By Richard Barnes, Marcel Borsboom, Marcel Schot, David Wright
Atlas F1 Staff Writers
The 2001 Hungarian Grand Prix marked Michael Schumacher's 51st and record-equalling Grand Prix win. The German also marked a decade of racing and wrapped up his fourth World Championship while at it. Schumacher's victory tally is impressive - but is it also equal in quality to that of Alain Prost's? Does the decade separating them also mark a different caliber of achievements? Atlas F1 puts this to the test: it's Schumacher Vs Prost, mano a mano, win versus win
Rating Methodology: 5 stars are awarded to wins which are considered exceptional, such as races that are won by large margins or from seemingly impossible positions; 4 stars are awarded to wins that are above average, such as a dominant win from pole position, or passing several cars to take the lead; 3 stars are awarded to average, expected wins; 2 stars are awarded to below average wins, such as those inherited due to others' misfortune; and 1 star is awarded to wins that are clearly undeserving or below average, such as inherited wins involving team orders or wins obtained in dubious circumstances.
1981 French Grand Prix; Dijon
Rating: * * *
| Grid Position: | 3 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 22 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Renault |
AP: Alain Prost joined the Formula One circus at the start of the 1980 season. With the McLaren team, he achieved some point finishes, but nothing spectacular. For 1981 he moved to Renault, where a lack of reliability hurt the first half of the season.
Prost's first victory happened in a curious race. After having qualified in third position, the start was complete chaos as the lights behaved unusually. Prost maintained his position and quickly moved past John Watson into second. Just before three quarter distance, the race was red flagged as heavy rain made racing impossible. In the restart, Prost got away quickest and extended his lead enough to overcome the seven second deficit he had towards Nelson Piquet from the first part of the race.
1992 Belgian GP; Spa-Francorchamps
Rating: * * * *
| Grid Position: | 3 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 11 |
| Weather: | wet |
| Team: | Benetton/Ford |
MS: Michael Schumacher made his Formula One debut for Jordan just after halfway through the 1991 season. Benetton quickly secured his services for the remainder of the season and into the future. Schumacher immediately impressed by beating his experienced teammate Nelson Piquet from day one.
Exactly a year after his debut, the German scored his first win. A dry start with rain coming in after just a few laps mixed up the field and for a long time Schumacher ran in fourth, stuck behind Riccardo Patrese. As it dried, Schumacher was the first driver to switch back to slicks. Brundle and Patrese followed a lap later and Mansell yet another lap later. In the end, Schumacher's timing proved to have been perfect, as he had built a huge lead in the laps the other drivers were still on wets.
1981 Dutch Grand Prix; Zandvoort
Rating: * * *
| Grid Position: | 1 |
| Fastest Lap: | 3 |
| Laps Led: | 71 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Renault |
AP: After having claimed pole position, Alain Prost was able to stay ahead, with Williams driver Alan Jones giving him a very hard time in the first half of the race. After that, the Australian's tyres faded and Prost was able to cruise home easily.
1993 Portuguese Grand Prix; Estoril
Rating: * * *
| Grid Position: | 6 |
| Fastest Lap: | 3 |
| Laps Led: | 42 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Benetton/Ford |
MS: In a close battle between Schumacher and Alain Prost, the longer pitstop of the Frenchman proved to be a major contributor to the end result. Schumacher stopped earlier than Prost, who stopped eight laps later. Prost quickly reduced Schumacher's seven second lead, then for the last twenty laps they ran nose to tail. Schumacher didn't budge and Prost didn't risk a retirement, as he was on his way to the championship.
1981 Italian Grand Prix; Monza
Rating: * * * *
| Grid Position: | 3 |
| Fastest Lap: | 4 |
| Laps Led: | 52 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Renault |
AP: The Frenchman's third win was a dominant one, as he led from start to finish after having qualified in third. He stormed away to a 15 second lead after 15 laps and was already able to start cruising home, eventually finishing 23 seconds ahead of World Champion Alan Jones.
1994 Brazilian Grand Prix; Interlagos
Rating: * * *
| Grid Position: | 2 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 50 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Benetton/Ford |
MS: After initially falling behind Alesi at the start, Schumacher was quickly on his way towards leader Ayrton Senna. After 22 laps, both Senna and Schumacher came in at the same time and with a perfectly executed pitstop, Schumacher grabbed the lead. When Senna spun off after 55 laps, Schumacher had nothing to fear and easily cruised to victory.
1982 South African Grand Prix; Kyalami
Rating: * * * * *
| Grid Position: | 5 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 37 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Renault |
AP: After a troubled qualifying session, the Frenchman started the race from fifth. After a bad start by Piquet, Prost was in second behind his teammate Rene Arnoux, who he followed closely. After 14 laps, Prost overtook his teammate, slowly building a lead of ten seconds, after which a tyre deflated on the 41st lap. He returned to the pits slowly for fresh rubber and rejoined almost a lap behind. The Frenchman then drove an incredible race, and by lap 68 he was once again the leader, as Arnoux was now having tyre problems. In the end, Prost finished the race some 20 seconds ahead of Carlos Reutemann.
1994 Pacific Grand Prix; TI Circuit
Rating: * * * *
| Grid Position: | 2 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 83 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Benetton/Ford |
MS: In a dominant display, Schumacher beat pole sitter Senna off the line and when the Brazilian was caught up in a first corner collision with Hakkinen and Larini, the race was almost already over. Schumacher stormed away, eventually finishing well over a minute ahead of the rest.
