F1 1984 - Grand Prix of Portugal - video Dailymotion

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00:00:00The capital city of Lisbon has an ancient history.

00:00:03Legends tell us the Greek hero Ulysses was its founder,

00:00:07but more realistic historical facts

00:00:09credit the Phoenicians with the same achievement in 600 BC.

00:00:13For over 1,500 years, the city was invaded

00:00:16and ruled numerous times by conquering armies.

00:00:20Then in 1139, King Dom Alfonso, with his troops,

00:00:25changed all that by establishing the Kingdom of Portugal.

00:00:29And eight years later, freed Lisbon from the Moors.

00:00:33Well, another important conquest and crown

00:00:36is about to be decided on Portuguese territory.

00:00:40The contestants are no less brave

00:00:42than historical Greek heroes,

00:00:44but their equipment for battle

00:00:45is the most technical and modern possible.

00:00:48For the title to be taken this weekend

00:00:51is the Formula One World Championship of Drivers,

00:00:55and the fame and fortune coming to its victory

00:00:58would have tempted any ancient conqueror into conflict.

00:01:02This Portuguese Grand Prix

00:01:04is the final round of a true global championship,

00:01:07and the 1984 statistics tell an amazing story.

00:01:1216 events on four continents in 13 countries,

00:01:16starting 26 cars from 14 international teams,

00:01:21all coming down after thousands of race miles

00:01:24to two teammates separated by only 3 1⁄2 points

00:01:28for the title.

00:01:30Drivers Niki Lauda and Alain Prost,

00:01:32both with McLaren International,

00:01:34have achieved the finest race results for a single team

00:01:38in the history of modern Grand Prix racing,

00:01:41taking 11 wins for 15 starts.

00:01:44This is the first time ever in the World Championship

00:01:47that teammates have competed for the title

00:01:50down to the very last event.

00:01:52Lauda could have wrapped up his third career F1 championship

00:01:57two weeks ago at the European Grand Prix

00:02:00in Nürburgring, West Germany,

00:02:02but after this spin only came fourth,

00:02:05while Alain Prost went on in fine style

00:02:08to his sixth victory this season,

00:02:10collecting nine more valuable points in the process.

00:02:14The intrigue doesn't just stop at first and second,

00:02:17but continues on down the line.

00:02:20A third place position in season-long results

00:02:23is a mathematical possibility for five drivers.

00:02:27This is much more important this season than in past years

00:02:31because whoever finishes third

00:02:33finishes first behind the overwhelming McLaren advantage.

00:02:38Everyone will be giving 110%

00:02:40during this final chance for victory

00:02:43in the 1984 Grand Prix season.

00:02:47From the charming seaside resort of Estoril, Portugal,

00:02:50this is John Bisignano with Simon Taylor,

00:02:53about 20 miles west of Lisbon,

00:02:55still enjoying what is a quite warm Atlantic coastline.

00:02:59We'll be your hosts for this ESPN Auto Racing 84

00:03:03coverage of the Portuguese Grand Prix

00:03:05for Formula One race cars.

00:03:07Over the next 90 minutes,

00:03:09Simon and I will be presenting technical reports,

00:03:11driver interviews, all the latest F1 updates,

00:03:15plus the fantastic Grand Prix race action.

00:03:18So please join us after these short messages

00:03:20for the final round of the 1984 season

00:03:24and the crowning of this year's world champion.

00:03:27Will it be the third time for Nicolauro

00:03:29or the first time ever for any Frenchman by Alain Post?

00:03:33You don't want to miss this one.

00:03:36And first few hectic laps of the Grand Prix

00:03:49are the most exciting, dangerous, challenging,

00:03:52frustrating, or rewarding a driver and his team

00:03:55will have throughout their race weekend.

00:03:57In Formula One, the opening five seconds

00:04:00and initial few hundred yards

00:04:02can determine much of how the next two hours

00:04:05and 190 miles will unroll.

00:04:08Weeks of intense preparation

00:04:10and years of driving experience

00:04:13can be justifiably rewarded or totally lost

00:04:16by a millisecond of poor judgment or bad luck.

00:04:20American Eddie Cheever of the Benetton Alfa Romeo team

00:04:24talks with us about his approach to the situation.

00:04:27A half an hour before the start of each Grand Prix,

00:04:30the pit lane becomes open

00:04:31and everyone goes out for their warmup lap.

00:04:34What are your duties during that one single tour?

00:04:37Well, your biggest duty is to make sure

00:04:39you get the car to the grid.

00:04:40But usually what I try to do is warm the tires up a bit

00:04:45because we'll be sitting there for about 25 minutes

00:04:47and I just check everything.

00:04:51Everything you have to do should have been done by then.

00:04:54So the motor has to be brought up to temperature,

00:04:56the oil, and so forth?

00:04:58Well, the mechanics warm the car

00:05:00for about five minutes beforehand

00:05:01and then they let it set so all the temperature dissipates.

00:05:05All I really have to do is just get the car to the grid,

00:05:07warm up the tires, check the last little things,

00:05:10make sure nothing is wrong with it,

00:05:11check all the gauges,

00:05:12but that lap really isn't that important.

00:05:14Now you can actually go through the pit lane

00:05:16if something is still a subject of query.

00:05:19In fact, in Nürburgring,

00:05:21I didn't do the warmup in the morning.

00:05:22We have half an hour warmup in the morning

00:05:24and I didn't manage to do it because I had a fuel problem.

00:05:26So I did actually two laps

00:05:28and on those two laps I also had to decide

00:05:29on what wing settings I was going to run.

00:05:32So in the circumstances such as those,

00:05:34you have to be very acute and very exact

00:05:36in what you're saying because what you settle for

00:05:38is what you're stuck for for the next two hours.

00:05:40You say you can be on the grid for 25 minutes.

00:05:43That's a very tense time.

00:05:45How do you pass those 25 minutes

00:05:47before the start of a Grand Prix?

00:05:50I just sit and think and try to organize everything in my mind.

00:05:55I know I'm looking at what side of the grid I'm on.

00:05:57I'm analyzing all the drivers around me.

00:05:59If I have a maniac next to me,

00:06:00I'll do something to try to put him in a position

00:06:04where he can't do me any harm.

00:06:07You just try to sort everything out as much as you can

00:06:11to make sure that everything is going to happen

00:06:14as you want it to happen

00:06:15instead of just throwing yourself

00:06:16into the first lap head down.

00:06:19It seems to be a very individual thing.

00:06:21You always notice Rosberg is smoking a cigarette.

00:06:24Tambay is always sitting next to the guardrail.

00:06:26Have you developed some sort of rhythm or style of your own

00:06:29to get through that 25 minutes?

00:06:31I just want to stay away from everybody.

00:06:32Anybody that gets next to me

00:06:33is not going to have a very polite answer.

00:06:35The last five minutes,

00:06:36that's the most intense before a start.

00:06:39Those five minutes when you put your helmet on

00:06:41and you get ready to start

00:06:43are really probably the worst

00:06:45that you have during the whole weekend.

00:06:46They're the most difficult, the most intense

00:06:48because you have to really hone down your thinking

00:06:50to get your start right

00:06:52because all of the work that has been put into it,

00:06:54all of the money, everything,

00:06:55it's all on your shoulders and it's up to you.

00:06:57You have to make a good start.

00:06:58You have to think about doing your start.

00:07:00You have to think of getting the revs right.

00:07:01You have to think of what direction you're going to go.

00:07:03You have to have your, you almost are on,

00:07:04I'm on automatic when I take a start.

00:07:05I never, I try to plan things out

00:07:07but sometimes somebody two lines up makes a mistake

00:07:10and the whole, all the cars flow to one side

00:07:14and you have to really just,

00:07:15there's no time to think, you just act

00:07:16and you have to act in the right way

00:07:18because if you don't, you're going to blow the whole show.

00:07:20And on the formation lap,

00:07:22do you still keep this level of concentration,

00:07:24this energy pumping away?

00:07:25It just comes to a head.

00:07:27The closer you get, then you stop.

00:07:30You put the car in neutral.

00:07:31You make sure you don't put your foot on the clutch

00:07:33too early or the clutch plates will heat up.

00:07:35The red light goes on and by the time the red light goes on,

00:07:38all you're doing, at least all I'm doing,

00:07:40everything in my whole body is just watching that red light.

00:07:42I don't look for the green light.

00:07:43I just look at the red one.

00:07:44The minute the red light just moves,

00:07:47I should already be going.

00:07:48So you look for the red to go off

00:07:49rather than the green to come on.

00:07:51Well, if you're trying to get away first,

00:07:53you don't want to wait for one.

00:07:54That's, before the red, the green goes on,

00:07:56the red goes off.

00:07:58Let me ask you, Eddie, you said that you go to automatic.

00:08:00What do you see on a start?

00:08:02What do you feel?

00:08:05I mean, going down there on such incredible acceleration,

00:08:08cars all around you, noise,

00:08:10is it all automatic, shifting, everything?

00:08:13Everything, it has to be.

00:08:14It has to be automatic.

00:08:15There's no time to think.

00:08:16Any thinking, there you can gain three positions.

00:08:19I've gained 10 positions in starts.

00:08:21If you just get everything right

00:08:22and you go through the gears well

00:08:24and you don't have to lift your foot off the throttle,

00:08:26you can just weave through cars easily.

00:08:28But the smallest mistake,

00:08:30apart from the smallest mistake,

00:08:31you can get hurt or badly maned.

00:08:34It's just, that's the easiest time

00:08:35to either lose positions or to gain positions.

00:08:37So you have no time to think.

00:08:38It's not as if when you're following somebody,

00:08:40you see what mistakes he makes.

