| 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 16 of 16 in the 1984 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 21 October 1984 | ||
| Official name | 13º Grande Prémio de Portugal | ||
| Location | Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril, Portugal | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.35 km (2.702 miles) | ||
| Distance | 70 laps, 304.5 km (189.14 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Brabham-BMW | ||
| Time | 1:21.703 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Niki Lauda | McLaren-TAG | |
| Time | 1:22.996 on lap 51 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-TAG | ||
| Second | McLaren-TAG | ||
| Third | Toleman-Hart | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Estoril on 21 October 1984. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1984 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was the first World Championship Portuguese Grand Prix since 1960, when it was held at the Boavista street circuit in Oporto.
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Niki Lauda needed second place to secure the title, and gained it when Nigel Mansell spun out with 18 laps to go. As a result, he took the title by just half a point from team-mate Alain Prost, remaining the closest title-winning margin in Formula One history. A distinction that will most likely remain forever due to the development of the points scoring system over the years to come. The point-scoring drivers won a total of 13 world championships between them, and the three drivers on the podium were all (at least) triple World Champions from different eras – Lauda, approaching the end of his long and distinguished F1 career, Prost, enjoying the best years of his career, and Ayrton Senna, still at the dawn of his.
After running a strong second behind Prost for most of the race, Mansell's spin on lap 52 was due to his front left brake failing. The Englishman later told that as it was his last race for Lotus before joining Williams in 1985, team boss Peter Warr (whom he had never got along with personally) had refused to give him the brakes he wanted for his Lotus 95T and that it was this that ultimately caused his retirement and handed Lauda the second place he needed to win the World Championship.
The race also represented the last win for French tyre manufacturer Michelin in Formula One until the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix.