1982 Brazilian Grand Prix; Jacarepagua
Rating: * *
| Grid Position: | 1 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 0 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Renault |
AP: In Brazil, Prost started from pole, but a bad opening phase saw him down in seventh after twenty laps, in a battle with Reutemann, Arnoux, Lauda and Watson. Courtesy of Reutemann, who managed to take himself, Arnoux and Lauda out in two separate incidents within a lap, Prost moved up to fifth. This became fourth when Gilles Villeneuve retired, and third when Riccardo Patrese abandoned the race. He remained in third until the chequered flag dropped. However, Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg were subsequently disqualified for being underweight and Alain Prost was awarded the victory.
1994 San Marino Grand Prix; Imola
Rating: * * *
| Grid Position: | 2 |
| Fastest Lap: | 2 |
| Laps Led: | 47 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Benetton/Ford |
MS: Without a doubt, this was Schumacher's least satisfying win. While Schumacher completely dominated the second half of the race, finishing a minute ahead of the rest, the fact that Ayrton Senna was killed just a few laps before, made this one almost unwanted.
1983 French Grand Prix; Paul Ricard
Rating: * * *
| Grid Position: | 1 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 51 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Renault |
AP: In qualifying, Prost was simply stunning, taking pole by over two seconds over the rest of the field. In the race he was able to maintain his leading status until his pitstop took longer than planned. Piquet briefly took over, but he too had to stop and Prost was able to take the lead again, eventually cruising to an easy win.
1994 Monaco Grand Prix; Monte Carlo
Rating: * * * *
| Grid Position: | 1 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 78 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Benetton/Ford |
MS: In a very dominating performace, Schumacher took pole, win and fastest lap, leading from start to finish and ending up 37 seconds ahead of McLaren's Martin Brundle.
1983 Belgian GP; Spa-Francorchamps
Rating: * *
| Grid Position: | 1 |
| Fastest Lap: | 2 |
| Laps Led: | 21 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Renault |
AP: Starting from pole, Prost was surprised by a lightning start by Alfa driver Andrea de Cesaris. Much to everyone's surprise, the Italian stayed ahead, building on a small lead as the race progressed. Back in second, Prost was able to build a comfortable gap over Piquet, so when de Cesaris's pitstop was ruined by his crew, Prost took a comfortable lead, which he brought home well.
1994 Canadian Grand Prix; Montreal
Rating: * * * *
| Grid Position: | 1 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 69 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Benetton/Ford |
MS: In what looked like a Monaco re-run, Schumacher again destroyed the opposition with pole, fastest lap and a lights-to-flag win.
1983 British Grand Prix; Silverstone
Rating: * * *
| Grid Position: | 3 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 43 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Renault |
AP: After having qualified in third, Prost got a good start and kept his position. After having pressured Rene Arnoux in the Ferrari for the first 14 laps, he succeeded in grabbing second place and quickly thereafter moved past Patrick Tambay in the other Ferrari to claim the lead. The Frenchman pulled out a decisive lead, which he maintained until the end.
1994 French Grand Prix; Magny-Cours
Rating: * * *
| Grid Position: | 3 |
| Fastest Lap: | 2 |
| Laps Led: | 65 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Benetton/Ford |
MS: For once Michael Schumacher didn't qualify on pole, but a perfect start gave him the lead rightaway. Damon Hill briefly led the race between pitstops, but in the end the German was left unchallenged.
1983 Austrian Grand Prix; Osterreichring
Rating: * *
| Grid Position: | 5 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 6 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Renault |
AP: After a rather mediocre qualifying performance, which saw him in fifth, Alain Prost took fourth at the start and after his pitstop moved up thanks to retirements ahead of him. After 38 laps, he moved up another place when Piquet experienced technical problems. Ten laps later, the Frenchman was able to take the lead, as Rene Arnoux's gearbox lost a gear. With the competition in trouble, Prost easily picked up his ninth win.
1994 Hungarian Grand Prix; Hungaroring
Rating: * * *
| Grid Position: | 1 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 68 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Benetton/Ford |
MS: Being on a three stopper against Hill's two stopper meant that Schumacher had to push hard all the way. However, Hill only led between their respective first pitstops. In the end, Benetton's tactic worked best, giving Schumacher breathing room in the last part of the race, finishing twenty seconds ahead.
1984 Brazilian Grand Prix; Jacarepagua
Rating: * * * *
| Grid Position: | 4 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 12 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | McLaren/TAG |
AP: With an absolutely terrible start, which dropped him from fourth to tenth, this came as a surprise victory for Alain Prost. In a display of cool driving, he overtook driver after driver. While many cars retired behind him, Prost kept his car in one piece and eventually brought it home some 40 seconds ahead of Rosberg.
1994 European Grand Prix; Jerez
Rating: * * *
| Grid Position: | 1 |
| Fastest Lap: | 1 |
| Laps Led: | 50 |
| Weather: | dry |
| Team: | Benetton/Ford |
MS: Again it was Schumacher's three stops versus Hill's two that brought victory. However, it didn't appear like that in the beginning. Hill took the lead at the start and remained there until his pitstop. After that, Schumacher was able to take profit from constantly driving on fresher rubber with less fuel aboard.