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> Prost was the better racer, That is a bold claim. Data [1] shows that when they were teammates, Senna won more races and far more pole positions. Prost got m

> Prost was the better racer, That is a bold claim. Data [1] shows that when they were teammates, Senna won more races and far more pole positions. Prost got more points, podiums and fastest laps. From looking at the record, it would seem that Prost got the majority of his fastest laps and podiums when Senna was already out of the race, crashing out or retiring to a mechanical issues. I believe that if they raced in cars with reliability level we see in 2010s, Senna would likely be ahead. [1]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prost%E2%80%93Senna_rivalry https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prost%E2%80%93Senna_rivalry

mhh__ 6y ago
Prost is statistically a huge outlier in terms of reliability and not crashing, however. Senna was definitely faster at peak but Prost was inhuman in other ways.
- raverbashing 6y ago
  There were some Senna DNFs due to fuel exhaustion, at least in some years
- dwd 6y ago
  Prost was boringly good but had his limits. The defining moment that differentiated the two was Prost refusing to race in heavy rain at Adelaide '89. Senna was obviously better in those conditions as that's how he drove. If the car wasn't on the edge of sliding or twitching under accelaration he wasn't going fast enough. Prost was measured and did what was necessary to win. Senna wanted to win and win well.
Someone 6y ago
Sounds like Senna raced to win each race, while Prost raced to win the championship. If you aim for the latter, you sometimes prefer second place over a 50% chance of winning/50% chance of retirement.
- jiofih 6y ago
  And that is where the mythology originates - one is racing for the thrill of racing and victory, the other racing “strategically”.
- Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
  The old system of scoring points allowed for some occasional retirements: only 11 best results out of 16 races counted towards the championship. These days all results count, and the difference between 1st and 2nd place is smaller (9 or 10 points vs 6 before, 25 vs 18 now), so drivers are less incentivized to take a risky pass for the win. That is one part of why Formula 1 is so boring now. The other part is a Draconian ban on in-season testing, which makes it far harder for lagging teams to catch up: previously teams could develop their cars mid-season, now whoever has the best car in March wins the championship.

mhh__ 6y ago

Prost is statistically a huge outlier in terms of reliability and not crashing, however. Senna was definitely faster at peak but Prost was inhuman in other ways.

raverbashing 6y ago
There were some Senna DNFs due to fuel exhaustion, at least in some years
dwd 6y ago
Prost was boringly good but had his limits. The defining moment that differentiated the two was Prost refusing to race in heavy rain at Adelaide '89. Senna was obviously better in those conditions as that's how he drove. If the car wasn't on the edge of sliding or twitching under accelaration he wasn't going fast enough. Prost was measured and did what was necessary to win. Senna wanted to win and win well.

Someone 6y ago

Sounds like Senna raced to win each race, while Prost raced to win the championship. If you aim for the latter, you sometimes prefer second place over a 50% chance of winning/50% chance of retirement.

jiofih 6y ago
And that is where the mythology originates - one is racing for the thrill of racing and victory, the other racing “strategically”.
Andrew_nenakhov 6y ago
The old system of scoring points allowed for some occasional retirements: only 11 best results out of 16 races counted towards the championship. These days all results count, and the difference between 1st and 2nd place is smaller (9 or 10 points vs 6 before, 25 vs 18 now), so drivers are less incentivized to take a risky pass for the win. That is one part of why Formula 1 is so boring now. The other part is a Draconian ban on in-season testing, which makes it far harder for lagging teams to catch up: previously teams could develop their cars mid-season, now whoever has the best car in March wins the championship.