: Driving the iconic "dart-shaped" BT52 , Piquet used strategic mid-race pit stops—a tactic Brabham pioneered—to claw back a 14-point deficit late in the season.
The Brabham BT52 remains one of the most extreme cars ever to win a championship. With no side skirts to create suction, Murray focused on a low-drag, high-speed philosophy. The car looked like a fighter jet on wheels. Nelson Piquet, the reigning champion, hated it at first. He said it felt unstable and twitchy. His new teammate, Italian hotshoe Riccardo Patrese, loved it.
: John Watson (McLaren) won the US Grand Prix West after starting from 22nd on the grid , setting a record for the lowest starting position for a winner that still stands today.
On lap 35, disaster struck Prost: his Renault engine, pushed to the limit all day, emitted a puff of smoke and expired. The Professor was out. Piquet cruised home to take the win—and his second consecutive World Championship.
: Driving the iconic "dart-shaped" BT52 , Piquet used strategic mid-race pit stops—a tactic Brabham pioneered—to claw back a 14-point deficit late in the season.
The Brabham BT52 remains one of the most extreme cars ever to win a championship. With no side skirts to create suction, Murray focused on a low-drag, high-speed philosophy. The car looked like a fighter jet on wheels. Nelson Piquet, the reigning champion, hated it at first. He said it felt unstable and twitchy. His new teammate, Italian hotshoe Riccardo Patrese, loved it.
: John Watson (McLaren) won the US Grand Prix West after starting from 22nd on the grid , setting a record for the lowest starting position for a winner that still stands today.
On lap 35, disaster struck Prost: his Renault engine, pushed to the limit all day, emitted a puff of smoke and expired. The Professor was out. Piquet cruised home to take the win—and his second consecutive World Championship.