Duel of Champions
It was 1984 and turbo-charged engines were soon to be used by all of the teams save Tyrrell which soldiered on with the normally-aspirated Cosworth-Ford. Fuel consumption was restricted to 220 liters with refueling stops no longer allowed. Mandated by a desire to reduce overall speeds these rules had the negative impact of turning many of the races into "economy runs". Radial tires became standard equipment for both wet and dry tires. TAG commissioned German sports car manufacturer Porsche to design and build a turbo engine for McLaren. Porsche had extensive experience with similar economy rules due to its participation in endurance racing and this translated in superior fuel economy. The engine Porsche developed was a 90 degrees V6. For aerodynamic reasons, the Porsche-typical flat engine was out of the question for being too wide.

The year started with two victories by the McLaren team with Prost the victor at Brazil while his teammate answered the challenge with a win at the Grand Prix of South Africa. The six-cylinder TAG-Porsche providing exceptional motive power. Ferrari's Alboreto took the Belgian Grand Prix run at Zolder. Monaco was a shambles for a number of teams when drivers, de Angelis (Lotus), de Cesaris (Ligier) and Cheever (Euroracing) ran out of gas before the finish line while Prost took his second victory of the year.  This race would have been quickly forgotten had it not been for two young lions Stefan Bellof and Ayrton Senna catching the established leaders in the heavy rain. While Bellof would suffer a tragic accident at Spa while attempting to pass Jacky Ickx on the outside at Eau Rouge during a Sports Car race Senna would rise to the top of Formula 1 by dint of talent and charisma.

Feeling snubbed by McLaren and Williams after what he felt were successful tests his unsatisfactory 2nd place at Monaco did little to change his perception that the racing establishment were arrayed against him. This attitude would not change away easily. The next two races oddly enough were the twin US Grands Prix at Detroit and Dallas. Nelson Piquet scored a victory in Detroit but the race in Dallas proved a near fiasco when the newly laid asphalt surface melted under the fierce sun and started to come apart. Despite the driver's strong misgivings the race was held under the orders of Bernie Ecclestone. The race actually proved quite thrilling due to a rousing duel between the Englishmen Mansell and the Finn Keke Rosberg. The race was decided when Mansell had to visit the pits for new tires. Mansell's race ended in a heap literally when he collapsed while trying to push his Lotus over the line for 5th place. Whether feigned or not it proved great theater.

The British Grand Prix was next on the schedule. The finishing order saw Lauda in first followed by Derek Walker and Senna. McLaren's lead in the constructor's race grew insurmountable with their 1-2 at the next race in Germany. Prost take honors over his teammate Lauda. While the German race was held at Hockenheim the European Grand Prix found itself at the new Nurburgring, a circuit which regrettably had nothing in common with the old course, adding a final tragic note to Lauda's near-fatal crash of a year ago. Prost qualified on pole while his teammate was nowhere to be seen in 15th spot. Prost would lead from start to finish to close the gap between himself and Lauda with 62 1/2 points to the latter's 66. The final race was at Estoril for the Portuguese Grand Prix. Prost started from the front row next to the pole winner, Piquet. At the start it was Rosberg who jumped into the lead with Mansell following him to the front. On the second lap Prost managed to pass Mansell and 7 laps later passed Rosberg into the lead. Meanwhile Lauda who started in 15th began to close on the leaders. With Prost leading Lauda had to finish second to take the championship with 18 laps to go he was still in third place well back of Mansell. Just then luck shown on the Austrian when Mansell's brakes failed causing him to spin off allowing Lauda into second place and with that the championship by 1/2 point over Prost.

For 1985 new man Ayrton Senna joined Elio de Angelis in the Lotus team replacing Mansell who moved to Williams. Alboreto lifted Ferrari's spirits after a single win season in 1984 with a pole position in the opening race in Brazil only to collide with Mansell's Williams in the first corner. Luckily the Italian was able to continue and even lead up to lap 18. A bad gear change allowed Prost into the lead where he would remain. The Portuguese Grand Prix now the second race on the calendar was run in a complete downpour. The race saw the brilliance of Senna displayed for all to see. Starting from pole he was 30 seconds in the lead after the same amount of laps. By the end he led the only other car on the same lap by 1 minute 32 seconds a new star had arrived.

Senna continued his charge at Imola challenged by Prost in a duel that would continue for the rest of their careers. Senna was just able to hold off Prost but in doing so ran out of fuel two laps from the end giving the Frenchman the victory only to be disqualified in favor of Senna's teammate de Angelis. The Belgian Grand Prix was a complete disaster when the track broke up during qualifying forces the race to be abandoned in disgrace. Saturday morning drivers stopped practice after 15 minutes, saying the track was undrivable. Lauda described it as ''driving on snow.''

For the Canadian Grand Prix the first four places were held by Lotus and Ferrari. While strong qualifying performances were beginning to be expected from Senna it must be pointed that his teammate de Angelis was rarely embarrassed by the Brazilian and more often then not showed a fair amount of speed in his own right. The race itself belonged to the Ferrari team with a 1-2 lead by Alboreto. In Detroit it was Rosberg's turn to shine while Piquet showed all that he was still a force to reckon with by taking the French Grand Prix. With Rosberg, Lauda, Mansell, Piquet, Prost, Alboreto and Senna the F1 world had seven driver's worthy of being World Champion.

The Austrian Grand Prix saw a victory by Prost as well as a retirement notice by its native son. Lauda suffering through a dismal season, qualifying well back in the pack decided that this would be his last year. Prost won again in Italy while Lauda capped his great career with a final win in Holland. Prost was now in the lead for the championship which he garnered at Brands Hatch site of that year's European Grand Prix. Besides the retirement of Lauda the end of the season also brought about the withdrawal of the Renault factory team. Having started the turbo era they were unsuccessful in winning either championship. Renault would in the future though win several titles as an engine supplier.   

To be continued ...