00:08:41He makes a mistake on a right-hander,

00:08:42then you know that you might be able

00:08:44to get on that right-hander in the start.

00:08:45There is nothing, everything is programmed,

00:08:47but everything always happens differently

00:08:48than what you think is going to happen.

00:08:49Okay, so let's say you've made it through that

00:08:51and you arrive at the first corner.

00:08:53Then the drama even heightens.

00:08:55By the time you get to the break in the first corner,

00:08:56you know who's around you.

00:08:59You put yourself, it's a bit like playing chess.

00:09:00You put yourself, you try to put yourself in a position

00:09:03where the other drivers know that that is your territory.

00:09:07And if they try to go in their territory,

00:09:09they're going to be in a worse position

00:09:10than you are going to be in.

00:09:11Because if a driver, if I can see

00:09:13that I can gain something on somebody,

00:09:14I'm going to go for it.

00:09:16But if I, I'm old enough or wise enough

00:09:18to know that if I can't go for it

00:09:20and there's more risk on my part, I won't.

00:09:22And since probably 15 of the 25 drivers

00:09:26are professionals who've been a long time,

00:09:27they all think in the same way.

00:09:28So rarely do you have an accident at the start,

00:09:30unless it's for a really big mistake that someone makes.

00:09:33So you're protecting your own area

00:09:35while trying to claim other people's area.

00:09:37Right, it's like wolves.

00:09:39You know, everybody, you take care of your area.

00:09:42And if you can, if anybody lets his guard down,

00:09:44then you go for him too.

00:09:45And if the next one doesn't, you go for him too.

00:09:46And the minute you let yours down,

00:09:47I can assure you that somebody's going to get you.

00:09:49And like I said, to pass a car during the race,

00:09:52it's really difficult.

00:09:53That is really, really difficult

00:09:54because you have to be quicker than him.

00:09:55You have to get it just right.

00:09:56You have to be clean, tidy,

00:09:58not making any mistakes in the gear shifting.

00:10:00But you can pass five, six cars in the start,

00:10:01or you can get passed by five or six cars in the start.

00:10:05Well, does the pressure decrease

00:10:06as you go from corner to corner?

00:10:08Does it become a less of a-

00:10:08When the first lap is over,

00:10:10then all the cars start to string out

00:10:12and then everything just settles in.

00:10:13And then you just get in for a long, hard sprint.

00:10:17But it really, in Monza, it's the first chicane.

00:10:19In Nürburgring, it's the first chicane.

00:10:22In Montreal, it's the first fast corner.

00:10:24In Dallas, there was no problem

00:10:27because the first corner is relatively early.

00:10:29So every track has its own place

00:10:32where you have to be careful on the first lap.

00:10:33And every racing driver drives differently.

00:10:36And so you have to put all these things together

00:10:38in your mind and they have to be in there,

00:10:40but you don't have to think about it.

00:10:41If you start thinking about what is he going to do

00:10:43and what's the other one going to do

00:10:44and can I make it through here?

00:10:45You just go for it.

00:10:46If there's a hole, you go for it.

00:10:48You sound, you've described that it is

00:10:50the most dangerous and exciting part,

00:10:52but it sounds like for you,

00:10:53it's also maybe the most enjoyable.

00:10:55Oh, I like it.

00:10:55I love passing.

00:10:57And start.

00:10:58When you get a start right,

00:10:59when you get a start right,

00:11:00you've accomplished something.

00:11:02You have to be very careful with these cars

00:11:04so you don't burn the clutch.

00:11:05But if you don't use the clutch,

00:11:07you're not going to get off the line quickly.

00:11:08And if you use the clutch too much,

00:11:09you're going to spin your tires.

00:11:10And if you spin your tires too much in the first gear,

00:11:12by the time you put the second gear,

00:11:13the engine's going to bog down.

00:11:15If you put the first gear in too early,

00:11:16you're going to cook the clutch again.

00:11:17So there's lots of things that you,

00:11:19you get into a pattern of doing as many,

00:11:21keeping as many constants as you can.

00:11:23But racing, there are very few constants

00:11:25once the red line goes on.

00:11:26And a great deal of satisfaction

00:11:28when you do it all right and do put it together.

00:11:30When you do, yes.

00:11:30When you don't, you're very pissed off.

00:11:32So when it's that difficult and it does come right,

00:11:34other people are making small mistakes.

00:11:36That's where your advantage comes through.

00:11:38That's what concentration is.

00:11:40The green flag that's used to start most races

00:11:43in the United States is not used here in Europe,

00:11:45but the man with his finger on the button

00:11:47is Derek Ongaro, traveling to 16 races around the world

00:11:51as the official FISA starter.

00:11:54Derek, you have one of the most important jobs

00:11:56of the whole weekend.

00:11:57You're the one who gets things started here.

00:12:00That's partially true,

00:12:01but it's quite a team operations from the very outset.

00:12:04That's just the culmination of everything

00:12:06that's happened during the testing days.

00:12:08Well, for weeks actually.

00:12:10Yes.

00:12:11Derek, let me ask you,

00:12:12when the cars come around to the grid and form up,

00:12:15it's one of the most exciting times of the weekend

00:12:18for spectators and officials.

00:12:19Do you still get a quicker heartbeat when they come around?

00:12:22Yes, very, very much so.

00:12:24It's very exciting.

00:12:26It's very worrying.

00:12:27And I should imagine my heartbeat goes up

00:12:31considerably at that time.

00:12:33Now, what do you look for when they come by

00:12:34and stop on the grid?

00:12:37Very carefully, before they actually get there,

00:12:40I've tried to check out,

00:12:43particularly the last four or five cars visually,

00:12:47colour schemes and things like that.

00:12:48So I don't know what to look for

00:12:49because the ones at the back are to me the most important.

00:12:54The front ones usually come in,

00:12:56the better drivers at the front control them

00:12:58and come in slowly.

00:13:00But we can't let anything go

00:13:01until the back ones have actually stopped moving.

00:13:04So I'm looking for the back ones to stop really.

00:13:06That's the most important part.

00:13:08You know, Derek, it seems to me

00:13:10like it's an eternity between the time

00:13:12when the first row stops and the green light changes,

00:13:14but it's only a few seconds, actually.

00:13:16It seems an awfully long while to me.

00:13:19And I'm always getting quite worried

00:13:20that any hold up makes the ones on the front

00:13:25either edgy or nervous

00:13:26or the engine's overheat or something.

00:13:28So we usually try and have a talk to the drivers

00:13:31in the driver's briefing and remind them

00:13:33about closing up as much as they can

00:13:35around the last two or three bends.

00:13:37Do they somewhat intimidate you

00:13:39when they start to roll a little bit?

00:13:40You see them just edging up

00:13:42and you're thinking, my Lord,

00:13:43what are they trying to do to Derek up there on the stand?

00:13:46No, no, basically they're very good.

00:13:48I mean, since I started doing this job,

00:13:51I think we've made some mental link

00:13:56somewhere along the line.

00:13:57They're very good.

00:13:58They're very good indeed.

00:13:59It's really some of the back ones

00:14:02and some of the new boys

00:14:03that give us a bit of a worry from time to time.

00:14:05And when the green light finally comes on,

00:14:07do you turn and watch the first few rows

00:14:09or do you keep watching all the way down the grid?

00:14:11To be honest, I'm not quite sure

00:14:14because usually on the starters podium,

00:14:17you're just showered with bits of grit

00:14:20and tire and everything.

00:14:22So it takes you sort of a couple of seconds

00:14:24to shake your head.

00:14:25Then usually you look down the road

00:14:26to make sure they've got through the first corner.

00:14:29Then I hang on for two laps

00:14:30just to make sure that the race is running.

00:14:32You actually release a few thousand horsepower here,

00:14:35don't you?

00:14:36It's a lot.

00:14:38I mean, the way we're going in a year or two's time,

00:14:41we could be talking of 20,000 horsepower.

00:14:44Well, when the light turns to green here,

00:14:47or as Eddie Cheever says,

00:14:48when the red goes off,

00:14:50the cars will be accelerating from zero to 60

00:14:52in under three seconds,

00:14:54up to 125 miles an hour in 6.4 seconds.

00:14:58And the start of the Portuguese Grand Prix will be on.

00:15:01For the qualifying story here on this grid,

00:15:04Simon Taylor will return after these short messages.

00:15:07Stay with us.

00:15:18This has been a long and exhausting and exciting

00:15:211984 Grand Prix season.

00:15:23It began eight months ago in South America,

00:15:27in Rio de Janeiro.

00:15:29It moved across to South Africa.

00:15:31It went all around Europe.

00:15:33It went to North America,

00:15:34to Montreal, to Detroit, and to Dallas,

00:15:37before coming back to Europe again.

00:15:40And it's not over yet,

00:15:41because for this final 16th round here

00:15:44at the Autodromo of Estoril in Portugal,

00:15:48the World Championship will finally be decided.

00:15:51As everybody must know by now,

00:15:53this has been McLaren's season.

00:15:55They've won race after race,

00:15:58but the wins have been shared

00:15:59between Niki Lauda and Alain Prost, their two drivers,

00:16:03so that they come to this race

00:16:05just three and a half points apart.

00:16:08One man who knows that this weekend

00:16:11he will lose a championship title

00:16:13is the Brazilian Nelson Piquet.

00:16:15He was 1983's champion,

00:16:17so throughout 1984, his Brabham has carried number one

00:16:21to denote he is the reigning champion of the world.

00:16:25But he's still one of the very quickest,

00:16:27and here in Estoril,

00:16:28he scores his ninth pole position of the year,

00:16:32equaling the Ronnie Peterson and Niki Lauda record

00:16:35from the 1970s.

00:16:36So once again, number one is on pole position,

00:16:40and the McLarens have to give best to him in practice.

