Nico Prost
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Nicolas "Nico" Jean Prost (born 18 August 1981) is a French professional racing driver. He most recently raced in the FIA Formula E Championship before quitting the series. Also, he was a longstanding racer in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Lotus Rebellion Racing. Furthermore, He competes in the Andros Trophy and he was a reserve driver for the now defunct Lotus F1 team. He is a son of four-time Formula One world champion Alain Prost.
Career
[edit]Early years
[edit]Born in Saint-Chamond, Loire, and despite being the oldest son of four-time Formula One World Drivers' champion Alain Prost and his wife Anne-Marie,[1] he started his career at the late age of 22 in Formula Campus. He was born 2 days after his father had competed in the 1981 Austrian Grand Prix. Like his father, Prost is a golfer, and has won numerous tournaments during his tenure at Columbia University in New York.
Formula Three
[edit]In 2006, he joined Racing Engineering to contest in the Spanish Formula Three Championship. He won one race and had six podiums, which earned him 4th place in the championship as well as the best rookie title.
In 2007, he finished third in the Spanish Formula Three Championship with 2 wins, 1 pole and 7 podiums.
Euro Formula 3000
[edit]In 2008, he joined Bull Racing and won the Euroseries 3000 championship in his first year with one win, two poles and seven podiums.[1]
A1 Grand Prix
[edit]For A1 GP season 3 (2007–2008), Nicolas was the rookie driver for Team France.
For A1 GP season 4 (2008–2009), Nicolas was still the rookie driver and topped every single rookie sessions. He was promoted to racing driver for the end of the season and showed that he had the pace to fight on top. The team issued in a statement at the end of the seasons that he should be driving the entire 2009–2010 season.
Sports car racing
[edit]24 Hours of Le Mans
[edit]In 2007, he competed with Team Oreca in a Saleen S7-R with Laurent Groppi and Jean-Philippe Belloc and finished 5th in his category.
In 2009, he raced for the first time in the LMP1 category, with Speedy Racing Team Sebah. He drove a great race, especially on Sunday morning with a stunning quadruple stint which moved the car from 8th to 5th. Unfortunately, a gearbox problem later dropped the car to 14th.
After a difficult year in 2010, where he nonetheless drove the fastest lap of rebellion cars, he had a great race in 2011. Prost and his teammates Jani and Bleekemolen finished 6th and 1st in the unofficial petrol class.
In the 80th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012, Prost and the Rebellion Racing Team got the fourth place in the LM-P1 class along with his co-drivers Neel Jani and Nick Heidfeld, their Lola B12/60 Coupe Toyota covered a total of 367 laps (3,108.123 miles), in the Circuit de la Sarthe. Prost drove the last stage of the competition.[2]
Le Mans Series
[edit]In 2009, he participated in the European Le Mans Series for Speedy Racing Team Sebah alongside Marcel Fässler and Andrea Belicchi. The trio finished 5th in the championship. Since 2010 he is racing in the European Le Mans Series for Rebellion Racing alongside Swiss racing driver Neel Jani.
FIA World Endurance Championship
[edit]
In 2012 and 2013, Prost competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Rebellion Racing in a LMP1-class Lola B12/60 Toyota. With his mate Neel Jani, they won 9 races in these two years in the LMP1 privateer category. He will race the new Rebellion R-One in the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship season. Prost has won the first four races of 2014 in the LMP1-L Category and has already clinched the title in the category.
American Le Mans Series
[edit]Prost clinched back to back victories at Petit Le Mans in 2012 and 2013. He also finished 3rd in the Sebring 12 Hours in 2013.
Andros Trophy
[edit]During the 2009–2010 winter, Prost participated to the famous Andros Trophy ice racing series in the electrical car category. He clinched the championship with 5 poles, 6 wins, and 18 podiums out of 21 races. He successfully defended his title during the 2010–2011 winter.
In 2011–2012, he joined his dad in the works Dacia team and claimed the rookie title in the main series.
Formula One
[edit]
In 2010, he drove a Renault F1 for the first time in Magny-Cours and impressed the team, beating his daily opponent by more than 2 seconds.
In 2011, he joined the gravity management structure and remained a driver for Lotus Renault F1. He drove some test sessions and straight line tests for the team, as well as some commercial roadshows.
