1984 Portuguese Grand Prix

The 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the IV Grande Premio de Portugal, was the sixteenth and final round of the 1984 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autódromo do Estoril on the 21 October 1984.^[1] The race, which was the first Grand Prix to be staged in Portugal since 1960, would see Niki Lauda claim his third World Championship title by just half a point.^[1]

However, Lauda would have to overcome a poor qualifying performance to do so, with the Austrian a lowly eleventh in his McLaren-TAG.^[1] Furthermore, his main Championship rival, and teammate, Alain Prost would grab second on the grid, having been beaten to pole by Nelson Piquet.^[1]

The start of the race would see Piquet and Prost make poor starts, allowing Keke Rosberg and Nigel Mansell to duel for the lead into the first corner.^[1] Further back, meanwhile, Lauda would battle his way up into the top ten off the grid, before lining up a move on Derek Warwick for ninth.^[1]

The early stages would see Prost make progress, with the Frenchman moving into the lead of the race on lap nine.^[1] Lauda, meanwhile, would get stuck in ninth in a long queue of traffic that was struggling to get past Rosberg in third.^[1]

Indeed, it was only when tyre wear came into play that the Austrian finally made progress, with a series of moves carrying him into the points on lap 28.^[1] Up ahead, meanwhile, Prost had built a healthy lead over Mansell, while Ayrton Senna had elbowed his way past Rosberg to claim third.^[1]

Rosberg and Senna would fall to Lauda shortly before half-distance, although the Austrian was unable to make any progress on Mansell.^[1] That was, until Mansell picked up a brake issue and spin on lap 51, with the Brit only just managing to rejoin ahead of Lauda.^[1]

Yet, that was effectively it for Mansell's race, with the Brit spinning in the exact same spot a lap later and so retired.^[1] That left Lauda in second, the exact position he needed to claim the Championship crown, provided he could finish there.^[1]

Ultimately there would be no late twist of fate in the closing stages, with Prost cruising home to win the race, but to lose the World Championship to Lauda by just half a point.^[1] Indeed, it was the closest ever finish in terms of the overall World Championship, although Prost had won seven races to Lauda's five.^[1]

Elsewhere, Senna would come home in third in his last race for Toleman-Hart, while Michele Alboreto grabbed fourth for Ferrari, just three tenths behind the Brazilian.^[1] Elio de Angelis finished fifth to claim third in the World Championship, while out-going World Champion Piquet ended the season with a sixth place finish.^[1]

BackgroundEdit

In terms of the Championship victory last time out at the Nürburgring had kept Alain Prost's title hopes alive heading into the season finale, with the Frenchman just 3.5 points behind teammate Niki Lauda. However, the Austrian would win his third World Championship if he finished second in Estoril, regardless of what Prost did, with the Frenchman having to finish third or higher just to overhaul Lauda's tally. The battle for third would also have to be concluded at the final race, with Elio de Angelis, the man in third, through to Derek Warwick in seventh, all having a mathematical chance to finish best of the rest in Portugal.

In the Constructors' Championship McLaren-TAG had continued to show their dominance in Germany, with the Anglo-German effort ending the European Grand Prix with 128.5 points to their name. Ferrari had remained their closest "challengers", albeit with less than half the number of points, and had opened a 9.5 point advantage over third placed Lotus-Renault. Indeed, with one race to go the fight for second seemed to be over, although the Ethel based squad still had a mathematical chance of overhauling the Scuderia on Portuguese soil.

Entry listEdit

The full entry list for the 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix is outlined below:

