RACER editor David Malsher sifts through Ayrton Senna’s 10-year spell in Formula 1 and picks the legend’s greatest race from each year. -Ed.
I can’t pretend Ayrton Senna was my personal hero; he was beyond that – he was a colossus of the sport who you felt obliged to regard as hero or anti-hero. The great thing is that you didn’t have to be a Senna acolyte to believe in his talent for driving a racecar. It was irrefutable.
Formula 1 journalists of the time liked to talk about Ayrton’s charisma, and maybe that is the right word for such a polarizing character. Don’t forget, Senna had many detractors, not only for his on-track ethics but also his off-track refusal to accept an opposing point of view. But here I suspect “charisma” is a euphemism for “media gold.” Whether you agreed or disagreed with him, whether his opinions were uttered in the heat of the moment or after careful consideration, what he had to say was always thought-provoking and emotion-invoking. I miss that.
Another of Senna’s qualities that becomes more attractive with each passing year was that he had no qualms about stating his opinion and to hell with the consequences. At the time, his critics called it whining, and certainly there were times when he took advantage of his status within the sport, and behaved like a rich kid used to getting everything he wanted. Two decades later, though, I appreciate this wanton display of a three-dimensional character. In fact, it seems almost surreal that any F1 driver would so shamelessly go to war against a rival, against the media, against the FIA. He was truly as fearless out of the car as in it. So yeah, I miss that, too./p>
But most of all, I miss his talent. In under two years, grand prix racing lost Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, the last greats of the ’80s, the last of the men who’d learned how to tame and truly master F1 at its primeval peak of power. And their departures were oh-so typical of the men involved: Prost went into retirement with a smoothly won fourth World Championship in 1993; Mansell made an undignified exit after two hopeless races for McLaren in 1995. And between those two points, Senna was killed while wrestling an unwilling car at the very front of the F1 pack.
It’s this quality, this preposterous ability, that will stand the test of time. Senna was a driver who was outstanding even in a group of aces who regularly showed greatness. He could produce magic against all odds like Keke Rosberg; he could make winning a grand prix look simple like Prost did; he matched Mansell’s relentless refusal to back down; he had the wily race smarts of a Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet; and he took over the title of master qualifier that had lain dormant since the death of Gilles Villeneuve
And like Tazio Nuvolari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark or Jackie Stewart, Ayrton could tap into all these strengths in the course of one event! Whatever was required to maximize his race weekend, he was prepared to do it. And he displayed this greatness right from the start and right to the bitter, shocking end. So today, rather than dwell on the sorrow that followed Imola in 1994 [read Marshall Pruett’s lovely personal tribute here] let’s celebrate the 10 years of brilliance that went before.
1984 Monaco
In an ugly one-year-old Toleman with a fragile Hart and Pirelli tires that were not the equal of Michelin or Goodyear, Ayrton Senna – reigning British Formula 3 champion – made his Formula 1 debut in Brazil and finished sixth in the second and third rounds, in South Africa and Belgium. A dispute with Pirelli on Friday and rain on Saturday cost him a chance of even qualifying at San Marino, but by the French Grand Prix things were looking up. The new Toleman TG184 was introduced, a deal with Michelin was completed, and the team took a leap forward in competitiveness. For Monaco, Hart further improved matters by improving the power delivery and Michelin provided the latest-spec wet tires.
But still, that car should never have been good enough to be hassling a McLaren-TAG-Porsche for the lead – that was pure Senna, at his best in torrential rain. He’d seen Nigel Mansell and Michele Alboreto spin away their chances of victory, he’d passed Keke Rosberg’s misfiring Williams, Rene Arnoux’s misfiring Ferrari, and Niki Lauda’s McLaren (which would also eventually spin). Then he closed down leader Alain Prost at three-four seconds per lap. The race was red-flagged just as Senna was deciding how to pass his future nemesis, so he didn’t get to complete one of the most famous underdog stories in F1 history. But the magnitude of what he achieved that day proved that Ayrton didn’t just have potential; he had arrived, and was already operating at a level that most can only dream of.
Podium finishes at Brands Hatch and Estoril were further proof that he had outgrown his team…but ending his deal with Toleman two years early to join Lotus was proof that nothing was going to stand in his way.
