1984 F1 World Championship

The 1984 FIA Formula One World Championship began on 25 March and concluded on 21 October, over 16 race weekends.

Season

The championship is remembered for one of the closest title battles in Formula One history, fought between McLaren teammates Alain Prost and Niki Lauda. Prost won seven races during the season, equalling the long-standing record set by Jim Clark in 1963, while Lauda secured five victories. Despite Prost’s higher win tally, the championship ultimately went to Lauda, who finished the season ahead by just half a point, the smallest margin ever recorded in F1 history.

Lauda’s triumph marked the third World Drivers’ Championship of his career and his first title since 1977. The victory also broke the record for the longest gap between championships, surpassing the six-year interval achieved by Jack Brabham before his 1966 title. Meanwhile, the defending World Champion Nelson Piquet endured a more difficult campaign and finished fifth in the final standings.

The season also marked the Formula One debut of Ayrton Senna, who would go on to become a three-time World Champion and one of the sport’s most influential drivers.

Before the season began, many expected Brabham, Renault, and Ferrari to be the leading teams. Instead, McLaren emerged as the dominant force throughout the championship. The team’s success was driven by a combination of factors: the strong driver pairing of Prost and Lauda, the advanced aerodynamics of the John Barnard-designed MP4/2, and the efficiency of the TAG-Porsche engines, which were particularly effective under the era’s strict fuel economy limits. McLaren won twelve of the sixteen races during the season and secured the Constructors’ Championship by a record margin, claiming the team’s first title since 1974.

Looking back historically, the 1984 season holds several unique distinctions. As of 2026, it remains the most recent Formula One World Championship won by an Austrian driver, following Lauda’s success. It is also the last season in which the Drivers’ Champion failed to score a pole position during the year, a feat previously achieved only by Denny Hulme in 1967.

The season was also notable for tyre competition within the sport. Three different tyre manufacturers competed during the championship, making it the last Formula One season to feature three tyre suppliers simultaneously. Additionally, the year marked Michelin’s final involvement in Formula One for nearly two decades, as the company withdrew from the sport at the end of the season before eventually returning in 2001.

1984 F1 Entries Drivers and Teams

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	No	Driver	Rounds
MRD International	Brabham-BMW	BT53	BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t	M	1	Nelson Piquet	All
					2	Teo Fabi	1–5, 8, 10–15
					2	Corrado Fabi	6–7, 9
					2	Manfred Winkelhock	16
Tyrrell Racing Organisation	Tyrrell-Ford	012	Ford-Cosworth DFY 3.0 V8	G	3	Martin Brundle	1–9
					3	Stefan Johansson	10–13
					4	Stefan Bellof	1–10, 12–13
					4	Mike Thackwell	11
	Tyrrell-Renault				3		7–8, 11–16
					4	Stefan Bellof	9–10
Williams Grand Prix Engineering	Williams-Honda	FW09 FW09B	Honda RA163E 1.5 V6t Honda RA164E 1.5 V6t	G	5	Jacques Laffite	All
					6	Keke Rosberg	All
Marlboro McLaren TAG Turbo	McLaren-TAG	MP4/2	TAG-Porsche TTE PO1 1.5 V6t	M	7	Alain Prost	All
					8	Niki Lauda	All
Skoal Bandit Formula 1 Team	RAM-Hart	01 02	Hart 415T 1.5 L4t	P	9	Philippe Alliot	All
					10	Jonathan Palmer	1–6, 8–16
					10	Mike Thackwell	7
John Player Special Team Lotus	Lotus-Renault	95T	Renault EF4B 1.5 V6t	G	11	Elio de Angelis	All
					12	Nigel Mansell	All
Team ATS	ATS-BMW	D7	BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t	P	14	Manfred Winkelhock	1–14
					14	Gerhard Berger	16
					31		12, 14–15
Équipe Renault Elf	Renault Elf	RE50	Renault EF4B 1.5 V6t	M	15	Patrick Tambay	All
					16	Derek Warwick	All
					33	Philippe Streiff	16
Barclay Nordica Arrows	Arrows-Ford	A6	Ford-Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	17	Marc Surer	1–3, 5, 7–8
					18	Thierry Boutsen	1–2, 4
	Arrows-BMW	A7	BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t		17	Marc Surer	4, 6, 9–16
					18	Thierry Boutsen	3, 5–16
Toleman Group Motorsport	Toleman-Hart	TG183B TG184	Hart 415T 1.5 L4t	P	19	Ayrton Senna	1–13, 15–16
					19	Stefan Johansson	14
				M	20	Johnny Cecotto	1–10
					20	Pierluigi Martini	14
					20	Stefan Johansson	15–16
Spirit Racing	Spirit-Hart	101	Hart 415T 1.5 L4t	P	21	Mauro Baldi	1–6, 15–16
					21	Huub Rothengatter	7, 9–14
	Spirit-Ford	101C	Ford-Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8		21		8
Benetton Team Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	184T	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8t	G	22	Riccardo Patrese	All
					23	Eddie Cheever	All
Osella Squadra Corse	Osella-Alfa Romeo	FA1F	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8t	P	24	Piercarlo Ghinzani	All
					30	Jo Gartner	10–16
					4
		FA1E	Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12
Équipe Ligier Loto	Ligier-Renault	JS23 JS23B	Renault EF4 1.5 V6t	M	25	François Hesnault	All
					26	Andrea de Cesaris	All
Ferrari	Ferrari	126C4	Ferrari 031 1.5 V6t	G	27	Michele Alboreto	All
					28	René Arnoux	All

