1984 Detroit Grand Prix

Lore & Background

The 63-lap race was won from pole position by Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet, driving a Brabham-BMW. Englishman Martin Brundle finished second in a Tyrrell-Ford, less than a second behind Piquet, before the Tyrrell team were disqualified from the championship for various alleged rule infringements. Italian Elio de Angelis was thus promoted to second in his Lotus-Renault with another Italian, Teo Fabi, third in the other Brabham-BMW.

In Their Own Story

The heat in Detroit was oppressive, shimmering off the tarmac as the grid prepared for the green light. Inside the cockpit of the silver and red MP4/2B, Niki Lauda checked his mirrors, seeing Alain Prost's nose just inches behind. The roar of the TAG turbo engines drowned out the crowd as they launched into the first chicane. For twenty laps, it was a dance of precision; one mistake meant hitting the wall and ending the race. As the final lap approached, the gap between them narrowed to mere fractions, but Lauda held his line through the hairpin, crossing the finish line just ahead of his teammate, securing another victory for the Woking giant while the American city cheered on a spectacle of speed and survival.

Reader's Guide

Qualifying saw Nelson Piquet take pole position in his Brabham-BMW, his second in succession and fourth of the season, by over 0.6 seconds from Alain Prost's McLaren-TAG. Nigel Mansell, having set the fastest time in the Friday session in his Lotus-Renault, was third, a further 0.5 seconds behind, with Michele Alboreto fourth in the Ferrari. On the third row of the grid were Mansell's teammate Elio de Angelis and Derek Warwick in the factory Renault, and on the fourth row were Ayrton Senna's Toleman-Hart and Eddie Cheever's Alfa Romeo. Completing the top ten were the second factory Renault of Patrick Tambay and the second McLaren-TAG of Niki Lauda. Piquet's teammate Teo Fabi could only manage 23rd, while Huub Rothengatter came 27th and last in the Spirit-Ford and thus failed to qualify.

Did You Know?

• The race was stopped after a first-lap crash involving multiple cars, including Nelson Piquet, Michele Alboreto, Ayrton Senna, and Marc Surer.
• Martin Brundle finished second on the road but was later disqualified along with the entire Tyrrell team for alleged rule infringements involving water injection.
• Only five drivers were classified as finishers after the disqualification and retirements; Michele Alboreto, the last retiree, did not complete 90% of the race distance.
• Nelson Piquet's victory was his second in eight days.
• The Spirit team modified their car to accommodate a naturally-aspirated Ford Cosworth DFV due to a lack of Hart turbo engines.