00:16:44After torrential rain on Friday,

00:16:46the single hour of qualifying on Saturday is all important,

00:16:50and it is a McLaren that is second quickest.

00:16:53Alain Prost does his championship hopes for Sunday

00:16:56the best possible good

00:16:57by earning a front row starting position.

00:17:00Second quickest, he will start the race

00:17:02from alongside Nelson Piquet's Brabham,

00:17:05giving him the best possible chance for victory.

00:17:09Alain, you seem incredibly relaxed.

00:17:12This is gonna be the most important start

00:17:14of your life tomorrow.

00:17:15You seem absolutely like it's any other Grand Prix.

00:17:18Oh, it's not like another one,

00:17:20but because maybe I'm not going to win it,

00:17:23but maybe I'm going to win the championship.

00:17:25But I'm relaxed because there's nothing to do.

00:17:29I mean, I have to win.

00:17:32I have to work much better than another race.

00:17:35And I am relaxed because I think everything

00:17:37is going to happen very well.

00:17:39Well, you had pole position today for a matter of moments,

00:17:42and then Piquet took it away from you.

00:17:44Are you pleased with the way the car is running

00:17:46at the moment?

00:17:47In qualifying, I was not so happy about the car,

00:17:49but I think with full of fuel, I think it should be okay.

00:17:53And you're all set up for race settings tomorrow.

00:17:55Do you have anything else to check out?

00:17:57No, I did a good job today because I had two cars,

00:18:00I had the T-car also for me.

00:18:02And I know exactly what I'm going to do tomorrow.

00:18:06So it should be okay.

00:18:07No problem.

00:18:08Have you talked to the drivers around you at all?

00:18:10I mean, they're not even involved in the points.

00:18:13Have you worked out any tactics

00:18:15with Piquet or Senna or anyone?

00:18:17No, I don't want to do that.

00:18:18I want to win the championship by myself.

00:18:22Let me ask you, the press all around here,

00:18:25everyone's talking about you being

00:18:27the first French champion.

00:18:29Again, just like last year.

00:18:31How are you withstanding that tremendous pressure?

00:18:34I mean, for sure, I'm a driver who get more pressure

00:18:37than for the last four years.

00:18:38So at the moment, I used to work like that.

00:18:42And it's not too bad.

00:18:44I mean, I think it's better to get all the press around you

00:18:47because I get a good publicity.

00:18:49So I'm waiting for my title

00:18:50and we'll see what is going to happen after.

00:18:53For sure, I will get a good job, big work,

00:18:57but I will do it anyway.

00:18:58Well, you've certainly come to this track

00:18:59and done a good job here.

00:19:02I mean, you're in second position

00:19:03and your teammate and rival is down in 10th.

00:19:06You must be pleased with your performance in that respect.

00:19:10Yeah, the performance today is good for me,

00:19:12not so good for Niki because he start very far away from me

00:19:17and it's very difficult track to pass.

00:19:19So it will be very hard work for him.

00:19:21But I need to be a bit more lucky.

00:19:24Are you going to go for the points or the victory?

00:19:26I'm going to go for the championship.

00:19:28I will see what's going to happen.

00:19:29But if I can win the rest, I will try to do it.

00:19:31It will be fantastic.

00:19:33Alain Prost, of course,

00:19:34very much part of the Formula One establishment now.

00:19:37It's easy to forget that when he burst on the scene in 1980,

00:19:42everybody was talking about this new young talent.

00:19:45And in 1984, everybody's been talking

00:19:47about this new young talent.

00:19:49The young man from Brazil, Ayrton Senna.

00:19:54The one rookie that has materialized

00:19:56as the top young lion of Formula One this year

00:19:58is Ayrton Senna.

00:20:00Ayrton, when you won the Formula Three championship last year,

00:20:04did you think that your rise in Formula One

00:20:07would be this successful in 84?

00:20:10No, you never know what's going to happen in the future,

00:20:12especially doing such a big jump from Formula Three

00:20:15to Formula One.

00:20:17I had a very good opportunity with Toleman this year.

00:20:20And I have learned a lot.

00:20:22And a few races we did quite well.

00:20:25Well, you've done very well.

00:20:27It's much harder for someone to come in the first year

00:20:30and to learn all the new circuits

00:20:32and new types of car, turbo, everything.

00:20:35Of course, everything is new.

00:20:37It's a lot powerful, the engine,

00:20:40the grip on the tires, the car is heavy,

00:20:43the speed is high.

00:20:44Everything is a big step.

00:20:46But having such a good opportunity

00:20:48as I had with Toleman,

00:20:50the possibilities to have some good results

00:20:53are always great.

00:20:54In fact, your results here this weekend,

00:20:56you've actually out-qualified both Lotuses.

00:21:00And that's the team that you're headed for next year.

00:21:02I mean, have you given this a second thought

00:21:04that maybe Toleman will be more competitive

00:21:06than Lotus in 85?

00:21:08The fact is that Formula One goes,

00:21:11expand technology too quick

00:21:14and you never know what's going to happen exactly.

00:21:17You never know what's going to happen

00:21:18in the following year.

00:21:20But I don't think you can judge a team by one race.

00:21:25You have to judge the car performance overall

00:21:28through the year.

00:21:29And I think Toleman will do very well next year,

00:21:33better than this year, probably.

00:21:34And Lotus as well.

00:21:36So there is nothing to think about.

00:21:39Eytan, you may be separating

00:21:42the two potential world champions

00:21:44on the track this afternoon.

00:21:45Possibly having Niki behind you

00:21:46and Prost in front of you

00:21:48or the other way around.

00:21:51I think it's not really my problem.

00:21:54All I have to do is to try my best

00:21:57to have the best result as possible

00:21:58with my team, Toleman,

00:22:01on the last opportunity.

00:22:03And what's happening with Prost and Lauda

00:22:05is up to them.

00:22:06I have nothing to do with that.

00:22:08Although I think the race is very long

00:22:10and a lot of things can happen.

00:22:12And if anything, they have a better equipment,

00:22:16so the problem is not in my hands.

00:22:19It's their problem.

00:22:20Eytan, there's another young lion

00:22:22who joined the team, Stefan Johansson, here.

00:22:25How do you feel he's going to take over

00:22:27your position next year?

00:22:29I think he's a good driver.

00:22:30He's learning a lot very quick.

00:22:33He will have a good car next year,

00:22:35better than this year.

00:22:36Good engine.

00:22:37And he can do a good job with Toleman.

00:22:40I think he will be very good next year.

00:22:43So, Eytan Senna, a personal best

00:22:45of third on the grid for the Portuguese Grand Prix.

00:22:48We'll have the rest of the qualifying story

00:22:50here on ESPN after this short break.

00:22:58Qualifying here at Estoril has been complicated

00:23:01by very wet weather on Friday,

00:23:03which has meant that only Saturday's one hour

00:23:05has been enough to set a quick time.

00:23:08And that gave all sorts of problems

00:23:10to Keke Rosberg in the Williams Honda.

00:23:12But amazingly, he still ended up fourth fastest.

00:23:16Keke, yesterday you gave us one great qualifying show here.

00:23:20What were the problems with the car earlier in the day?

00:23:23Well, I blew up an engine in the morning.

00:23:27And my spare car was not known to be very good.

00:23:30Or was known not to be very good.

00:23:32So I decided to wait for my race car to be ready,

00:23:36which it was about 25 minutes to go.

00:23:39Went out in it and blew up an engine

00:23:41and a top gear jumped out on the straight on a bump.

00:23:45Had to walk back to the pits and then take the spare car,

00:23:48which was completely changed

00:23:50and therefore a fairly unknown quality.

00:23:53And just was lucky to get a reasonable lap out of it.

00:23:58But unfortunately I had a little bit traffic on that lap.

00:24:01It would have been interesting if it was a clean lap.

00:24:03When you see the minutes clicking away

00:24:06of a qualifying hour like that,

00:24:08it has to give an awful lot of extra pressure.

00:24:10Everyone else is out there

00:24:11and you're standing here in the pits.

00:24:13Yeah, sure.

00:24:14But I mean, what are you going to do?

00:24:15That's mother racing.

00:24:16Can't change it.

00:24:17When you went out for that lap,

00:24:18did you think you were going to be able to grab fourth place?

00:24:20I mean, we all felt, okay, Keke's on the track.

00:24:23He's going to get in the race.

00:24:2410th, 12th, and there it comes around, fourth place.

00:24:27See, the problem is that you only have one shot at it

00:24:30and you have to qualify.

00:24:31So you can't run maximum boost

00:24:33because if you blow up the engine, you've had it.

00:24:35So we run a conservative boost.

00:24:38And it's just one of those things.

00:24:42You've got to do it on that lap.

00:24:44And you say there was a little traffic,

00:24:45that you went all the way off circuit

00:24:47and cross up the old Keke Rosberg's

00:24:51former Atlantic USA style returns to Formula One.

00:24:55That must've been quite a thrill

00:24:56to maintain your momentum there.

00:24:58I didn't go off the track, but I had to leave the line.

00:25:01Especially here, there's only one clean line

00:25:03and the rest is all sand and dust.

00:25:05And I had Nelson going slowly on the clean line

00:25:08in the last long, fast corner.

00:25:11And I just, you know, there was no other option

00:25:13than to slow down and overtake him on the dusty side

00:25:17and then try to get back to the clean line

00:25:18as soon as possible.

00:25:20Yeah, it's not one of those things you'd like to repeat.

00:25:23How about repeating a victory as the last race for the year?

00:25:28It's about the last chance this year, isn't it?

00:25:30Now, I don't know.

00:25:31We'll see how the engines work.

00:25:33Keke, you might be the person separating

00:25:36the two potential world champions

00:25:38from the points they need to secure the crown.