No.	Driver	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model	Tyre
1	Nelson Piquet	MRD International	Brabham	BT53	BMW	M12/13 1.5 L4t	M
2	Manfred Winkelhock	MRD International	Brabham	BT53	BMW	M12/13 1.5 L4t	M
5	Jacques Laffite	Williams Grand Prix Engineering	Williams	FW09B	Honda	RA164E 1.5 V6t	G
6	Keke Rosberg	Williams Grand Prix Engineering	Williams	FW09B	Honda	RA164E 1.5 V6t	G
7	Alain Prost	Marlboro McLaren International	McLaren	MP4/2	TAG	TTE PO1 1.5 V6t	M
8	Niki Lauda	Marlboro McLaren International	McLaren	MP4/2	TAG	TTE PO1 1.5 V6t	M
9	Philippe Alliot	Skoal Bandit F1 Team	RAM	02	Hart	415T 1.5 L4t	P
10	Jonathan Palmer	Skoal Bandit F1 Team	RAM	02	Hart	415T 1.5 L4t	P
11	Elio de Angelis	John Player Team Lotus	Lotus	95T	Renault	EF4 1.5 V6t	G
12	Nigel Mansell	John Player Team Lotus	Lotus	95T	Renault	EF4 1.5 V6t	G
14	Gerhard Berger	Team ATS	ATS	D7	BMW	M12/13 1.5 L4t	P
15	Patrick Tambay	Equipe Renault Elf	Renault	RE50	Renault	EF4 1.5 V6t	M
16	Derek Warwick	Equipe Renault Elf	Renault	RE50	Renault	EF4 1.5 V6t	M
17	Marc Surer	Barclay Nordica Arrows BMW	Arrows	A7	BMW	M12/13 1.5 L4t	G
18	Thierry Boutsen	Barclay Nordica Arrows BMW	Arrows	A7	BMW	M12/13 1.5 L4t	G
19	Ayrton Senna	Toleman Group Motorsport	Toleman	TG184	Hart	415T 1.5 L4t	M
20	Stefan Johansson	Toleman Group Motorsport	Toleman	TG184	Hart	415T 1.5 L4t	M
21	Mauro Baldi	Spirit Racing	Spirit	101	Hart	415T 1.5 L4t	P
22	Riccardo Patrese	Benetton Team Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	184T	Alfa Romeo	890T 1.5 L4t	G
23	Eddie Cheever	Benetton Team Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	184T	Alfa Romeo	890T 1.5 L4t	G
24	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella Squadra Corse	Osella	FA1F	Alfa Romeo	890T 1.5 L4t	P
25	François Hesnault	Ligier Loto	Ligier	JS23	Renault	EF4 1.5 V6t	M
26	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier Loto	Ligier	JS23B	Renault	EF4 1.5 V6t	M
27	Michele Alboreto	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari	126C4	Ferrari	031 1.5 V6t	G
28	René Arnoux	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari	126C4	Ferrari	031 1.5 V6t	G
30	Jo Gartner	Osella Squadra Corse	Osella	FA1F	Alfa Romeo	890T 1.5 L4t	P
32	Stefan Bellof	Marlboro McLaren International	McLaren	MP4/2	TAG	TTE PO1 1.5 V6t	M
33	Philippe Streiff	Equipe Renault Elf	Renault	RE50	Renault	EF4 1.5 V6t	M
34	Huub Rothengatter	Spirit Racing	Spirit	101	Hart	415T 1.5 L4t	P
Source:[2]

Practice OverviewEdit

QualifyingEdit

Friday QualifyingEdit

Saturday QualifyingEdit

Qualifying ResultsEdit

The full qualifying results for the 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Time		Gap
				Q1	Q2
1	1	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	1:30.889	1:21.703T	—
2	7	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	1:28.276	1:21.774	+0.071s
3	19	Ayrton Senna	Toleman-Hart	1:30.077	1:21.936	+0.233s
4	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams-Honda	1:32.269	1:22.049	+0.346s
5	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Renault	1:28.428	1:22.291	+0.588s
6	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Renault	1:32.986	1:22.319	+0.616s
7	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	1:29.409	1:22.583	+0.880s
8	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:31.192	1:22.686	+0.983s
9	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	1:35.913	1:22.801	+1.098s
10	20	Stefan Johansson	Toleman-Hart	1:28.991	1:22.942	+1.239s
11	8	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	1:28.837	1:23.183	+1.480s
12	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	1:37.154	1:24.048	+2.345s
13	33	Philippe Streiff	Renault	1:37.280	1:24.089	+2.386s
14	23	Eddie Cheever	Alfa Romeo	1:34.809	1:24.235	+2.532s
15	5	Jacques Laffite	Williams-Honda	1:39.696	1:24.437	+2.734s
16	17	Marc Surer	Arrows-BMW	1:34.003	1:24.688	+2.985s
17	28	René Arnoux	Ferrari	1:36.634	1:24.848	+3.145s
18	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows-BMW	1:32.530	1:25.115	+3.412s
19	2	Manfred Winkelhock	Brabham-BMW	—	1:25.289	+3.586s
20	26	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier-Renault	1:33.398	1:26.082	+4.379s
21	25	François Hesnault	Ligier-Renault	1:34.233	1:26.701	+4.998s
22	24	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella-Alfa Romeo	1:31.336	1:26.840	+5.137s
23	14	Gerhard Berger	ATS-BMW	1:44.966	1:28.106	+6.403s
24	30	Jo Gartner	Osella-Alfa Romeo	1:33.540	1:28.229	+6.526s
25	21	Mauro Baldi	Spirit-Hart	1:36.483	1:29.001	+7.298s
26	10	Jonathan Palmer	RAM-Hart	1:40.344	1:29.397	+7.694s
27	9	Philippe Alliot	RAM-Hart	1:34.839	1:30.406	+8.703s
WD*	32	Stefan Bellof	McLaren-TAG	Withdrawn
WD†	34	Huub Rothengatter	Spirit-Hart	Withdrawn
Source:[3][4]

• ^T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
• * Bellof's entry was withdrawn as the German failed to attend the race.^[5]
• ^† Rothengatter's entry was rejected by the officials.^[5]

