The 1984 Formula 1 season is remembered as one of the sport’s all-time classics, with Niki Lauda edging out Alain Prost for the championship.
Ayrton Senna made his F1 debut that year with Toleman before moving to Lotus and later McLaren, where he secured three world championships.
Senna would go on to become one of the most revered drivers in history and formed one of the most intense rivalries with Prost. But in 1984, it was Lauda who stood in Prost’s way.
Regazzoni had once predicted that Lauda would never make it big in F1. However, the Austrian went on to prove him wrong, winning his first title with Ferrari in 1975.
After surviving a life-threatening crash at the Nürburgring in 1976, he returned to claim another championship in 1977, following James Hunt’s narrow win the year before.
Lauda retired from F1 in 1979 but came back with McLaren three years later. By 1984, he was back at his best and found himself locked in what would become one of the tightest title battles ever seen against teammate Prost.
Niki Lauda beat his ‘biggest enemy’ Alain Prost by half a point for the 1984 F1 title
After moving to McLaren from Renault in 1984 following his title defeat to Nelson Piquet, Prost joined forces with Lauda at McLaren, and their partnership quickly developed into a fierce rivalry.
Speaking about their time together, commentator John Watson told The Guardian: “I’m not sure it was made in heaven, for they are both single-minded, selfish, wanting kind of people.”
Lauda, on the other hand, held a more extreme perspective, identifying Prost as his primary adversary 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 fastest car over one lap – Prost managed only three poles that season while Lauda did not secure any.
However, its race pace was strong enough to put them consistently at the front. Heading into the final race at Estoril, Lauda had four fastest laps and six wins, compared to Prost’s five victories.
Lauda led the championship with 66 points, while Prost had 62.5 – half points had been awarded at Monaco because poor weather meant less than half the race distance was completed. At Estoril, Prost took pole position, while Lauda qualified down in eleventh.
Prost did everything right by taking victory in Portugal, but Lauda worked his way through the field to finish second. The result gave McLaren a one-two finish and secured Lauda’s third title by just half a point – still the closest margin in F1 history.
How Alain Prost’s 1984 Monaco GP call cost him the championship
Heavy rain brought the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix to an early finish, with Prost raising concerns about visibility and a brake issue. On lap 32, the race was stopped after rookie Senna took the lead from him.
Prost was awarded the victory based on the results of lap 31, preventing Senna from securing his first win. But, due to less than half of the race being completed, only half points were distributed.
If Prost had stayed behind Senna for another ten laps, he would have earned six points for second place. In that case, he would have beaten Lauda by two points over the season.
Even so, it was not long before Prost claimed his first title in 1985. He went on to win again in 1986, 1989 and 1993. Despite how things turned out against Lauda in ‘84, he said their time together taught him a great deal.
“Niki was the old master when I joined the team and I was the young guy. But we worked together very quickly. I was very eager to learn and Lauda helped me a lot,” he explained.
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