Alain Prost is coming to the Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Frenchman, who is considered one of the greatest racing drivers of all time, will be returning to Goodwood as one of the central figures in this year’s definitive Formula 1 showcase.

World Champion in 1985, ’86, ’89 and ’93, Prost was the second driver in history to claim four Drivers’ Titles during a career that saw him race against Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell.

He also held the record for the most Grand Prix victories from 1987 to 2001, surpassing Sir Jackie Stewart’s total of 27 wins and eventually setting the bar at 51, with his final triumph at the 1993 German Grand Prix.

Prost didn’t get into karting until he was 14 years old, and he made his F1 debut with McLaren in 1980 at the age of 24, finishing in the points at the first attempt. A move to Renault for the following season yielded his first victory at his home Grand Prix at Dijon, and by 1983 he had become a challenger for the Championship.

He topped the Drivers’ standings for much of that season, but lost out to Piquet at the final round just two points short of the Title. The following year was even more painful as Prost, now back at McLaren, won seven Grands Prix but still had to settle for second behind his team-mate Lauda, by a margin of just half a point.

His time finally came in 1985, when with five victories he waltzed to a dominant Championship win and confirmed his status as the leading driver on the F1 grid. And he didn’t have to wait long for his second title, benefitting from Mansell’s infamous tyre failure at the final round of the 1986 season at Adelaide.

Now a two-time World Champion, Prost was recognised as the de-facto leader in F1, and his nickname ‘The Professor’ highlighted his extraordinary capabilities as a driver, a strategist and an engineer.

In 1988, he was joined at McLaren by Ayrton Senna, with whom he would become embroiled in one of sport’s most bitter rivalries. The story of Prost and Senna is legendary, and it defined an era that saw F1 enjoy a huge boost in popularity.

After Senna won the title in ’88, despite scoring fewer points than his team-mate over the 16 rounds, he and Prost were involved in two of the most remarkable moments in F1 history, as collisions between the pair at consecutive Japanese Grands Prix saw Championships decided first in Prost’s favour, then in Senna’s.

The Frenchman had made the switch to Ferrari for the 1990 season, but a disappointing campaign in ’91 saw Prost leave the team and take a sabbatical for 1992. Unwilling to finish his career as a three-time Champion however, and having seen the speed of the Williams FW14B, Prost made it his mission to return to the grid with Frank Williams’ team.

His arrival at Grove coincided with the departure of 1992 World Champion Mansell, and Prost had a clear run to a fourth title. Upon reclaiming his crown, he retired from F1 as one of the most successful drivers of all time.

Prost’s tallies of 51 Grand Prix wins, 106 podium finishes and 41 fastest laps were all record numbers at the time of his retirement, and even as the F1 calendar has hugely expanded since his time in the sport, he remains fifth on the all-time list of winners, behind only Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.

Had Prost not been active during arguably the most competitive period in F1 history, who knows how many Championships he would have won. His presence will form a major part of this year’s F1 75 celebrations at the Festival of Speed. He’ll be at Goodwood on Saturday 12^th and Sunday 13^th July, taking to the Hill at the wheel of the McLaren MP4/4 that he drove to victories at the Mexican, Monaco and French Grands Prix.

The 2025 Festival of Speed takes place on 10^th-13^th July. Friday and Saturday tickets are now sold out, but Thursday and limited Sunday tickets are still available.

Images courtesy of Getty Images.