1984 British Grand Prix

Championship standings

Prost leads the Drivers’ Championship with 34.5 points. Lauda is second with 24, closely followed by Lotus’s Elio de Angelis on 23.5, Ferrari’s René Arnoux on 22.5, Williams’ Keke Rosberg on 20, and Brabham’s Nelson Piquet on 18. McLaren leads the Constructors’ Championship with 58.5 points, comfortably ahead of Ferrari on 31.5, Lotus on 29.5, Williams on 24, and Brabham on 21.

Previous race

Rosberg won at Dallas in his Williams-Honda after Prost struck a wall eight laps from the end, and Lauda also hit the wall later in the race. Mansell, who led the first half of the race, suffered a gearbox failure near the end and collapsed from exhaustion while trying to push his car across the finish line in the intense heat. Only seven of the 26 starters finished.

Between-race developments

The FIA has announced that Tyrrell are disqualified from the World Championship for illegal use of fuel and ballast. The ruling strips the team of the 13 points they had scored in the first nine races. Team owner Ken Tyrrell secured a High Court order permitting Tyrrell cars to take part in Friday qualifying, but they are ineligible to score championship points going forward. Ken Tyrrell lost most of his sponsors in the period between Dallas and this race.

Entrants

Martin Brundle, who broke both ankles in a practice crash at Dallas, is replaced for the rest of the season by Stefan Johansson.

Practice

Johnny Cecotto crashed heavily at the Westfield corner during first practice, hitting the barriers head-on. The Venezuelan motorcycle Grand Prix champion broke both his legs and will never race in Formula One again.

Track changes

The British Grand Prix alternates between Brands Hatch and Silverstone; this year the race returns to Brands Hatch.

Milestones

Niki Lauda’s win here would make him the highest points scorer in Formula One history, passing Jackie Stewart’s 360 points.