On today’s day 36 years ago, the four-time world champion Alain Prost won his first F1 race in the French car Renault RE30 on the French track Dijon.
Prost also drove his first fastest lap in the career (1:09.14) and led a race for the first time – he led for 22 out of 80 laps, while the remaining 58 laps were led by Nelson Piquet.
The Frenchman began his rich F1 career in 1980 at McLaren, and spent the next three years in Renault, where in 1981 he achieved the first win and finished fifth with three wins. In 1982. Prost had two wins, but finished fourth in the championship.
In 1983, Prost finished second behind champion Pique with four wins, which was the first of a total of four times for him to finish as a vice champion.
He moved to McLaren in 1984 where he finishes second again, this time behind Niki Lauda, who won his third and final title after two titles for Ferrari in 1975 and 1977. That year Prost lost title for only half a point despite winning the last race in Portugal in front of Lauda.
But Prost won the title in 1985 with ease, winning five times and standing od the podium 11 times in 16 races.
In 1986, Prost won his second consecutive title at McLaren after he capitalized on misfortunes of Williams drivers Piquet and Mansell, and finished only fourth in the following year.
In 1988 McLaren brings Senna who beat Prost in a tense fight, but the Frenchman strikes back in 1989 after the controversial clash in Japan.
In 1990, Prost again lost from Senna at Suzuka, but this time in Ferrari, after the Brazilian decided to retaliate for 1989 and hit him in the first corner.
In 1992, the Frenchman took a year off before returning in 1993 in Williams and convincingly won his fourth and final career title.
