There are moments when destiny decides to humble even the coldest of champions, and what happened at Paul Ricard after René Arnoux’s famous snub against Alain Prost is the definitive proof. Following a race marked by the betrayal of internal agreements within the Renault team, Alain found himself the protagonist of an episode bordering on the grotesque.
After the Grand Prix, while heading home, Prost stopped at a gas station to refuel. At the time, Renault Elf drivers had a personalized corporate card that allowed them to avoid paying for fuel out of their own pockets. However, Prost was notoriously known in the paddock for a certain stinginess, a detail that makes the ending of the story even more amusing.
The attendant, failing to recognize the driver, mistook him for his rival Arnoux and welcomed him with brutal enthusiasm: “How wonderful! You finally beat that driver with the crooked nose… I really don’t like him, well done René!”.
In that precise moment, Prost suffered the ultimate blow to his pride. To prevent the man from realizing his colossal gaffe and to avoid revealing his true identity in such an embarrassing moment, the Frenchman chose the only honorable way out, no matter how painful it was for his wallet. Prost gave up the free card bearing his name and, in absolute silence, paid the full amount in cash, just to flee as quickly as possible without being discovered.
