How Niki Lauda beat his ‘biggest enemy’ Alain Prost to the title by the smallest margin in F1 history

Follow us on Google Discover

The 1984 Formula 1 season will go down as one of the greatest in the sport’s history, with Niki Lauda beating Alain Prost to the title.

The season was also famous for the debut of Ayrton Senna. The Brazilian got his first shot at F1 with Toleman, before moving on to Lotus and later McLaren and Williams, where he would become a three-time champion.

He would not have known it at the time, but he would go on to become what many widely regard as the greatest talent F1 has ever seen, as well as spark a tense rivalry with Prost. Looking back, Prost remembers his rivalry with Senna fondly, but in 1984, it was Lauda who was his biggest threat.

Clay Regazzoni felt Lauda would ‘never be great’ in F1, but the Austrian would prove him wrong as he won the 1975 title with Ferrari. After his near-fatal accident at the Nurburgring in 1976, he came back to win in 1977, after losing to James Hunt the previous year.

Lauda briefly retired from F1 in 1979 before he returned with McLaren in 1982. Come 1984, he found himself in a position to fight for a third championship, and it would turn out to be the closest title fight in F1 history as he battled with teammate Prost.

Niki Lauda beat his ‘biggest enemy’ Alain Prost by half a point for the 1984 F1 title

Prost joined McLaren from Renault in 1984 after losing the 1983 title to Nelson Piquet. Linking up with Lauda, the pair sparked an intense rivalry.

Commentator John Watson said via The Guardian: “I’m not sure it was made in heaven, for they are both single-minded, selfish, wanting kind of people.” Meanwhile, Lauda had a more extreme view of Prost, stating that he was his ‘biggest enemy’ on the track.

“I hated the guy,” he said. When I saw him, I got upset, because he was my biggest enemy, in the same team.”

The MP4/2 was not the quickest car over one lap, as Prost only grabbed three pole positions in 1984, while Lauda scored none. But the car often outclassed the field in race pace, with the latter grabbing four fastest laps and six wins to Prost’s five heading into the season finale at Estoril.

Lauda led the championship with 66 points, with Prost on 62.5 points – half points were given in Monaco as half the distance was not complete due to poor weather conditions. The Frenchman took pole for the Portuguese Grand Prix, while the Austrian had a disaster and lined up 11th.

Prost did no wrong as he grabbed victory at Estoril, but Lauda showed his class to work his way through the field and into second. With the McLarens finishing in a 1-2, the Austrian clinched his third title by half a point, which to this day is the closest margin in F1 history.

READ MORE: He is the F1 driver who considered Niki Lauda his greatest rival and once won a race from 22nd on the grid

Alain Prost would have been champion in 1984 had he not called for the Monaco Grand Prix to be stopped

As aforementioned, the 1984 Monaco GP was stopped due to heavy rain, with Prost complaining about visibility and a brake issue. It was halted on lap 32, as the then-rookie Senna overtook him for the lead.

The results were taken from lap 31, giving the win to Prost and denying a maiden win for Senna. However, half points were awarded as 50% of the race had not been completed.

Had Prost held position behind Senna for another 10 laps, the half-distance would have been reached and he would have scored six points for finishing second. The Frenchman could have beaten Lauda by two points in this scenario.

He would not have to wait long, however, to become a world champion as he won in 1985, going to win another three in 1986, 1989 and 1992. Things could have worked out differently against Lauda, but looking back, Prost felt he learned a lot from being teammates with him.

“Niki was the old master when I joined the team and I was the young guy,” he said. “But we worked together very quickly. I was very eager to learn and Lauda helped me a lot”.