Editing Alain Prost (section)

==Career legacy==
Prost is widely regarded as one of Formula One's greatest-ever drivers. He has the fourth-most Drivers' Championships of all time, behind only [[Lewis Hamilton]], Michael Schumacher, and [[Juan Manuel Fangio]].<ref name=":20">{{Cite news |last=Spurgeon |first=Brad |date=2015-09-18 |title=A Driver's Greatness, in the Words of Others |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/19/sports/autoracing/a-drivers-greatness-in-the-words-of-others-alain-prost-singapore-grand-prix-formula-one.html |access-date=2024-09-30 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> In addition, he was just 12.5 points away from an eight-title career.<ref name=":17" /> At his retirement, Prost held the record for most career Grand Prix victories (51),<ref>{{cite web |title=Grand Prix Results: Portuguese GP, 1993 |url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr546.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061030022713/http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr546.html |archive-date=30 October 2006 |access-date=7 November 2006 |publisher=GrandPrix.com}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> which stood for fourteen years.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Henry |first=Alan |date=4 September 2001 |title=Schumacher rubs salt into Prost wounds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2001/sep/04/formulaone.formulaone2001 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417055456/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2001/sep/04/formulaone.formulaone2001 |archive-date=17 April 2019 |access-date=17 April 2019 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref name=":13" /> ([[Michael Schumacher]] broke Prost's record during the [[2001 Formula One World Championship|2001 season]]. For his own part, Prost believed that had Ayrton Senna not [[1994 San Marino Grand Prix|died in 1994]], he would have broken Prost's wins record first.<ref name=":0" />) In addition, while Senna held the record for most career pole positions at Prost's retirement, Prost was superb on race day and held the record for most career [[Fastest lap|fastest laps]] (41) until 2001, when Schumacher broke that record as well.<ref name=":27">{{Cite news |date=1993-06-01 |title=Alain Prost retires |url=https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/alain-prost-retires-5053020/5053020/ |access-date=2024-10-03 |work=Autosport}}</ref>

Prost currently shares the record for the highest percentage of races started from the front row in a single season (16 for 16 in {{F1|1993}}) with Ayrton Senna ({{F1|1989}}) and Damon Hill ({{F1|1996}}).<ref>{{cite web |last=Lynch |first=Steven |date=1 July 2011 |title=Front row regulars |url=http://en.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/story/53088.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501082158/http://en.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/story/53088.html |archive-date=1 May 2019 |access-date=1 May 2019 |website=ESPN UK}}</ref> {{As of|November 2024}}, he is the last Frenchman to have [[1993 French Grand Prix|won his home Grand Prix]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Haldenby |first=Nicky |date=8 June 2021 |title=France's Home Race Heroes |url=https://f1destinations.com/france-home-race-f1-heroes/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614214908/https://f1destinations.com/france-home-race-f1-heroes/ |archive-date=14 June 2021 |access-date=14 June 2021 |website=F1Destinations}}</ref>

=== Driving style ===
During his career, Prost was nicknamed "The Professor" for his intellectual approach to competition. Though it was not a name he particularly cared for, he later admitted that the term appropriately characterized his driving style. Skilled at setting up his car for race conditions, Prost would often conserve his brakes and tyres early in a race, leaving them fresher for a challenge at the end.<ref name=":2" /> His mantra was to "win as slowly as possible,"<ref name="mcbride_nyt_p3" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=On this week #8: A masterclass from The Professor |url=https://www.pirelli.com/global/en-ww/race/racingspot/formula-1/a-masterclass-from-the-professor-119946/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=www.pirelli.com |language=it}}</ref> a phrase he may have picked up from his teammate [[Niki Lauda]],<ref name=":24">{{Cite web |last=James |first=Clive |title=Niki Lauda Wins Going Slowly |url=https://www.clivejames.com/niki-lauda-wins-going-slowly.html |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=CliveJames.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Buxton |first=Will |date=2016-06-03 |title=BUXTON: The Secret |url=https://racer.com/2016/06/03/buxton-the-secret-130356/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=RACER |language=en-US}}</ref> or [[Juan Manuel Fangio]].<ref name=":27" /> Honda F1 boss [[Nobuhiko Kawamoto]] once told Prost that Ayrton Senna "was more the samurai, and [Prost] was more the computer."<ref name=":5" />

