| Nicolas Prost | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Driver Details | ||
| Nationality |  French
| |
| P.O.B. | Saint-Chamond, Loire, France
| |
| D.O.B. | 18 August 1981[1] | |
| Début |  2014 Beijing ePrix
| |
| Final Race |  2018 New York City E-Prix II
| |
| Titles | 0 | |
| Teams | Renault e.Dams
| |
| Formula E Career | ||
| Total Entries | 45 (45 Starts) | |
| Wins | Points | FanBoosts |
| 3 | 305 | 0 |
| Poles | 3 | |
| Fastest Laps | 3 | |
| Podiums | 5 | |
| First Win | 2015 Miami ePrix
| |
Nicolas Jean Prost, born 18 August 1981, is a French racing driver and son of legendary Formula One racer Alain Prost, whom competed in the 2017/18 FIA Formula E Championship.[1] A multiple Formula E race winner, Prost has become one of the faces of the Championship, and would continue to drive with Renault e.Dams for a third straight season.[2]
Prost was completely outclassed by teammate Sébastien Buemi during the third season of FE, although its was Frenchman's consistent scoring that ensured that Renault e.Dams won the teams' Championship. That fact prompted e.Dams to sign Prost up for the 2017/18 season, once again partnering him with Buemi.[3] Yet, it was to be another disappointing performance from Prost, with e.Dams and the Frenchman parting ways at the end of the campaign.[4]
Background[]
The son of four time Formula One champion Alain Prost, Prost began his career in Formula Campus in the United States at the age of 22, before moving to the Spanish Formula Three championship in 2006.[1] In 2007, Prost continued to race in Formula Three (taking third overall) and raced for Team France in the A1 GP series.[1] Before being named Lotus F1's test driver in 2013, Prost raced for Rebellion Racing at the Le Mans 24 Hours and in the FIA World Endurance Championship for several seasons.[1]
Formula E History[]
Prost was named alongside Sébastien Buemi for e.dams-Renault for the 2014/15 Season.[1] Prost looked set to win the first ever ePrix in Beijing, but hit Nick Heidfeld as he went for the lead at the final corner of the race, giving Lucas di Grassi an unexpected victory.[5] Prost would claim pole position at the following 2014 Putrajaya ePrix, but was pushed back ten places due to his collision with Heidfeld.
Despite only scoring minor points in Putrajaya and Punta del Este, Prost finally stood on the podium at the 2014 Buenos Aires ePrix.[6] It would be at the following 2015 Miami ePrix that Prost achieved the victory that his pace had promised since his Beijing brawl.[7]
Solid points continued to elude Prost even after his big win, as team mate Buemi took two more victories before the season ended in London.[8] Ultimately, Prost fell from fourth in the standings to sixth at the season finale, having come into London as a title outsider, despite being on the verge of winning many of the season's races.[8]
Renault Ranger[]
The first year of manufacturer backing saw Renault e.Dams retain Prost and Buemi for a second season, and after the 2015 Donington Test it became clear that they would start the season as favourites. Unfortunately for Prost, the season opening Beijing ePrix would see him retire with excessive damage, as Buemi sprinted to victory.[9] The next three races saw Prost get into the points, but it would take until the 2016 Mexico City ePrix for the Frenchman to stand on the podium.[10] Yet, that result looked to be the flash in the pan for Prost's season, with the Frenchman failing to score at the following round in Long Beach.[11]
With Buemi going for the title, Prost was made to support his teammate from the 2016 Paris ePrix, and that seemed to be the kick that the Frenchman needed to get into gear.[12] Two fourth places saw Prost yield to Buemi at least once while ahead, before the season came to its conclusion in London.[12] With Buemi and Lucas di Grassi both faltering in qualifying, Prost put together a composed performance in qualifying to take pole, an advantage that left him with a cruise to victory as the title battle closed up behind him.[13]
The final race of the second season would once again see Buemi put his car ahead of Prost as the two shared the front row, and the Frenchman knew what he had to do.[14] With di Grassi starting third, Prost and Buemi worked together to box the Brazilian in at the sharp turn three, only for di Grassi to "misjudge" his braking point and slam into the back of the Swiss racer, leaving both to limp back to the pits.[14] As they were left in a race long duel to set the fastest lap to decide the title, Prost swept home for a third career victory and secure the Teams' Championship for Renault e.Dams.[14]
Qualifying Quandary[]
Partnered with Buemi for a third straight season at Renault e.Dams, Prost and his Champion teammate would enter the 2016 Donington Test as favourites once again.[2] Of the two, Buemi proved to have the better one lap pace, but Prost covered more mileage, suggesting that the fight between them could be closer than it had been in season two.
It was not to be, however, for Buemi would claim three victories at the start of the season, while Prost could only claim a trio of fourth places.[15] The Frenchman did best Buemi across the 2017 Mexico City ePrix meeting, although Buemi would outclass him once again in Monte Carlo and Paris.[16] By mid-season, Buemi had five wins to his name, while Prost had yet to stand on the podium.