00:25:42How do you approach something like that?

00:25:44Just drive your own race?

00:25:45For me, it's the Portuguese Grand Prix

00:25:47and I've got nothing to do with the world champions.

00:25:50I'll drive my own race and they've got to sort out theirs.

00:25:53Well, the way they've been sorting it out

00:25:55as far as qualifying is concerned

00:25:57is Alain Prost is on the front row of the grid,

00:25:59but Niki Lauda has mechanical problems

00:26:02in the one dry hour of qualifying on Saturday.

00:26:05Friday's wet times don't count

00:26:07and so Lauda has to come in for more attention

00:26:10as his car doesn't give full power.

00:26:14After agonising time in the pits,

00:26:15he ends up at first, we believe,

00:26:17with 10th position on the grid

00:26:19and then when the times are finally sorted out,

00:26:21it's 11th position on the grid.

00:26:23He's going to start right back on the sixth row.

00:26:26With Alain Prost on the front,

00:26:28that could play a very major role

00:26:30in the most decisive race of 1984.

00:26:34Bernie, 1984 will have to go down

00:26:36as one of the most peaceful, competitive

00:26:39and safe Grand Prix years in a long time.

00:26:42Yeah, I suppose it, we've got no complaints really.

00:26:45We've been, I can't say we've been lucky

00:26:47because that's how it should be.

00:26:48It's unlucky when something else happens.

00:26:50Takes a lot of work to be that lucky.

00:26:53Takes a lot of luck.

00:26:55Bernie, looking forward to the schedule for next year,

00:26:58it's still quite a young list,

00:26:59but New York is back on again.

00:27:01We're all happy to see that in the States.

00:27:03I hope it takes place.

00:27:04It looks like it's a few things

00:27:06that sort of cross a few T's and dot a few I's,

00:27:08but it's looking good.

00:27:10And Dallas will be continuing and Detroit.

00:27:12Yes, yes, yes, they've all applied for dates.

00:27:14So you have four Grand Prix in North America now.

00:27:16Right, right.

00:27:17Are you looking at the North American market

00:27:19in a more intense way now?

00:27:22Not really, I think it's heartening

00:27:24to see the North American markets

00:27:25looking at us in a more intense way.

00:27:27They can see that we're a good way

00:27:30to market their products.

00:27:31Also outside of America for international companies,

00:27:34they get a lot of exposure,

00:27:35which they just can't get in any other way.

00:27:38It seems like the CART-FOCA conflict has come to an end

00:27:41and people have sorted you two out.

00:27:43Well, it wasn't ever a conflict.

00:27:45I mean, as I've always tried to point out,

00:27:47CART is a very, very good domestic formula.

00:27:49And it's domestic, we're a more international

00:27:51or worldwide sort of show, if you like.

00:27:55Well, speaking of worldwide shows,

00:27:57the Monte Carlo Grand Prix is one of the biggest ever.

00:27:59And at the moment, it's not on the schedule.

00:28:02A lot of Americans have been watching that on ABC for years.

00:28:05What's the story on that?

00:28:08Well, there's no story at the moment.

00:28:09It just is that they seem to be

00:28:11having some difficult to comply with the regulations

00:28:13that all world championship events have to comply with.

00:28:17And what regulation in specific?

00:28:19That the television rights are vested in the FISA

00:28:22and administered by FOCA.

00:28:25A little bit more personally,

00:28:26Grabham had a very good year.

00:28:28So many pole positions, but the race has been another story.

00:28:32How do you feel your team is going to improve

00:28:35over what we call the off season now?

00:28:38Well, we can't say we've had bad luck.

00:28:40It's just been things have gone wrong.

00:28:42Simple as that.

00:28:43We've been competitive.

00:28:43We've led, I think, 10 or 12 races or something,

00:28:46as you say, nine pole positions.

00:28:48We just haven't got the job done.

00:28:50And Nelson has signed, Nelson Piquet.

00:28:52Yeah.

00:28:53And the second seat?

00:28:54Don't know at the moment.

00:28:56Bernie, it's been a great year and congratulations on it.

00:29:00And we look forward to another season

00:29:01led by FOCA and Bernie Eccleston.

00:29:03Thanks a lot.

00:29:04And I hope you've done a super job for us with ESPN.

00:29:07And I hope all the viewers in ESPN

00:29:08have been happy with what they've seen.

00:29:10Well, you've still got one more race to see.

00:29:12The deciding race in the 1984 championship,

00:29:16the Portuguese Grand Prix.

00:29:17Stay with us.

00:29:19Race day dawns at Estoril, cool, clear, bright, and dry.

00:29:24And mercifully, there's no sign of the torrential rain

00:29:28which almost washed out half of practice.

00:29:3170 laps, 27 cars on the grid for this final round of the year.

00:29:36Nelson Piquet on pole position, Alain Prost on the front row,

00:29:40and a huge Portuguese crowd come to see

00:29:43whether the Portuguese Grand Prix is a real thing.

00:29:47The Portuguese crowd come to see whether Niki Lauda,

00:29:50everybody's hero, is going to be able to carve his way up

00:29:53from that 11th position on the grid up into second place.

00:29:57If Alain Prost wins the race,

00:29:59Niki Lauda has to finish second to be champion.

00:30:03If he finishes third or lower, then Prost is champion.

00:30:06But Prost knows that his best bet

00:30:08is to make sure of that victory.

00:30:11And with Nelson Piquet alongside him on the grid,

00:30:13wanting to end his championship year with a win,

00:30:16that's going to be a tall order.

00:30:18Here's Piquet with the Brabham, his ninth pole position this year,

00:30:22a tremendous performance, and he still has a chance

00:30:25of taking third place in the championship,

00:30:27or as he would say, first place in the non-McLaren championship.

00:30:32But Alain Prost wants the real championship.

00:30:35Currently second, 62.5 points,

00:30:373.5 points behind Niki Lauda,

00:30:40and he's already won six Grand Prixs this year.

00:30:43Ayrton Senna,

00:30:45a personal best of third fastest in qualifying

00:30:48in his last race for Toleman,

00:30:50because he goes to Lotus next year.

00:30:52A very fast driver,

00:30:54still a little bit wild in the opening laps,

00:30:57and a driver who's always worth watching.

00:30:59Keke Rosberg, the man who tries as hard as anybody,

00:31:02regardless of the conditions,

00:31:04and he's fourth on the grid with the Williams Honda,

00:31:07hoping to repeat his Dallas win.

00:31:09Elio De Angelis, the Italian,

00:31:11fourth quickest in practice with the Lotus,

00:31:13the most consistent driver of the year in terms of finishes,

00:31:17still third in the championship,

00:31:18although four drivers are now snapping at his heels.

00:31:22And his teammate for the last time,

00:31:24Nigel Mansell, moving on from Lotus to Williams

00:31:27at the end of this season,

00:31:28and still looking for his first Grand Prix win.

00:31:32So as the field move off on their final warm-up lap,

00:31:35let's look down the rest of the grid.

00:31:36On the fourth row, Tom Bey's Renault

00:31:38and Michele Alboreto's Ferrari.

00:31:40On the fifth row, Derek Warwick's Renault

00:31:42and Stefania Hansen's Toleman.

00:31:44On row six, Niki Lauda.

00:31:46There he is, down in 11th place on the grid,

00:31:49still leading the championship at this point.

00:31:51He's with Riccardo Petrezzi's Alfa Romeo.

00:31:54Row seven, a newcomer, Philippe Streiff,

00:31:56the Frenchman driving the third Renault in the race.

00:31:59He's with Eddie Cheever in the other Alfa Romeo.

00:32:02Row eight, Jacques Lafitte's Williams Honda,

00:32:05Marc Surer, the Swiss, with the Arrows.

00:32:07René Arnoux in the Ferrari

00:32:09and Thierry Boutsen in the other Arrows are on row nine.

00:32:12Row ten, a new face in Abraham, Manfred Winkelhock,

00:32:15because Theo Farbis had to fly home to Italy

00:32:18following the death of his father.

00:32:20And with Winkelhock on the tenth row,

00:32:22De Cesaris in the Ligier.

00:32:24The other Ligier just behind, that's François Reynaud,

00:32:26with Pier Carlo Ghinzani's Osella.

00:32:29Then on row 12, Gerhard Berger in the ATS,

00:32:32Joe Gartner in the other Osella.

00:32:34Row 13, Mauro Baldi's spirit heart,

00:32:36Jonathan Palmer in the Skol Bandit Ram.

00:32:39And the 27th starter, all on his own at the back,

00:32:42the other Skol Bandit Ram of the Frenchman, Philippe Alliot.

00:32:46Well, you've heard Eddie Cheever describing

00:32:48just how important the start of a Grand Prix is.

00:32:52This could make or break a driver's performance

00:32:54for the entire race.

00:32:55Alain Prost, desperate to make a good start.

00:32:58Nelson Piquet, desperate to go out of the season with a win.

00:33:02Behind him, Ayrton Senna with his best ever grid position,

00:33:05his best ever chance of a race win.

00:33:08And Keke Rosberg, who's had so many problems this year,

00:33:11but one win.

00:33:13It's when the red light goes out, they're going to go.

00:33:17There's the red, there's the green.

00:33:18They're away, Senna makes a wonderful start,

00:33:21tries to go between the two cars in the front row.

00:33:23Rosberg on the outside, almost on the grass.

00:33:25Piquet is overwhelmed.

00:33:27Prost is up there with the McLaren,

00:33:28but into the lead goes Keke Rosberg in the Williams,

00:33:31and I think Nigel Manson is up there in the Lotus with him.

00:33:34Niki Lauda down there in the traffic.

00:33:37Well done, but he's got away cleanly.

