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Alain Prost has arrived

24. Apr 2022 
by Ziv Knoll
5477 views

Alain Prost discovers karting at the age of 14 while on vacation with his family. He soon progresses through the junior formulae, and it becomes obvious to all he’s a very special talent.

After winning the French and European F3 championships in 1979, he joins John Watson at McLaren in Formula 1 for the 1980 season at the age of 24.

He finishes in 6th place and in the points for his Grand Prix debut in Argentina, and follows this with a fantastic 5th place two weeks later in Brazil.

The McLaren M29 used at the start of the season, is not a very competitive car and the new M30, introduced later in the season, that is supposed to replace it and capitalize on ground-effect design, is a failure.

Nevertheless, Prost and Watson battle on and score points on a few occasions for McLaren, the little Frenchman showing his speed and technical understanding, impressing everyone. History is in the making.

Picture below: Alain Prost, McLaren M29, scores his first point for sixth place at the 1980 Argentinian Grand Prix.

 

Source: DR

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