First Formula One race at the redesigned Nürburgring GP-Strecke since 1976, with title implications decided in the closing championship rounds.
Key Facts
- Race distance (laps)
- 67 laps
- Circuit length
- 4.54 km
- Championship round
- 15th of 1984 season
- Race winner
- Alain Prost (McLaren-TAG)
- Pole position
- Nelson Piquet (Brabham-BMW)
- Lauda's title lead after race
- 3.5 points with one race remaining
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1984 Formula One World Championship entered its penultimate round with Niki Lauda leading Alain Prost in a tightly contested Drivers' Championship. The race returned to the Nürburgring for the first time since 1976, now using the new 4.54 km GP-Strecke rather than the old Nordschleife, which had last hosted a race that nearly killed Lauda.
Alain Prost won the 67-lap race driving a McLaren-TAG, with Michele Alboreto second in a Ferrari and pole-sitter Nelson Piquet third in a Brabham-BMW. Niki Lauda, who had suffered his near-fatal accident at the same circuit in 1976, finished fourth. The Tyrrell team was disqualified from the season's results two days after the race, redistributing points.
With the reallocation of Tyrrell's points, Prost gained an additional championship point, narrowing Lauda's lead in the Drivers' Championship to just 3.5 points ahead of the final race of the season. The extraordinarily close title fight set up one of the most dramatic championship conclusions in Formula One history.