Niki Lauda clinched the 1984 Formula One World Championship by half a point over Alain Prost, the closest title margin in F1 history.
Key Facts
- Championship margin
- Half a point — closest in F1 history
- Race round
- 16th and final race of 1984 season
- Last Portuguese GP before
- 1960 Boavista street circuit, Oporto
- Mansell retirement lap
- Lap 52, front left brake failure
- Last Michelin F1 win until
- 2001 San Marino Grand Prix
- Podium champions total titles
- At least 9 world championships between three drivers
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Niki Lauda required at least second place in the season finale to beat teammate Alain Prost for the 1984 World Championship. Nigel Mansell, running second for most of the race in his Lotus 95T, was denied adequate brakes by team boss Peter Warr, which ultimately caused a front left brake failure on lap 52.
The 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix was held at Estoril on 21 October 1984, the sixteenth and final round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. Alain Prost won the race, with Mansell's retirement handing Lauda the second-place finish he needed. Ayrton Senna finished third, making the podium an assembly of past, present, and future world champions.
Lauda secured his third World Championship by half a point over Prost, a margin that remains the closest in Formula One history. The race also marked Michelin's last Formula One victory until 2001, and Mansell's final appearance for Lotus before moving to Williams for the 1985 season.