BBV10s S11 E6: The Prost/Ligier saga of 1992 (early access)
Added 2025-01-30 00:01:01 +0000 UTCBring Back V10s is picking up where its first ever episodes left off, by revisiting what happened to Alain Prost after he was fired by Ferrari in 1991!
We’ve reunited the trio from our opening two-parter - Glenn Freeman, Karun Chandhok and Edd Straw - to look at what Prost did in 1992, when he nearly ended up racing for, and buying into, the Ligier team.
We look at how close this shock move came to really happening, why it didn’t come off, plus the other offers Prost had for that year, and why his Williams deal for 1993 was kept secret for so long.
Comments
I almost have to think that Ligier was right about the "radio kit" excuse for giving Prost Comas' helmet at the first test, because there's no way that Ligier was daft enough to think that just dressing Prost up in Eric's kit would fool anyone. It's almost a bad enough excuse that it has to be true
Robeson
2025-02-07 02:45:56 +0000 UTCHere is another example of why Mansell was so Paranoid, no-one ever wanted him despite his obvious talent. He was always being pushed aside in the effort to get Senna or Prost. He is often criticised for complaining but this is the second time Prost had come in and took over the team he was number 1 and only a watertight contract prevented him losing the seat in 92 and being robbed of his well overdue title.
Andrew Dale
2025-02-04 16:40:44 +0000 UTCI think he'd have been ok with the Williams FW15C. He did quite well with the MP4/8, which, from memory, had a much more sophisticated active ride systems than Williams by 1993. Not sure Nigel had the clout within the team to block Ayrton, he didn't have that ability for Alain.
Alexander Law
2025-02-02 06:46:42 +0000 UTCYeah, I think Mansell and Senna would be fireworks. And I don't think either would have shied away from the fight. I reckon Mansell would have been great in an active Williams and would have started strongly against Senna. The big question becomes if Senna gets to grips with an active car quick enough to beat Mansell over a season. That would be terrific
Simon Emms
2025-02-01 15:39:26 +0000 UTCLoved this episode, so much so I went back to listen to the Season 1 episodes.
Alexander Law
2025-02-01 12:50:59 +0000 UTCMaybe instead of Ligier Mugen Honda in 1995-1997, we'd have had Prost-Peugeot start early. McLaren might've extended the Lambo program in 1994 but would still have picked up Mercedes in 1995. If Prost went to Ligier in 1992 though Senna could have been at Williams in 1993 and Mansell may have stayed. That would have been an amazing fight.
Alexander Law
2025-02-01 12:47:27 +0000 UTCWelcome!
The Race
2025-01-31 16:44:43 +0000 UTCHi all. Finally signed up on Patreon and excited to talk with you all! Big classic F1 and modern MotoGP fan so love BBv10s and the MotoGP podcasts. I actually did work experience at McLaren back in 2001 :)
Cardiff Giant
2025-01-30 17:05:38 +0000 UTCUsing Guy Ligier’s logic, I think Williams & Renault would have won their first title together much sooner if they’d had Prost for 1989
Mark Martin
2025-01-30 15:09:33 +0000 UTCWe all love a hypothetical in this group. Imagine if Prost had gone to Ligier and Senna had joined Jordan. For one thing, it would have brought in "player-managers" into F1 (similar to 1960s F1 when Brabham/McLaren/Hill etc were established), but also two of the established superstars would be in the midfield. Would the Schumacher era have started sooner? Or would we have a Mansell era?
Simon Emms
2025-01-30 12:26:35 +0000 UTCYes, Renault wanted Senna and iirc they paid Prost to leave Williams
Disc Infiltrator
2025-01-30 12:11:19 +0000 UTCMy thoughts were more Prost signing for 92 and 93 and Senna coming in for 94. Am I under the false impression that Renault liked signing Senna too?
Rohmilchkäse
2025-01-30 08:53:49 +0000 UTCAgreed. And even if Prost had wanted to stay past 93, Frank would have still been itching to sign Senna. Prost was edging 40 when he retired. The only way I can see the timeline playing out as OP suggested is if it was Senna signed in 92. He was the same age as Hill, so could have continued until 2000-ish. But still have the problem of Renault leaving in 97.
Simon Emms
2025-01-30 08:17:57 +0000 UTCI know I'm going to love this episode. Remember the drinking game rules - down your drink at every mention of "all-French superteam" It is disappointing how strong French motorsport was until the 90s and how far and how quickly it has declined. How much of this can be attributed to the end of the Gitanes tobacco money who bankrolled French junior drivers?
Simon Emms
2025-01-30 08:14:09 +0000 UTCI don't think it would have changed much tbh, Prost would have disliked the active car regardless and would have eventually retired regardless
Disc Infiltrator
2025-01-30 07:59:16 +0000 UTCI have my debrief question ready even before hearing this 😂
Disc Infiltrator
2025-01-30 07:58:12 +0000 UTCCould Williams have stayed a front running team for longer if they signed Prost for 1992? Renault would have seen them having a greater influence in the team and maybe not left after 1997, while Newey wouldn‘t have his driver decision clause in his contract as the Mansell-Prost swap would have happened while he was a less senior figure at Williams, so he doesn‘t leave in 1996.
Rohmilchkäse
2025-01-30 06:44:30 +0000 UTCEpisode Comment and Question - Another round of “What Ifs??” I actually had to re-visit the 2 episodes to appreciate the full impact of this episode. Here’s another “What Ifs” - What if Ligier got the same level of engines that Williams got if Renault and Elf had their way? To add to Karun's and Edd's final question, knowing how badly Prost had his time at Renault, I'm surprised that he still wanted to go ahead with this idea of the "French F1 Super team". Sorry to say but we've seen politics and egos haven't done them any good in F1. Look at how the Benetton-Renault-Lotus-Renault-Alpine saga is flowing and now they're actually killing their engine programme just to survive. Awesome Episode!! Thanks Glenn, Karun, and Edd!!
Xerxes Balsara
2025-01-30 01:58:40 +0000 UTC
