Formula 1

About the season

The Monaco Grand Prix was run in a downpour, and Ayrton Senna, starting last in an uncompetitive Toleman, carved through the field to hunt down race leader Alain Prost. Just as Senna closed in, race control controversially red-flagged the event early; Prost was declared the winner and Senna took only half points for second, but the drive instantly made him a star. The McLaren MP4/2, powered by the TAG-Porsche turbo, won 12 of the season's 16 races and had already lapped the entire field by round two, the South African Grand Prix. Alain Prost's seven wins that year equalled Jim Clark's 1963 record for victories in a single season. Niki Lauda became the only champion since Denny Hulme in 1967 to win the title without taking a single pole position all season. Niki Lauda won the 1984 Drivers' Championship with 72 points (McLaren), 0.5 points ahead of the runner-up. McLaren won the Constructors' Championship with 143.5 points, 86 points ahead of the runner-up. Across 16 completed races this season, there were 266 retirements. 5 different drivers won a race this season. Alain Prost took the most race wins, 7 in total. Prost won the season-opening race, the Brazilian Grand Prix. The most dominant win of the season came at the South African Grand Prix, with a margin of 66.0 seconds. The season's biggest upset win came from Lauda at the French Grand Prix, starting from grid position 9. The closest finish of the season came at the Canadian Grand Prix, with a gap of just 2.612 seconds. Fabi made the biggest gain of the season at the Detroit Grand Prix, from grid position 23 to finishing 3 (up 20 places). The Detroit Grand Prix saw the most retirements of the season, with 21 drivers failing to finish. Prost won the Portuguese Grand Prix, the final race of the season.