“Embarrassed to be in his place”: Alain Prost marked by the fate of his brother who left too early and passed on his passion to him

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It's a rivalry that was the heyday of Formula 1 between the 1980s and the 1990s. For several years, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna faced each other on all the circuits of the world and almost 40 years later, the two pilots continue to fascinate. While the Brazilian, who died at just 34 years old in a terrible racing accident during the Imola Grand Prix in Italy in 1994, is the subject of a series on Netflix, the Frenchman has the honor of being at the poster for a documentary series currently broadcast on Canal+. “After he passed away, I was invited to the family farm, where I saw photos of myself. Despite our intense struggle on the circuits, I knew he admired me. He told me about it. A real bond united us. I understood, after his death, that this bond was stronger than I thought. My biggest community, on Instagram, is in Brazil”explains the man who treated himself to a dream vacation on a boat on the open sea with his wife and his lovely daughter Victoria, in an interview with 7 Days TVMonday December 2.

If it is obviously a question of his rivalry with Ayrton Senna in this documentary series, soberly called Prostshe also returns to the relationship he had with his brother, Daniel. Older than him, he died in 1986, when the Frenchman was already dominating Formula 1. “I always knew my brother was sick. It was not one but two illnesses that he had to face: a brain tumor then lung cancer”explains the former pilot who spent a special day alongside his wife for their daughter's birthday last year, before continuing: “It was a tragedy for him to see that he could not satisfy his passion (for piloting). SO he transferred it to me. But I was very uncomfortable… Especially when he first came to see me race in 1980, in Monaco. I was very happy that he was there, of course, and at the same time, I was embarrassed to be in the place he had always dreamed of…”

Alain Prost “ran by proxy” for his brother

Obviously marked by the very young death of his older brother, the pilot who separated from Anne-Marie, his first wife, after 37 years of marriage, wanted to pay tribute to his brother throughout his career. “It’s always been a constant in my career, racing for him, constantly thinking about him. Indirectly, yes, I ran a little by proxy”confides Alain Prost today.