Prost's poor performances were largely down to a lack in qualifying pace, a deficit he did not overcome at all in Berlin, where he only secured a handful of points.[17] Things hardly improved for Prost in New York, with the Frenchman outpaced in both races by temporary teammate Pierre Gasly, who stood in for Buemi as the latter had W.E.C. commitments.[18] Indeed, his debuting countryman would equal Prost's best finish of the season in only his second race, while Prost could only manage an eighth and a sixth.
Having been thoroughly trounced by Buemi throughout the season, Prost headed into the season ending double header in Montreal knowing he was once again a supporting player.[19] Yet, unlike the two previous seasons, Prost would have little impact on the title, his only contribution to wave Buemi through during the first race of the weekend, only for the latter to be disqualified.[20] That said, his sixth place finish ensured that Renault e.Dams won their third consecutive teams' Championship.[19]
The Final Tour?[]
Given that Buemi and Prost had worked together to ensure Renault e.Dams remained unbeaten in Formula E, it came as no surprise that the team re-signed the pair of them for 2017/18.[3] However, with Gasly's strong debut fresh in their minds, many questioned whether Prost would be forced out for a younger option at some point during the fourth FE season. Yet, Prost would start the season fairly strongly in Hong Kong, out-performing teammate Buemi to score in both races, albeit with a ninth and an eighth.[21]
However, Buemi would reinforce his position as team leader, finishing second in Marrakech as Prost failed to threaten the points in thirteenth.[22] A tenth place for Prost followed, before the Frenchman entered a long pointless run until the season finale in New York City.[23] Indeed, Prost would retire from the Mexico City and Zürich E-Prix with steering and brake failures respectively.[24]
That run also included some very poor qualifying performances from Prost, with the Frenchman failing to get into Super Pole at all, while only finishing fourteenth at best. Yet, that all seemed to change after e.Dams revealed that they were to drop the Frenchman ahead of the New York City E-Prix, with Prost finally getting into Super Pole for the first time all season.[23] Yet, the Frenchman would quickly fall back down the order at the start of the race, ending the penultimate race of the season down in tenth.[23] An eleventh place would follow in the season finale, with Prost again running in the points until the closing stages.[25]
Full Formula E Record[]
Shown below are a series of tables outlining Nicolas Prost's career in Formula E in statistical form.
Formula E Entries[]
The list below includes all of the teams and cars, as well as overall finishing positions for Nicolas Prost during their FE career:
| Nicolas Prost's Overall Formula E Record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Entrant | No. | Car | Pos. | Pts. |
| 2014/15 | e.dams-Renault
|
8 | Spark-Renault SRT_01E | 6th | 88 (89) |
| 2015/16 | Renault e.Dams
|
8 | Renault Z.E. 15 | 3rd | 115 |
| 2016/17 | Renault e.Dams[2]
|
8 | Renault Z.E. 16 | 6th | 93 |
| 2017/18 | Renault e.Dams[3]
|
8 | Renault Z.E. 17 | 19th | 8 |
Career Results[]
Below is a table showing Nicolas Prost's full Formula E record.
| FIA Formula E Championship Record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Rounds | Pos. | Pts. | |||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |||
| 2014/15 | 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6th | 88 (89) | |
| 12th | 4th | 7th | 2nd | 1st | 14th | 6th | 10th | 8th | 7th | 10th | ||||
| 2015/16 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3rd | 115 | |
| Ret | 10th | 5th | 5th | 3rd | 11th | 4th | 4th | CAN | 1st | 1st | ||||
| 2016/17 | 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6th | 93 |
| 4th | 4th | 4th | 5th | 9th | 5th | 5th | 8th | 8th | 6th | 6th | Ret | |||
| 2017/18 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
19th | 8 |
| 9th | 8th | 13th | 10th | Ret | 15th | 14th | 16th | 14th | Ret | 10th | 11th | |||
| Results Key | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | |
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | |
| 2nd | Second | DSQ | Disqualified | |
| 3rd | Third | DNS | Did Not Start | |
| 7th | Points Finish | 16th | Non-Points Finish | |
| NC | Not Classified | CAN | Race Cancelled | |
| INJ | Driver Injured | Italics | Fastest Lap | |
| Bold | Pole Position | G | Group Fastest Lap | |
References[]
Videos and Images:
- Darkness00, 'Nicolas Prost au 24h du Mans 2012', wikipedia.org, (Wikipedia, 13/06/2012), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Prost#mediaviewer/File:Nicolas_Prost_-_Le_Mans_2012.JPG, (Accessed 02/05/2015)
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 'Drivers' club: Nicolas Prost', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 2014), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/drivers-club/nicolas-prost.aspx, (Accessed 02/05/2015)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 'Renault e.Dams confirm Buemi and Prost for 2016/17', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 20/05/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/may/renault-edams-confirm-buemi-and-prost-for-201617/, (Accessed 20/05/2016)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Scott Mitchell, 'Sebastien Buemi, Nico Prost extend Renault e.dams Formula E deals', autosport.com, (Haymarket Media, 09/06/2017), http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/130003/buemi-prost-get-twoyear-renault-extension, (Accessed 11/06/2017)