00:33:39And it is indeed Keke Rosberg in the Williams

00:33:41who leads Rosberg into Turn 3.

00:33:45On his tail, it's Nigel Manson as Rosberg swings wide,

00:33:49going into the left-hander after Turn 3.

00:33:50Prost is third, Piquet fourth, Senna fifth,

00:33:53Alboreto sixth, then the two Renaults coming through.

00:33:56There are a glimpse of Niki Lauda

00:33:58trying to work his way through this traffic,

00:34:00as he will want to do with the two Skull Bandit hearts

00:34:03going round at the back of the field.

00:34:05But Rosberg is at the front.

00:34:07Rosberg leads from Manson, Prost is third.

00:34:10Fourth is Piquet, then it's Senna,

00:34:13then Alboreto's Ferrari,

00:34:15and up there also, Elio de Angelis is sixth.

00:34:18There's a glimpse of Niki Lauda once more,

00:34:20stuck down there behind the Alfa Romeos.

00:34:22Niki Lauda is in fact now in 11th place,

00:34:25and Rosberg leading the Lotus with Prost in third place.

00:34:28Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet,

00:34:31therefore the two men from the front row,

00:34:33overwhelmed by a man from row two and a man from row three.

00:34:37And Piquet spins, a glimpse there of Nelson Piquet's Brahmham

00:34:41travelling backwards.

00:34:42Nelson Piquet from fourth place, off the track.

00:34:45We're seeing it again.

00:34:46The car spins on a right-hander,

00:34:49goes broadside across the road,

00:34:51rubber smoke blooming from the back wheels.

00:34:54Piquet is off, and the race goes on.

00:34:57Stay with us for more Portuguese Grand Prix action

00:35:01after these messages.

00:35:08Still leading the Portuguese Grand Prix,

00:35:11Keke Rosberg in the Williams, still in second place,

00:35:14Nigel Mansell in the Lotus,

00:35:15but Alain Prost charging in third place,

00:35:18and Niki Lauda charging now in tenth place.

00:35:21He's overtaken one of the Alfa Romeos,

00:35:24he's got the other one just ahead of him,

00:35:26and there is the new second-place man,

00:35:28because Alain Prost has gone ahead of Nigel Mansell's Lotus.

00:35:32Alain Prost, the man who desperately wants to win this race,

00:35:35there is Nelson Piquet at the back of the field.

00:35:38After his spin, there's Keke Rosberg at the front in the Williams,

00:35:42and he no longer has a black and gold Lotus in his mirrors,

00:35:45he's now got a red and white McLaren,

00:35:47and I think very soon Alain Prost will be starting to close

00:35:52and starting to put the pressure on the Williams Honda

00:35:54of the Finnish driver Keke Rosberg.

00:35:57Nigel Mansell, still there in third place.

00:35:59In fourth place now, it's Ayrton Senna,

00:36:03over the start-finish line and down the long straight

00:36:05up to 185 miles an hour over these bumps

00:36:08goes the Williams Honda.

00:36:11Down that long chute, hitting the brakes,

00:36:13now down into fourth gear,

00:36:16there's Prost in second place,

00:36:17and indeed he is closing on the leading Williams Honda.

00:36:21Alain Prost must win this race

00:36:23to ensure that he is doing everything

00:36:26to keep his championship title hopes alive.

00:36:28And remember, even if he wins,

00:36:30if Niki Lauda can come through into second place,

00:36:33then Lauda can still snatch the championship from him.

00:36:36But at the moment, Lauda well down the field,

00:36:38there is Senna in fourth place,

00:36:39Alboreto fifth, De Angelis sixth,

00:36:42Derek Warwick seventh, Patrick Tambay eighth,

00:36:45and Lauda's made up another place,

00:36:46he's now tenth behind Stefania Hansen's Toleman,

00:36:49he's passed Eddie Cheever in the other Alfa Romeos,

00:36:52so both the Alfa Romeos passed,

00:36:54and Lauda now has Stefania Hansen's Toleman

00:36:57as the next car to pass.

00:36:58And here's the battle for the lead,

00:36:59and indeed Alain Prost has closed the gap

00:37:02just a little bit on the Williams Honda,

00:37:05puffing flame from its exhausts

00:37:07as Keki Rosberg goes down through the gearbox,

00:37:09accelerating up into the long, fast right-hander.

00:37:15There's somebody off, that's Philippe Alliot,

00:37:16the Frenchman with the Skull Bandit,

00:37:19the 27th starter, his race hasn't lasted long.

00:37:22Philippe Alliot parks the Skull Bandit ram,

00:37:24and Alain Prost motors on his way,

00:37:27trying to close, and indeed closing,

00:37:29the gap between himself and the leader.

00:37:31They're now on the long start finish straight,

00:37:32and this is where Prost can use the slipstream

00:37:35of the car in front.

00:37:37This is the fastest part of the course,

00:37:39and at the end of this long straight

00:37:41is that fourth gear right-hander turn one,

00:37:44where Prost can close up, and indeed he does close up,

00:37:47but accelerating into turn two,

00:37:50the Williams Honda pulls away just a little bit again.

00:37:53Keki Rosberg driving superbly here

00:37:55after that dramatic practice lap

00:37:57when he put himself on the second row of the grid.

00:37:59He's made the best possible use of that.

00:38:02He's leading the race, but now Prost does close up.

00:38:05Nigel Mansell not very far behind

00:38:07in third place in the notice.

00:38:09There are glimpses of Mansell

00:38:10just a couple of hundred yards behind,

00:38:13but the battle for the lead

00:38:15coming now through the back section of the course

00:38:17up to the left-hander at the end of the short straight,

00:38:21and Prost now just a length behind Rosberg.

00:38:23He's sitting pretty,

00:38:25and when they get onto the start finish section again,

00:38:27Prost will be that much closer,

00:38:30that much more able to use the slipstream tow

00:38:33from the car in front to suck himself up

00:38:36alongside the Williams Honda,

00:38:38up the hill into the right-hander

00:38:40that will lead them under the Parmalat Bridge

00:38:42into the right and left behind the pits,

00:38:46and again, Prost about a length behind in the slow corners.

00:38:50Still the leader, Keki Rosberg,

00:38:53still in second place, Alain Prost,

00:38:55and Prost, who so badly wants to win this race,

00:38:58follows the Williams Honda onto the start-finish straight.

00:39:01Mansell behind, using the kerb, but well down.

00:39:04Rosberg glances in his mirrors

00:39:06as they go over the start-finish line,

00:39:08and Prost is not much closer this time.

00:39:11Yet again, it's about a length and a half,

00:39:13or two lengths even,

00:39:15in the slowest apex of the corner,

00:39:17and stretches out indeed

00:39:19as they accelerate out of the corner,

00:39:21and still Rosberg holding off Alain Prost here.

00:39:25Turn three, the tight uphill right-hander,

00:39:28turn four, the left-hander that follows it,

00:39:30Mansell still in sight in third place in Lotus number 12,

00:39:33then we get Ayrton Senna,

00:39:35Alboreto, De Angelis, Warrick.

00:39:38Eighth now is Stéphane Johansson in the other Toleman,

00:39:41he's got Patrick Tambay and Niki Lauda behind him,

00:39:43so Lauda still tenth ahead of the two Alfa Romeos.

00:39:47McLaren second and tenth,

00:39:49both the McLaren drivers trying to move up,

00:39:51this one trying to do exactly that,

00:39:52that's Alain Prost battling for the lead.

00:39:54Lots of action still to come in the Portuguese Grand Prix.

00:39:57Here on ESPN.

00:40:07He's still there,

00:40:07Keki Rosberg still leads the Portuguese Grand Prix,

00:40:10but Alain Prost really piling on the pressure,

00:40:12Prost is right in the slipstream now,

00:40:14this can be where he'll have a go.

00:40:16Prost pulls out alongside,

00:40:18but he's got the outside line,

00:40:20and Rosberg isn't going to let him do anything there.

00:40:22Rosberg takes the line for the corner,

00:40:25and Prost has to hang back to take the line into Turn 2.

00:40:29Rosberg successfully fighting off an attack

00:40:32on the outside of Turn 1 from Alain Prost,

00:40:35but almost at once Prost is close up behind again,

00:40:39coming out of Turn 3 into Turn 4,

00:40:41and now Nigel Mansell is up there as well,

00:40:43because Prost's unsuccessful attempt to overtake

00:40:46has slowed him down.

00:40:48Rosberg shutting the door has slowed him down,

00:40:51and that has allowed Nigel Mansell to close.

00:40:53We've now got a three-car battle for the lead.

00:40:56Ayrton Senna still in fourth place,

00:40:58ahead of Michele Alboreto's Ferrari,

00:41:00but the fourth-place battle left well behind

00:41:03by this tremendous trio of Rosberg, Prost, and Mansell.

00:41:09Keki Rosberg, a man who's never ruffled by pressure,

00:41:12he's got the championship-hungry Alain Prost

00:41:15right on his tail,

00:41:16and it doesn't seem to be worrying him a bit.

00:41:18Through the twisty section,

00:41:21the Williams Honda leads the McLaren,

00:41:23and Prost gets very, very close to Rosberg there,

00:41:26has to lock up his wheels under hard braking

00:41:29to avoid ramming the back of the Williams Honda,

00:41:32but he's fought back again.

00:41:34He's right back there again,

00:41:35and they're on the start-finish straight once more,

00:41:37and Prost follows every weave that the Williams Honda makes.

00:41:41Once more, Rosberg glances in his mirror,

00:41:43and this time Prost's on the inside.

