Get up to speed with the Alain Prost vs Ayrton Senna rivalry which is considered as one of the greatest F1 rivalries of all time
Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were the primary subjects to one of the greatest Formula 1 rivalries. It is to date, one of the most fierce rivalries in Formula 1 history. Meanwhile, they were teammates from 1988 to 1989 an era in F1 which was dominated by McLaren.
Alain Prost was already a two-time Formula 1 Champion when Ayrton Senna joined them in 1988 from team Lotus. It was Alain Prost who pushed McLaren to acquire the services of Ayrton Senna after the departure of Niki Lauda.
Ayrton Senna has been by far the most competitive driver to ever participate in Formula 1. On the other hand, Alain Prost was more seasoned and composed making them a lethal combination. Meanwhile, they dominated Formula 1 during the 1988 and 1989 seasons by winning 25 of the 32 Grand Prix.
F1 Greatest Rivalries: Remembering Alain Prost vs Ayrton Senna Rivalry, Career, & Crashes in 1988-89
McLaren probably had the fastest car in Formula 1 during that time and on top of that, they had 2 drivers who were willing to go to any extent. Meanwhile, they were dominating all the cars on the grid by winning 15 out of the 16 Grand Prix in 1988 and finishing with 199 points.
| Pos | Driver | BRA | SMR | MON | MEX | CAN | DET | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | ESP | JPN | AUS | Points |
| 1 | Ayrton Senna | DSQ | 1 | Ret | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | ( | 1 | 2 | 90 |
| 2 | Alain Prost | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Ret | 2 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 87 |
Ayrton Senna secured his first Formula 1 Championship in 1988 by winning 8 Grand Prix and outperforming the Frenchman on a number of occasions. Meanwhile, Alain Prost felt that Honda was neglecting the Frenchman and took some biased decisions in the favour of Senna.
Till this point in time, the relationship between both the drivers was professional and had mutual respect for each other.
1989
Their relationship degraded gradually in the 1989 season and it all started from San Marino Grand Prix. Both the drivers made an agreement in which whoever won the start of the line will take the lead of the race and will not be challenged. Meanwhile, Senna flew off the mark and took the lead of the Grand Prix but it was red-flagged due to Gerhard Berger’s fiery crash at Tamburello.
However, at the restart, Senna was not able to replicate his wonderful acceleration and lost the lead to Prost. Senna immediately raced back to the top of the field dishonouring his commitment made to Alain Prost.
1989 Japanese Grand Prix is one of the most entertaining races in Formula 1 history with Alain Prost leading the Championship into the final 2 rounds of the season. This meant that Senna would have to win the last 2 races in order to retain the Championship.
However, on lap 46, Senna tried to overtake the Frenchman at Casio Triangle chicane but he was unsuccessful as they both clashed. Meanwhile, Senna kept his engine running and signalled the marshalls to push him back on the track. He rejoined the race and secured P1 only to be disqualified for re-entering the track illegally.
Prost finished the season with 76 points and secured his 3 Driver’s Championship in his final season with McLaren.
| Pos | Driver | BRA | SMR | MON | MEX | USA | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | ESP | JPN | AUS | Points |
| 1 | Alain Prost | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Ret | Ret | 76 (81) |
| 2 | Ayrton Senna | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 7 | Ret | Ret | 1 | 2 | 1 | Ret | Ret | 1 | DSQ | Ret | 60 |
1990
Alain Prost joined Ferrari in 1990 after winning his third Driver’s Championship with McLaren. However, McLaren had a better engine and were on the verge of winning their third successful Constructor’s Championship.
On the other hand, Senna and Prost were involved in intense battles which saw the Driver’s Championship going to the penultimate day. Japanese Grand Prix was going to be decisive once again and Senna knew that he would win if both the cars crash.
He started from pole position but was not able to accelerate quickly because of being on the dirty side of the track. Meanwhile, Prost jumped him and took the lead of the race when at turn 1, Senna tried to cut the inside line of Ferrari and crashed into Prost compromising the race of both the drivers. He won his second Driver’s Championship at Suzuka beating the Ferrari of Alain Prost.
1991
Ayrton Senna dominated the 1991 Formula 1 season and won his third Driver’s Championship at the halfway point of the season. Nigel Mansel finished second that season and was the only little competition Senna had to deal with.
Ferrari on the other hand was struggling with pace and Alain Prost was sacked following an altercation with the Ferrari bosses. Prost was accused of comparing the Ferrari car to a “Truck” and mocking the team performance. He retired after that season and joined Williams the following year.
F1 1992: Decline in the Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna rivalry
McLaren dominance came to an end in 1992 with Nigel Mansel winning his first-ever Driver’s Championship. Ayrton Senna finished the season in the fourth position and was not able to compete with the other faster cars on the grid.
Senna was looking for a new team in order to win his fourth Driver’s Championship but was stuck with McLaren for one more year.
1993
Alain Prost returned to Formula 1 with Williams F1 team and vetoed a clause that would not allow Senna to join Williams. Senna mocked his former teammate for this cheap move and labelled him a coward. Meanwhile, Prost went on to win his fourth Driver’s Championship defeating Ayrton Senna for the final time before hanging his gloves and retiring from the sport.
They put all these things behind them and improved their relationship with each other till the death of Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Before the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994, He and Prost were in the middle of proposing a safety proposal to the FIA.