Quadruple Formula 1 world champion, Alain Prost explained the reasons which pushed him to leave France to settle in Switzerland in the 1980s.
He is an icon of French sport. But Alain Prost (69 years old) has still not had the recognition he deserves, especially at the start of his career. Harassed and targeted by part of the population, the French pilot decided to leave France to settle in Switzerland in the 1980s, after being attacked and receiving threats. Events which had a profound impact on him and which he has not forgotten, even forty years later.
And for the four-time Formula 1 world champion (1985, 1986, 1989, 1993), there are two reasons that could explain this deviance towards him. “It came, I think, in two stages. In 1981, when there was the election of François Mitterrand, I took political positions, maybe I shouldn't have, but in the end, sincerely, I didn't say anything exceptional . (…) I was perhaps a little young for that too,” he confided in the show Clique broadcast on Canal+.
“The second event was in 1982 at the French Grand Prix and the incident with René Arnoux. There is a team instruction that he does not respect, but in the end, it is me who comes across as the bastard,” lamented Alain Prost, who felt betrayed by the public and the media. “It was at that moment, a few weeks later, that I decided to leave France,” added “The Professor”.
Because the situation had become unbearable. “I have a burned car, death messages. I was spat on in the street. It happened to me once or twice though. It’s still very strange,” declared the legend of French motorsport, who was invited to the broadcast of the documentary “Prost”, scheduled for Sunday on Canal+.
Before pointing the finger at the French mentality. “That's where I discovered the 50/50 of this somewhat French mentality, which means that you have people who adore you, and others who are a mixture of jealousy and hatred. It really disturbed me,” said Alain Prost, who remains considered one of the best drivers in F1 history.
