1984 Portuguese Grand Prix
# 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix

The 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Estoril on 21 October 1984. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1984 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was the first World Championship Portuguese Grand Prix since 1960, when it was held at the Boavista street circuit in Oporto.

Niki Lauda needed second place to secure the title, and gained it when Nigel Mansell spun out with 18 laps to go. As a result, he took the title by just half a point from team-mate Alain Prost. The point-scoring drivers won a total of 13 world championships between them, and the three drivers on the podium were all (at least) triple World Champions from different eras – Lauda, approaching the end of his long and distinguished F1 career, Prost, enjoying the best years of his career, and Ayrton Senna, still at the dawn of his.

After running a strong second behind Prost for most of the race, Mansell's spin on lap 52 was due to his front left brake failing. The Englishman later told that as it was his last race for Lotus before joining Williams in 1985, team boss Peter Warr (whom he had never got along with personally) had refused to give him the brakes he wanted for his Lotus 95T and that it was this that ultimately caused his retirement and handed Lauda the second place he needed to win the World Championship.

The race also represented the last win for French tyre manufacturer Michelin in Formula One until the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix.

## Classification

### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-BMW | 1:30.889 | 1:21.703 | — |
| 2 | 7 | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | 1:28.276 | 1:21.774 | +0.071 |
| 3 | 19 | Ayrton Senna | Toleman-Hart | 1:30.077 | 1:21.936 | +0.233 |
| 4 | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Williams-Honda | 1:32.269 | 1:22.049 | +0.346 |
| 5 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Renault | 1:28.428 | 1:22.291 | +0.588 |
| 6 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Renault | 1:32.986 | 1:22.319 | +0.616 |
| 7 | 15 | Patrick Tambay | Renault | 1:29.409 | 1:22.583 | +0.880 |
| 8 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:31.192 | 1:22.686 | +0.983 |
| 9 | 16 | Derek Warwick | Renault | 1:35.913 | 1:22.801 | +1.098 |
| 10 | 20 | Stefan Johansson | Toleman-Hart | 1:28.991 | 1:22.942 | +1.239 |
| 11 | 8 | Niki Lauda | McLaren-TAG | 1:28.837 | 1:23.183 | +1.480 |
| 12 | 22 | Riccardo Patrese | Alfa Romeo | 1:37.154 | 1:24.048 | +2.345 |
| 13 | 33 | Philippe Streiff | Renault | 1:37.280 | 1:24.089 | +2.386 |
| 14 | 23 | Eddie Cheever | Alfa Romeo | 1:34.809 | 1:24.235 | +2.532 |
| 15 | 5 | Jacques Laffite | Williams-Honda | 1:39.696 | 1:24.437 | +2.734 |
| 16 | 17 | Marc Surer | Arrows-BMW | 1:34.003 | 1:24.688 | +2.985 |
| 17 | 28 | René Arnoux | Ferrari | 1:36.634 | 1:24.848 | +3.145 |
| 18 | 18 | Thierry Boutsen | Arrows-BMW | 1:32.530 | 1:25.115 | +3.412 |
| 19 | 2 | Manfred Winkelhock | Brabham-BMW | no time | 1:25.289 | +3.586 |
| 20 | 26 | Andrea de Cesaris | Ligier-Renault | 1:33.398 | 1:26.082 | +4.379 |
| 21 | 25 | François Hesnault | Ligier-Renault | 1:34.233 | 1:26.701 | +4.998 |
| 22 | 24 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Osella-Alfa Romeo | 1:31.336 | 1:26.840 | +5.137 |
| 23 | 14 | Gerhard Berger | ATS-BMW | 1:44.966 | 1:28.106 | +6.403 |
| 24 | 30 | Jo Gartner | Osella-Alfa Romeo | 1:33.540 | 1:28.229 | +6.526 |
| 25 | 21 | Mauro Baldi | Spirit-Hart | 1:36.483 | 1:29.001 | +7.298 |
| 26 | 10 | Jonathan Palmer | RAM-Hart | 1:40.344 | 1:29.397 | +7.694 |
| 27 | 9 | Philippe Alliot | RAM-Hart | 1:34.839 | 1:30.406 | +8.703 |
| Source: |||||||

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 7 | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | M | 70 | 1:41:11.753 | 2 | 9 |
| 2 | 8 | Niki Lauda | McLaren-TAG | M | 70 | + 13.425 | 11 | 6 |
| 3 | 19 | Ayrton Senna | Toleman-Hart | M | 70 | + 20.042 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | G | 70 | + 20.317 | 8 | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Renault | G | 70 | + 1:32.169 | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-BMW | M | 69 | + 1 Lap | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | 15 | Patrick Tambay | Renault | M | 69 | + 1 Lap | 7 | |
| 8 | 22 | Riccardo Patrese | Alfa Romeo | G | 69 | + 1 Lap | 12 | |
| 9 | 28 | René Arnoux | Ferrari | G | 69 | + 1 Lap | 17 | |
| 10 | 2 | Manfred Winkelhock | Brabham-BMW | M | 69 | + 1 Lap | 19 | |
| 11 | 20 | Stefan Johansson | Toleman-Hart | M | 69 | + 1 Lap | 10 | |
| 12 | 26 | Andrea de Cesaris | Ligier-Renault | M | 69 | + 1 Lap | 20 | |
| 13 | 14 | Gerhard Berger | ATS-BMW | P | 68 | + 2 Laps | 23 | |
| 14 | 5 | Jacques Laffite | Williams-Honda | G | 67 | + 3 Laps | 15 | |
| 15 | 21 | Mauro Baldi | Spirit-Hart | P | 66 | + 4 Laps | 25 | |
| 16 | 30 | Jo Gartner | Osella-Alfa Romeo | P | 65 | Out of Fuel | 24 | |
| 17 | 23 | Eddie Cheever | Alfa Romeo | G | 64 | + 6 Laps | 14 | |
| Ret | 24 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Osella-Alfa Romeo | P | 60 | Engine | 22 | |
| Ret | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Renault | G | 52 | Brakes | 6 | |
| Ret | 16 | Derek Warwick | Renault | M | 51 | Gearbox | 9 | |
| Ret | 33 | Philippe Streiff | Renault | M | 48 | Transmission | 13 | |
| Ret | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Williams-Honda | G | 39 | Engine | 4 | |
| Ret | 25 | François Hesnault | Ligier-Renault | M | 31 | Electrical | 21 | |
| Ret | 18 | Thierry Boutsen | Arrows-BMW | G | 24 | Transmission | 18 | |
| Ret | 10 | Jonathan Palmer | RAM-Hart | P | 19 | Gearbox | 26 | |
| Ret | 17 | Marc Surer | Arrows-BMW | G | 8 | Electrical | 16 | |
| Ret | 9 | Philippe Alliot | RAM-Hart | P | 2 | Engine | 27 | |
| Source: |||||||||

## Championship standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Niki Lauda | 72 |
| 2 | Alain Prost | 71.5 |
| 3 | Elio de Angelis | 34 |
| 4 | Michele Alboreto | 30.5 |
| 5 | Nelson Piquet | 29 |
| Source: |||
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | McLaren-TAG | 143.5 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 57.5 |
| 3 | Lotus-Renault | 47 |
| 4 | Brabham-BMW | 38 |
| 5 | Renault | 34 |
| Source: |||

* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
