ALAIN PROST, THE PROFESSOR | Tudo sobre fórmula u

ALAIN PROST, THE TEACHER

THE GENIUS

Frenchman Alain Prost was one of the greatest GENIUS in the history of F1. He was fast, consistent, a great car hitter (this was confirmed by John Barnard in several interviews, such as the newspaper O Globo 25/04/1993 pg 54), knew how to save equipment and tires, had a "clean" and precise playing, rarely involved in accidents. His calculating style was very similar to that of Emerson Fittipaldi, who was another great F1 driver in the 70s, and a great rival of Jackie Stewart.

Of all the champions in F1 history, the Frenchman was the driver with the greatest ability to save equipment and win races. Jo Ramirez, head of McLaren's mechanics, even said: "After the race, you could save Prost's car for the next stage, as you knew it was in perfect mechanical condition."

QUALIFYING:

In the internal disputes within the teams in the qualifyings, Prost only lost to Senna, who is considered by many to be the fastest driver in the F1 lap, showing the frenchman deserves to be on the list of the fastest in F1 history.

Largadas na frente na mesma equipe:

7 x 2 Watson in 80,
18 x 13 Arnoux in 81 and 82,
13 x 3 Cheever in 83,
28 x 2 Lauda in 84 and 85,
12 x 4 Rosberg in 86,
16 x 0 Johansson in 87,
4 x 28 Senna in 88 and 89, the Brazilian was the only driver to defeat Prost in training.
8 x 8 Mansell in 90,
13 x 3 Alesi in 91,
14 x 2 Hill in 93.

SCORE:

In terms of overall season scoring, Prost defeated ALL of his teammates by a large margin, with the exception of Senna who was by a small margin. Of the multi-champion F1 drivers, only Fangio and Prost achieved this feat, this alone accredits the Frenchman as one of the best in history.

Prost 6 x 3 Watson em 80 (in the races they run together),
Prost 77 x 29 Arnoux em 81 e 82,
Prost 57 x 22 Cheever em 83,
Prost 144,5 x 86 Lauda em 84 e 85,
Prost 72 x 22 Rosberg em 86,
Prost 46 x 30 Johansson em 87,
Prost 163 x 150 Senna em 88 e 89, Senna had 4 breakdowns and 2 disqualifications compared to just 2 breakdowns for Prost, yet Senna was by far the teammate who gave the Frenchman the most trouble.
Prost 71 x 37 Mansell em 90,
Prost 34 x 21 Alesi em 91,
Prost 99 x 69 Hill em 93.

Senna was the only teammate who beat the Frenchman in starts, finishes, pole positions and victories, but he lost in points. Prost couldn't be as fast as Senna, but he made up for it by being more regular than the Brazilian, who had four breaks and two disqualifications, while Prost had just two breaks.

PRECISION IN DRIVING:

At the beginning of his career he made mistakes, but from 1983 onwards he improved and among the F1 champions of the 70s, 80s and 90s, the Frenchman is one of those with the lowest percentage of retirements due to errors, only below Fittipaldi and Stewart. Remembering that cars from the first half of the 80s are considered the most difficult to drive, due to their high power and little electronic assistance:

Fittipaldi 1,4%
Stewart 2,0%
Prost 5,5%
Keke Rosberg 6,1%
Lauda e Rindt 6,4%
Senna e Hakkinen 7,4%
Andretti 7,6%
Alan Jones 7,7%
Schumacher 7,8%
Jacques Villeneuve 8,6%
Piquet 8,8%
Scheckter 9,7%
Hunt 10,7%
Mansell 12,8%
Damon Hill 14,7%

Some people say he was "bad in the rain", but that's not 100% true. He was super conservative, so he mixed weak races in the rain (Belgium 85, England/88, Europe/93) with good races (Germany/88, Belgium/89, Spain/91, San Marino/93 and Japan/93). It's a HUGE MISTAKE to compare him with Senna, to say that he was bad in these weather conditions, because Senna was exceptional on a damp track.

THE FRENCH HAS DEFEAT 3 WORLD CHAMPIONS IN HIS TEAMS:

Prost was the only driver in the entire history of F1, who defeated 3 world champions within his team (Lauda in 85, Rosberg in 86 and Senna in 89) and even defeated two drivers who would be world champions in the future (Mansell in 90 and Hill at 93).

