Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna’s rivalry in the late 1980s and early ’90s was the hottest topic of discussion amongst the F1 community. Prost was often deemed as the ‘villain’ by the media owing to Senna’s immense popularity as a gifted talent in the sport. However, even before his tussle with the Brazilian developed, he had to face abuse in his home country.
Despite being one of the most talented Frenchmen to grace F1, Prost did not find a lot of affection in France. The four-time champion once recalled an incident at a gas station where one attendant unknowingly abused him.
“I stopped at the station [after a race], and the guy was there, he recognized me, I thought he recognized me. He said, ‘Oh I saw the race, and I was very upset,” Prost said in a conversation with Nico Rosberg back in 2021. The person did not recognize that he was talking to Prost.
“He said, ‘You know this f**king Prost is an a**hole”, he added. Naturally, he did not feel great about this incident. Prost told Rosberg how this was the primary reason why he decided to leave France and move to another country.
No stone is left unturned in the title fights we’ve witnessed before
Especially in this epic battle between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna in 1989! #F1 #HistoryAwaits pic.twitter.com/AeSj4DvxFQ
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 2, 2021
It was quite ironic that the driver they hated so much went on to become the most successful French F1 driver ever, and the only World Champion to date.
Prost is grateful there was no social media in the ’80s
Rosberg highlighted another extreme incident that Prost faced in France. People set his cars on fire in front of his house besides also abusing him. Prost never understood why there was so much hate against him, despite him being on the right side, often during his skirmishes with Senna.
He highlighted that he was very straightforward in his responses, which may have worked against him by stimulating the negativity amongst the fans. He told Rosberg that it was great that they never had social media back then. “It would have been a disaster”, he said.
When Rosberg asked how he dealt with these extreme situations, Prost said he surrounded himself with his loved ones, as they were the ones who understood his perspective truly. While it was a mentally difficult challenge, the Frenchman held his nerve to keep pushing towards glory and not lose his way.
