Alain Prost may simply contend that he has raced alongside essentially the most outstanding lineup of teammates in System 1 historical past.
Over the course of his illustrious profession, the Frenchman shared the grid with legendary figures reminiscent of Niki Lauda, Keke Rosberg, Damon Hill, Ayrton Senna, and Nigel Mansell—a powerful checklist that options a number of world champions.
Moreover, Prost partnered with extremely succesful drivers like John Watson, Rene Arnoux, Jean Alesi, and Stefan Johansson, all of whom displayed distinctive pace and ability throughout their peaks.
That Alain Prost concluded his profession as a four-time System 1 world champion, regardless of competing towards such a unprecedented roster of teammates, stands as a testomony to his unimaginable expertise and consistency.
Nonetheless, Alain Prost’s relationships together with his teammates different significantly. As an example, after enduring a tumultuous interval as Ayrton Senna’s companion at McLaren, Prost actively prevented Senna from becoming a member of him on the Maranello group. That call not directly enabled Senna to say one other championship with McLaren the next yr. Prost’s reluctance to repeat the expertise of battling certainly one of his fiercest rivals inside the similar group was evident. Conversely, Prost started his profession content material to play a supporting function to Lauda and held deep admiration for the Austrian throughout their time as teammates at McLaren.
When Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell grew to become Ferrari teammates throughout the 1990 season, the Frenchman decisively outperformed the Briton, despite the fact that the title finally went to Senna. Regardless of this, their partnership was removed from harmonious.
In a 2018 interview on the *Past The Grid* podcast, Alain Prost make clear his strained relationship with Nigel Mansell, expressing his perception that the British driver’s emotions of ‘jealousy’ contributed to the strain throughout their tenure on the Italian facet.
The dynamics behind Nigel Mansell’s ‘jealousy’ towards Alain Prost at Ferrari
Prost was requested about his popularity for seemingly forcing his teammates into retirement throughout his time in System 1. He acknowledged that Keke Rosberg had been certainly one of his greatest teammates, describing him as a real buddy and a very good driver. Nonetheless, Prost famous that Rosberg could not have tailored nicely to McLaren’s method and its philosophy for automotive setup, regardless of his ability.
Turning to Nigel Mansell, Prost remarked that Mansell was a unique case altogether, stating that he may by no means totally perceive why Mansell had been jealous, even mentioning that it stemmed from one thing as trivial as Prost with the ability to communicate Italian. He prompt that such an angle was unproductive.
In distinction, Prost highlighted his relationship with Niki Lauda, emphasizing that the 2 by no means had any points or arguments throughout their two years as teammates.
Nigel Mansell confirmed confidence in his rivalry with Alain Prost
The dynamic between Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost throughout their two seasons collectively at Ferrari supplied a compelling chapter in System 1 historical past.
Mansell ended the 1989 and 1990 seasons in fourth and fifth place, respectively, whereas Prost claimed the world championship of their debut yr as teammates. The next yr, Prost narrowly misplaced out on the title to Ayrton Senna, however he remained the stronger performer inside the Ferrari camp.
Regardless of their time as teammates concluding after these two seasons, the aggressive stress between the 2 drivers continued to linger, holding their rivalry alive past their shared tenure at Ferrari.
Forward of the transient Grand Prix Masters sequence, the place Prost and Mansell have been anticipated to reunite, Mansell remarked, as reported by Autosport, that the rivalry between them remained sturdy. He famous that Prost was extremely aggressive and would do all the things doable to safe victory, including that Prost notably disliked dropping to anybody, particularly to him.
Nigel Mansell is satisfied he would have dominated Alain Prost in 1993 if he had remained in System 1 as an alternative of turning his consideration to the CART sequence in the USA.
Though the showdown between the 2 by no means materialized, Mansell appeared decided to show himself towards Prost, who had as soon as prompt that Mansell harbored ‘jealousy’ over his rapport with the Ferrari group. The potential conflict between them stays one of many nice “what-ifs” of System 1 historical past.
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