Alain Prost emerged as the title favourite as the 1983 Formula 1 season progressed, but it was far from a foregone conclusion. The Renault driver faced stiff competition from Brabham and Ferrari.
Prost Beats Piquet in British Grand Prix
Ferrari dominated qualifying at Silverstone, with René Arnoux on pole and Patrick Tambay second. Prost started from third in his Renault, while Elio De Angelis was happy to be fourth in the new Lotus.
Tambay led Arnoux and Prost early on, while De Angelis had a short race, retiring with a broken engine. Prost managed to find a way past Arnoux, and Nelson Piquet followed him through a few laps later. Tambay could not contain Prost either, and the Renault driver swept into the lead. Piquet also passed the Ferrari driver, but at the finish was almost 20 seconds behind Prost. Tambay finished third, while Nigel Mansell was an encouraging fourth for Lotus. Arnoux slipped down to fifth and Niki Lauda was sixth for McLaren.
Arnoux Scores Ferrari Victory at Hockenheim
On the fast Hockenheim circuit, where power is critical, the normally aspirated cars didn’t get a look in. After qualifying Ferrari were celebrating a 1-2, this time with Tambay ahead of Arnoux. Andrea De Cesaris was third fastest in his Alfa Romeo and Piquet fourth in his Brabham.
Arnoux quickly found a way around his team-mate, who retired with an engine failure. Piquet also had a disappointing afternoon, making a fiery exit from the Grand Prix due to a fuel line problem. At the flag it was Arnoux first and De Cesaris second, with Riccardo Patrese completing the podium in third. Prost was down in fourth, John Watson fifth and Jacques Laffite sixth. Lauda crossed the line in fifth but was disqualified for reversing in the pit lane.
Austrian Grand Prix Won by Prost
Once again it was the Ferrari pair who headed the grid, with Tambay on pole and Arnoux second. Mansell started from third, just ahead of Piquet’s Brabham. At the start Tambay kept the lead, while behind him De Angelis, Marc Surer, Danny Sullivan and Bruno Giacomelli were eliminated in a first lap collision.
Arnoux and Piquet both dived past Tambay when he was held up in traffic. Piquet then made it past Arnoux to take the lead, due to a quicker pit stop by Brabham. Tambay’s race ended with an oil leak, while Piquet’s car lost power and he slipped to third. Prost made his way past Arnoux to take the lead and stayed there until the end. Piquet held on for third, with Eddie Cheever fourth, Mansell fifth and Lauda sixth.
Formula 1 season review continues here.
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