1984 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1984 Brazilian Grand Prix	Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro	25 March
2	1984 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, Midrand	7 April
3	1984 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder	29 April
4	1984 San Marino Grand Prix	Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola	6 May
5	1984 French Grand Prix	Dijon-Prenois, Dijon	20 May
6	1984 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	3 June
7	1984 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal	17 June
8	1984 Detroit Grand Prix	Detroit Street Circuit, Michigan	24 June
9	1984 Dallas Grand Prix	Fair Park Street Circuit, Dallas	8 July
10	1984 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	22 July
11	1984 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	5 August
12	1984 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	19 August
13	1984 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Park Zandvoort, Zandvoort	26 August
14	1984 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	9 September
15	1984 European Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	7 October
16	1984 Portuguese Grand Prix	Autodromo do Estoril, Estoril	21 October

1984 Formula 1 Race Results

Grands Prix

Round	Grand Prix	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning constructor	Report
1	1984 Brazilian Grand Prix	Elio de Angelis	Alain Prost	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
2	1984 South African Grand Prix	Nelson Piquet	Patrick Tambay	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	Report
3	1984 Belgian Grand Prix	Michele Alboreto	René Arnoux	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	Report
4	1984 San Marino Grand Prix	Nelson Piquet	Nelson Piquet	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
5	1984 French Grand Prix	Patrick Tambay	Alain Prost	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	Report
6	1984 Monaco Grand Prix1	Alain Prost	Ayrton Senna	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
7	1984 Canadian Grand Prix	Nelson Piquet	Nelson Piquet	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	Report
8	1984 Detroit Grand Prix	Nelson Piquet	Derek Warwick	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	Report
9	1984 Dallas Grand Prix	Nigel Mansell	Niki Lauda	Keke Rosberg	Williams-Honda	Report
10	1984 British Grand Prix	Nelson Piquet	Niki Lauda	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	Report
11	1984 German Grand Prix	Alain Prost	Alain Prost	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
12	1984 Austrian Grand Prix	Nelson Piquet	Niki Lauda	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	Report
13	1984 Dutch Grand Prix	Alain Prost	René Arnoux	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
14	1984 Italian Grand Prix	Nelson Piquet	Niki Lauda	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	Report
15	1984 European Grand Prix	Nelson Piquet	Nelson Piquet Michele Alboreto	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
16	1984 Portuguese Grand Prix	Nelson Piquet	Niki Lauda	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report

1984 Formula 1 Standings

Driver standings

Team standings