7 replies to this topic

[rallen]

I did a search on this and was surprised that there is not a thread about this already but I was interested about Prost in the wet.

I know he never liked racing in wet (understandably) considering he was involved in the Pironi incident at Hockenhiem in 1982. Was this actually where his dislike for wet weather races comes from or did he have this before 1982?

Also regardless of his dislike of the wet (always reminds me of the old cricket saying 'Nobody likes playing fast bowling but some are better at it that others') was he actually good at racing in the wet or was it an actual weakness in his technique? were there any occasions when he drove well in wet races (at any level)

I was never a fan of Prost (wasn't a fan of Senna either) though I respect him and I can't imagine a driver of his quality having any weakness. What do people here think of him in the wet? Also everyone talks about 'rain masters' but where there any top drivers that just wern't very good in the wet?

[Collombin]

He was good enough to win the 1984 Monaco GP, of course.

He always mentioned the Pironi incident as his reason for not wanting to compete in races that were too wet - simply because of the visibility issues.

Denny Hulme is an often cited example of a great driver who didn't like the wet.

[RStock]

He was good enough to win the 1984 Monaco GP, of course.

Oh my.

[CSquared]

In his autobiography he wrote about competing for the Winfield school scholarship. For most of it he was near the top, but not really standing out. On the last day, though, it rained, and that's when he blew away the other drivers and really impressed the judges.

[SophieB]

I did a search on this and was surprised that there is not a thread about this already but I was interested about Prost in the wet.

I know he never liked racing in wet (understandably) considering he was involved in the Pironi incident at Hockenhiem in 1982. Was this actually where his dislike for wet weather races comes from or did he have this before 1982?

Alain Prost certainly tells Malcolm Folley that this was the case in the extended interview that provides the basis for Folley's book Senna Vs Prost. He says something like before the accident he liked racing in the wet the very best of all. It's been a while since I read the book but I *think* he also traced his change in attitude to his brother's death from cancer. How it all led him to be that much more aware of how fragile life is and how he saw the increased risks of wet weather driving in a new light.

[chr1s]

The first Grand Prix he won was wet!

[GMiranda]

Alain Prost certainly tells Malcolm Folley that this was the case in the extended interview that provides the basis for Folley's book Senna Vs Prost. He says something like before the accident he liked racing in the wet the very best of all. It's been a while since I read the book but I *think* he also traced his change in attitude to his brother's death from cancer. How it all led him to be that much more aware of how fragile life is and how he saw the increased risks of wet weather driving in a new light.

Yes, indeed, it was both the accident and the death of his brother. Prost had performed remarkably in the wet on lower formulae, and he won his first race on a dry/wet G.P. at Dijon in 1981. However, the awful crash that ended Pironi's career deeply bothered him, and he became progressively cautious in the rain. However, he was far from being a bad driver on the wet, apart from some odd dismal performances such as the British GP in 1988 and the European G.P. in 1993. Even if he couldn't match Senna in the rain, Prost held up well against the remaining drivers.

[chr1s]

As I recall, as far as he was concerned, it was more about visibility (particularly after Hockenheim 82') rather than ability to control the car. "Whether you're the greatest driver on the planet or, the most inept, if you can't see you can't see."