The 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix was Round 16 of the 1984 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The event was held in Estoril, Portugal on Sunday, 21 October 1984. Nelson Piquet started on pole position in the Brabham BMW and Alain Prost was the race winner in the McLaren TAG. The result of this Grand Prix sealed the outcome of the 1984 Drivers World Championship and Niki Lauda won the world title for the third and final time.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Race Time | Gap | Interval | Best Lap | Lap | Speed | Started | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Alain Prost | France | McLaren TAG | Michelin | 70 | 1:41:11.753 | 1:41:11.753 | – | – | 1:23.452 | 39 | 180.540 | 2 | 9 |
| 2 | 8 | Niki Lauda | Austria | McLaren TAG | Michelin | 70 | +13.425 | 1:41:25.178 | +13.425 | +13.425 | 1:22.996 | 51 | 180.142 | 11 | 6 |
| 3 | 19 | Ayrton Senna | Brazil | Toleman Hart | Michelin | 70 | +20.042 | 1:41:31.795 | +20.042 | +6.617 | 1:24.373 | 46 | 179.946 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Italy | Ferrari | Goodyear | 70 | +20.317 | 1:41:32.070 | +20.317 | +0.275 | 1:24.148 | 68 | 179.938 | 8 | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Italy | Lotus Renault | Goodyear | 70 | +1:32.169 | 1:42:43.922 | +1:32.169 | +1:11.852 | 1:25.680 | 45 | 177.841 | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Brazil | Brabham BMW | Michelin | 69 | +1 lap | 1:41:25.396 | 1 lap | 1 lap | 1:24.275 | 39 | 177.562 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | 15 | Patrick Tambay | France | Renault | Michelin | 69 | +1 lap | 1:41:38.454 | 1 lap | +13.058 | 1:25.506 | 37 | 177.182 | 7 | |
| 8 | 22 | Riccardo Patrese | Italy | Alfa Romeo | Goodyear | 69 | +1 lap | 1:41:56.010 | 1 lap | +17.556 | 1:26.173 | 43 | 176.674 | 12 | |
| 9 | 28 | René Arnoux | France | Ferrari | Goodyear | 69 | +1 lap | 1:42:08.776 | 1 lap | +12.766 | 1:25.711 | 53 | 176.306 | 17 | |
| 10 | 2 | Manfred Winkelhock | Germany | Brabham BMW | Michelin | 69 | +1 lap | 1:42:08.864 | 1 lap | +0.088 | 1:26.404 | 63 | 176.303 | 19 | |
| 11 | 20 | Stefan Johansson | Sweden | Toleman Hart | Michelin | 69 | +1 lap | 1:42:16.900 | 1 lap | +8.036 | 1:24.053 | 51 | 176.072 | 10 | |
| 12 | 26 | Andrea de Cesaris | Italy | Ligier Renault | Michelin | 69 | +1 lap | 1:42:19.694 | 1 lap | +2.794 | 1:26.806 | 36 | 175.992 | 20 | |
| 13 | 14 | Gerhard Berger | Austria | ATS BMW | Pirelli | 68 | +2 laps | 1:42:15.657 | 2 laps | 1 lap | 1:26.601 | 59 | 173.555 | 23 | |
| 14 | 5 | Jacques Laffite | France | Williams Honda | Goodyear | 67 | +3 laps | 1:41:25.759 | 3 laps | 1 lap | 1:24.507 | 55 | 172.405 | 15 | |
| 15 | 21 | Mauro Baldi | Italy | Spirit Hart | Pirelli | 66 | +4 laps | 1:42:47.056 | 4 laps | 1 lap | 1:27.772 | 48 | 167.593 | 25 | |
| 16 | 30 | Jo Gartner | Austria | Osella Alfa Romeo | Pirelli | 65 | Out of Fuel | 1:37:38.902 | 5 laps | 1 lap | 1:27.169 | 58 | 173.735 | 24 | |
| 17 | 23 | Eddie Cheever | United States | Alfa Romeo | Goodyear | 64 | +6 laps | 1:41:42.845 | 6 laps | 1 lap | 1:26.020 | 33 | 164.225 | 14 | |
