Alain Prost: Can ‘The Professor’ mastermind another world title?

He may have won four Formula One world titles – but that doesn’t mean Alain Prost has lost his appetite for winning.

Now the Frenchman, nicknamed “The Professor” for his erudite approach to motorsport, has set his sights on winning the Formula E title as a team owner.

Prost’s Renault e.Dams team tops the constructor standings, but his main driver Sebastian Buemi trails championship leader Lucas di Grassi by 11 points in the drivers’ title race ahead of Saturday’s Berlin ePrix.

“We want to win,” Prost told CNN before the round eight race. “We have a good team and a good technical partner with Renault.

“If we are supposed to be one of the best teams, maybe the best, we need to win this year. If we don’t, it will be a disappointment.”

Glittering career —

Alain Prost retired from F1 in 1993 after winning the fourth and final world title of his glittering career. The Frenchman won the Monaco Grand Prix four times, and is pictured here after doing so in 1988.

Home comforts —

Frenchman Prost won the French Grand Prix on six occasions.

Legendary rivalry —

Prost (center) and Ayrton Senna, whom he raced alongside at McLaren, shared a fierce rivalry. The duo were involved in a number of controversial collisions, with both often going head-to-head for the F1 world championship.

Cycle of life —

Prost swaps four wheels for two on a bike ride.

Electric excitement —

Prost attends the practice of the French stage of the Formula E championship around Les Invalides in Paris on April 23. He is focused on winning the Formula E title with Renault.

Alain Prost: The F1 legend chasing electric dreams

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The title race so far

Di Grassi, who drives for the German Audi Abt Schaeffler team, moved into the championship lead in Long Beach, pulling further clear when he won the most recent race in Paris.

While the Brazilian has seized the momentum, Buemi has not taken the checkered flag since winning Uruguay’s Punta del Este race in December.

But Prost – whose son Nico also races for the Renault team – remains sanguine about its championship chances in season two.

“It is never a disaster,” the 61-year-old said. “If we don’t win the title it is because we have made some mistakes. But it is still possible to win the world championship.”

Why Formula E?

Prost retired from F1 in 1993 after winning his fourth and final world title. He bought the Ligier team, running it as Prost Grand Prix for five seasons before it folded in 2001.

The thrill of the new world of electric racing lured the legendary driver back into team ownership.

A estimated 20,000 fans turned out to watch the inaugural Paris ePrix. Here's what a few of them thought of the historic race.

Lisa Barthelemy —

Based in Paris, she attended with her father Gerard -- who is from Marseille.

"I think Formula E is very interesting. It's the first time in Paris. I hope there will be other editions. It's very future orientated.
It's also very positive for Paris after the events of November (2015). It shows that Paris and France can gather people without any problems. Security and happiness everywhere. Image-speaking it's very important for France and for Paris."

Tibo and Romain —

We found brothers Romain (right) and Tibo enjoying the sights and sounds of the eVillage. They said the "ambiance" for the race was good and were hoping for a win on home soil for Renault e.Dams driver Nico Prost. (Read race report)

Diane Bird —

The mother of DS Virgin Racing driver Sam Bird was in town to support her son, alongside his girlfriend Hollie (left).

"I think Formula E is brilliant. I love the social media interaction with fans. It's opened up the whole new word of electric cars to a whole new audience. It's the racing of the future -- it's so much more fan friendly, it's more interesting than other forms of racing," Diane says.
"What could be better than Paris and London? They are very special. Sam's loving it!"

Moko —

This Formula One fan from Senegal traveled to Paris to experience the thrills of electric racing.

"It's the beginning of Formula E because now everyone is talking about electricity. I believe in the future and I think (Formula E CEO) Alejandro Agag is taking a big step."

Fan from Evian —

"I like motorsport and I study engineering, so Formula E is very cool -- I like its efficiency. I expect the race to have excellent racing and be action-packed."

Loic Hoscheit —

"I'm from Luxembourg, but I've lived in Paris for seven years. I came here to study now I work here for a sports event company," he says.

"I think Formula E is a really interesting concept. They've been developing it for more than a year now and I think they should really push it. It's a great idea. I think they are doing a really good job trying to get the crowds involved -- voting (for drivers) with Fan Boost."

Two Parisian fans —

"We like Formula E because we want to discover more of the universe, the cars, driver technique, and we love Prost! It is a very good thing to do this race in the beautiful city of Paris because it is good to promote electric cars and sustainability."

Olivier Blanc —

"It's a fantastic opportunity to be here inside Paris," says Blanc, who works for car manufacturer Renault as an electrical engineer. "It's a very good thing for our brand, our cars, our technology. I think Fan Boost is a very good thing to involve fans ... the way a racer can win points is fun."

Cian McLeod —

"I went to London last year for the final race of the season and I really enjoyed it," the Dubliner told CNN.
"I've never been to Paris so I thought I would come and see Formula E. I was originally an F1 fan and then heard about the new series and I fell in love with it. The action is very close compared to F1, where it's very spread out. Every since the first race in Beijing I've been getting up at ridiculous hours to watch Formula E. I was in London, Berlin last year, now Paris and I'll go to London again. I'm going to the PSG match as well and I'll do some sightseeing as well."

Richard and Romain —

Father and son Richard (left) and Romain traveled up from the Ardeche region in southern France to watch the Paris ePrix. Romain is a fan of Renault e.Dams driver Nico Prost.

Fans from Dunkirk —

"We were drawn to Formula E by its name and reputation. We think we will see a good race. It is a good championship and although we like all motorsport, we especially like Formula E."

Fan from Marseille —

"I like F1 and that made me interested in Formula E. It is spectacular, and I can't wait to see the speed in person. I also want to see how the batteries work."

Julien and Hervey —

"We like the technique and the speed of Formula E. For the world it's very important for the future."

Anais, Virginie, Maelle & Joelle —

Wrapped up warm on a chilly day in Paris, this quartet in the Renault grandstand were, unsurprisingly, rooting for Nico Prost and Sebastien Buemi. Read more about Paris' new motorsport passion

Paris ePrix: 'It's the racing of the future'

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“It was important for me to live something new and to be one of the first,” Prost, who co-founded the team with Jean-Paul Driot and with technical support from the Renault car manufacturer, explained.

“If you are at the beginning, you can try to make things better – you are involved.

MORE: ‘Magnum P.I.’ Ferrari goes electric

“It was a gamble because we didn’t know what was going to happen. Formula E is getting better and better. I still don’t know what the position of the championship will be [in the future].”

Racing moves into the city

There is something new for everyone at the Berlin ePrix, being held in the center of the German capital for the first time.

A new venue had to be found as the original location, the disused Tempelhof airport, is being used by the German government as a temporary home for thousands of refugees.

The circuit is the second shortest on the 2015-16 calendar at just 2.03km (1.26 miles).

The cars will race under the looming Berlin TV tower in Alexanderplatz, with the pit lane situated on the famous Karl-Marx-Allee.

It will be the first time in almost 20 years that cars have raced through the middle of Berlin – and Prost will be hoping a race win will set up his first championship for almost as long.

MORE: Formula E’s French revolution

MORE: ‘We need more electric cars’

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A Bird's eye view of Formula E

02:47 - Source: CNN