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Alain Prost was nicknamed 'The Professor', for his measured preparations and meticulous approach to racing. He had modelled his racing style on Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark and he is looked upon as a model by Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso for his race craft, strategies and a cool head.
Prost spent 7 years of his storied career at McLaren, raking up poles, wins and championships. He was political in the garage and exceptionally quick on the track. Though his lone McLaren year in 1980 didn't end well, he returned to the British side to win 3 of his 4 titles and helping them win 5 constructor's titles (1984-86, 1988, 1989) in a decade that they dominated. He was in championship contention is every year he was with them, thrice losing out narrowly.
There's another side to the normally heard side of him being the villain in Senna's story. His preparation was meticulous and his records make him one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. Let's look at his stint in 3 phases, with the engines McLaren had - Ford-Cosworth, TAG-Porsche and Honda.
1980: McLaren - Ford Cosworth
Having excelled in Formula Renault and Formula 3 championships in 1978 and 1979, Alain Prost was considered the next big thing when he finally signed with McLaren for a debut campaign. He finished in the points in his first race in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and continued to score points during the season, but he also had several accidents.
Despite having a 3-year deal, he left for French side Renault (3-year-deal) as he felt the car was unreliable and that the team wrongfully blamed him for the mishaps. The Frenchman's talent was however on display throughout and he gave a superb account of himself in his first F1 season.
1984-87 McLaren TAG-Porsche
Prost lost the championship to Nelson Piquet of Brabham by a mere 2 points in 1983. He believed that his Renault side was not developing the car and that it was not his fault that his points tally was overhauled in the final races by Piquet.
Renault fired him for his outburst and he immediately re-signed with McLaren who had Ron Dennis at the helm having merged with his Project Four. McLaren, now driving with the TAG engines, easily took the constructor's championship, but Prost lost to teammate Niki Lauda by just half a point in 1984.
1985 saw him win his first world title comfortably and Lauda retired. Prost was joined by world champion Keke Rosberg for 1986, and he defended his title taking advantage of the Williams-Honda of Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet taking points off each other - in the end by just 2 points. Next year, the Williams Honda won both titles and McLaren decide to switch to Honda engines for 1988.
1988-89 McLaren-Honda
Prost supported Ron Dennis's decision to hire Ayrton Senna from Lotus to partner him, despite knowing that the Brazilian's speed, and wanted to be challenged by the best. The team comfortably won the constructor's but the drivers were feuding every race. For 1988, only the best 11 results counted toward the championship.
Prost scored 105 points during the year, but only 87 points were counted towards the championship. Senna scored 94 points, with 90 points counted toward the championship as he won 8 races to Prost's 7.
While Prost scored more points during the season, Senna won the first of his 3 world drivers' titles. 1989 saw Prost win his third title, but the intra-team dynamics reached toxic levels and he decided to move away and join Ferrari for 1990.
Prost won just 4 races as against Senna's 6 but his consistency in bagging points, with 11 podiums clinched him the title in controversial and acrimonious circumstances in Suzuka, Japan.