1985 Portugal
Many great F1 drivers’ first victories owe more than a fair amount to luck. It’s only later they learn how to dominate. But Ayrton Senna’s first was as decisive as it gets. He’d been surprised to be outqualified by teammate Elio de Angelis in the opening race in Brazil, but here in Portugal, in only his second start for Lotus-Renault, Senna earned his first of 65 pole positions with a lap that was more than a second quicker than Elio’s.
If the Italian was put in his place on Saturday, Senna humiliated him – and all his rivals – the following day. Again, there was torrential rain, but Senna looked invincible from the green light. De Angelis hung on in the first couple laps but scared himself one too many times as conditions worsened. He would eventually be lapped by his rampaging teammate, as would everyone except runner-up, Ferrari’s Michele Alboreto, who Senna beat by 63sec in a 65-lap race. You can do the math.
Senna would score six more poles that year but only one more win – at Spa, in the wet – and finished fourth in the championship.
1986 Detroit
As per the year before, Ayrton Senna drove his Lotus-Renault to seven poles, two wins and fourth in the championship. The first of his wins was at Jerez, holding off Nigel Mansell’s Williams-Honda by 0.014sec, and it was Nigel that was his principal rival in Motown, too, both in qualifying and (initially) on race day. When Senna missed a gear at the start, Mansell was into the lead, but the Briton was like tethered prey as his rear brake pads started glazing, and Senna was back into the lead on lap eight but then it was the Brazilian’s turn to suffer misfortune, picking up a puncture. The pit stop dropped him to eighth place but then we saw Ayrton at his combative best, slicing past the Ferraris of Alboreto and Stefan Johansson, the Williams of Mansell, the McLaren of Prost and eventually up to second behind Piquet. Nelson had a disastrously long pit stop, but rejoined the track still in second and anxious to hunt Senna down. Too anxious in fact: he crashed the lap after he set fastest race lap.
Rene Arnoux was the one other person who had the pace to match Senna that day, but trying to catch Ayrton caused the Frenchman to overreach himself and he crashed into Piquet’s stationary car. And so it was Arnoux’s Ligier teammate Jacques Laffite who came home a surprise runner-up…but a full half-minute behind the victorious Lotus.
1987 Monza
Honda engines replaced Renaults at Lotus in 1987, but if Senna thought that would be the key to keeping pace with the dominant Williams-Hondas, he’d rapidly realize otherwise. Lotus had introduced its active suspension on the 99T and while this had its benefits on street courses – Ayrton scored a lucky win at Monaco after Mansell retired, and a dominant win at Detroit having not had to change tires – the system’s drawbacks were plain to see on the faster tracks. The system used engine power, and made the car heavier than ideal, which hurt fuel consumption. In addition, the 99T was not an aerodynamic tour de force, which of course also hurt fuel mileage. At Paul Ricard and Silverstone, the Williams pair of Mansell and Piquet lapped Senna, which reveals just how much of a disadvantage Ayrton was working with. (It also indicates just how outstanding he’d been in qualifying at Imola to take pole position – his only one of the season.)
And so lateral thought had to be applied: Senna knew he couldn’t win in a straight-up fight with Williams, and so he’d have to take chances, try alternative strategies, especially at super-fast Monza, where Williams debuted its own active suspension (on Piquet’s car) and Nelson took pole, 1.5sec faster than Senna and led fairly comfortably from the start. Senna, meanwhile ran fifth, but as Mansell, Thierry Boutsen, Gerhard Berger and Piquet stopped, he was into the lead. What now? Could Senna make it without a stop? Goodyear said it was possible but marginal; Ayrton himself said afterward, “I wanted to win this one or be nowhere…”
With 20 laps to go, Senna’s lead was just under 10 seconds; 10 laps to go, it was just under five…and Piquet had blistered a tire trying to hunt his countryman down. This looked in the bag for Ayrton, but he’d have to keep pushing hard. As he came up to lap Piercarlo Ghinzani’s Osella, he dived to the inside under braking for the Parabolica, and then the yellow Lotus started to run wide.
Amazingly, Senna kept it off the barriers – honestly, have you ever seen a car go for this long through the Parabolica sandtrap without hitting anything solid and still able to rejoin the track?!
But, he lost the lead to Piquet. Over the remaining seven laps, Senna went flat-out to catch his countryman, ignoring the edgy state of his tires. He ended the race with fastest lap, but 1.8sec behind the Williams driver. The brave strategy gamble had failed, but only Senna could have made it even feasible.
