The Life of Senna
Page 66
Tyrrell Ilmor
8 points
10
Michele Alboreto
Footwork Mugen-Honda
6 points
11
Erik Comas
Ligier Renault
4 points
12
Karl Wendlinger
March Ilmor
3 points
13
Ivan Capelli
Ferrari
3 points
14
Thierry Boutsen
Ligier Renault
2 points
15
Johnny Herbert
Lotus Ford
2 points
16
Pierluigi Martini
Dallara Ferrari
2 points
17
Stefano Modena
Jordan Yamaha
1 point
18
Christian Fittipaldi
Minardi Lamborghini
1 point
19
Bertrand Gachot
Larrousse Lamborghini
1 point
Scoring system: 1st: 10; 2nd: 6; 3rd: 4; 4th: 3; 5th: 2; 6th: 1.
1993 Formula One World Championship
1
Alain Prost
Williams Renault
99 points
2
Ayrton Senna
McLaren Ford
73 points
3
Damon Hill
Williams Renault
69 points
4
Michael Schumacher
Benetton Ford
52 points
5
Riccardo Patrese
Benetton Ford
20 points
6
Jean Alesi
Ferrari
16 points
7
Martin Brundle
Ligier Renault
13 points
8
Gerhard Berger
Ferrari
12 points
9
Johnny Herbert
Lotus Ford
11 points
10
Mark Blundell
Ligier Renault
10 points
11
Michael Andretti
McLaren Ford
7 points
12
Karl Wendlinger
Sauber Ilmor
7 points
13
JJ Lehto
Sauber Ilmor
5 points
14
Christian Fittipaldi
Minardi Ford
5 points
15
Mika Häkkinen
McLaren Ford
4 points
16
Derek Warwick
Footwork Mugen-Honda
4 points
17
Philippe Alliot
Larrousse Lamborghini
2 points
18
Rubens Barrichello
Jordan Hart
2 points
19
Fabrizio Barbazza
Minardi Ford
2 points
20
Alessandro Zanardi
Lotus Ford
1 point
21
Erik Comas
Larrousse Lamborghini
1 point
22
Eddie Irvine
Jordan Hart
1 point
Scoring system: 1st: 10; 2nd: 6; 3rd: 4; 4th: 3; 5th: 2; 6th: 1.
APPENDIX VIII
1985-1993 Formula One
wins by season
Ayrton Senna spent 11 years racing Formula One cars and scored victories in every year except the first and the last. In 1985 he had an uncompetitive car and in 1994 he was killed in the third race of the season but not before he had taken pole in each and led each before retiring.
1985 Lotus Renault 97T: two wins
In only Senna’s second year he got a car capable of taking him to victory. He took two wins at a time when his experienced and highly-rated team-mate Elio de Angelis took just one, and the Brazilian newcomer also took another four podium places. His performance was good enough to net him fourth place in the championship and he could have done better had he not been hampered by unreliability – he led nine of the 16 rounds and 26 per cent of the total distance, the record for a driver that year. Both victories came in the wet.
1986 Lotus Renault 98T: two wins
In 1986 Ayrton Senna took another two victories to add to his tally. He led half of the 16 rounds and finished a close fourth in a championship in which he was for the first time a genuine championship contender until the final races.
1987 Lotus Honda 99T: two wins
The 1987 season saw Senna take his by then customary two victories, including Monaco. He led seven races and finished third in the championship behind the dominant Williams Hondas of Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell.
1988 McLaren Honda MP4/4: eight wins
In 1988, with the mighty MP4/4 underneath him, Senna became the first driver to take eight wins in a season. He retired from the lead on another two occasions and led over half the total race distance. This amazing success pushed him to his first world title despite stiff opposition from team-mate Alain Prost, who himself took a hefty total of seven victories.
1989 McLaren Honda MP4/5: six wins
Alongside the six victories he officially took in the MP4/5, Senna was also disqualified from a hard-fought first place at Suzuka and retired from the lead four times. He led 13 of the races and nearly half of the laps, almost double the distance of the eventual champion, his team-mate Alain Prost. He took five victories where he led every lap, equalling his tally of 1988. Each one of the six wins was accompanied by a pole position at the same race.
1990 McLaren Honda MP4/5B: six wins
It was another six wins for Senna in his second championship-winning year. The Brazilian again led almost half of the available distance. He became the first ever driver to lead 14 rounds in a single season, only missing out on Hungary, where he sat close behind Thierry Boutsen’s Williams Renault for the entire race but could not overtake on the tricky track, and Suzuka where he crashed out at the first corner. Each victory was coupled with a pole position.
1991 McLaren Honda MP4/6: seven wins
This year saw Senna take his second greatest tally of wins after 1988 as he scooped his third world title. The Brazilian led all but nine of the first 282 laps of the season, winning at his home race and at Monte Carlo in the process. He led every lap on five occasions that year. In all he led nearly half the laps and 10 of the races.
1992 McLaren Honda MP4/7A: three wins
Just three wins may have seemed like a meagre total compared to his performances in the previous four seasons, but against the mighty Williams Renault FW14Bs it was a magnificent achievement. Unreliability meant the Brazilian could take only fourth in the championship, but he and team-mate Gerhard Berger put in some stunning performances to ensure Williams did not enjoy quite the dominance that McLaren had in 1988.
