Alain Prost: A close look at the life of 4-time World Driver Champion

Full name	Alain Marie Pascal Prost
Nicknames	The Professor
Profession	Formula One driver
Years active	1980 – 1991, 1993
No. of championships	4
Nationality	French
Age	68 years

Through his abilities as an astounding driver, Alain Prost secured his place in Formula One history as one of the sport’s greatest drivers. In a career full of conflict and feud with fellow drivers, especially Ayrton Senna, fans watched Prost grow up as a driver as well as a human being when he became the pallbearer at Senna’s funeral.

A four-time Formula One World Drivers’ Champion and recipient of the World Sports Award of the Century, Prost held the record for most Grand Prix victories from 1987 until 2001 when Michael Schumacher surpassed him.

Other than racing, Prost also competed in the ice racing championship and won the championship three times. In 1997, he took over the French Ligier team and ran it as Prost Grand Prix but the team went bankrupt in 2002.

Alain Prost Personal Biography

Date of birth	24 February 1955
Place of birth	Lorette, Loire, France
Gender	Male
Marital status	Married
Spouse	Anne-Marie Prost (1980 – present)
Children	Nico Prost, Victoria Prost, Sacha Prost
Parents	Andre Prost, Marie-Rose Karatchian

Alain Prost was born on 24 February 1955 in Loire, France to André Prost and Marie-Rose Karatchian.

He had one younger brother who died of cancer in 1986.

Before discovering kart racing at the age of 14, the athletic Prost wanted to become a gym instructor or a professional footballer.

Prost was married to Anne-Marie and the couple had two sons. However, the marriage ended up in a divorce.

He was also in a relationship with Bernadette Cottin, and they have one daughter together.

Racing Career Highlights

• Prost began his career with McLaren and ended up earning points in his debut race, a feat not many have achieved.
• At the end of the season, he left McLaren and signed with Renault.
• Prost won his first Formula One race at his home Grand Prix in France at the fast Dijon circuit.
• He joined McLaren again in 1984 and became the first French Formula One World Champion the following year.
• Prost defended his WDC title in 1986 also but failed to give an epic performance in the next two seasons.
• In 1989, he again emerged as a champion, struggling the whole season with Senna.
• Prost joined Ferrari in 1990 and after spending 2 seasons with them, Prost took a break in 1992 and joined team Williams in 1993.
• With Williams came his fourth and final title, after which Prost retired from the sport for good.

Formula One World Championship career

Active years	19800 – 1991, 1993
Teams	McLaren, Renault, Ferrari, Williams
Entries	202
Starts	199
Championships	4 (1985, 1986, 1989, 1993)
Wins	51
Podiums	106
Pole positions	33
Fastest laps	41
Career points	768.5
First entry	1980 Argentine Grand Prix
First win	1981 French Grand Prix
Last win	1993 German Grand Prix
Last entry	1993 Australian Grand Prix

Prost-Senna Rivalry

The rivalry between Prost and Senna can be termed as the rivalry of the century that originated in 1988 when both drivers were in the McLaren team.

The rivalry intensified in 1989 when the two drivers had an agreement that neither would get in each other’s way to the first corner.

Everything was smooth at the start of the race but when the race had to restart after a crash, Senna broke this agreement.

The rivalry reached its peak at the end of 1989 and the next season saw the two drivers collide again.

The two drivers continued their on-track rivalry in 1993 but at Prost’s last Grand Prix, he was seen being embraced by Senna.

However, things got smooth after Prost’s retirement and he even became a pallbearer at Senna’s funeral.

Later Life & Role with Alpine

After retiring from racing, Prost worked as a TV pundit for a French TV channel in 1994 and 1995 and also worked for Renault as a PR man.

He then became a technical adviser for McLaren and in 2017, he became a special adviser for the Renault Formula One Team.

Prost continued in his role within Renault Formula One Team until January 2022.

Awards & Honors

In 1986, Prost was awarded the Légion d’honneur by the French President.

In 1993, he was promoted from Chevalier to Officer rank.

He was awarded an honorary British OBE in 1994 and also received the Brazilian Order of the Southern Cross in 1999.

Prost was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1999 and the FIA Hall of Fame in 2017.

In 1999, Prost was awarded with the World Sports Award of the Century in the motor sport category.

Alain Prost on Social Media

Twitter	https://twitter.com/Prost_official
Instagram	https://www.instagram.com/a.prost/?hl=en

Frequently Asked Questions