In 2012, he remained a part of the Lotus Renault program and on 4 October 2012 it was announced that he would be testing with Lotus Renault Formula One during the young driver test at Abu Dhabi.[3]
In 2013, he was still test and development driver for Lotus. He drove the rookie test in Silverstone where he posted the absolute fastest lap among the rookies and was only three tenths behind Vettel in the Red Bull.
In 2014, he remained test and development driver for Lotus.
Formula E
[edit]
On 30 June 2014, Prost signed up for the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship with the team e.dams Renault.[4] At the first race in Beijing, Prost became the first man to achieve a pole position in Formula E. He led the race until the last lap in the last corner where he was involved in a heavy crash with Nick Heidfeld. Prost turned into Heidfeld's car when he was being challenged into the last corner, lunging Heidfeld's car into a barrier. He later apologised for the incident.[5] He was subsequently given a ten place grid penalty for the following race in Malaysia.[6] In the second race in Putrajaya, Malaysia, he took pole position again but was given a ten place grid penalty carried from the previous race. He took his first win in Miami, despite a late challenge from Scott Speed. He would end up finishing the season in 6th place in the standings. The following season would be the highlight of his Formula E career, as he had finished 3rd in the final standings of the 2015-16 Formula E championship.
Racing record
[edit]Career summary
[edit]† As Prost was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.
24 Hours of Le Mans results
[edit]| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 |  Team Oreca
|
Laurent Groppi Jean-Philippe Belloc
|
Saleen S7-R | GT1 | 337 | 10th | 5th |
| 2009 |  Speedy Racing Team Sebah Automotive
|
 Andrea Belicchi Neel Jani
|
Lola B08/60-Aston Martin | LMP1 | 342 | 14th | 12th |
| 2010 | Rebellion Racing
|
Neel Jani Marco Andretti
|
Lola B10/60-Rebellion | LMP1 | 175 | DNF | DNF |
| 2011 | Rebellion Racing
|
Neel Jani Jeroen Bleekemolen
|
Lola B10/60-Toyota | LMP1 | 338 | 6th | 6th |
| 2012 | Rebellion Racing
|
 Nick Heidfeld Neel Jani
|
Lola B12/60-Toyota | LMP1 | 367 | 4th | 4th |
| 2013 | Rebellion Racing
|
Nick Heidfeld Neel Jani
|
Lola B12/60-Toyota | LMP1 | 275 | 39th | 7th |
| 2014 | Rebellion Racing
|
Nick Heidfeld Mathias Beche
|
Rebellion R-One-Toyota | LMP1-L | 360 | 4th | 1st |
| 2015 | Rebellion Racing
|
Nick Heidfeld Mathias Beche
|
Rebellion R-One-AER | LMP1 | 330 | 23rd | 10th |
| 2016 | Rebellion Racing
|
Nick Heidfeld Nelson Piquet Jr.
|
Rebellion R-One-AER | LMP1 | 330 | 29th | 6th |
| 2017 | Vaillante Rebellion
|
Bruno Senna Julien Canal
|
Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 340 | 16th | 14th |
Le Mans Series results
[edit]| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Speedy Racing Team Sebah Automotive |
LMP1 | Lola B08/60 | Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 | CAT 7 |
SPA 8 |
ALG Ret |
NÜR 6 |
SIL 2 |
10th | 14 |
| 2010 | Rebellion Racing | LMP1 | Lola B10/60 | Rebellion (Judd) 5.5 L V10 | CAS 7 |
SPA Ret |
ALG 2 |
HUN 2 |
SIL 5 |
7th | 52 |
| 2011 | Rebellion Racing | LMP1 | Lola B10/60 | Toyota RV8KLM 3.4 L V8 | CAS 3 |
SPA 7 |
IMO 6 |
SIL Ret |
EST 3 |
3rd | 37 |
Intercontinental Le Mans Cup results
[edit]| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Rebellion Racing | LMP1 | Lola B10/60 | Toyota RV8KLM 3.4 L V8 | SEB 7 |
SPA 7 |
LEM 6 |