00:41:45Prost has the inside line down to Turn 1,

00:41:48but he's not quite close enough,

00:41:49the two of them weaving under intense braking

00:41:52into Turn 1,

00:41:53slowing from 185 miles an hour to about 135,

00:41:58and it didn't come off,

00:41:59and once again, Prost has to hang back

00:42:01as they go into Turn 2

00:42:02while he gathers himself for another charge.

00:42:05This is a tremendous Grand Prix battle,

00:42:07this is Grand Prix racing at its best.

00:42:10Keki Rosberg, the leader,

00:42:11Alain Prost in second place,

00:42:13Nigel Mansell in third place,

00:42:15and Prost determined to lead this race.

00:42:17There is Senna, Alboreto, de Angelis,

00:42:19Derek Warwick, Stephanie Hansen,

00:42:21and Niki Lauda.

00:42:22Lauda has gone past Patrick Tambay,

00:42:25so Lauda up to ninth.

00:42:27Niki Lauda's made up a place

00:42:29just as Alain Prost strives to take the lead,

00:42:33and Prost not as close on this lap as he was,

00:42:35but once more closes under braking

00:42:38for these sharp twists,

00:42:39and he's once more going to have to wait, I think,

00:42:42until the start-finish section,

00:42:44because that's where all the overtaking can take place.

00:42:47That's where he can get a toe

00:42:49off the back of the Williams Honda.

00:42:51Very difficult to be running this close

00:42:54to the back of another car,

00:42:55because the air is disturbed

00:42:57by the aerofoil of the car in front.

00:43:00Your front wings don't work so well,

00:43:02you haven't got so much downforce on your front wheels,

00:43:04but Prost is tucked right in behind the Williams once again

00:43:08over the start-finish line,

00:43:09and this time Prost's on the inside.

00:43:12Prost comes down the inside,

00:43:13and this time Rosberg has to let him go.

00:43:16Alain Prost leads the Portuguese Grand Prix.

00:43:19A little twitch there from Rosberg,

00:43:22who left his braking as late as he possibly could.

00:43:24We see it again in replay.

00:43:27Rosberg starts to move across to close the door,

00:43:30but Prost is already there,

00:43:32and under braking, Prost noses the McLaren ahead

00:43:35down to the apex of Turn 1.

00:43:37Alain Prost's McLaren leads,

00:43:39and immediately the Frenchman pulls away

00:43:41from Keke Rosberg,

00:43:43and now Rosberg has his mirrors full

00:43:45of Nigel Mansell's Lotus as Prost goes away,

00:43:49trying to consolidate this lead in the Portuguese Grand Prix,

00:43:53and no doubt Prost's pit signals

00:43:55will not only be telling him the gap from his position

00:44:00back to the pursuit, back to second man Keke Rosberg,

00:44:04but they will also be telling him exactly

00:44:05where Niki Lauda is,

00:44:07and Niki Lauda is currently in ninth place.

00:44:09Nigel Mansell is the new lap record holder here at Estoril,

00:44:13so Mansell still charging

00:44:15with the fastest lap of the day so far,

00:44:18and that's Marc Surer,

00:44:20the Swiss driver parking his Arrows,

00:44:22the BMW-powered Arrows of Marc Surer,

00:44:25parks Marc Surer getting out of the car,

00:44:28and look at the lead already that Alain Prost has,

00:44:31just one lap after he took the lead,

00:44:33and Mansell's going ahead too!

00:44:35No he isn't, yes he is,

00:44:36Mansell going from side to side,

00:44:38Mansell comes down the long straight,

00:44:40oh, and he's hit!

00:44:42He must have been hit there, I think they touched.

00:44:45Mansell was forced onto the grass by Rosberg,

00:44:48who simply wasn't prepared to let the man

00:44:51who will be his teammate next year come through.

00:44:54Stay tuned for more Portuguese Grand Prix action

00:44:57on ESPN after this break.

00:45:04Alain Prost still in the lead of the Portuguese Grand Prix

00:45:07here in Estoril,

00:45:09Nigel Mansell in the black and gold Lotus

00:45:11still in second place,

00:45:13and now is the time when the race starts to become

00:45:16a race among the backmarkers,

00:45:18because the faster cars have already closed up

00:45:21with the slower ones at the tail of the field,

00:45:24and as Nigel Mansell presses on on his way in second place,

00:45:28he's got in front of him Joe Gartner's Osella to be lapped,

00:45:32then Mauro Baldi's Spirit to be lapped,

00:45:35both of those cars have already been lapped

00:45:37by the leader Alain Prost,

00:45:39and here's a man who's trying to do some overtaking

00:45:41and so far not having very much luck

00:45:43because Niki Lauda still eighth.

00:45:46Keki Rosberg has slipped down to fourth place,

00:45:50so Ayrton Senna has gone ahead into third place,

00:45:53Rosberg is fourth,

00:45:55Alvareto, Stephan Johansson and Niki Lauda follow,

00:46:00and Elio de Angelis has also slipped back,

00:46:03so that in fact does promote Niki Lauda into seventh place,

00:46:07several changes of position there

00:46:09with Ayrton Senna moving out of the traffic,

00:46:12Ayrton Senna moving up into third place,

00:46:14Keki Rosberg slipping down into the grips

00:46:17of Michele Alvareto in the red Ferrari number 27,

00:46:21so Rosberg is fourth,

00:46:22Alvareto is still fifth,

00:46:24sixth now Stephan Johansson,

00:46:27seventh now Niki Lauda,

00:46:29and eighth Elio de Angelis

00:46:32who must have lost some time somewhere,

00:46:33he must have missed a gear or made a mistake,

00:46:36slid wide perhaps on one of the corners,

00:46:38very, very slippery here,

00:46:39we've already had Derek Warwick spinning off the circuit,

00:46:42there's a lot of dust on the track,

00:46:45blown by this stiff breeze

00:46:47off the still unmade apexes of the corners,

00:46:51nevertheless it has to be said

00:46:52that the Portuguese authorities have done a tremendous job

00:46:55of updating the Estoril circuit

00:46:57to make it suitable for modern Grand Prix racing,

00:47:00and here's the evidence of the good work they've put in

00:47:03the tremendous race that we're having here today,

00:47:05there's Stephan Johansson with Niki Lauda

00:47:07still on his tail,

00:47:09still those two cars, sixth and seventh,

00:47:11still Niki Lauda not in the championship points yet,

00:47:14meanwhile fourth man Rosberg and the Williams

00:47:17coming up to lap his own teammate Jacques Lafitte

00:47:19going past the Williams there,

00:47:21Alvareto, Stephan Johansson and Lauda following,

00:47:23Lauda locked a wheel there,

00:47:24Lauda trying to muscle his way

00:47:27past Stephan Johansson at that point

00:47:29as they came up to lap Lafitte,

00:47:32very often when you're lapping a slower car

00:47:34that's the time when you can perhaps

00:47:36gain a little bit of an advantage over your rival,

00:47:39but Johansson wasn't having any of that,

00:47:42Stephan Johansson, a comparative newcomer of course

00:47:44to Grand Prix racing,

00:47:45joined the Toleman team at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza,

00:47:50but doing a sterling job

00:47:52and staying comfortably in front of Niki Lauda,

00:47:56perhaps not comfortably,

00:47:57perhaps comfortably is the wrong word,

00:47:59but certainly remaining unlucky

00:48:01by the presence of the most experienced man

00:48:04in Grand Prix racing,

00:48:05the man who's won the most Grand Prixs

00:48:07currently in Grand Prix racing,

00:48:09right on his toe.

00:48:12There's Lauda closing once more on Johansson

00:48:16and a glimpse of Senna, Rosberg, Alvareto

00:48:20and Streiff has spun,

00:48:22Philipp Streiff in the third Renault, number 33,

00:48:26that's his first Grand Prix

00:48:28and he's spun sideways across the road to Hultberg

00:48:35and as Streiff gets some help from the marshals,

00:48:38they're pushing him out of the mud

00:48:41and the dust and the gravel,

00:48:42that's going to put more dust and mud on the road in fact,

00:48:46but Streiff back on the course

00:48:48after a little help from the marshals,

00:48:50drives out of the way as the battle goes through,

00:48:53Alvareto, Stephan Johansson and Lauda

00:48:55squeezing through there,

00:48:57Alvareto now being caught by Johansson

00:49:00because Rosberg has pulled away from the Ferrari

00:49:03just a little bit.

00:49:04Once again, Lauda looks at the inside

00:49:06as Johansson breaks for that left-hander,

00:49:10but doesn't seem to be anything

00:49:12that Lauda can do about it

00:49:13and still Lauda has to follow the Toleman through.

00:49:17Still Alain Prost, the leader,

00:49:19still Nigel Manson in the Lotus in second place,

00:49:22Ayrton Senna in the Toleman third,

00:49:25Keke Rosberg in the Williams fourth,

00:49:27Michele Alvareto leading this little group in fifth place

00:49:30ahead of Stephan Johansson in the Toleman

00:49:33and Niki Lauda in the McLaren, who is seventh.

00:49:36In eighth place now, it's Patrick Tambay

00:49:39because the other Lotus of Elio de Angelis

00:49:43has slipped back into ninth place.

00:49:45Tenth is Eddie Cheever, the American in the Alfa Romeo.

00:49:48The battle's going on all the way down the field

00:49:50as Lauda's still attacking.

00:49:52It's a classic Grand Prix here at Estoril.

00:49:55We'll have more action for you here on ESPN

00:49:58after the break.

00:50:04And here at Estoril, Niki Lauda has begun to make his move

00:50:08because at last the Austrian has gone past Stephan Johansson.

00:50:12This is how he did it.

00:50:14Finally, as they came up to lap one of the back markers,

00:50:17one of the Osellas, Lauda slotted ahead

00:50:20and went so tight in front of Stephan Johansson's Toleman

00:50:23that the Toleman actually hit the back of the McLaren

00:50:28and I think that may have damaged Stephan Johansson's

00:50:31front wing, the front aerofoil on the Toleman.