We should point out that in 1988 and 1989 Senna had four breaks (USA 89, Can 89, Fra 89 and Ita 89) and two disqualifications (Bra 88 and Jap 89) against only two breaks (Ita 88 and Can 89) of Prost, and this made the Frenchman score more than the Brazilian. But none of this takes away from the Frenchman's merits for his immense regularity and ability to save equipment in races.

Senna x Prost 1988 and 1989:

Starts: 28 x 4

Arrivals: 19 x 13

Wins: 14 x 11

Breaks: 4 x 2

Disqualifications 2 x 0

Points: 150 x 163

The most impressive thing was the way Prost indisputably defeated Niki Lauda (84/85) and Keke Rosberg (86), two drivers with above-average talent, showing that the Frenchman deserves to be in the TOP 5 of the best in history. Other than that, the Frenchman won the 1986 title with a McLaren that was clearly inferior to Williams.

When he had a car capable of competing for the title, Prost was either champion or runner-up:

1983-vice

1984-vice

1985-champion

1986-champion

1988-vice

1989-champion

1990-vice

1993-champion

MANIPULATIONS, INTRIGUES AND UNETHICAL ATTITUDES

Unfortunately, off the track, the Frenchman played dirty, created intrigue within the teams saying that he was being harmed by them, knew how to manipulate the media by always playing the victim and hiding his Machiavellian side, in addition to taking advantage of the influence of his friend Jean Marie Balestre, president of FISA, in F1 decisions.

MANIPULATIONS

His statements about the events of the time are very different from the statements of his contemporaries in F1 and sometimes differ from what he himself had said in the past. Even the reporters who interview him have to correct these distortions of reality and attempted manipulations of facts during the interviews.

Senna entry into McLaren in 1988 (Prost's version x real version)

In several interviews, including on Nico Rosberg's Podcast, Prost said that he was the one who recommended Senna to McLaren for the good of the team. But this story does not end with the testimonies of the time. During the Podcast, Rosberg was sarcastic with the Frenchman and asked him if it was a charitable action. (SOURCE: CANAL ENERTO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICr8rWe__mU)

It is true that Prost participated in choosing the driver, but Honda Engineers said that Prost did not want Senna at McLaren (see below). Other than that, Ron Dennis already had a desire to sign Senna and signed a contract with the Brazilian since 1986 to join the team in 1988 (this is confirmed in a report by Jornal O Globo on 25/07/1986 pg 30).

Honda's Yoshitoshi Sakurai participated in the negotiations with McLaren, denied Prost and also said: "We wanted to form a structure with Senna and Prost at McLaren. Alain wanted a weaker driver, Prost wanted Senna at Williams."

Honda's Nobuhiko Kawamoto worked at McLaren and knew the Frenchman well, he also denied him: "Prost only thinks about him, he doesn't care about anyone, especially when it's another driver." (Source: Ayrton the Hero Revealed by Ernesto Rodrigues pg 165 and 166)

Since Honda engineers had nothing to gain by lying about the matter, everything indicates that Prost was not telling the truth.

Re manipulation result at the 1989 Japanese GP

In the 1989 Japanese GP, Prost, in an attempt to defend the lead, threw his car at Senna, causing them to crash. There are two videos of the accident between Senna and Prost, in slow motion, clearly showing that Prost deliberately threw the car at the Brazilian (see below), but in all interviews he denies that he threw the car at the Brazilian.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVh4oKqxtJo - Rare angle of Senna and Prost collide in Suzuka GP Japan 1989 Formula 1 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKe_- Y5v33s _ Senna vs Prost 3D Reconstruction- F1 Japan 1989.

Prost joga o carro Senna Jap 1989 (0).jpg

In addition to denying that he caused the crash with Senna, Prost denies that after getting out of the car he went to talk to Balestre. Everyone who was at Suzuka that day saw the Frenchman go directly to the commissioners' room to speak to the President of FISA, and there Balestre usurped the authority of the Race Director and ordered the Brazilian to be disqualified.

In an interview, Ron Dennis confirmed that after the crash, Alain Prost pressured Jean Marrie Balestre to have Senna disqualified. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfE8uoolrr0.

