1984 Dutch Grand Prix

1984 Dutch Grand Prix
Race 13 of 16 in the 1984 Formula One World Championship
The Zandvoort Circuit (1980–1989)
Race details
Date 26 August 1984
Official name XXXI Grote Prijs van Nederland
Location Circuit Zandvoort
Zandvoort, Netherlands
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.252 km (2.642 miles)
Distance 71 laps, 301.892 km (187.582 miles)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver McLaren-TAG
Time 1:13.567
Fastest lap
Driver René Arnoux Ferrari
Time 1:19.465 on lap 64
Podium
First McLaren-TAG
Second McLaren-TAG
Third Lotus-Renault
Lap leaders

The 1984 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on 26 August 1984. It was the thirteenth race of the 1984 Formula One World Championship.

The 71-lap race was won by Frenchman Alain Prost, driving a McLaren-TAG, after he started from pole position. Brazilian Nelson Piquet led the first ten laps in his Brabham-BMW before his oil pressure failed, after which Prost led the remainder of the race. His Austrian teammate Niki Lauda finished second, with Briton Nigel Mansell third in a Lotus-Renault after fighting for the position with his own team mate Elio de Angelis who finished 4th. At the end of the race de Angelis was unable to challenge his team mate as he was lapped by Prost with 3 laps to go while Mansell had managed to stay ahead of the McLaren.

The 1-2 finish secured the Constructors' Championship for McLaren, their first since 1974.

Before the race, it was rumoured that Ayrton Senna would break his contract with the Toleman team and join Lotus on a 3 year contract from 1985. When this move was announced two days after the race, Toleman management were angered as Senna had not informed them of his intentions as per the requirements of his contract, and as a result they suspended him from the next race in Italy. It was also correctly rumoured that, with Jacques Laffite already known to be leaving Williams at the end of the season to return to Ligier, team owner Frank Williams had signed Mansell for 1985 alongside Keke Rosberg after his original choice Derek Warwick had decided to stay with the Renault team.

With the Tyrrell team excluded from the championship (and its pending appeal to be heard before the next race in Italy allowing them to be starters in Holland), the race had 27 starters with Dutch driver Huub Rothengatter driving the Spirit-Hart starting in last place. For his home race, the Spirit was painted in Dutch racing orange.