GridEdit

RaceEdit

ReportEdit

ResultsEdit

The full results for the 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	7	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	70	1:41:11.753	2	9
2	8	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	70	+13.425s	11	6
3	19	Ayrton Senna	Toleman-Hart	70	+20.042s	3	4
4	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	70	+20.317s	8	3
5	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Renault	70	+1:32.169	5	2
6	1	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	69	+1 Lap	1	1
7	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	69	+1 Lap	7
8	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	69	+1 Lap	12
9	28	René Arnoux	Ferrari	69	+1 Lap	17
10	2	Manfred Winkelhock	Brabham-BMW	69	+1 Lap	19
11	20	Stefan Johansson	Toleman-Hart	69	+1 Lap	10
12	26	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier-Renault	69	+1 Lap	20
13	14	Gerhard Berger	ATS-BMW	68	+2 Laps	23
14	5	Jacques Laffite	Williams-Honda	67	+3 Laps	15
15	21	Mauro Baldi	Spirit-Hart	66	+4 Laps	25
16*	30	Jo Gartner	Osella-Alfa Romeo	65	Out of fuel	14
17	23	Eddie Cheever	Alfa Romeo	64	+6 Laps	14
Ret	24	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella-Alfa Romeo	60	Engine	22
Ret	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Renault	52	Brakes	6
Ret	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	51	Gearbox	9
Ret	33	Philippe Streiff	Renault	48	Transmission	13
Ret	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams-Honda	39	Engine	4
Ret	25	François Hesnault	Ligier-Renault	31	Electrical	21
Ret	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows-BMW	24	Transmission	18
Ret	10	Jonathan Palmer	RAM-Hart	19	Gearbox	26
Ret	17	Marc Surer	Arrows-BMW	8	Electrical	16
Ret	9	Philippe Alliot	RAM-Hart	2	Engine	27
WD	32	Stefan Bellof	McLaren-TAG
WD	34	Huub Rothengatter	Spirit-Hart
Source:[5]

• ^T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
• * Gartner was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.^[5]

MilestonesEdit

• Niki Lauda declared as the 1984 FIA Formula One World Championship Champion.
  • It was also Lauda's third World Championship and first since 1977.^[6]
  • Lauda's triumph was also by the smallest ever margin in F1 history: 0.5 points.^[1]
• First Portuguese Grand Prix to be staged since 1960.^[7]
  • Also the first Grand Prix to be held at the Autódromo do Estoril.^[7]
• McLaren entered their 250th Grand Prix as a constructor.^[6]
• Debut race for Philippe Streiff.^[7]
  • This was also the 100th race entry for a car using #33 as its race number.^[7]
• Alain Prost claimed his sixteenth career victory.^[6]
• McLaren earned their 42nd victory as a constructor.^[6]
  • TAG powered a car to a twelfth victory.^[6]
• Lauda would secure the 110th podium finish for a McLaren chassis.^[6]
• Ayrton Senna claimed the third and final podium finish for Toleman.^[6]
• Final race for Michelin as a tyre supplier until the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.

StandingsEdit

Alain Prost would win the battle of Portugal but ultimately lost the war, the Frenchman suffering a narrow defeat for a third straight season. Instead, it was Niki Lauda who ended 1984 as the World Champion, his third title and first since 1977, with a record half a point separating the two teammates. Third, meanwhile, would go to Elio de Angelis, with the Italian's compatriot Michele Alboreto, and out-going Champion Nelson Piquet, completing the top five.

In the Constructors' Championship, meanwhile, it had been an imperious season for McLaren-TAG, with the Anglo-German effort ending the season with a huge tally of 143.5 points. Indeed, McLaren had claimed over 61% of the points on offer in 1984, having won twelve of the season's sixteen races and only failed to score points at all in two. Unsurprisingly, there was then a huge gap back to arch-rivals Ferrari in second, while Lotus-Renault concluded a surprisingly competitive season in third.

World Championship for Drivers Pos. Driver Pts. +/- 1 Niki Lauda 72 — 2 Alain Prost 71.5 — 3 Elio de Angelis 34 — 4 Michele Alboreto 30.5 ▲1 5 Nelson Piquet 29 ▼1 6 René Arnoux 27 — 7 Derek Warwick 23 — 8 Keke Rosberg 20.5 — 9 Ayrton Senna 13 ▲2 10 Nigel Mansell 13 ▼1 11 Patrick Tambay 11 ▼1 12 Teo Fabi 9 — 13 Riccardo Patrese 8 — 14 Jacques Laffite 5 — 15 Thierry Boutsen 5 — 16 Eddie Cheever 3 — 17 Stefan Johansson 3 — 18 Andrea de Cesaris 3 — 19 Piercarlo Ghinzani 2 — 20 Marc Surer 1 —

World Championship for Manufacturers Pos. Team Pts. +/- 1 McLaren-TAG 143.5 — 2 Ferrari 57.5 — 3 Lotus-Renault 47 — 4 Brabham-BMW 38 — 5 Renault 34 — 6 Williams-Honda 25.5 — 7 Toleman-Hart 16 — 8 Alfa Romeo 11 — 9 Arrows-Ford Cosworth 3 — 10 Ligier-Renault 3 — 11 Arrows-BMW 3 — 12 Osella-Alfa Romeo 2 —

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

These standings have been modified to show the Championship as it stood after the retroactive disqualification of the Tyrrell 012 and drivers Martin Brundle and Stefan Bellof.

ReferencesEdit

Images and Videos:

References:

V T E	Portuguese Grand Prix
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