Alain Prost - The Fastest Armenian In The World
Alain Prost is a French racing driver of Armenian descent. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion Prost won more titles than any driver save Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.
Alain Marie Pascal Prost was born on 24 February 1955 in France, near the town of Saint-Chamond in the family of André Prost and Marie-Rose Karatchian.
"My mother is Armenian, we spent all our childhood with my grandfather, who told us various stories about Armenia. When you are only 10 years old - these are just stories. You realize their real meaning a bit later. Today, these stories are an integral part of my life. I do not speak Armenian, but I am Armenian, and this is the most important thing" - racing driver and a four-time Formula One Drivers’ Champion Alain Prost said.
Although short, standing at 1.67m (5 ft 6 in), Prost was an active, athletic child, who enthusiastically took part in diverse sports, including wrestling, roller skating and football. Prost did everything in the sake of victory, and in doing so he broke his nose several times. That is how his nose got the form, which in the future became famous to the whole world.
Alain considered careers as a gym instructor or a professional footballer before he discovered kart racing at the age of 14 while on a family holiday. The boy once and forever fell in love with the speed and roar of the motors and later from the kart driver became the greatest Formula One champion.
From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix victories. Schumacher surpassed Prost's total of 51 victories at the 2001 Belgian Grand Prix. In 1999, Prost received “World Sports Awards of the Century” in the motor sport category along all-time greats like Pele, Ali, Lewis and Graf. He was nicknamed "The Professor" for his intellectual approach to the racing competition.
Alain Prost has always identified himself as Armenian. In March 2007, he was awarded the "Armenian Cesar", which is considered the highest award of the Armenian community of France. Today Prost is one of the most prominent and active representatives of the Armenian Diaspora. He also remains "the fastest Armenian of the world".
In 1986, Prost was awarded the Légion d'honneur by the French President, François Mitterrand.
Nowadays, Prost remains actively involved in the auto sport community by working with Formula E and Renault F1 teams.