1984 Formula One season

1984 FIA Formula One World Championship season
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Index: Races by country | Races by season

The 1984 Formula One season was the 35th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1984 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1984 Fomula One World Championship for Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a sixteen race series which commenced on March 25, 1984, and ended on October 21.

Team and driver changes

• Brabham retained their 850 bhp (634 kW; 862 PS) BMW engines along with reigning World Champion Nelson Piquet. Italian brothers Teo and Corrado Fabi replaced Riccardo Patrese and shared the #2 seat allowing older brother Teo to honour commitments in the US based CART World Series.
• Tyrrell had an all new driver line up. Gone were Michele Alboreto and Danny Sullivan and in were F1 rookie Martin Brundle and young German ace Stefan Bellof. Tyrrell were the only team to run the full season with the 530 bhp (395 kW; 537 PS) Cosworth DFV engine.
• Williams retained their 1983 line up of 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg and Jacques Laffite. Williams ran the Honda V6 turbo engine for the entire season after having only run it in the last race of 1983 in South Africa.
• McLaren ran the new TAG-Porsche turbo engine while Frenchman Alain Prost replaced John Watson and joined double World Champion Niki Lauda in what was seen as possibly the strongest driver line up of the season.
• Lotus promised to get back to their glory days with the Renault engines and their 1983 driver line up of Elio de Angelis and Nigel Mansell who would drive the all new Lotus 95T designed by former Renault chief designer Gérard Ducarouge.
• After a disappointing end to the 1983 season which saw the factory Renault team lose its way at the end of the year costing Alain Prost the Drivers' Championship and the team the Constructors' Championship, the major changes to the national French team was its drivers as well as the loss of designer Ducarouge. Prost and American Eddie Cheever were replaced with Patrick Tambay and Englishman Derek Warwick. The all new RE50 which was powered by the 800 bhp (597 kW; 811 PS) EF4 engine was designed by Michel Tétu and Bernard Dudot.
• Toleman who were an up and coming team in Formula One signed Venezuelan Johnny Cecotto as well as a rookie from Brazil by the name of Ayrton Senna, the reigning British Formula 3 Champion. The team continued to use the Hart 415T engine for the 1984 season to power their 1983 car, the TG183B and their new car which appeared for the first time at Dijon, the TG184.
• Alfa Romeo lost major sponsor Marlboro and replacing the red and white was the green and red of Italian clothes manufacturer Benetton. Also gone were drivers Andrea de Cesaris and Mauro Baldi, replaced by Riccardo Patrese and Eddie Cheever. The team continued to use the thirsty V8 turbocharged engine for the season.
• Ferrari introduced the latest version of their successful 126C model, dubbed the 126C4 which was powered by the 850 bhp (634 kW; 862 PS) Tipo 031 V6 engine. With Tambay having departed for Renault the team signed its first Italian driver since 1973 in Michele Alboreto to join Frenchman René Arnoux who had finished 3rd in the Drivers' Championship in 1983.

Season summary

Niki Lauda won the 1984 Formula 1 World Championship for Drivers

Stefan Bellof driving for Tyrrell in the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix. The team and its drivers were disqualified from the Championship due to a technical infringement which was caught at Detroit Grand Prix.

Keke Rosberg won the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix

Boutsen driving for Arrows at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix.

Michele Alboreto placed fourth in the 1984 Formula 1 World Championship for Drivers

The season had been expected to see a continuation of the Brabham-Renault-Ferrari battle, with supporting roles for McLaren, Williams and Lotus. McLaren however had stolen a march on its competitors thanks to its TAG turbo engine.

The FISA had introduced new fuel economy rules aimed at reducing speeds, providing 220 litres of fuel for the entire race. TAG commissioned German sports car manufacturer Porsche to design and build a turbo engine. Porsche had extensive experience with similar economy rules due to its participation in endurance racing and this translated in superior fuel economy.

Reigning world driver's champion Nelson Piquet and his Brabham-BMW were usually the fastest combination on track but appalling reliability meant he was never able to challenge consistently.

The season saw a titanic battle between both McLaren drivers Niki Lauda and Alain Prost. Prost had been sacked by Renault after failing to win the 1983 title. Fast and ambitious, the Frenchman quickly established his dominance over his teammate.

Austrian Niki Lauda had returned to F1 in 1982 and soon showed he had lost nothing of his earlier determination and guile. He regularly matched the pace of his 1982-1983 McLaren team mate John Watson, but Alain Prost was a different kettle of fish. Lauda quickly realized he could not beat his young team mate on speed. The wily Austrian therefore ignored qualifying and concentrated on his race strategies. By winning races when Prost ran into trouble and scoring relentlessly when Prost proved quicker, Lauda was just able to win the title. He was the only second driver after Denny Hulme in 1967 to have ever won the title without achieving a single pole position in the season.

During the season, the Tyrrell team had its results stripped after a technical infringement.