1988 Suzuka
The 1988 season proved it only takes two strong cars and no team orders to make a race. As they rolled into Suzuka, Ayrton Senna, in his first year with McLaren, led veteran teammate Alain Prost 7-6 in wins and 11-2 in poles. But Prost had won the previous two races, while Senna had clocked just a sixth and a fourth place, unable to go fast while making his 150 liters of fuel last. It was curiously off-form, but he could still win the World Championship if he won in Japan, the penultimate round.
In qualfying, Senna took yet another pole, by 0.3sec ahead of his teammate. As usual, the McLaren MP4/4 Hondas – in terms of both pace and fuel consumption – were going to be in a race of their own…or so we thought. But then Senna stalled at the green light! By amazing good fortune, he did it on the only downward-sloping grid in the F1 schedule at that time, and so he was able to bump-start the car, but by the time he got going, he was down to 14th. If the problem had been caused by jitters from a driver on the edge of winning his first title, they were quickly dispelled: now he had to just go for it.
Car advantage or not, it’s remarkable that Senna found enough places to pass six cars in that opening lap. Two more conceded on lap 2. Then Thierry Boutsen and Michele Alboreto were dismissed in successive laps. But it wasn’t until lap 11 that he got past Gerhard Berger into third, and lap 20 when he passed Ivan Capelli’s March to give himself a clear run at Prost. By now it was drizzling with rain, and Senna was able to whittle away at the gap, slithering and sliding and reeling in his teammate When Prost missed a shift out of the chicane soon after half-distance, Senna was there ready to pounce and take the lead which he held to the checkered flag. The win and the championship were his, and despite a million ways he could have thrown it away that day, let mistake build on mistake following his startline faux pas, he had driven like a master.
1989 Monaco
The Monaco Redemption came just two weeks after the Imola Indignation, where Senna had reneged on a pre-race agreement to not dispute the first corner with his McLaren teammate. The plan was to draw clear of the chasing pack – which was going to be easily possible given McLaren-Honda’s 1.5sec per lap advantage over their nearest opposition – before taking the gloves off and going for it. The first start went Senna’s way, but following Gerhard Berger’s huge accident, the race was stopped and restarted. Prost got the jump and left the door wide open, and Senna ran through it and went on to win the race.
It was hardly the crime of the century but it annoyed Alain enough to regard it as a declaration of war…which was probably Ayrton’s intention all along. At Monaco, a place where he had dominated and then crashed the year before, Senna was determined to repeat the first part and avoid the second. In qualifying, he was over one second per lap faster than his nemesis, but would he crack again?
No, not now he held the whip hand, psychologically. A devastatingly fast first couple of laps suggested his potential, but thereafter he allowed his teammate right onto his tail. Trying to entice Prost into an error? Trying to back him up into their pursuers? No one was quite sure, but then he just started stretching away at almost a second per lap! The issue was exacerbated by Prost’s overly cautious approach to lapping backmarkers, and then getting caught behind a bizarre coming together between Nelson Piquet and Andrea de Cesaris that blocked the track.
Consequently, he trailed in almost a minute behind Senna but even without the track blockage, that was probably a representative gap: that’s how brilliant Senna was around Monaco and unlike in ’87, he hadn’t benefited from anyone’s misfortunes. Oh, and he even successfully disguised the fact that he’d lost first and second gears, which are kinda handy around Monaco.
1990 Belgium
The Ferraris of a remotivated Alain Prost and an ever-fast, ever-determined Nigel Mansell were thorns in Senna’s side throughout 1990. Honda still had a significant edge in acceleration and top-end horsepower but the gorgeous Ferrari 641s could carry more speed in fast turns and had a clear advantage through the sweepers of Silverstone, Estoril, Jerez, Suzuka, etc. Not that it seemed to make a whole lot of difference to Senna, at least not in qualifying. There’s no way he should have been on pole at Suzuka – it should have been a Ferrari lockout. But with a lap more than a second quicker than that of his teammate Gerhard Berger, he beat both Ferraris, saw Prost jump him at the start and…well, we know what happened next.