| DNF | 24 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Italy | Osella Alfa Romeo | Pirelli | 60 | Engine | 1:32:28.075 | 1:28.410 | 42 | 169.356 | 22 | |||
| DNF | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Great Britain | Lotus Renault | Goodyear | 52 | Spun Off | 1:16:25.752 | 1:24.267 | 47 | 177.576 | 6 | |||
| DNF | 16 | Derek Warwick | Great Britain | Renault | Michelin | 51 | Gearbox | 1:16:17.221 | 1:25.309 | 20 | 174.485 | 9 | |||
| DNF | 33 | Philippe Streiff | France | Renault | Michelin | 48 | Transmission | 1:12:38.208 | 1:26.874 | 43 | 172.474 | 13 | |||
| DNF | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Finland | Williams Honda | Goodyear | 39 | Engine | 57:01.219 | 1:25.667 | 37 | 178.515 | 4 | |||
| DNF | 25 | Francois Hesnault | France | Ligier Renault | Michelin | 31 | Electrical | 47:20.736 | 1:29.219 | 19 | 170.892 | 21 | |||
| DNF | 18 | Thierry Boutsen | Belgium | Arrows BMW | Goodyear | 24 | Transmission | 35:51.658 | 1:27.725 | 24 | 174.674 | 18 | |||
| DNF | 10 | Jonathan Palmer | Great Britain | RAM Hart | Pirelli | 19 | Gearbox | 38:33.616 | 1:30.711 | 6 | 128.603 | 26 | |||
| DNF | 17 | Marc Surer | Switzerland | Arrows BMW | Goodyear | 8 | Electrical | 12:20.851 | 1:28.635 | 7 | 169.102 | 16 | |||
| DNF | 9 | Philippe Alliot | France | RAM Hart | Pirelli | 2 | Engine | 3:29.507 | 1:35.542 | 2 | 149.493 | 27 |
Memorable race Moments
Race Start
From 4th on the grid, Keke Rosberg surges past pole sitter Nelson Piquet’s Brabham BMW and Alain Prost’s McLaren TAG to take the lead into the first corner. From 6th on the grid, Nigel Mansell follows the Finn through into 2nd in his JPS Lotus. Championship leader Niki Lauda, meanwhile, drops from 11th on the grid down to 13th.
Lap 1
Nelson Piquet spins off but rejoins the race.
Lap 2
Nigel Mansell runs wide and Alain Prost passes him.
Lap 7
Alain Prost overtakes race leader Keke Rosberg under braking for Turn 1.
Lap 12
Nigel Mansell overtakes Keke Rosberg’s Williams Honda under braking for Turn 1 to move up into 2nd position.
Lap 28
Struggling through the field with a broken turbocharger, Niki Lauda overtakes Michele Alboreto’s Ferrari under braking for Turn 1 to move up into 5th place.
Lap 31
Niki Lauda passes Keke Rosberg under braking for Turn 1 to move into 4th place.
Lap 33
Niki Lauda passes Ayrton Senna’s Toleman Hart under braking for Turn 1 to move up into 3rd place.
Lap 52
Driving a superb race in his final appearance for Lotus, Nigel Mansell goes off the track due to a catching brake. As he tours back to the pits to retire, he is passed by Niki Lauda for 2nd, the finishing position the Austrian requires to win the World Championship.
Lap 70
Alain Prost takes the chequered flag to win the race but agonisingly loses the championship to McLaren team-mate Niki Lauda by just half a point after the Austrian’s gritty comeback drive through the field to 2nd from 11th on the grid.
Podium
After consoling a devastated Alain Prost, Niki Lauda is embraced by wife Marlene, who makes a rare public appearance in support of her husband.