1993 McLaren Ford MP4/8: five wins
Once again faced with dominant Newey-designed Williams Renaults Senna managed to take an impressive five wins, a record sixth Monaco victory and perhaps his greatest race ever – the European Grand Prix at Donington – among them. Once in the lead he was almost unstoppable. He led six races.
APPENDIX IX
1985 to 1993
41 Formula One wins
Ayrton Senna won 41 races in nine seasons out of 161 he started a win rate of 25 per cent which is on the par with the very best. His most most succesful year was in 1988 when he won eight races in a year and shared virtually all the honours with his team mate in 1988. His worst winning season was his Lotus years whn he won two race in each of the three seasons.
1. 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix: Estoril, 67 laps in 2h00m28.006
s
Second: Michele Alboreto, Ferrari, +1m 02.978s
Third: Patrick Tambay, Renault, +1 lap
Senna’s first victory was also one of his best. In the Portuguese downpour he took a clean sweep: he won, took pole position, fastest lap and fastest practice time of the weekend and led every lap. He never looked beatable. It was a drive more than worthy of a veteran as opposed to a young driver with only 15 Formula One races behind him.
2. 1985 Belgian Grand Prix: Spa-Francorchamps, 43 laps in 1h34m19.893s
Second: Nigel Mansell, Williams Honda, +28.422s
Third: Alain Prost, McLaren TAG, +55.109s
Once again in the wet Senna was magnificent. At the ultimate driver’s circuit he proved himself against the rest of the field. Even by the end of the first lap his lead looked secure. He led every lap but the ninth, when during a dry spell his teammate Elio de Angelis briefly moved into first as Senna pitted to change tyres.
3. 1986 Spanish Grand Prix: Jerez de la Frontera, 72 laps in 1h48m47.735s
Second: Nigel Mansell, Williams Honda, +0.014s
Third: Alain Prost, McLaren TAG, +21.552s
This remains the second closest victory in history. A race-long battle between Senna, Mansell and Prost that became all the more thrilling in the closing laps. Mansell on fresh rubber was catching Senna by four seconds a lap and whoever got the better kick from the final corner would be victor. Senna won courtesy of a misplaced finish line.
4. 1986 USA East Grand Prix: Detroit, 63 laps in 1h51m12.847s
Second: Jacques Laffite, Ligier Renault, +31.017s
Third: Alain Prost, McLaren TAG, +31.824s
This was Senna’s first victory at one of his best tracks. It was a hard-fought win for the Brazilian around the slow and twisting street circuit. He twice lost the lead and picked up a puncture along the way but in the end he outpaced and outdrove his rivals to take his first of many street circuit victories.
5. 1987 Monaco Grand Prix: Monte Carlo, 78 laps in 1h57m54.085s
Second: Nelson Piquet, Williams Honda, +33.212s
Third: Michele Alboreto, Ferrari, +1m12.839s
In 1987 Senna took his first victory at what is considered to be his best circuit. He started in second and got away from the grid still in that position behind poleman Nigel Mansell. He inherited the lead when the Englishman’s turbo gave up on lap 30. It was his first of a record six victories in the principality.
6. 1987 USA East Grand Prix: Detroit, 63 laps in 1h50m16.358s
Second: Nelson Piquet, Williams Honda, +33.819s
Third: Alain Prost, McLaren TAG, +45.327s
In Detroit, Senna took his second victory in a row in 1987. It was almost a replay of his Monte Carlo triumph. Mansell again started from pole with Senna beside him, once again took the lead at the start, and again suffered a problem – this time a sticking wheelnut at a tyre stop – to hand the lead and the victory to his Brazilian rival.
7. 1988 San Marino Grand Prix: Imola, 60 laps in 1h32m41.264s
Second: Alain Prost, McLaren Honda, +2.334s
Third: Nelson Piquet, Lotus Honda, +1 lap
The mighty McLaren MP4/4s were particularly impressive at Imola. They were three seconds better than anyone else in qualifying and after Prost had problems getting off the startline, Senna knew he could not be touched. It was a lights-to-flag victory for the Brazilian with only his new team-mate, Alain Prost, still on the same lap.
8. 1988 Canadian Grand Prix: Montreal, 69 laps in 1h39m46.618s
Second: Alain Prost, McLaren Honda, +5.934s
Third: Thierry Boutsen, Benetton Ford, +51.409s
Alain Prost took the lead at the start but Senna was determined and executed a brilliant overtaking manoeuvre on lap 19 to wrest the lead away from the Frenchman. He completed the hat-trick of win, pole position and fastest lap in Canada to boost the championship challenge to his team-mate and rival Prost.
9. 1988 USA East Grand Prix: Detroit, 63 laps in 1h54m56.635s
Second: Alain Prost, McLaren Honda, +38.713s
Third: Thierry Boutsen, Benetton Ford, +1 lap
Another win in Detroit for the Brazilian confirmed Senna’s street circuit dominance. It was another lights-to-flag victory for him to savour but it was not won without great effort. At the end of the race Senna emerged exhausted from the car in the 34 degree searing heat, from a race in which only seven other cars made it to the finish.