In truth, this victory at Spa was unremarkable; and it’s chosen because a) this was a track where Ayrton traditionally excelled, and b) it was typical of the quality of his performances almost all year. On this occasion, Ayrton drove like Prost to beat Prost – no drama, no fuss, doing just enough to ensure the win. It was a race won from the moment he took the lead at Turn 1 (which he had to do three times because of race stoppages caused by accidents) and devastated the opposition with his cold-tire brilliance. Prost exploited his Ferrari’s superior handling to beat Berger’s McLaren, but he was never going to beat his former teammate.
1991 Interlagos
At last! Ayrton Senna won in front of his adoring Paulistas, and with a performance that showed off all of his best qualities. The Williams-Renaults of Riccardo Patrese and Nigel Mansell were faster, and they outqualified the McLaren of Berger by more than half a second, but Senna was faster still and took pole. At the start he led but was haunted by Mansell until the Briton made a pit stop that was fumbled by his crew and lasted a full 14 seconds. When the stops played out, Nigel was seven seconds down on the McLaren which was by now in dire gearbox trouble and he closed in again until he had to make a second stop, this time for a puncture. Eventually, Mansell’s gearbox let go, but Senna was by no means off the hook.
Having lost fourth gear, he now lost third and fifth too, and Patrese hunted him down. Then the drizzle started to fall and Senna’s brilliance on slicks in the wet helped steady the gap, despite him now leaving the car in sixth gear. Nursing his car to the finish, he crossed the line less than three seconds ahead of Patrese, and the sheer tension of the situation had seized Senna’s back muscles so that he could barely move from the cockpit. He had won two World Championships already, yes, but somehow this victory seemed no less meaningful to the man himself. It was one of the most emotional wins in F1 history.
The Williams-Renault FW14 finally became reliable but only after Senna had won four straight wins. He’d add three more by season’s end, and beat Mansell to score his third title.
1992 Hungary
Not even Ayrton Senna could do much about the absurd advantage the Williams-Renault FW14B bestowed on Mansell and Patrese. Nigel won the first five races, and gifted the Brazilian the Monaco race when he picked up a puncture. Senna did well to hold him off in those dramatic-looking closing stages, but if Ayrton made no mistakes he had it in the bag.
Hungary was a different matter. Patrese, on a track where he always excelled, beat Mansell to pole, but Senna – again outqualifying teammate Berger by more than a second – put himself third on the grid, ready to take advantage of any slip-ups by the Williams pair, or to take advantage of Mansell being unusually tentative at a race in which he could clinch the title.
Ayrton played his hand perfectly, beating Mansell into Turn 1, with Berger demoting Mansell to fourth. Senna tried to keep the pressure on Patrese, despite his McLaren using tires far more vigorously than the Williams but in the end, he had to defend from Mansell who had passed Berger for third. Nigel tried hard but could not find a way through, and just past one-third distance, he ran off the road, and handed a place back to Berger. Again, he passed him, but again, he could not find his way past the McLaren with the yellow helmet sticking out of it.
Inexplicably, while holding a comfortable lead, Patrese spun off, handing P1 to Senna. Now Mansell made a pit stop, having rooted his tires behind Senna, but Ayrton plugged on, knowing that a pit stop would likely lose him the race. Mansell emerged from the pits in sixth, and charged now, passing all the cars he could (including Berger for the third time), and put himself in position to win the title. But 40 seconds up the road, his old enemy – who by now had offered to drive for Williams in 1993 for no salary! – took further satisfaction from the day by winning the race. Not for the first time, and not for the last time, Senna had won the race without the quickest car.
1993 Donington
Do we need words, or just this clip?
OK, let me just add this: Ayrton’s first-lap passing, particularly of Karl Wendlinger around the outside of Craner Curves, is audacious, and seems to defy physics: I can’t imagine where he found that lateral grip. But what gets me just as much every time I watch this clip is the rate at which he pulled away from the Williams pair of Alain Prost and Damon Hill on laps two and three. I’m always thrilled to be at a racetrack, but standing down at the Old Hairpin that day, I felt privileged, too. I haven’t seen a more dramatic demonstration of driving genius than Ayrton produced that day.
- Click here to view a gallery of Ayrton Senna racing images on our Facebook page
Read more untold stories about the late, great Ayrton Senna in the May 2014 issue of RACER – the 22nd anniversary issue of the magazine – on sale now at newsstands or directly at the link below. Subscribe today at our special discount rate, including the 22nd anniversary issue.- Click here to subscribe now
- Click here to buy this issue
Comments