In contrast to Senna, who had a "tendency to go flat out all the time,"<ref name=":2" /> Prost employed a smooth, relaxed style behind the wheel, deliberately modelling himself on personal heroes like [[Jackie Stewart]] and [[Jim Clark]].{{sfn|Roebuck|1986|p=131}} Although Prost may not have driven as stylishly as his contemporaries – [[Nigel Mansell]] once said that Prost merely "chauffeur[ed]" the best car on the grid – Stewart praised Prost for his silkiness behind the wheel, explaining, "To some, that's boring; to me, it's artistry - and so much more difficult than just throwing a car about."<ref name=":27" /><ref name=":28" /> Prost's calmness allowed him to get the most out of an engine without driving it to failure. [[Clive James]] wrote that Prost "was considered uncanny even by the other drivers for the way his cars held together: it was as if he could hear what was going on in the engine. Prost was the car's friend. Other drivers treated the car no more tactfully than they treated women."<ref name=":24" /> However, his approach had some critics, including Ron Dennis, who was upset that Prost declined to go for the win at [[1985 Belgian Grand Prix|Spa in 1985]]. Prost responded that "I've lost the championship at the last moment so many times I'm not taking any chances."<ref name=":26">{{Cite web |title=Alain Prost |url=https://www.mclaren.com/racing/heritage/formula-1/drivers/alain-prost/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=www.mclaren.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Prost's smooth style sometimes masked his raw pace on track. [[Steve Nichols]], Prost's car designer at McLaren and Ferrari, said that at the [[1985 Belgian Grand Prix]], he watched Prost calmly circle the track three times, and did not realize that Prost had taken pole position until after he went back to the garage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prosser |first=Dan |date=2023-08-02 |title=McLaren designer Steve Nichols on Prost, Senna and Lauda |url=https://www.the-intercooler.com/library/blog/mclaren-designer-steve-nichols-on-prost-senna-and-lauda/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=The Intercooler |language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Nigel Roebuck]] told a similar story about a Prost pole position at Monaco.<ref name=":28">{{Cite web |last=Keilloh |first=Graham |date=2011-07-24 |title=In defence of Alain Prost |url=http://www.talkingaboutf1.com/2011/07/in-defence-of-alain-prost.html |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=Talking About F1}}</ref> [[Adrian Newey]], Prost's car designer at Williams, said that Prost sometimes frustrated him in testing because Prost rarely pushed the car to the limit, making it harder for Newey to figure out whether the car was quick enough.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-02 |title=Prost's final fling |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-2023/71/prosts-final-fling/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Motor Sport Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> Newey added that "when he wanted to, he could turn it on."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Costa |first=Lucrezia |date=2024-08-11 |title=Adrian Newey on the champions he has worked with: "Very different characters, but all phenomenal" |url=https://pitdebrief.com/post/adrian-newey-on-the-champions-he-has-worked-with-very-different-characters-but-all-phenomenal/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Motorsport {{!}} Pit Debrief |language=en-US}}</ref> Although Senna crushed Prost in qualifying during their 32 races together, taking 26 poles to Prost's 4, on race day Prost scored 12 fastest laps to Senna's 6.<ref name=":21" />

Although Senna outshone Prost's qualifying pace, Prost was also an underrated qualifier. Niki Lauda remarked that when Prost joined McLaren in 1984, Prost was so quick that Lauda quit trying to match Prost in qualifying and used his track time to set up his car for the race. Prost internalized those lessons and used them against Senna in 1988 and 1989.<ref name=":21" />

Prost also understood the importance of racing in top machinery; McLaren's website comments that he "built his long career on making the right move at the right time."<ref name=":26" /> However, once he found his way into a winning team, he was not always deft with his relationships with teams and engine suppliers. Formula One's website notes that while Prost "made winning races [] look easy," he "was less successful at the politics in which he was invariably embroiled," and he "left teams acrimoniously on four occasions."<ref name=":2" />

