Bulls, Stars and Horses: Icons — Senna
Formula One returned to one of the most iconic tracks in its history last weekend — Imola, Italy. A stage for many famous incidents, Imola is also the place of one of the most tragic incidents in the history of the sport. This is where Formula One lost one of its greatest ever racers — Ayrton Senna. If you ask any fan or racing car driver, “Who according to them is the greatest racing driver of all time?”, chances are you will hear the name of Senna. So, it seems fitting, to start off the discussion on the legendary drivers of the Sport, with possibly the greatest ever — Senna.
Beginning
Making waves in karting and junior formulas, Senna made his Formula One debut at his home Grand Prix at the 1984 Brazilian GP. Wearing his iconic yellow helmet, with the green and blue colours of Brazil, Senna lined up 17th at the start of the race. Sadly, mechanical issues did not allow him to complete his first-ever Grand Prix, in front of his home crowd.
Even though he had started to show promise of his calibre, it was not until the Monaco GP of 1984 that he started showing that he was something special. In a race plagued with wet weather, Senna masterfully manoeuvred his Toleman, one of the cars stuck at the back of the grid, to challenge Alain Prost’s McLaren for the win. On the way to his challenge, he passed legends like Niki Lauda and Keke Rosberg. He passed Prost to take the lead, but the race was red-flagged, and the results were declared basis the last lap completed, according to which Prost had won the race.
But fate could not stop the inevitable from happening. Next year, at the 1985 Portuguese GP, in similarly atrocious conditions as in Monaco, a year before, Senna led from pole and won the race. As everyone on the field behind him aquaplaned (CLICK HERE to know what is aquaplaning) and spun off, Senna mastered the conditions and took the race, lapping everyone but the second-placed Ferrari of Michele Alboreto, winning by over a minute’s margin.
Senna vs Prost
Possibly the greatest rivalry in the history of Formula One, the rivalry sparked itself from the 1985 San Marino GP, which was held once again at Imola. A titanic duel ensued between Senna and Alain Prost of McLaren for the win, running the course of the entire 60 laps. Senna at the end ran out of fuel and Prost won the race, but later disqualified since his car was underweight. But this race laid the groundwork for arguably the biggest rivalry in the history of the sport.
On the one side, you had Senna — uncompromising, freakishly fast, ruthless. On the other, you had Prost — equally uncompromising, calculative, clinical. Senna moved to McLaren to partner Prost in the year of 1988, when he drove what some consider the greatest car of all time — McLaren MP4/4 (CLICK HERE to know more). This started an era of dominance for Prost and Senna with McLaren. From 1988 to 1991, all titles were won either by Senna or Prost (1985,1986, 1989 — Prost; 1988, 1990, 1991 — Senna).
There are many iconic moments of the Senna-Prost rivalry — Suzuka 1989 and 1990, Donington Park 1993 (“The Lap of Gods” by Senna CLICK HERE, which also christened him the nickname of “The Rainmaster”), and many more. Their relationship became so explosive that Prost left McLaren for Ferrari in 1990.
Senna as a Person
Senna is often described as a person who had only one motivation — be the fastest and win everything. He took competitiveness to new heights in formula one — going to all lengths to win races and championships. He crashed into Prost on two occasions, ruining his and his competitor’s race, so he can win the championships.
But there was a different side to him as well. He was a true racer, but a good human being as well. When a driver named Erik Comas crashed and fainted at the 1992 Belgian GP, and fuel was leaking out of his car, Senna stopped his own car and ran over to turn off the car of Comas to prevent a fire from taking place (CLICK HERE to see the incident).
His emotional side was also visible when he finally won his home race at Interlagos, Brazil in 1991. He fought off a failing gearbox to win the race and was so physically drained, that he could barely get out of the car and lift the trophy on the podium (CLICK HERE to see the highlights).
Ayrton Senna sadly lost his life at Imola in 1994, doing what he loved — racing. He crashed at the Tamburello corner. This sparked a slew of safety changes in Formula One, with no other driver losing their life in the sport till Jules Bianchi in 2015. There is now a statue of Senna outside the corner where he lost his life at Imola, which has become a Mecca for all Formula One fan.
Gone too soon, one thing remains undeniable, no matter what F1 fans and drivers say about Senna — that he is one of the greatest of the greats the sport has ever seen, leaving an indelible mark on the sport.
