Prost: 'I was a better racer than Senna, I am completely underrated'

Four-time world champion Alain Prost believes he is "completely underrated" compared to other Formula 1 drivers. He attributes this in particular to comparisons with his arch-rival Ayrton Senna, which often turn out unfavourably for the Frenchman.

Prost, nicknamed 'The Professor' because of his calculated approach as a driver, is fourth in the list of F1 drivers with the most world titles to their name. In the ranking of Grand Prix victories, he is currently fifth with 51 wins since Max Verstappen overtook him in 2023.

Those are impressive statistics, but Prost believes he does not get the credit he deserves. "I do ask myself sometimes how I am going to be remembered. It sounds like a joke but I’m completely underrated! I know that. I can see. I don’t know why, but it’s my brand in a way," he said to Motor Sport Magazine.

It looks like it stays that way for ever, it is part of the history," he added. "Look at my other teammates: [John] Watson, [Rene] Arnoux, [Eddie] Cheever, Niki [Lauda], Keke [Rosberg], Stefan [Johansson], Nigel [Mansell], Jean [Alesi] and Damon [Hill]. Nobody talks about them. I had five world champions as teammates, so it is a bit of a shame."

Prost pointed out that he is mostly remembered for his fierce battles with Senna, with whom he was teammates at McLaren in 1988 and 1989, although anything but in harmony. Senna won the championship one year, Prost the next. He secured the '89 world title after the controversial crash with his teammate in the Japanese Grand Prix. Almost exactly the same scenario repeated itself a year later, this time with Senna taking the title.

Senna is still seen by many today as the best driver of all time, but Prost thinks that is unjustified. "Ayrton represented more panache. I was the ‘Professor’, clinical. He was ‘mystic’ and people liked that. When he impressed me I must say it was in qualifying sometimes, I don’t remember when exactly. Never in race conditions. Never. In race conditions, in the warm-up, most of the time I was quicker," Prost said.