Wer weiß, was Prost sagte, um Balestre zu überzeugen ... aber der Präsident der FISA glaubte seinem Landsmann und ordnete die Disqualifikation von Senna wegen „Abschneiden der Schikane und gefährlichem Fahren“ an, als ob der Brasilianer die Ursache des Unfalls gewesen wäre. (Quelle: Jornal O Globo, 29.04.2014, S. 31)

In addition to benefiting the real cause of the crash (Prost), Balestre strategically used the item that says the driver has to cover 100% of the race route, but ignored part of Article 56 (see below). Furthermore, several drivers in F1's recent past, including Prost himself in the San Marino 89 GP, had cut the chicane and were not disqualified. The drivers were: Pironi, Villeneuve, Jones, Piquet, Tambay, Rosberg, Berger, Nannini, Mansell and Prost.

"If a car stops, it must be removed from the track as quickly as possible, so that its presence does not constitute a danger, or harm the race or training. If the driver cannot get his car out of a dangerous situation by his own means, it is the duty of the track inspectors help him. In this case, the driver restarts the engine and returns to the race, without committing an infraction, WILL NOT BE EXCLUDED." (Article 56 of the FISA Regulation, Source Yearbook F1 1989 pg 135)

Years after Senna's death, even Balestre, who was a super arrogant and arrogant person, confessed:

“I gave Prost a little help that day.” (Jean Marie Balestre on 11/05/1996)

Balestre ajudou Prost 06111996 pg 36.jpg

A Folha de São Paulo 06/11/1996 pg 36

In a recent interview about the 1989 Japan GP episode, Prost claimed that after the crash, he went to the McLaren pit and argued with Ron Dennis. The interviewer realized that wasn't true and corrected the Frenchman by saying that he went directly to the Suzuka Control Tower. Prost tried to fix the lie by saying Ron Dennis was there. This is also not true, as Ron Dennis remained in the McLaren pit cabin until the end of the race. (See the interview below)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL9DCre6ezM (CANAL ENERTO)

From Prost's facial posture it was clear that he was caught in a lie, and he tries to fix the lie with another lie... But this time the press manipulation didn't work.

Manipulation of the veto to Senna at Williams for 1993

Frank Williams is the most trusted person to talk about the subject, he gave interviews saying that Prost vetoed Senna in the contract with Williams for 1993 and in September 1993, he met with Prost and Renault to remove the veto on Senna. (Source : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xyU-Uw9_3w&t=466s - CANAL ENERTO)

In 1992, Prost gave an interview to French journalist Francesca Bronner. One of the topics on the reporter's agenda would be the VETO of Senna in Williams. Prost strategically manipulated the interview, starting by saying that "Senna liked mechanics" with that he changed the focus of the journalist and achieved his objective which was not to talk about the VETO. The next day Prost denied that he had said that, but it was too late, shepublished what he said and did the most damage in the relationship with the Brazilian. It was everything he wanted. (Source: The Hero Revealed by Ernesto Rodrigues pg 426 and 427)

In 2005, Prost confessed that he vetoed the Brazilian, then at the turn of 2023 to 2024, Prost gave an interview to the Podcast "Beyond the Grid" and changed the story for the 2nd time. He confirmed that there was a clause in the contract with Williams vetoing Senna for the 1993 season, but said that it was not him who proposed the veto, it was the team itself that inserted the clause, something completely meaningless.

Prost's statements are back and forth between truths and lies. It seems that as the years go by, the Frenchman increases his range of distortions of reality even further.

CURIOSITY ABOUT DRIVERS VETOES: Vetoing a pilot wasn't just Prost's specialty.

- Lauda vetoed Peterson in 76,

- Piquet vetoed Senna in 84,

- Senna vetoed Warwick in 86,

- Mansell vetoed Prost in 91,

- Prost vetoed Senna and Mansell in 93 (information given by Senna after GP Portugal 92),

- Schumacher vetoed Senna in 94, Villeneuve in 98 and Montoya in 2006,

- Hamilton's father vetoed Rosberg in 2010,

- Vettel vetoed Hamilton at Ferrari.

THE INTRIGUES

No driver in the history of F1 has generated so many intrigues and conspiracies within their teams, that's a fact. The award-winning Portuguese journalist and F1 expert, Francisco Santos, corroborates this opinion:

"However, all these virtues are penalized by an incredibly bad temper, according to people who know him well. In reality, wherever he went, he always left a trail of relationship problems: Renault, McLaren and Ferrari".

