René Arnoux vs Alain Prost

1981·

Alain Prost edged René Arnoux 9–5 in the races and 9–5 in qualifying at Renault in 1981. Alain Prost scored 43 points to 11.

René ArnouxAlain Prost

5Qualifying9

14 shared races

5Race day9

14 shared races

11Points43

in shared races, as awarded at the time

52Points (today’s rules)126

in shared races, rescored 25-18-15…

Wins: 0/3
Podiums: 1/6
Poles: 4/2
Retirements: 6/8
Best finish: P2/P1
Avg. grid: 6.8/4.3

Race by race

Round-by-round comparison of René Arnoux and Alain Prost
R	Grand Prix	Grid	René Arnoux	Alain Prost	Points
1	1United States Grand Prix West	20/14	P8	Collision	0 / 0
2	2Brazilian Grand Prix	8/5	Collision	Collision	0 / 0
3	3Argentine Grand Prix	5/2	P5	P3	2 / 4
4	4San Marino Grand Prix	3/4	P8	Gearbox	0 / 0
6	6Monaco Grand Prix	13/9	Spun off	Engine	0 / 0
7	7Spanish Grand Prix	17/5	P9	Spun off	0 / 0
8	8French Grand Prix	1/3	P4	P1	3 / 9
9	9British Grand Prix	1/2	P9	Distributor	0 / 0
10	10German Grand Prix	2/1	P13▼	P2	0 / 6
11	11Austrian Grand Prix	1/2	P2▲	Suspension	6 / 0
12	12Dutch Grand Prix	2/1	Engine	P1	0 / 9
13	13Italian Grand Prix	1/3	Spun off	P1	0 / 9
14	14Canadian Grand Prix	8/4	Collision	Collision	0 / 0
15	15Caesars Palace Grand Prix	13/5	Electrical	P2	0 / 6
	Average finish		P7.3	P1.7

How to read this table

The driver ahead in a round is shown in bold, the other in grey. Grid shows René Arnoux / Alain Prost.
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.

René Arnoux and Alain Prost in other seasons

Other seasons in which René Arnoux and Alain Prost were teammates
Season	Team	Matchup	Quali	Race	Points
1982	Renault	René Arnoux vs Alain Prost	8–8	5–11	28–34

René Arnoux’s career Alain Prost’s career Renault 1981 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 Entries that did not qualify, did not pre-qualify or were withdrawn are excluded, as are cars that never left the grid or the garage, and the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960.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.