Book Review: Alain Prost by Maurice Hamilton

After reading recent interview comments by Alain Prost on Renault’s 2020 season campaign and Fernando’s comeback, it’s hard not to imagine how he might have performed in the Renault RS20. The number of Alain Prost books are relatively few compared to the endless number of books on his famous rival Ayrton Senna. One excellent Prost book though is Maurice Hamilton’s photo biographical book “Alain Prost” published in 2016 under McLaren branding and Blink Publishing.

Being a Senna fan, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Alain Prost drove with all the top F1 teams (Renault, McLaren, Ferrari & Williams) and was teammates alongside many F1 world champions (Lauda, Rosberg, Senna, Mansell, Hill) at the same time, which really puts his achievements in perspective. Probably the most similar driver in comparison in today’s grid would be Fernando Alonso (minus 1 world title).

The book layout is straight forward and simple – 14 chapters from karts, junior Renault formula to F1, battles with Ayrton Senna, retirement after his 3rd title with Williams, Senna’s funeral, becoming team principal of his own team and the into proper retirement.

Text is in triple column with Maurice Hamilton’s research narration mixed in with quotes from Alain himself and people who worked with him including mechanics, engineers, designers, team principals and teammates. The interview quotes provide a lot of technical insights, particularly from the engineers. There’s also a bit of critical self reflection by Alain during his time as team principal for Prost F1.

Photography is also a strength of this book – all in colour and either full page or double page spread. The photos are from renown F1 photographers Bernard Asset, Paul Henri Cahier and also the Getty Images archive. Included are a serious collection of track photos tracing Prost’s career from karts, Formula Renault, F3 and F1 with Renault, McLaren, Ferrari & Williams. The photos of Prost in his Renault turbo are beautiful.

Overall, this is a simple but a surprisingly well balanced book – content/narration, photos and hardcover presentation are excellent. While Alain’s own book “Viva Ma Vie” offered a more personal view of his career pre-1993, this book gives the most complete picture of the French champion. Its also arguably one of the better F1 driver biography books published.

Wow Factor/Money shot: Prost in the Renault turbo; Prost in the exposed MP4/4 at Paul Rickard (pg 196)

Suitable for: Prost and 80’s F1 fans