(YearBook F1 Francisco Santos 1992 pg 54 and 55 about Alain Prost)

The drivers who were contemporaries of the Frenchman in F1 share the same opinion.

"Prost was a great pilot, but he had a bad character." (Nelson Piquet)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oNTw_5aiwI&t=2789s (Piquet Interview 03/11/2021)

"Alain was Professor of Manipulation and Politics in F1." (Nigel Mansell)

Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gmo4AgyE7WI and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUAioa4zOzA

"I accept having a top driver as a teammate, but Alain does not accept having a top driver as a teammate," (René Arnoux)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8phkYibFO4 (Arnoux version- CANAL ENERTO)

Intrigue inside Renault (Prost x Arnoux fight in 1982)

At the 1982 French GP, Arnoux took pole, led and won the race. Prost, who was competing for the season title, asked the team to signal his teammate to give him the victory, but Arnoux did not give it.

After the race Prost set up the intrigue, he told the press that Arnoux failed to comply with the Renault boss's order, he insinuated that the team benefited from and liked Arnoux more than him, and that the team released more power for his teammate than for him, as if he were a renegade from the team. Prost used this same intrigue against Senna at McLaren 7 years later and always using the press as a weapon...

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhosmfyy9cA&list=LL&index=6&t=1s (Prost version- CANAL ENERTO)

Arnoux's version is very different from Prost's, he said that Renault boss Gérard Larrousse did not give any orders, it was Prost who asked him to give him the position and he simply did not accept the change of positions. And he also criticized his former teammate saying that Prost does not accept having a top driver as a teammate.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8phkYibFO4 (Arnoux version- CANAL ENERTO)

Prost made a political maneuver within the team and got René Arnoux fired at the end of the year.

Intrigue inside McLaren (The 1989 Conspiracy Theory)

Prost started the year claiming that he was given a less powerful engine: “In these two races, I consumed less fuel than him (Senna). How can this be explained other than by an inferior power?” (FS Yearbook 1989 pg 38) But the explanation is that Senna had the technique of pumping the accelerator, and therefore used more gasoline. Of course Prost knew this, but deep down he wanted to create intrigue within the team.

Then the Frenchman said that Honda engines were written "special for Senna", but if Honda wanted to favor Senna it would never write anything like that on the box. Takeo Kiuchi, engine engineer at Honda, countered the Frenchman by saying that the difference in power between the engines never exceeded 5 HP. (FS Yearbook 1989 pg 27 and 119)

Everyone at McLaren knew that the engines were drawn on coins in front of their respective engineers (Steve Nichols and Neil Oatley). Ron Dennis confirmed that the order came from them that the engines were to be drawn. (Sources: Book The Hero Revealed by Ernesto Rodrigues pg 261 and Jornal O Globo 04/29/2014 pg 31) Steve Nichols also confirmed in an interview that their equipment was exactly the same, that there was no benefit to any pilot. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNhNmDwr7j4&t=21s (minute 9)

Honda still tried to improve Prost's performance, the Frenchman had a smoother acceleration on the accelerator than Senna, so from the 1989 Canadian GP onwards Honda gave the Frenchman an engine chip with a richer mixture to improve speed recovery. on corner exits (Source: Anuário FS 1989 pg 14 and 27) and even so Prost continued saying that the Japanese manufacturer provided Senna with better engines.

In training for the 1989 Italian GP, Prost did very poorly and took almost 2 seconds off Senna. McLaren passed Senna's setup to Prost's car. (Source: Anuário Francisco Santos 1989 pg 119) Result: Senna broke and Prost won the race and continued to insinuate that the Honda benefited Senna.

Corroborating what was mentioned above, before the British GP 89, the McLaren team had a new oil tank and a reconditioned one, they drew lots who would have the reconditioned one, and Prost got the new one and Senna got the old one. (Source: Hero Revealed by Ernesto Rodrigues pg 286) This is proof of equal treatment within McLaren.

