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.
At the Hockenheimring, Nelson Piquet had the most terrifying accident of his career. During qualifying, a rear tyre blew at over 200 mph. The BT52 flipped, slid upside down, and was almost cut in half by the guardrail. The cockpit was torn open. Piquet suffered severe concussions and bruising. He was unconscious in the medical centre for hours. Remarkably, he raced the next weekend. formula 1 1983
The BMW engine was a ticking time bomb. To get the 1.5-litre four-cylinder to produce over 1,300 horsepower in qualifying, the boost pressure was turned up to astronomical levels. Engines were designed to last one race—sometimes only one qualifying session. The season would be decided not just by who crossed the line first, but who could make it to the line at all. The 1983 calendar spanned 15 races, from Brazil to South Africa. It was a season of spectacular meltdowns. On lap 35, disaster struck Prost: his Renault