Date August 19, 1984 | Course length 5.942 km (3.692 mi) | |
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Official name XVII Holiday Großer Preis von Osterreich Location Österreichring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria Course Permanent racing facility Distance 51 laps, 303.042 km (188.292 mi) | ||
The 1984 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Österreichring on August 19, 1984. It was the twelfth round of the 1984 Formula One season and the 400th World Championship Grand Prix held since the championship began in 1950.
Contents
McLaren's Niki Lauda took the lead in the World Championship with his 23rd career win. Second was defending champion Nelson Piquet in his Brabham-BMW, with Ferrari's Michele Alboreto completing the podium in third place.
Alain Prost, Lauda's team mate and the World Championship leader going into the race, failed to finish after spinning off on oil on lap 28. Prost had been running a close second behind Piquet at the time of his spin. Piquet came upon the oil first and managed to keep his car from sliding off despite a twitch on the oil. Prost however was having gear selection problems and hit the oil with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gear lever holding his McLaren-TAG in gear. As a result, he could not control the car and spun off into retirement. This saw Lauda move to second behind Piquet who was having tyre troubles. After taking the lead Lauda then suddenly found he could not engage a gear and it appeared his race was over as he slowed significantly while desperately trying to find a working gear. The problem proved to be temporary though and soon the McLaren was going at speed again and he went on to a 23-second win.
Another Austrian driver Gerhard Berger, who would go on to win 10 Grands Prix before retiring at the end of the 1997 season, made his Formula One debut at the Österreichring, finishing 12th and last in his ATS-BMW. The third Austrian in the race, Jo Gartner, retired after only 6 laps with engine troubles in his Osella-Alfa Romeo.
Renault, who had won the 1983 Austrian Grand Prix with Alain Prost driving, had a race to forget in 1984. Derek Warwick retired with engine trouble on lap 17 while Patrick Tambay also retired with engine drama on lap 42.
Lap leaders
First race: Alain Prost (1)
Second race: Nelson Piquet (1-39) Niki Lauda (40-51)