Nigel Mansell vs Alain Prost

1990·

Alain Prost beat Nigel Mansell 9–7 at Ferrari in 1990, helped by 7 retirements for Nigel Mansell. Race-by-race qualifying, finishing and points record.

Nigel MansellAlain Prost

8Qualifying8

16 shared races

7Race day9

16 shared races

37Points73

in shared races, as awarded at the time

118Points (today’s rules)225

in shared races, rescored 25-18-15…

Wins: 1/5
Podiums: 5/9
Poles: 3/0
Retirements: 7/4
Best finish: P1/P1
Avg. grid: 4.7/4.5

Race by race

Round-by-round comparison of Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost
R	Grand Prix	Grid	Nigel Mansell	Alain Prost	Points
1	1United States Grand Prix	17/7	Clutch	Oil leak	0 / 0
2	2Brazilian Grand Prix	5/6	P4	P1	3 / 9
3	3San Marino Grand Prix	5/6	Engine	P4	0 / 3
4	4Monaco Grand Prix	7/2	Battery	Battery	0 / 0
5	5Canadian Grand Prix	7/3	P3	P5	4 / 2
6	6Mexican Grand Prix	4/13	P2	P1	6 / 9
7	7French Grand Prix	1/4	P18▼	P1	0 / 9
8	8British Grand Prix	1/5	Gearbox	P1	0 / 9
9	9German Grand Prix	4/3	Broken wing	P4	0 / 3
10	10Hungarian Grand Prix	5/8	P17▼	Gearbox	0 / 0
11	11Belgian Grand Prix	5/3	Handling	P2	0 / 6
12	12Italian Grand Prix	4/2	P4	P2	3 / 6
13	13Portuguese Grand Prix	1/2	P1▲	P3	9 / 4
14	14Spanish Grand Prix	3/2	P2	P1	6 / 9
15	15Japanese Grand Prix	3/2	Transmission	Collision	0 / 0
16	16Australian Grand Prix	3/4	P2	P3	6 / 4
	Average finish		P5.9	P2.3

How to read this table

The driver ahead in a round is shown in bold, the other in grey. Grid shows Nigel Mansell / 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.

Nigel Mansell’s career Alain Prost’s career Ferrari 1990 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 Entries that did not qualify, did not pre-qualify or were withdrawn are excluded, as are cars that never left the grid or the garage, and the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960.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.