Former McLaren designer John Barnard has highlighted two defining traits that made Alain Prost one in every of Components 1’s most profitable drivers.
Prost is thought to be one of many best drivers of all time, having gained 4 championships in a profession that noticed him race for top-end groups like Renault, McLaren, Ferrari and Williams.
Barnard labored intently with Prost throughout their time collectively at McLaren, designing the vehicles with which the Frenchman gained his first two F1 titles in 1985 and 1986.
One of many first issues that stood out to Barnard was Prost’s exceptionally easy driving fashion, which allowed him to eke out extra life from his tyres than rivals.
“What’s particular to me after I labored with him was [that] he was improbable with tyres,” Barnard mentioned on the Goodwood Competition of Pace.
“I might see him begin the race. We ran then with full tanks, we did not refuel. And he’d run the primary 10 laps actually simply. We thought What’s he doing? He’s cruising.’
“After which slowly he’d simply work it up and work it up. And when all people else was wrecking their tyres, he acquired good tyres on the finish. He was good with tyres.”
Barnard revealed that Prost was additionally closely concerned in technical issues, a lot that he would keep in mind the precise set-up the workforce had used at any given race.
“The factor I recall about him is that he remembered the set-up on the automobile.
“I might say to him, ‘Possibly we should always go down on the entrance rollbar. And he would say, ‘we ran to a quantity three’.
“That was 4 races again. He mentioned, ‘Yeah, I keep in mind what we did.’ I assumed that is fairly good.”
Prost, who was current with him at Goodwood, added, “Even now I keep in mind some set-ups from ‘84.”
