Alain Prost – Michael Schumacher, Ferrari came close to having an amazing line-up
Many believe that it is better not to have two roosters in the same coop. Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher were undoubtedly two of the best Formula 1 drivers in history and therefore their destiny was to be adversaries, not teammates. Scuderia Ferrari, however, came up with the crazy idea of lining them up together in the 1996 Formula 1 season, which would have been a stellar driver line-up, with six world titles. It was Alain Prost himself who revealed an idea that was never heard of or verified until now: as is well known, Ferrari chose Eddie Irvine, even though they could have signed the Professor – who at that time was 40 years old and already retired for two years – for a second driver role.
Alain Prost’s words
“After 1993 (the year of his definitive retirement, ed.) I had the opportunity to return to Formula 1 with McLaren and also with Ferrari. I spoke to Jean Todt and Michael was already there. I said that if I signed, we had to be clear and that what I had to do was be the second driver, helping Michael and Ferrari to become world champions.” – this were the comments of Alain Prost in an interview for the Beyond the Grid podcast. “I didn’t want to have any kind of discussion. Michael would have been number one and I would have been number two, it would have been a chance to come back, but it didn’t work out. I wanted to participate in Ferrari’s success, that was my challenge at the time. My role would have been to help Jean, the team and of course Michael, I had to be clear about that, the human aspect has always been very important to me. There was no competing with Michael after a two or three year retirement. What I could do was help and it could be a good challenge: I talked to Jean for a long time, but it didn’t go well. Perhaps you should ask Jean Todt about the reasons, but maybe it was better for me.” – the former F1 driver added.
Prost-Ferrari, it would have been a sensational comeback
For ‘The Professor’ it would have been an amazing return to Maranello that would undoubtedly have generated a lot of interest. Alain Prost and Ferrari broke up in a stormy way in 1991: the driver was even fired before the end of the Formula 1 season following certainly not flattering statements about the Ferrari 643. After the second partnership did not materialize, Alain Prost moved to the other side of the “barricade”, taking over the structures of Ligier and founded the team that carried his name in Formula 1 from 1997 to 2001.
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