=== Appraisals by contemporaries ===
In 2009, an ''[[Autosport]]'' survey taken by 217 Formula One drivers saw Prost voted as the fourth greatest Formula One driver of all time, behind Senna, Schumacher, and Fangio.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009 |title=Formula 1's Greatest Drivers – AUTOSPORT.com – Alain Prost |url=http://f1greatestdrivers.autosport.com/?driver=4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517231624/https://f1greatestdrivers.autosport.com/?driver=4 |archive-date=17 May 2021 |access-date=19 February 2021 |website=f1greatestdrivers.autosport.com}}</ref> Prost's teammate [[Keke Rosberg]] said that "He's the best I've ever known, no question about it. As an all-round race driver he's head and shoulders clear of anyone else."<ref name=":28" /> Formula One CEO [[Bernie Ecclestone]] traditionally said that Prost was the greatest driver of all time, as Prost, unlike Senna or Schumacher, rarely enjoyed number one driver treatment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=NewsDesk |date=2016-09-13 |title=Ecclestone: Prost was better than Schumacher or Senna |url=https://www.grandprix247.com/2016/09/13/ecclestone-prost-was-better-than-schumacher-or-senna/ |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=GRANDPRIX247.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Bernie Ecclestone says Alain Prost best ever F1 driver |url=https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/fb_281199.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628085026/https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/formula-1/news/ecclestone-says-prost-best-ever-f1-driver_281199.html |archive-date=28 June 2024 |access-date=19 February 2021 |website=Sports Mole |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2023, Ecclestone said that [[Max Verstappen]] had surpassed Prost.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Woodhouse |first=Jamie |date=2023-09-23 |title=Bernie Ecclestone snubs Lewis Hamilton to hand F1 GOAT title to former title rival |url=https://www.planetf1.com/news/bernie-ecclestone-max-verstappen-f1-greatest |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=PlanetF1 |language=en}}</ref> [[Jordan Grand Prix|Jordan]] team boss [[Eddie Jordan]] shared Ecclestone's opinion, appreciating that Prost "never minded who his teammate was"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scott |first=Mark |date=2020-04-16 |title=Jordan: 'Prost the greatest, not Schumi or Senna' |url=https://www.planetf1.com/news/greatest-formula-1-driver |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=PlanetF1 |language=en}}</ref> (Senna being a notable exception). Formula One medical chief [[Sid Watkins]] said that Prost and Niki Lauda were the most intelligent drivers he had worked with, noting that he could recall only one dangerous auto accident involving Prost in his career.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Watkins |first=Sid |title=Life at the Limit |publisher=Pan Macmillan |year=2013 |isbn=9781447241010 |location=London |pages=110}}</ref>

=== Quantitative ratings ===
Various outlets have attempted to develop models that objectively measure driver skill relative to car quality. Prost generally places highly in these comparisons.

* [[University of Sheffield]] (2016): Second all-time<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2016-04-14 |title=University research reveals greatest Formula One driver of all time |url=http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/greatest-formula-one-driver-ever-1.567358 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416020912/http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/greatest-formula-one-driver-ever-1.567358 |archive-date=2016-04-16 |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=University of Sheffield}}</ref>
* ''[[The Economist]]'' (2020): Third all-time<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 October 2020 |title=Engineers, not racers, are the true drivers of success in motor sport |url=https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/10/17/engineers-not-racers-are-the-true-drivers-of-success-in-motor-sport |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120194230/https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/10/17/engineers-not-racers-are-the-true-drivers-of-success-in-motor-sport |archive-date=20 November 2020 |access-date=19 February 2021 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=}}</ref>
* Carteret Analytics (2020): Eighth all-time<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dalleres |first=Frank |date=15 November 2020 |title=Why Juan Manuel Fangio, not Lewis Hamilton or Michael Schumacher, is the greatest Formula 1 driver ever |url=https://www.cityam.com/why-juan-manuel-fangio-not-lewis-hamilton-or-michael-schumacher-is-the-greatest-formula-1-driver-ever/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120141605/https://www.cityam.com/why-juan-manuel-fangio-not-lewis-hamilton-or-michael-schumacher-is-the-greatest-formula-1-driver-ever/ |archive-date=20 November 2020 |access-date=19 February 2021 |website=CityAM |language=en-GB}}</ref>
* F1-Analysis.com (2022): Fourth all-time; second all-time after correcting for era differences<ref>{{cite web |date=31 May 2022 |title=A History of F1: Who is the GOAT? |url=http://f1-analysis.com/2022/05/31/who-is-the-f1-goat/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705091012/https://f1-analysis.com/2022/05/31/who-is-the-f1-goat/ |archive-date=5 July 2022 |access-date=1 September 2022}}</ref>

===Rivalry with Ayrton Senna===
{{main|Prost–Senna rivalry}}
Prost's battles with [[Ayrton Senna]] were widely covered. The two drivers were intense competitors and contributed to several infamous on-track incidents:

