Pioneering Isack Hadjar flies two flags as the only Arab in Formula One
Hadjar, who was at the time a bigger fan of Prost's late teammate and rival Ayrton Senna, grimaced and said the reason was more mundane.
'I was just chewing my fingernails and he said 'Yeah, like Prost',' he recalled. 'He told me this. Like Prost. That's all. It's that simple.'
'I don't mind. Prost is a legend. It was Ayrton as a kid but the more I'm growing up, the more I appreciate Alain actually. When you are a kid you just think about speed and bright colours. You see Ayrton Senna and it's like 'Oh, amazing'. And then later on Lewis (Hamilton).'
Hadjar felt Prost, the tactically astute 'Professor' who retired in 1993 after winning titles with McLaren and Williams, deserved more recognition.
'I just think that his career is really underrated,' he said.
'I'm not going to self-proclaim myself as a smart guy but definitely I have the approach that my dad always wanted me to use my head first ... just thinking when you drive and making the difference outside the car.'
Growing up, Hadjar's interest was pricked by the movie Cars and watching F1 with father Yassine, a senior researcher in quantum mechanics.
He started karting at seven and was runner-up in Formula Two last season, a frustrating campaign in which he sounded like an angry young man venting over the radio.
Hadjar said that was then.
'You play with the limits of what's allowed,' he said.
'In Formula Two you are a client to the team and you're playing your life here. You want to go to Formula One, the team messes up, you're mad at them on the radio and you say what you think.
'Here, it's completely different. You get paid to drive. It's the coolest job on earth, you don't shout at people. It's not possible.
'If I want to shout, I shout in my helmet. That's what I do. I don't press the radio button to say nonsense.'
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