What is Alain Prost’s Net Worth?
Alain Prost is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive who has a net worth of $100 million. During his career in Formula One from 1980 to 1993, Alain Prost won four World Drivers’ Championships and was notorious for his rivalry with teammate Ayrton Senna. As an executive, he co-owned the team e.dams and won three consecutive Formula E Championships with the team between 2015 and 2017.
Early Life
Alain Prost was born on February 24, 1955 in Lorette, France to Marie-Rose and André. He is of Armenian descent and had an older brother named Daniel. Prost took to sports at an early age, participating in wrestling, football, rollerskating, and more. He found his calling at the age of 14 when he began kart racing. After winning many karting championships as a teenager, he became a full-time racer in 1974. The following year, Prost won the French senior karting championship.
Junior Formulae
Prost advanced to junior formulae in 1976. That year, he dominated French Formula Renault and won his first National Championship title. In 1977, Prost won the Formula Renault European title, and in 1978 he won the French Formula Three title. He concluded the decade on a high note in 1979 by winning both the French and European Formula Three titles.
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Formula One, 1980-1993
Prost graduated to Formula One in 1980 and signed with McLaren. Despite a promising start to his maiden season by scoring on his debut in Buenos Aires, he finished the season 15th in the Drivers’ Championship. Prost subsequently moved to Renault, competing for the team from 1981 to 1983. He finished fifth in the Drivers’ Championship in 1981, fourth in 1982, and runner-up behind Nelson Piquet in 1983. Prost found himself increasingly in conflict with Renault management, and after he was canned in 1983 he returned to McLaren. He went on to have a very memorable 1984 season, during which he matched Jim Clark’s Formula One record of seven wins and lost the Drivers’ Championship to his teammate Niki Lauda by just half a point in the narrowest title race in the history of Formula One. He had better luck in 1985, winning his first Drivers’ Championship and becoming the first Frenchman in Formula One to do so. Prost went on to successfully defend his title in 1986, making him the first driver to do so since Jack Brabham in 1960. He was unable to claim a third consecutive title in 1987, finishing fourth overall and 30 points behind the champion, Nelson Piquet.
In 1988, Prost began what would become a legendary rivalry with fellow McLaren racer and rising star Ayrton Senna. McLaren dominated the season with a 15-1 record, and Prost won seven races while outscoring Senna by 11 points. However, Senna ended up winning the Drivers’ Championship by three points under the rules in place at the time. As McLaren continued to dominate the competition in 1989, the Prost-Senna rivalry became more heated. Tensions climaxed at the 1989 Italian Grand Prix, where Prost burned his bridges with McLaren and Honda after having announced his plans to drive for Ferrari starting in 1990. Following his Italian Grand Prix victory, he deliberately dropped his trophy into a crowd of raucous Ferrari fans. Despite the controversy, Prost was allowed to finish the season with McLaren in exchange for a public written apology, and he ended up winning his third career Drivers’ Championship.
In 1990, Prost signed with Ferrari. That season, he won five races, including the Mexican Grand Prix, where he had started in 13th position. Prost ultimately lost the Drivers’ Championship to Senna after a tumultuous Japanese Grand Prix that saw Senna intentionally colliding into his rival’s car. The 1991 season was far less successful for Prost, as he won no races and finished a mere eight races. He lashed out at Ferrari in response, and was consequently fired by the team. After taking the 1992 season off, Prost signed a two-year contract with Williams for 1993 and 1994. He went on to win his fourth and final Drivers’ Championship in 1993, with Williams claiming the Constructors’ Championship. In the final race of his career, at the 1993 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, Prost finished on the podium. He received a surprising embrace from Senna after the race. Despite an offer by McLaren to take Senna’s seat for the 1994 season, Prost declined and officially retired from Formula One. At the time of his retirement, he held the Formula One records for most wins (51), podium finishes (106), and fastest laps (41).
Post-retirement
In 2003, Prost began competing in the Andros Trophy, which was the French national ice racing championship. He competed until 2012 and won three championship titles, with Toyota in 2007 and 2008 and with Dacia in 2012. Meanwhile, in 2005, Prost won the FFSA GT Championship. In 2013, he partnered with Jean-Paul Driot’s DAMS team to form the Formula E team e.dams, which went on to win the inaugural Formula E Championship in 2015. The team subsequently won two more consecutive titles.
Personal Life
With his ex-wife, Anne-Marie, Prost has two sons named Nicolas and Sacha, the former of whom is a professional racing driver. Prost also has a daughter, Victoria, from a later relationship with Bernadette Cottin.
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