Alain Prost vs John Watson

1980·

Alain Prost beat John Watson 7–3 at McLaren in 1980, helped by 6 retirements for John Watson. Race-by-race qualifying, finishing and points record.

Alain ProstJohn Watson

7Qualifying3

10 shared races

7Race day3

10 shared races

5Points3

in shared races, as awarded at the time

46Points (today’s rules)22

in shared races, rescored 25-18-15…

Wins: 0/0
Podiums: 0/0
Poles: 0/0
Retirements: 3/6
Best finish: P5/P4
Avg. grid: 13.8/15.6

Race by race

Round-by-round comparison of Alain Prost and John Watson
R	Grand Prix	Grid	Alain Prost	John Watson	Points
1	1Argentine Grand Prix	12/17	P6	Gearbox	1 / 0
2	2Brazilian Grand Prix	13/23	P5	P11	2 / 0
5	5Belgian Grand Prix	19/20	Transmission	Not classified	0 / 0
7	7French Grand Prix	7/13	Transmission	P7	0 / 0
8	8British Grand Prix	7/12	P6	P8	1 / 0
9	9German Grand Prix	14/20	P11▼	Engine	0 / 0
10	10Austrian Grand Prix	12/21	P7	Engine	0 / 0
11	11Dutch Grand Prix	18/9	P6	Engine	1 / 0
12	12Italian Grand Prix	24/14	P7	Wheel bearing	0 / 0
13	13Canadian Grand Prix	12/7	Suspension	P4	0 / 3
	Average finish		P6.9	P7.5

How to read this table

The driver ahead in a round is shown in bold, the other in grey. Grid shows Alain Prost / John Watson.
P1 a win,P3 a podium,DNF a retirement.
▲ a finish at least 4 places better than that driver’s own average finish this season (see the average row), ▼ at least 4places worse. Retirements are not counted in the average.

Alain Prost’s career John Watson’s career McLaren 1980 season All teammate battles

How these numbers are calculated

Only races both drivers started are counted. Entries that did not qualify, did not pre-qualify or were withdrawn are excluded, as are cars that never left the grid or the garage, and the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960.
Until the mid-1960s drivers could share a car during a race. Each driver is compared from the car they started (which sets their grid position), with the best result of any car they drove and the points from all of them, as officially credited.
Qualifying is compared on grid position rather than session times. Session-by-session qualifying data only exists from 1994, while grid position is recorded for over 99% of entries right back to 1950 — including every race of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
On race day the driver classified ahead takes the round. If neither was classified, the one who completed more laps is credited; if both retired on the same lap it is scored as a tie and excluded from the tally.
Points are those awarded at the time and include sprint races from 2021. Where the season used an older system, a second points row rescores every round under the current system so seasons from different eras can be compared.
These are points scored in the races both drivers started, not their season totals: races either missed, or contested alongside a different teammate, are left out. Up to 1990 even full-season totals differ from the championship standings, because only a driver’s best results counted towards the title. In 1988 Alain Prost outscored Ayrton Senna 105 to 94 and still lost the championship. Theseason page has the final standings.