"I have had some problems because the French don't like people to have success, they don't like the number one"
About this Quote
Prost’s complaint lands like a clean lap-time: blunt, efficient, and a little ruthless. Coming from a four-time Formula 1 champion who spent his career being measured in tenths of a second, the line isn’t just about nationalism. It’s about the weird cultural tax that gets levied on people who win too consistently, too clinically, and without the crowd-pleasing theatrics that make success feel “earned.”
The specific intent is defensive, almost preemptive: he’s explaining why a French hero could be treated like a villain at home. Prost was nicknamed “The Professor,” praised for strategy and precision rather than romantic risk. In a country that often prizes style, wit, and a kind of anti-bourgeois skepticism, dominance can read as arrogance. His phrasing turns that skepticism into a national character flaw: “the French don’t like…,” a sweeping generalization that dares listeners to argue with him and, in doing so, prove his point.
Subtextually, it’s also a portrait of celebrity alienation. Prost isn’t saying he was disliked for losing or for scandal; he’s saying he was disliked for being first. That flips the usual sports narrative. It suggests a public more comfortable cheering the underdog than living with the discomfort of one of their own sitting at the top, unembarrassed.
Context matters: late-80s and early-90s F1 was soaked in personality cults (Senna, Mansell) and national mythmaking. Prost’s complaint reads like a champion realizing that in France, being “number one” can make you a symbol people want to cut back down to human size.
The specific intent is defensive, almost preemptive: he’s explaining why a French hero could be treated like a villain at home. Prost was nicknamed “The Professor,” praised for strategy and precision rather than romantic risk. In a country that often prizes style, wit, and a kind of anti-bourgeois skepticism, dominance can read as arrogance. His phrasing turns that skepticism into a national character flaw: “the French don’t like…,” a sweeping generalization that dares listeners to argue with him and, in doing so, prove his point.
Subtextually, it’s also a portrait of celebrity alienation. Prost isn’t saying he was disliked for losing or for scandal; he’s saying he was disliked for being first. That flips the usual sports narrative. It suggests a public more comfortable cheering the underdog than living with the discomfort of one of their own sitting at the top, unembarrassed.
Context matters: late-80s and early-90s F1 was soaked in personality cults (Senna, Mansell) and national mythmaking. Prost’s complaint reads like a champion realizing that in France, being “number one” can make you a symbol people want to cut back down to human size.
Quote Details
| Topic | Success |
|---|
More Quotes by Alain
Add to List