Engine engineer Takeo Kuichi disagreed about favoring Senna: "The truth is that Alain realized who Ayrton was and started to complain.” (Takeo Kuichi)

Jo Ramirez also denied the favoritism: "There was no favoritism towards anyone... The cars were absolutely identical. If Prost was in his day, with a car suited to his style, he was unbeatable. Senna could improvise, if he didn't have a car matching his style of driving, he He said don’t move, and he went to the track and did several laps until he fit in with the car.” (Jo Ramirez)

Nelson Piquet was not a McLaren driver, but he worked for 3 years with Honda engines (1986 to 1988) and knew the Japanese well. He also did not agree with the conspiracy theories created by Prost. The Brazilian said: "I was pleased that Prost had finally stopped complaining about his engines and committed himself to winning his third title." (Nelson Piquet)

Steve Nichols was a McLaren engineer and explained, from a technical point of view, that the McLaren 89 was more nervous than the McLaren 88 and the Brazilian adapted better to this behavior (Source: Interview with Jornal O Globo on 06/04/1989 pg 55 (see below) and confirmed in the 1989 F1 Yearbook pg 26.

Steve Nichols has confirmed in several recent interviews: "Senna and Prost's cars were absolutely the same."

In fact, it was a question of adapting to driving and not "Honda favoring Senna" as Prost claimed.

Intrigue inside Ferrari 1 (Prost x Mansell fight in 1990)

In 1990, the relationship between Prost and Mansell became strained, but this was hushed up at the time. In fact, when Prost signed a contract with Ferrari and demanded first driver treatment (Prost denies it to this day), then the directors of the Italian team had to ask Mansell to resign his position as first driver (Source: Yearbook FS 1989 pg 35), and that already made Mansell very upset with Prost.

In the official FISA video from the 1990 season, during the Brazil GP, Nigel Mansell makes a public outburst, saying that Prost wants to know what he is going to do, but the Frenchman does not give him any information. It was clear that Leão was outraged with the Frenchman, so much so that he announced his departure from Ferrari in the middle of the year, surprisingly made peace with Senna and took revenge on Prost at the start of the GP Portugal 90, pushing him against the wall and leaving Senna passes them.

Prost knew how to manipulate the press so much, that the media at the time believed that it was Nigel Mansell who created the internal crisis within Ferrari, when in fact it was another "political game" by Prost, to make Nigel Mansell leave the team, just like him. he did it with Arnoux in 1982 and tried to do it with Senna in 1989.

For the following year, Leão signed a contract with Williams and VETOED Prost. Perhaps the Englishman discovered the "true face" of Alain Prost and understood everything the Frenchman did to Senna in 1989. At the end of 1992, Mansell still felt bitter about his relationship with Prost during his Ferrari years and gave an interview to Roberto Cabrini saying that I would prefer the seat at Williams to go to Senna, not Prost. (Source: Statement from Roberto Cabrini during GP Japan 92)

Intrigue inside Ferrari 2 (Prost x Cesare Fiorio fight in 1991)

On the warm-up lap of the 1991 San Marino GP, Prost spun in the rain, dropped out and said it was a gearbox problem. Ferrari Team Principal, Cesare Fiorio, denied the Frenchman, and tempers between the two began to get heated (Anuário FS 1991 pg 49), causing the Italian's dismissal soon after.

As Cesare Fiorio had nothing to gain by lying about Prost's statement and seeing that Fiorio was fired because of this conflict, exactly as happened with Arnoux in 1982, there is a good chance that Prost pressured Ferrari Management to fire the team boss, given that the relationship between the two was strained.

At the end of the year, Prost ended up being fired after comparing his Ferrari to a Truck. As he had been approached by Renault directors to race for Williams in the following years, it is possible that he was forced to resign in order to terminate his contract with Ferrari.

Here is a video that explains the intrigue that Prost created within Ferrari: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz2GjgHeJwY (9 things that led to Alain Prost being fired by Ferrari)

OTHER UNETHICAL ATTITUDES

Jacques Laffite's wife (1980)

Prost was a friend of Jacques Laffite, but at one point they had a fight and he married his compatriot's wife. Nelson Piquet said that Prost went to Laffite's house to break up his marriage and be with his wife, and added that the Frenchman has also hit on Gerard Larrousse and Didier Pironi's wives.

Piquet sometimes exaggerates the stories he tells, and we have no way of confirming whether the situation was true, but if it is true, this unfortunate fact demonstrates the Frenchman's character.