* [[1988 Portuguese Grand Prix|Estoril 1988]] (Senna tried to stop Prost from passing him by threatening to sideswipe him into the pit wall)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arron |first=Simon |date=2021-11-24 |title=Racing's toxic rivals |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/january-2022/70/racings-toxic-rivals/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Motor Sport Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref>
* [[1989 San Marino Grand Prix|Imola 1989]] (Senna and Prost agreed to avoid racing each other too closely on the first lap, but disagreed on the precise terms of the agreement, after which Prost complained to the media)<ref name=":8" />
* [[1989 Japanese Grand Prix|Suzuka 1989]] (driving side by side with Senna, Prost clinched the Drivers' Championship by turning into Senna's path on the inside line and daring him to brake or crash)<ref name=":18" />
* [[1990 Japanese Grand Prix|Suzuka 1990]] (driving side by side with Prost, Senna clinched the Drivers' Championship by intentionally crashing Prost out of the race in retaliation for the 1989 incident)<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=SAWARD |first=Joe |date=1 October 1991 |title=Ayrton Senna attacks Jean-Marie Balestre |url=http://www.grandprix.com//features/joe-saward/news-feature-ayrton-senna-attacks-jean-marie-balestre.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121174811/https://www.grandprix.com/features/joe-saward/news-feature-ayrton-senna-attacks-jean-marie-balestre.html |archive-date=21 January 2021 |access-date=10 February 2021 |website=www.grandprix.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>
* [[1991 German Grand Prix|Hockenheim 1991]] (Senna ran Prost off the track and onto the escape road).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Grandprix.com|date=28 July 1991|title=German GP, 1991|url=http://www.grandprix.com//races/german-gp-1991.html|access-date=12 February 2021|website=www.grandprix.com|language=en-GB|archive-date=4 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304180439/https://www.grandprix.com/races/german-gp-1991.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the 1991 Hockenheim incident, the FISA ordered a sit-down meeting between the two men to cool tensions and prevent further incidents.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tremayne |first=David |date=September 1991 |title=Formula One: 1991 Hungarian Grand Prix |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/september-1991/13/formula-one-hungarian-grand-prix?v=7516fd43adaa |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229202513/https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/september-1991/13/formula-one-hungarian-grand-prix?v=7516fd43adaa |archive-date=29 December 2022 |access-date=12 February 2021 |website=Motor Sport Magazine}}</ref>

In addition, the two drivers both found themselves chasing the same race seat after the 1992 season, as Ferrari's performance had declined and Honda left Formula One, leaving Williams-Renault as the unquestioned ruler of Formula One. In exchange for his signature with Williams, Prost infamously blocked the team from signing Senna, prompting Senna to publicly complain that Prost was "behaving like a coward."<ref name=":25">{{cite web |title=Ayrton Senna Calls Prost A Coward.mpg | date=5 December 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFZKkK6odgY |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218163814/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFZKkK6odgY&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=18 February 2013 |access-date=28 June 2013 |publisher=Youtube.com |quote=This is supposed to be a world Drivers' Championship!}}</ref> Senna's Brazilian fans were so enraged by Prost's refusal to race with Senna on equal terms that Prost received a police escort for the [[1993 Brazilian Grand Prix]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Allsop |first=Derick |title=Designs on Victory: On the Grand Prix Trail With Benetton |publisher=Hutchinson |year=1993 |isbn=0-09-178311-9}}</ref> Prost comfortably won the 1993 title and retired at season's end, allowing Senna to take the lead at Williams in 1994.

Once they were no longer competitors, the two rivals began mending their relationship. At Prost's last Grand Prix, the [[1993 Australian Grand Prix]], Senna pulled him onto the top step of the podium for an embrace.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fan review of Grand Prix with image of pair on podium |url=http://www.farzadsf1gallery.com/features/adel93.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025173536/http://www.farzadsf1gallery.com/features/adel93.html |archive-date=25 October 2006 |access-date=28 January 2007 |publisher=farzadsf1gallery.com}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> Only a couple of days before Senna's untimely [[1994 San Marino Grand Prix|death at Imola]], when filming an in-car lap of Imola for French television channel [[TF1]], he greeted Prost, by then a pundit on the channel: "A special hello to my...to our dear friend, Alain. We all miss you Alain." Prost said that he was amazed and very touched by the comment.<ref name="Hamilton">{{cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Maurice |title=Frank Williams |publisher=Macmillan |year=1998 |isbn=0-333-71716-3 |page=234}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> Prost was a [[pallbearer]] at Senna's funeral,<ref>{{cite web |title=Open Warfare |url=http://www.gpracing.net192.com/drivers/prost-senna.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702171047/http://www.gpracing.net192.com/drivers/prost-senna.cfm |archive-date=2 July 2007 |access-date=30 August 2015 |publisher=GPRacing.net192.com}}</ref> and commented that when Senna died "a part of himself had died also", because their careers had been so closely bound together. Senna felt similarly, admitting to a close friend that after Prost retired, he realised how much of his motivation had come from fighting with Prost.<ref name=":5" />