Drivers and constructors

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

Season review

Rnd	Race	Date	Location	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Race Winner	Constructor	Report
1	Brazilian Grand Prix	March 25	Jacarepaguá	Elio de Angelis	Alain Prost	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
2	South African Grand Prix	April 7	Kyalami	Nelson Piquet	Patrick Tambay	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	Report
3	Belgian Grand Prix	April 29	Zolder	Michele Alboreto	René Arnoux	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	Report
4	San Marino Grand Prix	May 6	Imola	Nelson Piquet	Nelson Piquet	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
5	French Grand Prix	May 20	Dijon	Patrick Tambay	Alain Prost	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	Report
6	Monaco Grand Prix	June 3	Monaco	Alain Prost	Ayrton Senna	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
7	Canadian Grand Prix	June 17	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve	Nelson Piquet	Nelson Piquet	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	Report
8	Detroit Grand Prix	June 24	Detroit	Nelson Piquet	Derek Warwick	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	Report
9	Dallas Grand Prix	July 8	Dallas	Nigel Mansell	Niki Lauda	Keke Rosberg	Williams-Honda	Report
10	British Grand Prix	July 22	Brands Hatch	Nelson Piquet	Niki Lauda	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	Report
11	German Grand Prix	August 5	Hockenheimring	Alain Prost	Alain Prost	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
12	Austrian Grand Prix	August 19	Österreichring	Nelson Piquet	Niki Lauda	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	Report
13	Dutch Grand Prix	August 26	Zandvoort	Alain Prost	René Arnoux	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
14	Italian Grand Prix	September 9	Monza	Nelson Piquet	Niki Lauda	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	Report
15	European Grand Prix	October 7	Nürburgring	Nelson Piquet	Nelson Piquet Michele Alboreto	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
16	Portuguese Grand Prix	October 21	Estoril	Nelson Piquet	Niki Lauda	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report

1. ^ Half points awarded. Race stopped due to dangerous conditions.

1984 Formula 1 World Championship for Drivers - final standings

Points towards the 1984 Formula 1 World Championship for Drivers were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six finishers in each race.

Pos Driver BRA RSA BEL SMR FRA MON† CAN DET DAL GBR GER AUT NED ITA EUR POR Points 1 Niki Lauda Ret 1 Ret Ret 1 Ret 2 Ret Ret 1 2 1 2 1 4 2 72 2 Alain Prost 1 2 Ret 1 7 1 3 4 Ret Ret 1 Ret 1 Ret 1 1 71.5 3 Elio de Angelis 3 7 5 3 5 5 4 2 3 4 Ret Ret 4 Ret Ret 5 34 4 Michele Alboreto Ret 11 1 Ret Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret 3 Ret 2 2 4 30.5 5 Nelson Piquet Ret Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret 1 1 Ret 7 Ret 2 Ret Ret 3 6 29 6 René Arnoux Ret Ret 3 2 4 3 5 Ret 2 6 6 7 11 Ret 5 9 27 7 Derek Warwick Ret 3 2 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 2 3 Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret 23 8 Keke Rosberg 2 Ret 4 Ret 6 4 Ret Ret 1 Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret 20.5 9 Ayrton Senna Ret 6 6 DNQ Ret 2 7 Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret 3 13 10 Nigel Mansell Ret Ret Ret Ret 3 Ret 6 Ret 6 Ret 4 Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret 13 11 Patrick Tambay 5 Ret 7 Ret 2 Ret DNS Ret Ret 8 5 Ret 6 Ret Ret 7 11 12 Teo Fabi Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 3 Ret Ret 4 5 Ret Ret 9 13 Riccardo Patrese Ret 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret 10 Ret 3 6 8 8 14 Jacques Laffite Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 8 Ret 5 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 14 5 15 Thierry Boutsen 6 12 Ret 5 11 DNQ Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret 10 9 Ret 5 16 Eddie Cheever 4 Ret Ret 7 Ret DNQ 11 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 13 9 Ret 17 3 17 Stefan Johansson DSQ DSQ DNQ DSQ 4 Ret 11 3 18 Andrea de Cesaris Ret 5 Ret 6 10 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 7 Ret Ret Ret 7 12 3 19 Piercarlo Ghinzani Ret DNS Ret DNQ 12 7 Ret Ret 5 9 Ret Ret Ret 7 Ret Ret 2 20 Marc Surer 7 9 8 Ret Ret DNQ Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret 1 — Jo Gartner Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 5 Ret 16 0 — Gerhard Berger 12 6 Ret 13 0 — François Hesnault Ret 10 Ret Ret DNS Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 8 7 Ret 10 Ret 0 — Corrado Fabi Ret Ret 7 0 — Mauro Baldi Ret 8 Ret 8 Ret DNQ 8 15 0 — Manfred Winkelhock EX Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 8 Ret Ret DNS Ret DNS 10 0 — Jonathan Palmer 8 Ret 10 9 13 DNQ Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 9 Ret Ret Ret 0 — Huub Rothengatter NC DNQ Ret NC 9 NC Ret 8 0 — Johnny Cecotto Ret Ret Ret NC Ret Ret 9 Ret Ret DNQ 0 — Philippe Alliot Ret Ret DNQ Ret Ret DNQ 10 Ret DNS Ret Ret 11 10 Ret Ret Ret 0 — Stefan Bellof DSQ DSQ DSQ DSQ DSQ DSQ DSQ DSQ DSQ DSQ EX DSQ 0 — Martin Brundle DSQ DSQ DSQ DSQ DSQ DNQ DSQ DSQ DNQ 0 — Mike Thackwell Ret DNQ 0 — Philippe Streiff Ret 0 — Pierluigi Martini DNQ 0 Pos Driver BRA RSA BEL SMR FRA MON† CAN DET DAL GBR GER AUT NED ITA EUR POR Points † Half points were awarded at the Monaco Grand Prix as less than 75% of the scheduled distance was completed.

