John Watson

British · 1973–1985
VS

Alain Prost

French · 1980–1993
As teammates — same car
Race finishesahead
5
8
Qualifyingahead
4
8
John Watson · Alain Prost
Qualifying compares starting grid position, which covers every era — it includes any grid penalties.
Race H2H
25 32
57 shared
Qualifying H2H
7 49
56 shared
Championship record
0
World titles
4
0
Runner-up
4
1
Top-3 finishes
8
P3
Best championship
P1
Finished ahead in the standings: 2 · 2
1980 P11 1981 P5 1982 P3 1983 P2
Teammate battle by season
5
7
1980
0
1
1985
Career totals
John Watson Alain Prost
Championships
0
4
Wins
5
51
Poles
2
33
Podiums
20
106
Fastest laps
0
0
Career points
169
798.5
Starts
152
202
Rate-adjusted · per start
John Watson Alain Prost
Win rate
3.3%
25.2%
Podium rate
13.2%
52.5%
Pole rate
1.3%
16.3%
Points / start
1.1
4.0
Avg grid
P11.9
P4.2
Avg finish
P11.5
P7.5
Finish rate
61.2%
73.8%
Rates reward peak form; totals reward longevity. Avg grid/finish: lower is better.
Why they retired
John Watson Alain Prost
Mechanical retirements
43
34
Crash retirements
13
17
Classified from the finishing status. Mechanical covers car failures, crash covers accidents, collisions and damage — fewer is better on both. Retirements with an unclear cause: 3 · 2
Milestones & racecraft
1973
Debut season
1980
1976 · aged 30
First win
1981 · aged 26
1977
First pole
1981
First title
1985 · aged 30
P1
Best finish
P1
+0.4
Avg places gained
-3.3
Season points trajectory
1973 1976 1979 1982 1985 1988 1991
John Watson Alain Prost
Final points each season — scoring systems changed over the eras.
Track by track
Circuit John Watson Alain Prost
W · Pod · Best W · Pod · Best
W · Pod · Best W · Pod · Best
Silverstone Circuit 1 · 1 · P1 5 · 6 · P1
John Watson 1 · 1 · P1 5 · 6 · P1 Alain Prost
Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet 0 · 1 · P2 5 · 6 · P1
John Watson 0 · 1 · P2 5 · 6 · P1 Alain Prost
Circuit Paul Ricard 0 · 1 · P3 4 · 8 · P1
John Watson 0 · 1 · P3 4 · 8 · P1 Alain Prost
Circuit de Monaco 0 · 0 · P4 4 · 6 · P1
John Watson 0 · 0 · P4 4 · 6 · P1 Alain Prost
Red Bull Ring 1 · 1 · P1 3 · 3 · P1
John Watson 1 · 1 · P1 3 · 3 · P1 Alain Prost
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza 0 · 1 · P2 3 · 5 · P1
John Watson 0 · 1 · P2 3 · 5 · P1 Alain Prost
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari 0 · 0 · P5 3 · 6 · P1
John Watson 0 · 0 · P5 3 · 6 · P1 Alain Prost
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 0 · 0 · — 2 · 7 · P1
John Watson 0 · 0 · — 2 · 7 · P1 Alain Prost
Hockenheimring 0 · 0 · P5 2 · 5 · P1
John Watson 0 · 0 · P5 2 · 5 · P1 Alain Prost
Kyalami 0 · 1 · P3 2 · 4 · P1
John Watson 0 · 1 · P3 2 · 4 · P1 Alain Prost
Circuit Park Zandvoort 0 · 1 · P3 2 · 3 · P1
John Watson 0 · 1 · P3 2 · 3 · P1 Alain Prost
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve 0 · 2 · P2 1 · 5 · P1
John Watson 0 · 2 · P2 1 · 5 · P1 Alain Prost
Detroit Street Circuit 1 · 2 · P1 0 · 3 · P2
John Watson 1 · 2 · P1 0 · 3 · P2 Alain Prost
Dijon-Prenois 0 · 2 · P2 1 · 2 · P1
John Watson 0 · 2 · P2 1 · 2 · P1 Alain Prost
Nürburgring 0 · 0 · P7 1 · 2 · P1
John Watson 0 · 0 · P7 1 · 2 · P1 Alain Prost
Zolder 1 · 1 · P1 0 · 0 · —
John Watson 1 · 1 · P1 0 · 0 · — Alain Prost
Long Beach 1 · 1 · P1 0 · 0 · P11
John Watson 1 · 1 · P1 0 · 0 · P11 Alain Prost
Autódromo José Carlos Pace 0 · 0 · P8 1 · 1 · P1
John Watson 0 · 0 · P8 1 · 1 · P1 Alain Prost
Brands Hatch 0 · 2 · P3 0 · 2 · P2
John Watson 0 · 2 · P3 0 · 2 · P2 Alain Prost
Autódromo Juan y Oscar Gálvez 0 · 1 · P3 0 · 1 · P3
John Watson 0 · 1 · P3 0 · 1 · P3 Alain Prost
Las Vegas Street Circuit 0 · 1 · P2 0 · 1 · P2
John Watson 0 · 1 · P2 0 · 1 · P2 Alain Prost
Jarama 0 · 1 · P3 0 · 0 · —
John Watson 0 · 1 · P3 0 · 0 · — Alain Prost
Watkins Glen 0 · 0 · P5 0 · 0 · —
John Watson 0 · 0 · P5 0 · 0 · — Alain Prost
Team history
John Watson
MCL
Brabham 1973–1974Team Lotus 1975Surtees 1975Penske 1975–1976Brabham 1977–1978McLaren 1979–1983McLaren 1985
Alain Prost
REN
MCL
McLaren 1980Renault 1981–1983McLaren 1984–1989Ferrari 1990–1991Williams 1993
19731993
Basis

Head-to-head counts races where both drivers were classified, compared by final position (post-penalty). Teammate section counts only seasons in the same car. Career totals mirror the source data. Data: Jolpica-F1 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).