Prost: I pushed Renault to bring Piastri into their academy

Prost was speaking at last weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed, where he was part of McLaren's activities during the event.

McLaren currently lead the 2025 F1 drivers' championship, with its drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, first and second, respectively, in the drivers' standings.

While Norris has been a McLaren driver longer than Piastri, the Austrian has impressively developed into a title contender in his third season with the Woking squad, who managed to snatch him from Alpine after a brief legal battle back in 2022.

But it appears that Prost has had a role in getting Piastri into Alpine; he revealed: "I know Oscar much better because I was the one to push Renault to bring him into the academy a long time ago. They did not want to.

"I saw him driving in Formula 3 or even before, and then Formula 2," he added. "I like the way he behaves, a little bit like me, thinking about when to do the right maneuver for overtaking and being a little bit more clever. I like him."

Prost was nicknamed "The Professor" back in his days as an F1 driver for his methodical approach that made up for what he lacked in terms of raw pace when compared to other drivers, most notably his former McLaren teammate, the late Ayrton Senna.

Prost believes Piastri had the same approach to racing and explained: "You never know what’s going to happen, but these types of drivers normally, they can make a progression.

"If it’s only the driving skill, sometimes they are in a plateau. So I did not do a mistake," he maintained.

Prost then touched on McLaren's current form as they chase their second F1 constructors' title in a row while one of their drivers is probably going to deny Max Verstappen a fifth consecutive drivers' crown.

McLaren's most recent dominant streak was back in 1998 and 1999, with Mika Hakkinen spearheading their campaigns and beating the great Michael Schumacher back then.

Prost drove for McLaren between 1986 and 1989, winning the title with them on three occasions: 1985, 1986, and 1989 before leaving after clashing with Senna in that season.

But he insisted he still thinks fondly of McLaren, he said: "It’s my family, because I started with McLaren I had an unbelievable time at McLaren, even if I finished with a difficult ’89.

"But remember that I came back also for two years, in ’95 and ’96 in a different role. So I’m always very close to this team.”

And having had a tough relationship with Senna, he commented on the current driver dynamic between Piastri and Norris; he added: "The championship, that is very difficult when two drivers are fighting for the title.

"But if they have enough advantage with the other teams and drivers, they are going to let them drive and fight which is the best for the sport.

"If it’s getting closer... then it’s going to become more difficult. At the moment, I don’t think they will have this problem.

"When we were fighting with Ayrton we almost won all the races in ’88. We honestly did not care at all about the other drivers or the teams."

Verstappen may have a chance to beat both McLaren drivers for this season's title if they clash or take points off each other, which remined Prost of his second title in 1986.

The Frenchman explained: "I won the championship in ’86 because Nigel and Nelson were fighting, sharing points, and my car was very less competitive.

"But at the end, because of the work of the team and the cohesion in the team, we had a fantastic year in ’86. That’s my best championship, and the best for the team all together," Prost concluded.