00:50:35Nevertheless, Lauda is through.

00:50:37Lauda is now in the championship points, he's sixth.

00:50:40Remember, Alain Prost is first.

00:50:42You get nine points for a win,

00:50:44you only get one point for sixth.

00:50:47And that will mean that the three and a half points lead

00:50:51that Niki Lauda has will be wiped out,

00:50:53but he's made up another place.

00:50:54He's passed Michele Alboreto.

00:50:56So now fifth is Lauda.

00:50:57Suddenly Lauda is really putting on the pressure.

00:51:01In one lap, he's gone from seventh to sixth.

00:51:03This is how he passed the Alboreto Ferrari

00:51:06into fifth place.

00:51:07So two points for fifth.

00:51:09That's taken the lead of Prost in the championship overall

00:51:13down to three and a half points.

00:51:14And another moment for Derek Warwick.

00:51:17Derek Warwick having his second departure

00:51:20from the track of the day.

00:51:21He's being pursued by the fire extinguisher Toting-Marshalls.

00:51:25I don't think he wants that.

00:51:26He's just gone straight on down the escape road,

00:51:29but that's the same place, in fact,

00:51:31where he did it last time.

00:51:33I think he's going to rejoin the race.

00:51:34There's Mansell in second place.

00:51:36Nigel Mansell is still second with the Lotus.

00:51:39Alain Prost, of course, still leading in the McLaren.

00:51:42Ayrton Senna is still third.

00:51:44And there is Stefania Hanson in the pits in the other Toleman.

00:51:47And indeed, they are changing the nose section of that car.

00:51:52And clearly, he crunched it on the back wheel

00:51:55of Niki Lauda's McLaren.

00:51:57When Niki finally scrambled past into sixth place.

00:52:01Niki Lauda now fifth.

00:52:02Stefania Hanson now slipping down the order

00:52:05because he's in the pits.

00:52:06And this is the leader, Alain Prost,

00:52:09coming up to lap one of the Ligiers.

00:52:10And here's Lauda making up another place.

00:52:12Lauda goes to fourth.

00:52:14Niki Lauda comes from nowhere into Keke Rosberg's mirrors

00:52:19and effortlessly breaks him at the end of the long straight.

00:52:23So in two laps, Niki Lauda has gone from seventh to fourth,

00:52:27driving like a real world champion.

00:52:30The man who won the championship in 1975,

00:52:33who won it again in 1977,

00:52:36who missed winning it by one point in 1976,

00:52:40despite missing several races after his near-fatal accident.

00:52:43Now, there's the gap.

00:52:4542.7 seconds from Prost to Lauda.

00:52:48That's a very long way.

00:52:50But remember, the real test for Lauda

00:52:53is not whether he can catch Prost.

00:52:55It's whether he can catch the second-placed man,

00:52:59Nigel Mansell.

00:53:00Because if Lauda can finish second,

00:53:03even if Prost wins,

00:53:05that is enough for Lauda to win the championship.

00:53:07But here's Prost pressing on.

00:53:09Alain Prost now up with Manfred Winkelhock

00:53:11in the second of the Brabhams.

00:53:14Winkelhock is lapped by the leader, Alain Prost.

00:53:17Winkelhock currently running well down the field

00:53:20in tenth place.

00:53:23And now Ayrton Senna is the next to be attacked.

00:53:27Ayrton Senna being attacked and being passed by Niki Lauda.

00:53:31There seems to be no end to the speed of Niki Lauda,

00:53:34who suddenly has come storming up the field

00:53:38from seventh to sixth, to fifth, to fourth.

00:53:41And now Niki Lauda goes into third place,

00:53:44past Ayrton Senna.

00:53:46Keke Rosberg already vanquished.

00:53:48Ayrton Senna in the Toleman is now vanquished by Niki Lauda,

00:53:51and is putting on the most tremendous spurt.

00:53:54And that has taken him to third place.

00:53:56And we've got another car spinning off the track.

00:53:58It's the Ferrari of Michele Alboreto,

00:54:00which comes to a halt sideways across the track.

00:54:03Alboreto takes reverse gear,

00:54:06does a three-point turn in the middle of the track,

00:54:08all the rest of the cars squeezing by.

00:54:11Nigel Mansell in second place,

00:54:13still standing between third man Niki Lauda

00:54:15and the championship.

00:54:16Prost still leads as we go into the closing stages

00:54:19of the Portuguese Grand Prix.

00:54:21We'll be back after these messages.

00:54:28And Nigel Mansell's off!

00:54:29Nigel Mansell spins off the track.

00:54:32The man in second place,

00:54:33the man standing between Niki Lauda

00:54:35and the championship title,

00:54:37spins off on the dusty long right-hander here at Estoril.

00:54:41He rejoins the track,

00:54:43but that means that Niki Lauda's very, very close indeed.

00:54:46Here we see him doing it again.

00:54:48And I think there's a braking problem with that car

00:54:51because if you look at the front right-hand wheel,

00:54:53there is smoke.

00:54:54Among all that dust, there is white smoke

00:54:56coming off Nigel Mansell's front right-hand wheel.

00:54:59Certainly, he failed to brake hard enough

00:55:02for the right-hander.

00:55:03He's gone down the escape road.

00:55:05He's rejoined the track.

00:55:06And there's the same thing happening to Derek Warwick.

00:55:09Warwick goes skating over the grass.

00:55:11More dust on the track.

00:55:13That's the third spin that Derek Warwick has had.

00:55:16But as Alain Prost crosses the start-finish line,

00:55:20Niki Lauda is now very, very close indeed to Nigel Mansell

00:55:24and very, very close indeed to the championship.

00:55:27Prost leads.

00:55:28Nigel Mansell struggling on in second place,

00:55:31but no, Lauda's done it.

00:55:32Lauda is ahead.

00:55:34And Mansell's off again!

00:55:36Once again, Nigel Mansell clearly suffering

00:55:39from faulty brakes.

00:55:40Spins now this time to a complete halt.

00:55:43That front right-hand wheel smoking badly,

00:55:46that's obviously where the problem is.

00:55:48But Niki Lauda has already gone through.

00:55:51So it's McLaren's first and second.

00:55:53Alain Prost leads.

00:55:55Niki Lauda is in second place.

00:55:57Nigel Mansell, we see that second spin again.

00:56:01And the car flicking one way then the other

00:56:03as Mansell fights for control before going up the escape road

00:56:08with his rear wheels locked.

00:56:10The car spins all the way around and goes backwards

00:56:13onto the grass.

00:56:15And once more, look for the white smoke

00:56:17coming off that front right-hand wheel.

00:56:21There you see it.

00:56:23Mansell out.

00:56:25And now Nigel Mansell is coming slowly back to the pits.

00:56:29And I think that his race must be run.

00:56:32Mansell makes his way back to the pits.

00:56:34He's in the pit lane.

00:56:35What a shame, because his final drive for Lotus

00:56:39has been a very, very great one.

00:56:41From the third row grid position,

00:56:43Mansell shaking his head there ruefully.

00:56:47There is Niki Lauda, the new second place man,

00:56:51with Stefan Johansson behind him.

00:56:53Johansson, of course, a couple of laps behind.

00:56:56But Johansson has caught up.

00:56:57And Johansson goes through.

00:57:00Now, does this mean trouble for Niki Lauda?

00:57:02Or does it simply mean that Lauda, now in second place,

00:57:06believes that he can take things a little bit more easily?

00:57:09Certainly, Alain Prost has eased up a lot in the lead.

00:57:12But Prost already will have been given the pit signals that

00:57:15tell him that his teammate and his rival

00:57:19is now up into second place.

00:57:21Lauda is second.

00:57:23And that means that if the positions remain

00:57:26the same for the rest of this race,

00:57:28Lauda is going to take the championship by one half

00:57:31of a point.

00:57:33Johansson, with his new nose cone,

00:57:35goes on his way ahead of Niki Lauda.

00:57:38But remember that he is right down now in 12th place

00:57:42after that pit stop to replace the nose section damaged

00:57:46on Niki Lauda's back wheel when Lauda overtook him

00:57:50at the end of their long battle.

00:57:52So as we go into the closing stages now of this race,

00:57:56Alain Prost, still the leader, Niki Lauda

00:57:59in a distant second place.

00:58:00But by finishing second, that's all he needs to do.

00:58:04He's got to ensure that he can remain there.

00:58:06His closest challenger, third man Ayrton Senna.

00:58:10And Senna now closing the gap a little bit on Lauda.

00:58:13Now that Lauda has eased up, there

00:58:14is Johansson ahead of him.

00:58:17There is Lauda, the second place man.

00:58:18And behind Lauda now, it's Nelson Piquet.

00:58:21And Piquet, who you'll remember had

00:58:23that spin on the very first lap of the race,

00:58:26has spent all this time working his way back up

00:58:29through the field.

00:58:30And Nelson Piquet has now put the number one Brabham

00:58:33into sixth place.

00:58:35Well, the race isn't over till the checkered flag falls.

00:58:38Now must be the time that Niki Lauda must be listening

00:58:41to his engine notes, studying his dials,

00:58:43wondering if, in the cruel way that motor racing has,

00:58:47something can still rob him of this victory.

00:58:50Meanwhile, Alain Prost, out in front,

00:58:52knows that Niki Lauda is in second place.

00:58:54Prost knows that even if he wins this race,

00:58:57he may be about to lose the world

00:58:59championship by half a point.

00:59:01But anything can still happen.

00:59:02Stay with us for the finish of the Portuguese Grand Prix

00:59:05here on ESPN.

