Qualifying
Elio de Angelis claimed the first pole position of the season in his Lotus - Renault from the Ferrari of Michele Alboreto in his first race for the Prancing Horse . Derek Warwick , in his first race for Renault, was 3rd on the grid with the McLaren - TAG of Alain Prost 4th, Prost returning to the team he started his career with after three seasons with Renault. Reigning World Champion (and local favourite) Nelson Piquet qualified 7th in his Brabham - BMW , while another Brazilian, a Formula One ...
Race
With only 220 litres of fuel allowed, many teams on the grid tried various ways to save fuel from evaporating in the Rio heat. McLaren covered their cars in tin foil while others such as Lotus and Renault attempted to freeze their fuel in order to actually fit more in. The Renault team also had a sophisticated (for 1984) electronic fuel monitoring system which they hoped would give them an advantage over their rivals. Alboreto got the jump at the start and led early from Warwick and de Angelis, with the McLarens of Niki Lauda 4th and Prost fighting back from a bad start. The Frenchman had bogged down at the green light with too few revs and was only 10th at the end of the first lap (Piquet also made a bad start after almost stalling at the green light and much to the agony of the crowd, was only in 23rd halfway through the first lap). Not having done a practice start in the car, during the warm-up Prost had a... Senna was the first retirement of the 1984 season when the Hart 415T in his Toleman blew its turbo on lap 8. After passing Warwick for the lead, Prost, who was in the pits for a tyre change when Lauda coasted in to retire, lost the lead back to the Englishman when he made his second stop for tyres. With 10 laps to go it looked like Warwick was headed for his first ever Grand Prix win with a 20+ second lead on the McLaren. But the lap 10 clash with Lauda had come home to roost and the Renault 's front left suspension failed, handing the lead to Prost who then easily ran out the winner by 40 seconds from... Brundle, and the Tyrrell team, would later be disqualified from the season for technical infringements. This promoted Tambay to 5th and the Arrows -Ford of Thierry Boutsen to 6th.
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Tyre | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | M | 61 |
| 2 | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Williams-Honda | G | 61 |
| 3 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Renault | G | 61 |
| 4 | 23 | Eddie Cheever | Alfa Romeo | G | 60 |
| 5 | 15 | Patrick Tambay | Renault | M | 59 |
| 6 | 18 | Thierry Boutsen | Arrows-Ford | G | 59 |
| 7 | 17 | Marc Surer | Arrows-Ford | G | 59 |
| 8 | 10 | Jonathan Palmer | RAM-Hart | P | 58 |
| DSQ | 3 | Martin Brundle | Tyrrell-Ford | G | 60 |
| Ret | 16 | Derek Warwick | Renault | M | 51 |
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Renault | 1:29.625 | 1:28.392 |
| 2 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:29.950 | 1:28.898 |
| 3 | 16 | Derek Warwick | Renault | 1:30.945 | 1:29.025 |
| 4 | 7 | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | 1:29.823 | 1:29.330 |
| 5 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Renault | 1:29.364 | 1:30.182 |
| 6 | 8 | Niki Lauda | McLaren-TAG | 1:29.951 | 1:29.854 |
| 7 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-BMW | 1:31.068 | 1:30.149 |
| 8 | 15 | Patrick Tambay | Renault | 1:30.719 | 1:30.554 |
| 9 | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Williams-Honda | 1:31.778 | 1:30.611 |
| 10 | 28 | René Arnoux | Ferrari | 1:30.832 | 1:30.695 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
Hold on to your hats! The air here in Rio is thick with anticipation, isn't it? Prost, a blur of McLaren orange, slices through the corner – that TAG 7 turbocharger screaming a defiant 680 horsepower against the Jacarepaguá asphalt. Alboreto, in the Lotus, hangs on, but the McLaren's superior chassis balance simply overwhelms him. This isn't just a race; it's a statement of dominance!
Hold on to your hats! The air here in Rio is thick with anticipation, a palpable tension you could taste – this is the dawn of a new era, isn't it? Alain Prost, seizing his second Brazilian victory, a ruthless assertion of dominance on this track. The Italian contingent – Alboreto and de Angelis – are left chasing shadows, a stark reminder of the brutal calculus of Formula 1.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The air crackles – a blue halo of smoke erupts from Prost's McLaren, a searing plume against the vibrant backdrop of Rio! A catastrophic mechanical failure, ripping through the gearbox with a sound that chills the very marrow. This is what it means to fight for supremacy, to bleed for every inch of track. The championship, a viper coiled around McLaren's neck, threatens to strike. Rosbaugh, sensing weakness, lunges – a desperate gamble! Can he capitalize on this sudden, brutal shift? The crowd roars, a wave of pure, unadulterated anticipation!
The rain, a slick, insistent grey, mirrored the tension hanging thick over the Autódromo de Jacarepaguá. Prost, however, remained an island of cool calculation, his McLaren a predatory silhouette against the deluge. A nation watched, gripped, anticipating the brutal ballet of speed and skill – this wasn't just a race, it was a coronation, a statement. Senna's arrival, a shimmering promise, felt almost… ominous. The air crackled with the knowledge that a legend was being forged, and the championship was about to be violently redefined.