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Light blue Practiced only (PO) Friday test driver (TD) (from 2003 onwards) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrew entry before the event (WD)

1984 Formula 1 World Championship for Manufacturers - final standings

McLaren won the 1984 Formula 1 World Championship for Manufacturers, winning 12 of 16 races

Ferrari placed 2nd in the Formula 1 World Championship for Manufacturers

Lotus placed third in the 1984 Formula 1 World Championship for Manufacturers

Points towards the 1984 Formula 1 World Championship for Manufacturers were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six finishers in each race.

Pos	Constructor	Car no.	BRA	RSA	BEL	SMR	FRA	MON†	CAN	DET	DAL	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	EUR	POR	Pts
1	McLaren-TAG	7	1	2	Ret	1	7	1	3	4	Ret	Ret	1	Ret	1	Ret	1	1	143.5
		8	Ret	1	Ret	Ret	1	Ret	2	Ret	Ret	1	2	1	2	1	4	2
2	Ferrari	27	Ret	11	1	Ret	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	Ret	3	Ret	2	2	4	57.5
		28	Ret	Ret	3	2	4	3	5	Ret	2	6	6	7	11	Ret	5	9
3	Lotus-Renault	11	3	7	5	3	5	5	4	2	3	4	Ret	Ret	4	Ret	Ret	5	47
		12	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	3	Ret	6	Ret	6	Ret	4	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	Ret
4	Brabham-BMW	1	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	1	1	Ret	7	Ret	2	Ret	Ret	3	6	38
		2	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	3	7	Ret	Ret	4	5	Ret	Ret	10
5	Renault	15	5	Ret	7	Ret	2	Ret	DNS	Ret	Ret	8	5	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	7	34
		16	Ret	3	2	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	2	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	Ret
		33																Ret
6	Williams-Honda	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	8	Ret	5	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	14	25.5
		6	2	Ret	4	Ret	6	4	Ret	Ret	1	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	Ret
7	Toleman-Hart	19	Ret	6	6	DNQ	Ret	2	7	Ret	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	4	Ret	3	16
		20	Ret	Ret	Ret	NC	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	DNQ				DNQ	Ret	11
8	Alfa Romeo	22	Ret	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	10	Ret	3	6	8	11
		23	4	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	DNQ	11	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	9	Ret	17
9	Ligier-Renault	25	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	8	7	Ret	10	Ret	3
		26	Ret	5	Ret	6	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	7	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	12
10	Arrows-Ford	17	7	9	8		Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret									3
		18	6	12		5
11	Arrows-BMW	17				Ret					Ret	11	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	3
		18			Ret		11	DNQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	Ret	10	9	Ret
12	Osella-Alfa Romeo	24	Ret	DNS	Ret	DNQ	12	7	Ret	Ret	5	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	2
		30				Ret						Ret	Ret	Ret	12	5	Ret	16
—	ATS-BMW	14	EX	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	DNS	Ret	DNS		13	0
		31												12		6	Ret
—	Spirit-Hart	21	Ret	8	Ret	8	Ret	DNQ	NC		Ret	NC	9	NC	Ret	8	8	15	0
—	RAM-Hart	9	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret	Ret	DNQ	10	Ret	DNS	Ret	Ret	11	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	0
		10	8	Ret	10	9	13	DNQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	9	Ret	Ret	Ret
—	Spirit-Ford	21								DNQ									0
DSQ	Tyrrell-Ford	3	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ	DNQ	DSQ	DSQ	DNQ	DSQ	DSQ	DNQ	DSQ				0
		4	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ	DSQ	DNQ	EX	DSQ
Pos	Constructor	Car no.	BRA	RSA	BEL	SMR	FRA	MON†	CAN	DET	DAL	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	EUR	POR	Pts

• On 18 July, Tyrrell was disqualified from all races so far that season, and banned from competing in remaining races, due to a technical infringement which was discovered at the Detroit race.
• ^† Half points were awarded at the Monaco Grand Prix as less than 75% of the scheduled distance was completed.

External links

• 1984 Formula 1 review
• 1984 Formula 1 World Championship results and images from f1-facts.com