Prost "outwits" Senna and takes Steve Nichols to Ferrari in 1990

Prost signed a contract with Ferrari for 1990 and chief designer John Barnard was already at the Italian team. Steve Nichols was Senna's engineer, but he didn't agree with some of Ron Dennis's attitudes, so Prost took advantage of the situation and invited Nichols to be the engineer for his car at Ferrari.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDE2XzqGV6s&t=4215s (Steve Nichols: An Oral History of Formula One's Greatest Era (1 hour and 28 minutes)

In professional terms there is nothing wrong with this, as everyone has the right to go to any team they want, but instead of inviting his McLaren engineer (Neil Oatley), the Frenchman wanted the engineer of his great rival in F1.

In 1989, Prost justified Senna's performance by saying that Honda favored the Brazilian, but when it came to appointing an Engineer to Ferrari for his car, he wanted Senna's Engineer at McLaren.

Strange, right? For these and other reasons, we cannot believe everything the French say.

HISTORY OF DISTORTIONS

In 1982, Prost used the press to pressure Renault to fire René Arnoux from the team and become the team's absolute first driver. Things got so bad that at the beginning of 1983, the factory's employees, who were aware of the intrigues created by him, went to his house and burned his car and he had to move with his family to Switzerland.

At the 1986 Italian GP, Prost changed cars after the "green light" and was disqualified for it. Then the Frenchman lied to the press saying that he had changed before and then ended up being fined by FISA.

At the 1988 British GP, Prost wanted to retire as he was doing poorly in the race, but said he had a problem with the car. The McLaren people denied there was a problem.

At the 1988 Hungarian GP, Prost lost the duel to Senna, he said he had a bearing problem, but the McLaren technicians said that this was an invention in the Frenchman's head. (FS Yearbook 1988 page 38)

At the 1988 GP Portugal, at the start Prost squeezed Senna against the wall. On the next lap, Senna also squeezed Prost, the Frenchman passed the Brazilian and won the race. After the race, he went to complain to the press about Senna's attitude, when in fact Prost himself did the same maneuver with the Brazilian at the start.

After the GP Japan 1989, in which Balestre had Senna disqualified, Prost continued to use the press to attack Senna and said that "Senna was an evil virus". (Jornal do Brasil 10/25/1989 page 26). When in fact Prost caused the crash with Senna.

In 1990 Prost arrived at Ferrari with the condition of being the 1st driver, so Ferrari managers had to convince Mansell to resign as 1st driver (Anuário FS 1989 pg 35). In recent interviews, Prost said that he was never the first driver for any team in F1, which is not 100% true...

At the 1991 German GP, Prost tried to overtake Senna, the Brazilian defended his position on the inside, Prost made a mistake and went straight into the chicane. To the press, he said that Senna threw him off the track.

At the end of 1992, Prost tested the Williams and said it was the best car he had ever driven (Anuário Francisco Santos 1992 pg 14). As the Frenchman's performance was below the car's performance, Prost created a narrative in the media to say that the 1993 Williams wasn't that good (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKezOJdvZWg), even that the car was around 1s faster in races than Benetton, McLaren and Ferrari.

Prost gave an interview saying that he had tested the McLaren Peugeot 94 in Estoril, but noted that the car was not competitive. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi9DYR_NgS0 CANAL ENERTO). In 2023 in another interview about the same test with the McLaren Peugeot 94, Prost said that the McLaren in 94 had a better chassis and electronics than the Williams 93, practically saying that the car was good. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kWXz9BNf90 CANAL ENERTO after 3 min and 45 sec) This is one of the reasons why you can't trust what French say.

The narratives of the Frenchman change according to what he wants to value or devalue. For these distortions, manipulations and intrigues created by him, Prost is hated by many motorsport fans in France, as he himself confessed.

CONCLUSION

None of this takes away Prost's merits as one of THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME, but it only reinforces that many drivers are selfish and capable of anything to be champions. Prost, with his calm and soft voice, has an innate ability to use the press and the media, without people realizing that they are being manipulated.

In all the years he raced in F1, Prost always disbanded his teams, if they didn't work as he wanted or if he had a teammate walking in front of him, always using the media to distort the facts. It is no coincidence that Prost is hated by many people, including F1 fans within France itself.