Prost in numbers
768.5 official points
4Drivers’ titles
1985, 1986, 1989, 1993
4th of 789 all time
5Constructors’ titles
1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1993
4th of 789 all time
25.6% of races
16.6% of races
53.3% of races
3Drivers’ titles
1985, 1986, 1989
of 4 in the career
4Constructors’ titles
1984, 1985, 1988, 1989
of 5 in the career
28.3% of races with McLaren
9.4% of races with McLaren
59.4% of races with McLaren
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
19.6% of races with Renault
21.7% of races with Renault
37% of races with Renault
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
16.7% of races with Ferrari
46.7% of races with Ferrari
1Drivers’ titles
1993
of 4 in the career
1Constructors’ titles
1993
of 5 in the career
43.8% of races with Williams
81.3% of races with Williams
75% of races with Williams
Alain Prost, nicknamed "The Professor", is one of the most intelligent and complete drivers in history. The Frenchman from Saint-Chamond turned calculation into an art: he preferred to nurse the car, manage the tyres and accumulate points with precision rather than risk everything on every lap. That philosophy, the opposite of Senna's, proved hugely effective.
He won four world championships (1985, 1986, 1989 and 1993) with McLaren and Williams, and racked up 51 wins, a figure that stood as the all-time record for years. His rivalry with Ayrton Senna as McLaren team-mates in 1988 and 1989 (with on-track collisions, political tension and two titles decided at Suzuka) is the most legendary the sport has known.
After a sabbatical year, he returned in 1993 with Williams, took his fourth crown and retired at the top. He later ran his own team, Prost Grand Prix. His legacy is that of the thinking driver, the one who proved the head could beat pure instinct.
What if Prost had another car?
We took his real attributes and put him in the best car of each era: in a real driver's seat, against the team-mate that car actually had. 20 full seasons in each.
| Car | Team-mate | Finish | Wins | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren1988 | Himself, in 1988-8 pts | P1.5 | 7 | 50% |
| Williams1992 | Riccardo Patrese+92 pts | P1 | 11.8 | 100% |
| Ferrari2002 | Rubens Barrichello+102 pts | P1 | 14.1 | 100% |
| Red Bull2013 | Mark Webber+119 pts | P1 | 15.9 | 100% |
| Mercedes2016 | Lewis Hamilton+3 pts | P1.5 | 11.3 | 55% |
| Red Bull2023 | Sergio Perez+117 pts | P1 | 18.9 | 100% |
| Cadillac2026 · 11th on the grid | Valtteri Bottas+53 pts | P9 | 0 | 0% |
His toughest team-mate is Lewis Hamilton in the 2016 Mercedes, and he still finishes 3 points clear.
Prost against everyone, in the same car
We put the 11 names that come up most often head to head with identical machinery, 150 seasons of 18 races per duel. Prost comes out 4 of 11, between Senna and Hamilton.
The full league, duel by duel, with who beats whom and by how much.
Ver en españolRating by season
- First season
- 94 1988
- Peak
- 94 1988
- 1993
- 93 Williams
5 seasons in the database, from 1988 to 1993. Our own rating, from 50 to 99.
Teams
Tags
Best year
1989
What would Alain Prost have achieved with a different car or in a different era?
Hypotheses featuring Alain Prost
Related drivers
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His team-mates
10 team-mates across 13 seasons. When both finished the race, Prost was ahead in 44 of 74; on the grid he started ahead in 133 of 198.
| Year | Team-mate | In the race | On the grid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | John WatsonMcLaren · 12 races | 1-0 | 7-4 |
| 1981 | René ArnouxRenault · 14 races | 3-0 | 9-5 |
| 1982 | René ArnouxRenault · 16 races | 1-1 | 8-8 |
| 1983 | Eddie CheeverRenault · 15 races | 4-1 | 13-2 |
| 1984 | Niki LaudaMcLaren · 16 races | 4-3 | 15-1 |
| 1985 | Niki LaudaMcLaren · 14 races | 1-1 | 13-1 |
| 1985 | John WatsonMcLaren · 1 race | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| 1986 | Keke RosbergMcLaren · 16 races | 4-0 | 12-4 |
| 1987 | Stefan JohanssonMcLaren · 16 races | 7-2 | 16-0 |
| 1988 | Ayrton SennaMcLaren · 16 races | 5-7 | 2-14 |
| 1989 | Ayrton SennaMcLaren · 16 races | 1-7 | 2-14 |
| 1990 | Nigel MansellFerrari · 16 races | 4-3 | 8-8 |
| 1991 | Jean AlesiFerrari · 15 races | 3-1 | 13-2 |
| 1993 | Damon HillWilliams · 16 races | 5-4 | 14-2 |
The first number is always Prost's. A team-mate is whoever started the same race for the same team. "In the race" only counts races both finished, because a retirement says nothing about who was quicker. "On the grid" is the starting position, with penalties already applied.
Compare Prost with another driver
Titles, wins, poles and podiums side by side, against any of the 789 drivers in history.
Keep reading
Where Alain Prost comes up in what we have measured, with our own numbers.
- 6 min readThe closest title fights in F1: one was decided by half a pointWe ranked all 77 seasons since 1950 by the points between champion and runner-up. Eight were won by a single point, one by half a point, the widest…
- 9 min readTwelve teammate duels, in exactly the same carSenna against Prost, Alonso against Hamilton, Hamilton against Rosberg: twelve real pairings, five seasons each, machinery exactly equalised. The m…
- 9 min readWhat is the most dominant car in F1 history? 37 seasons measured with the same driverThe 2023 Red Bull RB19, and not narrowly: with an average driver it still wins nine races in ten. We sat the same driver in the best car of every s…