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

as awarded at the time

118Points (today’s rules)225

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	United States Grand Prix	17/7	Clutch	Oil leak	0 / 0
2	Brazilian Grand Prix	5/6	P4	P1	3 / 9
3	San Marino Grand Prix	5/6	Engine	P4	0 / 3
4	Monaco Grand Prix	7/2	Battery	Battery	0 / 0
5	Canadian Grand Prix	7/3	P3	P5	4 / 2
6	Mexican Grand Prix	4/13	P2	P1	6 / 9
7	French Grand Prix	1/4	P18▼	P1	0 / 9
8	British Grand Prix	1/5	Gearbox	P1	0 / 9
9	German Grand Prix	4/3	Broken wing	P4	0 / 3
10	Hungarian Grand Prix	5/8	P17▼	Gearbox	0 / 0
11	Belgian Grand Prix	5/3	Handling	P2	0 / 6
12	Italian Grand Prix	4/2	P4	P2	3 / 6
13	Portuguese Grand Prix	1/2	P1▲	P3	9 / 4
14	Spanish Grand Prix	3/2	P2	P1	6 / 9
15	Japanese Grand Prix	3/2	Transmission	Collision	0 / 0
16	Australian 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 Entries that did not qualify, did not pre-qualify or were withdrawn are excluded, as is the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960.
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 across the season, which up to 1990 is not the same as the championship total: 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.