Alain Prost driving a Red Bull at Paul Ricard
Alain Prost got back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car for the first time in 16 years. The French champion drove the world championship-winning RB6 during an exhibition at the World Series meeting at the Paul Ricard circuit.

This weekend, the Circuit du Castellet is hosting a round of the World Series championship. On this occasion, Alain Prost, four-time Formula 1 World Champion, returned to action for a brief interlude at the wheel of a 2010 Red Bull RB6: « Ten days ago, Renault told me there was a possibility if I wanted to do it, » reports the brand ambassador of the diamond, to our colleagues at Autosport.
Alain Prost ended his F1 driving career at the end of the 1993 season after winning his fourth world championship. In 1996, he took part in tests at the wheel of a McLaren where he held a consulting role. It had been over 16 years since the Frenchman last got into the cockpit of a Formula 1 car, yet there were plenty of opportunities throughout those years.
« I had many opportunities with different teams in the past but I never wanted to do it. But recently I thought it wouldn’t be a bad thing to know what a modern Formula 1 looks like, » explains Prost, now 57 years old.
Even though it was an exhibition run, Prost still enjoyed himself behind the wheel of the car that allowed Sebastian Vettel to clinch his first World Championship title. « I know I can’t try to achieve a performance, but nevertheless, what I did here is enough to see and judge the behavior of a modern F1. It’s not so different [from my time], you just have to use the tools differently. The car is very stiff and you have to get used to it. If you don’t drive a modern car, it’s impossible to compare it with an old one. It was a great opportunity and I enjoyed the experience. »
During the winter of 2002, Niki Lauda also tried the experience of a modern F1; it was at the wheel of a Jaguar team’s single-seater, of which he was the boss at the time. Compared to my era, it is very different. Today, you keep both hands on the steering wheel, the Austrian driver had declared.