Credit: Stu Seeger / Glumada – Ferrari, 1991 US GP (CC BY 2.0).
Credit: Stu Seeger / Glumada – Ferrari, 1991 US GP (CC BY 2.0).
We have seen a lot of stories in F1, but leaving one of the best drivers in the world behind and move on?
Few breakups in F1 history have been as public and painful as Alain Prost’s split with Ferrari in 1991.
He joined Scuderia Ferrari in 1990, Alain Prost was already a three-time world champion in F1, all of them with McLaren team.
- In 1985 at McLaren, Alain Prost won his first title and he became the first Frenchman to win championship in Formula 1
- Successfully defended his title in 1986 driving for McLaren, becoming the first driver to win back-to-back championship after Jack Brabham in F1 in 1960
- Again, in 1989, a long season for the Frenchman and his rivalry with Ayrton Senna, both at McLaren, Prost managed to win his third title in the final race of the season
However, what was the story of Prost-Ferrari? Was he fired? Or he just wanted to leave the team after he did not have the car he wanted?
Prost-Ferrari
Prost’s first season with Ferrari was amazing, in 1990, he started brightly, he won five races and nearly captured the title from Ayrton Senna, his long-time rival.
Fans adored Alain Prost, Ferrari was not able to fight at the front for a decade, the Frenchman looked like the man to restore Ferrari’s reputation after years of frustration.
But behind the scenes, things were already uneasy, Prost came from McLaren, where Ron Dennis had everything under control, but at Ferrari, by contrast, it was different, technical departments often pulled in different directions, and internal power struggles meant decisions were not always made for racing reasons.
Prost noticed that quickly that there is no one in charge at Ferrari, he also was saying it privately more than once. Prost wanted structure and clarity, but Ferrari was different, they gave him passion but at the same time chaos.
Clashing with Mansell and the system
His teammate in 1990, Mansell, was another fiery personality, the two could not have been more different, Prost was tactician but Mansell, he was different known as Fearless.
The partnership began to unravel at the Portuguese Grand Prix. Mansell started from pole but made a poor getaway, and instead of letting Prost through, he tried to block him. The move backfired, both Ferraris lost momentum, allowing Senna and his McLaren teammate Gerhard Berger to slip past into first and second. What had started as a Ferrari front-row lockout quickly turned into frustration, with Mansell dropping to third and Prost down to fifth by the end of the opening laps.
Mansell decided to move to Williams for the next season in 1991.
However, Prost remained at Ferrari, he wanted to bring back the team to the top.
CONTENT CONTINUES BELOW
The 1991 Season: A Car That Wouldn’t Dance
When the 1991 season began, Ferrari’s new 642 car was a disappointment, Williams was the team to beat with better aero and smoother V10 engines, while Ferrari stuck with its heavy V12 layout, on paper it produced huge power, but on track it was difficult to handle and inconsistent from race to race.
Prost, already a three time world champion and one of the best in F1, found himself fighting the car instead of mastering it, the balance was poor, the front of the car was unpredictable and the engine’s mid-range delivery was savage.
He scored a few podiums but failed to win a single race, the first time in a decade he went winless for an entire season.
At the 1991 Spanish GP, Prost’s race truned on strategy rather than speed, he wanted to start on slick but Ferrari overruled him, Alain Prost started 6th, and he was the first driver to go on slicks and managed to recover and finish second in the race, and yet his frustration with Ferrari deepened, he believed that with his call, the race could have been his.
Japan 1991: The Breaking Point
Then came Suzuka, suspension failed during practice and Alain Prost’s car became almost undrivable, he still dragged it to the finish but afterward, he spoke to reporters with the candor that had made him famous.
He said that the car felt like driving ‘truck’ and he had no control at all, it was an off-the-cuff remark born of frustration, but Maranello did not what he said.
Ferrari’s leadership considered it an unforgivable, criticizing Ferrari car was like insulting the family.
Within days, team boss Claudio Lombardi announced Prost’s dismissal, saying that while the team respected him, his behavior had become unacceptable, Ferrari would finish the season with their test driver, Gianni Morbidelli, in Prost’s seat, the Ferrari-Prost partnership was over!
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Out of F1 for a year
Prost spent 1992 out of racing, he played a role like a commentator and he even tested the Ligier car.
But he knew that the business is not finished yet and he wanted to come back once again in F1 and he was preparing for 1993 season.
Williams signed the Frenchman for the 1993 season, and Alain Prost once again showed that he was one of the best of the era, winning his 4th title in F1 and to retire from the sport at the end of the year.
Why Prost-Ferrari story is unique
To this day, Ferrari fans still debate whether Prost’s firing was justified, some say he should have known better, that a Ferrari driver must protect the brand above all else.
Others argue that his blunt honesty exposed the cracks that had to be fixed for Ferrari to eventually rise again.
Also that start at the 1990 Sazuka race and collision with Senna, was almost the same senerio as the Imola 2nd restart were Prost accused Senna of unfair gamemanship by passing and regaining 1st position, that he had prior to the race stoppage…Prost’s 1st visible crack in a warriors armor.