M. Alain Prost had his first F1 driving experience as a test driver for McLaren, He gave Renault their closest approach to the Formula 1 championship, got poor-mouthed by the team and returned to McLaren, displacing John Watson and ending Watson's F1 career. The MP4/1 won races with a Ford-Cosworth, and Lauda won in the MP4/1e with the turbo engine. In the first full season with the TAG turbo, Lauda and Prost walked away with almost everything that wasn't nailed down, finishing 1st, 2nd, or having a mechanical failure in most races Lauda took the Championship by 1/2 point, and traded his #11 for #1. Prost got #2, seen here. In their second year with the TAG turbo, Lauda found success harder, and Prost took the championship. Lauda's second retirement was the real one. He had an airline to run, books to write and a Ferrari team to advise. Prost had 3 more championships to win.

In a splendid display of unintended consequences, in that first season, Prost "benefitted" from an early end to a rain-soaked Monaco Grand Prix, Clerk of the course Jackie Icyx decided it was too dangerous to continue. Prost was leading when the race was stopped, so he was the winner. But because it was stopped more than a few laps short, FIA rules awarded half-points for each place and he got 4 1/2, not 9, for the 1st place. Someone, (can it have been Senna?) was closing in on Prost- some observers grumbled that the early end of the race gave Prost a win that might have been 2nd place over the full distance. Second place over the full distance would have yielded 6 points, 1 1/2 more than the short distance win, and instead of Lauda by 1/2 point, the championship would have gone to Prost by 1 point. Prost would have finished his career with 50 wins, and 5 championships, tying Fangio.

www.formula1.com/teams_and_drivers/hall_of_fame/36/

McLaren-TAG/Porsche MP4/2