IMO 6 |
SIL Ret |
PET 5 |
ZHU 4 |
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
[edit]| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Rebellion Racing | LMP1 | Lola B12/60 | Toyota (RV8KLM 3.4 L V8) | SEB 17 |
SPA 5 |
LMS 3 |
SIL 6 |
SÃO 4 |
BHR 4 |
FUJ 4 |
SHA Ret |
4th | 86.5 | |
| 2013 | Rebellion Racing | LMP1 | Lola B12/60 | Toyota (RV8KLM 3.4 L V8) | SIL 5 |
SPA 5 |
LMS 20 |
SÃO 3 |
COA 4 |
FUJ | SHA 4 |
BHR Ret |
6th | 60 | |
| 2014 | Rebellion Racing | LMP1 | Lola B12/60 | Toyota (RV8KLM 3.4 L V8) | SIL 4 |
SPA 7 |
LMS 4 |
COA 7 |
FUJ 12 |
SHA 7 |
BHR 7 |
SÃO 8 |
10th | 64.5 | |
| 2015 | Rebellion Racing | LMP1 | Rebellion R-One | AER P60 2.4 L Turbo V6 | SIL | SPA | LMS 19 |
NÜR 16 |
COA 15 |
FUJ 7 |
SHA 7 |
BHR 14 |
14th | 14.5 | |
| 2016 | Rebellion Racing | LMP1 | Rebellion R-One | AER P60 2.4 L Turbo V6 | SIL 4 |
SPA 4 |
LMS 13 |
NÜR 17 |
MEX | COA | FUJ | SHA | BHR | 14th | 25.5 |
| 2017 | Vaillante Rebellion | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | SIL 2 |
SPA 2 |
LMS 6 |
NÜR | MEX 1 |
COA 3 |
FUJ 1 |
SHA 1 |
BHR 1 |
3rd | 168 |
Complete Formula E results
[edit](key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Powertrain | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | e.dams Renault | Spark SRT01-e | SRT01-e | BEI 12† |
PUT 4 |
PDE 7 |
BUE 2 |
MIA 1 |
LBH 14 |
MCO 6 |
BER 10 |
MSC 8 |
LDN 7 |
LDN 10 |
6th | 88 | |
| 2015–16 | Renault e.dams | Spark SRT01-e | Renault Z.E 15 | BEI Ret |
PUT 10 |
PDE 5 |
BUE 5 |
MEX 3 |
LBH 11 |
PAR 4 |
BER 4 |
LDN 1 |
LDN 1 |
3rd | 115 | ||
| 2016–17 | Renault e.dams | Spark SRT01-e | Renault Z.E 16 | HKG 4 |
MRK 4 |
BUE 4 |
MEX 5 |
MCO 9 |
PAR 5 |
BER 5 |
BER 8 |
NYC 8 |
NYC 6 |
MTL 6 |
MTL Ret |
6th | 93 |
| 2017–18 | Renault e.dams | Spark SRT01-e | Renault Z.E 17 | HKG 9 |
HKG 8 |
MRK 13 |
SCL 10 |
MEX Ret |
PDE 15 |
RME 14 |
PAR 16 |
BER 14 |
ZUR Ret |
NYC 10 |
NYC 11 |
19th | 8 |
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Nicolas Prost eyes F1". SuperSport. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
- ^ "LeMans TV Live". Live.lemans-tv.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- ^ Nicolas Prost to test for Lotus in Abu Dhabi
- ^ "Buemi, Prost confirmed as e.dams drivers". GPUpdate.net. JHED Media BV. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ "Nicolas Prost accepts fault for crash with Nick Heidfeld". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ "Prost gets grid penalty for Heidfeld crash". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Nico Prost career summary at DriverDB.com
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- 1981 births
- Living people
- People from Saint-Chamond
- French people of Armenian descent
- French racing drivers
- Euroformula Open Championship drivers
- German Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
- French Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
- Formula Renault Eurocup drivers
- A1 Team France drivers
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- European Le Mans Series drivers
- World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers
- American Le Mans Series drivers
- FIA GT1 World Championship drivers
- FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
- Formula E drivers
- Stock Car Brasil drivers
- Sportspeople from Loire (department)
- A1 Grand Prix drivers
- Graff Racing drivers
- DAMS drivers
- Racing Engineering drivers
- Rebellion Racing drivers
- Oreca drivers
- Campos Racing drivers
- 24H Series drivers