10. 1988 British Grand Prix: Silverstone, 65 laps in 1h33m16.367s
Second: Nigel Mansell, Williams Judd, +23.344s
Third: Alessandro Nannini, Benetton Ford, +51.214s
Silverstone was not without problems for Senna – torrential rain on one of the fastest tracks of all time, fuel consumption worries, a Ferrari resurgence in form – but he battled through to win the race all the same. It gained McLaren its eighth consecutive victory that season – the first time ever that a team had achieved the feat.
11. 1988 German Grand Prix: Hockenheim, 44 laps in 1h32m54.188s
Second: Alain Prost, McLaren Honda, +13.609s
Third: Gerhard Berger, Ferrari, +52.095s
Senna took advantage of Prost’s lack of confidence in the wet to blast easily into the lead at the start. He was the master in the changeable weather conditions that Hockenheim produced and made the tricky decision of using wet tyres throughout. It paid off. He kept hold of his early lead unchallenged until the chequered flag.
12. 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix: Hungaroring, 76 laps in 1h57m47.381s
Second: Alain Prost, McLaren Honda, +0.529s
Third: Thierry Boutsen, Benetton Ford, +31.410s
At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Senna produced yet another fantastic performance. He led every lap, with Prost technically taking the lead for just a fraction of a second at the start, but it was one of the closest contests between the McLaren pairing all season. The clash fittingly made the drivers equal leaders of the championship on 66 points.
13. 1988 Belgian Grand Prix: Spa-Francorchamps, 43 laps in 1h28m00.549
Second: Alain Prost, McLaren Honda, +30.470s
Third: Ivan Capelli, March Judd, +1m15.768s
Spa-Francorchamps was one of Senna’s favourite circuits. Although Prost went into first at the start, by the time they surged into Les Combes on the initial lap, Senna had taken a lead that he would not lose. There was celebration for the team when McLaren took the constructor’s championship, although it had never really been in doubt.
14. 1988 Japanese Grand Prix: Suzuka, 51 laps in 1h33m26.173s
Second: Alain Prost, McLaren Honda, +13.363s
Third: Thierry Boutsen, Benetton Ford, +36.109s
Senna took one of his greatest victories and his first world title. When he stalled on the grid it looked as if the championship was over. He managed to get the car going but found himself 14th. By the end of the first lap he was in eighth, and he progressed through the field to finally take the lead from Ivan Capelli’s March Judd on lap 28.
15. 1989 San Marino Grand Prix: Imola, 58 laps in 1h26m51.245s
Second: Alain Prost, McLaren Honda, +40.225s
Third: Alessandro Nannini, Benetton Ford, +1 lap
Senna’s most controversial win. He made an agreement with Prost that whoever was in the lead at the first corner would be unchallenged. Senna was in front and Prost did not overtake. Then Gerhard Berger had a fiery crash and the race was restarted. Prost made the better getaway, but Senna overtook and led until the chequered flag.
16. 1989 Monaco Grand Prix: Monte Carlo, 77 laps in 1h53m33.251s
Second: Alain Prost, McLaren Honda, +52.529s
Third: Stefano Modena, Brabham Judd, +1 lap
Senna’s second Monaco victory was a lights-to-flag affair and he never looked in danger. In fact he hardly seemed to be trying, despite building up almost a minute’s lead before the end of the race. He lost first and second gears in the later stages, but kept pushing to the maximum so those behind would not realise he had a problem.
17. 1989 Mexican Grand Prix: Mexico City, 69 laps in 1h35m21.431s
Second: Riccardo Patrese, Williams +15.560s
Third: Michele Alboreto, Tyrrell Ford, +31.254s
Senna started from pole position and sped away from the pack at the start until a midfield pile-up at the end of lap one meant the race was red-flagged. This made little difference and Senna took the lead again at the second start and led all the way to the flag while the rest of the field shuffled in from behind.
18. 1989 German Grand Prix: Hockenheim, 45 laps in 1h21m43.302s
Second: Alain Prost, McLaren Honda, +18.151s
Third: Nigel Mansell, Ferrari, +1m23.254s
After a four-race lean period mid-season, Senna was back on winning form at Hockenheim. Admittedly it was a lucky win – Prost led most of the race but in the later stages the Frenchman suffered gearbox problems and Senna flew past with just three laps to go to bring himself back into championship contention.
19. 1989 Belgian Grand Prix: Spa-Francorchamps, 44 laps in 1h40m54.196s
Second: Alain Prost, McLaren Honda, +1.304s
Third: Nigel Mansell, Ferrari, +1.824s
When the rain came down it seemed inevitable who would emerge as the winner. Senna took the lead at the start and, taking care to avoid aquaplaning, led right until the end. The small gap to second and third places was due to a cautious spell late in the race where he slowed down considerably due to safety concerns.
20. 1989 Spanish Grand Prix: Jerez de la Frontera, 73 laps in 1h48.264s
Second: Gerhard Berger, Ferrari, +27.051s
Third: Alain Prost, McLaren Honda, +53.788s