1984 Dallas Grand Prix

Championship standings

Prost leads the championship after two consecutive Piquet victories at Canada and Detroit.

Previous race

Piquet won in Detroit — his second win in eight days — from pole after a first-lap multi-car collision forced a restart. Only six cars were classified at the finish. The race produced a strong result from Tyrrell rookies Martin Brundle and Stefan Bellof, who ran second and in the points on a circuit where their naturally aspirated Cosworth gave them an edge over turbocharged rivals on tyre wear.

Track changes

This is the only Formula One race to be held at the Fair Park circuit in Dallas, Texas — replacing the Long Beach Grand Prix on the calendar. The temporary course is laid out on the Texas State Fairgrounds, featuring two hairpin curves and close concrete walls. Lotus drivers Nigel Mansell and Elio de Angelis said after the first practice session that it was the roughest circuit they had ever driven. Piquet, surveying the conditions, wondered aloud whether the track, the drivers, or the cars would break first in the oppressive heat. Goodyear recorded the highest track temperature in their 20 years of racing during qualifying: 66 °C (150 °F).

Practice

Martin Brundle suffered a severe crash during practice when a tyre puncture sent his Tyrrell into the concrete walls. He sustained broken ankles and feet in the incident, which nearly required amputation. Brundle does not take part in the race.

American racing legend Carroll Shelby, who grew up in Dallas, is serving as race director. Former US President Jimmy Carter is among the guests in the VIP suite; Stirling Moss introduced himself to Carter during the weekend, telling him: “I have never shaken hands with a president.”

Weather

The race has been moved to an 11 a.m. start instead of the usual 2 p.m. to avoid the worst of the heat, which is forecast at 40 °C (104 °F) on race day. Emergency circuit repairs — involving a backhoe digging up broken asphalt and replacing it with quick-dry cement — ran through the night and are continuing until 30 minutes before the start, after a 50-lap Can-Am support race on Saturday further broke up the surface.