- ↑ ABB Formula E, '#Breaking: @nico_prost will leave @RENAULTedams at the end of the 2017/18 ABB FIA Formula E Championship', twitter.com, (Twitter: ABB Formula E, 12/06/2018), https://twitter.com/fiaformulae/status/1006477908028862464?s=21, (Accessed 27/07/2018)
- ↑ 'Lucas di Grassi snatches win after dramatic last corner crash', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/09/2014), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2014/september/lucas-di-grassi-snatches-win-after-dramatic-last-corner-crash.aspx, (Accessed 02/05/2015)
- ↑ 'Da Costa wins spectacular Buenos Aires ePrix', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 10/01/2015), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/january/antonio-felix-da-costa-wins-chaotic-buenos-aires-eprix.aspx, (Accessed 02/05/2015)
- ↑ 'Prost powers to first Formula E win', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/03/2015), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/march/prost-powers-to-first-formula-e-win.aspx, (Accessed 02/05/2015)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 'Buemi’s stroll in the park', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 27/06/2015), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/june/buemi-wins-as-edams-renault-clinch-team-title.aspx, (Accessed 30/06/2015)
- ↑ 'Buemi to the max in Beijing', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 24/10/2015),http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/october/buemi-wins-swusp-beijing-eprix.aspx, (Accessed 25/10/2015)
- ↑ 'Di Grassi stripped of Mexico win', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 12/03/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/march/di-grassi-stripped-of-mexico-win.aspx, (Accessed 13/03/2016)
- ↑ 'Di Grassi's Shoreline sensation', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 02/04/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/april/di-grassi-s-shoreline-sensation/, (Accessed 03/04/2016)
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 'Di Grassi triumphant in Paris', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 23/04/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/april/di-grassi-wins-visa-paris-eprix/, (Accessed 23/04/2016)
- ↑ 'BUEMI AND DI GRASSI CHARGE UP THE ORDER, BUT IT’S PROST WHO LEADS THE WAY', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 02/07/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/july/prost-wins-in-style-as-di-grassi-inches-closer-to-title/, (Accessed 03/07/2016)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 'BUEMI WINS TITLE AFTER SPECTACULAR FINALE: VISA FASTEST LAP ENDS UP DECIDING THE 2015/16 FIA FORMULA E CHAMPIONSHIP', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 03/07/2016), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/july/buemi-wins-title-after-spectacular-finale/, (Accessed 04/07/2016)
- ↑ 'Buemi becomes hat-trick hero in Buenos Aires', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/02/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/february/buemi-becomes-hat-trick-hero-in-buenos-aires/, (Accessed 19/02/2017)
- ↑ 'Di Grassi produces masterpiece in Mexico', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 01/04/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/april/di-grassi-produces-masterpiece-in-mexico/, (Accessed 02/04/2017)
- ↑ 'Buemi gifted win by Mahindra pitstop confusion', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/06/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/june/buemi-gifted-win-by-mahindra-pitstop-confusion/, (Accessed 17/06/2017)
- ↑ 'GP2 champ Gasly replaces Buemi for New York', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 10/07/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/july/gp2-champ-gasly-replaces-buemi-for-new-york/, (Accessed 10/07/2017)
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 'Vergne victorious, Di Grassi wins title', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 30/07/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/july/vergne-victorious-di-grassi-wins-title/, (Accessed 30/07/2017)
- ↑ 'Di Grassi wins, Buemi disqualified', fiaformuale.com, (FIA Formula E, 29/07/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/july/di-grassi-wins-buemi-disqualified/, (Accessed 30/07/2017)
- ↑ Scott Mitchell, 'Abt stripped of maiden Formula E win', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 03/12/2017), https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/abt-stripped-maiden-fe-win-hong-kong-985435/, (Accessed 03/12/2017)
- ↑ 'Rosenqvist victorious in 2018 ABB FIA Formula E Marrakesh E-Prix', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/01/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/january/rosenqvist-victorious-in-2018-abb-fia-formula-e-marrakesh-e-prix/, (Accessed 13/01/2018)
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 'Di Grassi victorious as Vergne clinches championship crown', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/07/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/july/di-grassi-victorious-as-vergne-clinches-championship-crown/, (Accessed 15/07/2018)
- ↑ 'Di Grassi clinches first season victory in historic Swiss race', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 10/06/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/june/di-grassi-clinches-first-season-victory-in-historic-swiss-race/, (Accessed 11/06/2018)
- ↑ 'Champion Vergne victorious as Audi scoops the teams' title in New York finale', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 15/07/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/july/champion-vergne-victorious-as-audi-scoops-the-teams-title-in-new-york-finale/, (Accessed 16/07/2018)