4 |
|