00:59:08The closing stages of the final and significant race

00:59:13in the 1984 World Motor Racing Championship.

00:59:16And clouds of smoke from somebody

00:59:18whose engine has blown.

00:59:19Niki Lauda had to drive blind into that cloud of smoke.

00:59:23It's Piercarlo Ghinzani, the Italian, with the Osella.

00:59:27And he seems to be trying to drive the car on to the pits,

00:59:30despite the fact that the engine is almost completely shot.

00:59:33That's Patrick Osella, the Italian,

00:59:35whose engine is almost completely shot.

00:59:37That's Patrick Tambay going through.

00:59:39There is Stefania Hanson ahead of Elio de Angelis

00:59:42and the leader, Alain Prost.

00:59:45Prost starting his 69th of the 70 laps here in Portugal,

00:59:49working his way through the back markers.

00:59:51But in fact, he's now slowed right down.

00:59:54There is Piercarlo Ghinzani, who has finally

00:59:58stopped with the Osella Alfa Romeo,

01:00:00wandering around the car, looking slightly disgustedly

01:00:03at its smoking engine.

01:00:05Stefania Hanson going on up the hill.

01:00:07There's de Angelis, who has unlapped himself on Alain Prost.

01:00:11Because as I was saying, Prost, his car still apparently

01:00:14completely healthy, has not surprisingly eased up a lot

01:00:17at the end of this race.

01:00:18He's got an enormous lead.

01:00:21He's doing absolutely everything that he possibly

01:00:23can to win this World Championship.

01:00:25And that includes dominating the race,

01:00:28and now cruising gently home, preserving his car,

01:00:31preserving his tires, and of course, preserving his fuel.

01:00:35Because fuel consumption can be marginal.

01:00:37And Prost wants to make sure that he's

01:00:39going to get to the chequered flag and victory.

01:00:42And we've got Mauro Baldi going very slowly in the spirit.

01:00:45Look at his right-hand rear tire.

01:00:47It's flat, it's punctured.

01:00:49Baldi struggling home to the pits with a flat back tire.

01:00:53And Alain Prost apparently quite content to follow round

01:00:56in the wheel tracks of Emilio de Angelis.

01:00:58De Angelis, who has just unlapped himself,

01:01:00so he's now on the same lap as the leader in fifth place.

01:01:05Still fourth, it's Michele Alboreto in the Ferrari.

01:01:08Despite his two spins, he's still in fourth place.

01:01:11And he, in fact, is closing on Ayrton Senna, third man Ayrton

01:01:15Senna, who shows now no sign of closing on Niki Lauda,

01:01:19and on the contrary, is slipping back

01:01:21into the clutches of the fourth-placed Ferrari.

01:01:24Meanwhile, Alain Prost goes through turn one

01:01:27for the 70th and final time.

01:01:29Into turn two, through this low afternoon sunshine

01:01:33here in Portugal, on the brakes, down to second gear

01:01:36for the uphill turn three.

01:01:37The tight right-hander followed immediately afterwards

01:01:40by the left.

01:01:42And Prost nursing his car home, the car still

01:01:46sounding every bit as healthy as it did when he'd started.

01:01:49Prost, who came through from third place to lead the race,

01:01:53took the lead from Keke Rosberg, pulled away from everyone else.

01:01:56He's set the fastest lap of the race.

01:01:59He's driven an immaculate and perfect race.

01:02:02But nevertheless, it doesn't look

01:02:04as though it's going to be enough,

01:02:05because the incredible Niki Lauda

01:02:07has come forcing up from 11th place at the start,

01:02:11all the way up to third place behind Nigel Mansell.

01:02:14And when Nigel Mansell's brakes gave him problems

01:02:17and Mansell spun off, that was all Lauda

01:02:19needed to go into second place.

01:02:21And on this final lap, if the positions remain the same,

01:02:26if Niki Lauda can finish second behind Alain Prost,

01:02:29then Alain Prost is going to win his seventh Grand Prix

01:02:32of the year.

01:02:33That equals Jim Clark's record of numbers of wins in a season.

01:02:38But Alain Prost is still going to lose the championship

01:02:41by half a point to Niki Lauda.

01:02:43And as de Angelis comes over to start his final lap,

01:02:46the chequered flag is waiting for Alain Prost.

01:02:49Alain Prost takes the chequered flag to score, indeed,

01:02:52his seventh win.

01:02:54He's congratulated by the McLaren mechanics.

01:02:56But his heart must be heavy, because he

01:02:58hasn't got the championship.

01:03:00Once again, it slipped from his grasp in the final lap,

01:03:04because here comes Niki Lauda.

01:03:06Niki Lauda takes second place.

01:03:08Niki Lauda takes the world championship.

01:03:11And Lauda is champion for the third time in his career.

01:03:15There alongside him is the outgoing champion, Nelson Piquet.

01:03:20Lauda acknowledging Piquet's way,

01:03:22acknowledging the waves of the crowd.

01:03:24The incredible Niki Lauda does exactly

01:03:28what is required of him.

01:03:29He needed to finish second to Alain Prost

01:03:31to take the championship.

01:03:33And that's exactly what Lauda has done.

01:03:36So as Lauda acknowledges the waves

01:03:38of the cheers of the crowd, into third place is Ayrton Senna.

01:03:43There's Senna just alongside Lauda there.

01:03:46Ayrton Senna takes third place by a very narrow margin

01:03:49from the Ferrari of Michele Alboreto, who so nearly

01:03:52caught him on the line.

01:03:54Elio De Angelis is fifth for Lotus.

01:03:56Nelson Piquet, the outgoing champion,

01:03:59brings his Brabham home sixth, one lap behind the leader.

01:04:03And that fifth place for De Angelis

01:04:04means that the Italian Lotus driver does

01:04:07take third place in the world championship

01:04:10ahead of Michele Alboreto and Nelson Piquet.

01:04:14John Bisignano will be back after the break

01:04:17to talk to the race winner Alain Prost

01:04:19and the new world champion, Niki Lauda.

01:04:21Stay with us.

01:04:24Alain, you could not have done more than win the race.

01:04:27How do you feel at this moment?

01:04:28I feel not bad, because I won the race anyway.

01:04:31I mean, it's better than nothing.

01:04:32I lost the championship for half a point.

01:04:34But after all the interviews and everything,

01:04:39we are going to drink together with Niki.

01:04:41And we're going to think about next year.

01:04:43That's the best thing.

01:04:44I lost championship this year, but I

01:04:45did a fantastic season.

01:04:47I won seven races.

01:04:49I'm not very lucky, but I am more happy

01:04:51than the other drivers in Formula One at the moment,

01:04:54except Niki today.

01:04:55You got off to a great start.

01:04:57And even two thirds of the way through the race,

01:04:59you set a new track record.

01:05:01You were pushing it all through the whole event.

01:05:03I was not pushing too much.

01:05:05My car was good.

01:05:06I had to win the race anyway.

01:05:08I had to be careful about Mansell.

01:05:09We were not so far behind.

01:05:12Everything was perfect.

01:05:14Alain, how did you feel when you realized

01:05:15that Mansell was out of the race and Niki was second?

01:05:18To win a championship, you need some luck.

01:05:20And I think Niki had a little bit of luck this year.

01:05:24And I did a normal season, and Niki was a bit lucky.

01:05:27But that's a race, and that's life.

01:05:29You can do nothing about that.

01:05:30A normal season with seven wins, and Niki's only five.

01:05:34Yeah, I mean, the last four years,

01:05:36I won maximum races compared to the other drivers.

01:05:40And I've never been world champion,

01:05:41so I'm a bit disappointed by that.

01:05:44But it's better than if I did not win a race.

01:05:46And I'm going to win next year.

01:05:50I didn't get a good start, because I lost two or three places.

01:05:52I was around 14th or 15th,

01:05:54and then the biggest problem was the traffic.

01:05:56Because I couldn't get by the people I thought.

01:05:59Then finally I was lying third,

01:06:0139 seconds or so behind Mansell.

01:06:0430 laps to go, so I was catching him quickly.

01:06:07But then I was stuck in traffic,

01:06:08and I lost six, seven seconds.

01:06:10And I was really trying like hell to get up to second place.

01:06:14And then everything, in the end, worked out.

01:06:17Now, at that point, did you have some doubt

01:06:19that you were going to make it into second place

01:06:21and into the championship?

01:06:24You never have a doubt.

01:06:25You always hope, and that's what I did all the race through.

01:06:27And then finally I finished second and won it.

01:06:30You said that this was one of the toughest races

01:06:32you've ever driven.

01:06:34Yeah, it was, because I was driving from the back.

01:06:36I was driving all the time flat out,

01:06:38taking chances, risks.

01:06:40I mean, it was really a hard race for me.

01:06:41But thank God it worked out.

01:06:42You've joined a very elite group of drivers

01:06:44who have become world champion three times.

01:06:47What's the next goal for you

01:06:49in international motorsports, Nicky?

01:06:51Try to win it again.

01:06:53Next year with the same team and teammate again?

01:06:55That's right.

01:06:57What do you have to say to Alain Prost at this moment,

01:07:00your teammate and compatriot all year long?

01:07:03He was the toughest guy to beat, as far as I know.

01:07:06The toughest guy, so therefore,

01:07:08this championship is the most important one for me.

01:07:11This has been John Bisignano and Simon Taylor.

01:07:14We've enjoyed bringing you this ESPN coverage

01:07:16of the Portuguese Grand Prix

01:07:18and the exciting conclusion to the 1984 F1 season.

01:07:22Thanks for being with us during this event

01:07:25and all season long.

01:07:26And a special note of gratitude to Chris Davies

01:07:29and his fine crew for the last eight months of effort.

F1 1984 - Grand Prix of Portugal

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