F1 classic races - Hungary

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  This is my selection, of races in Hungary between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1992

FINALLY: Mansell achieves his goal, although Senna won the race

WINNER: Ayrton Senna (McLaren Honda), 2^nd: Nigel Mansell (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Gerhard Berger (McLaren Honda)

ONE man dominated the 1992 world championship, but it was a charging drive that earnt Nigel Mansell his coveted crown.  Starting second behind team-mate Riccardo Patrese, Mansell made a bad start, dropping behind both McLaren’s of Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger.  He fought back past Berger and when Patrese spun off, the championship looked secure.  However, a puncture forced Nigel into the pits and back down to sixth spot.  Catching Senna was a forlorn task, but ‘Our Nige’ ensured he fought for his title.  First, Michael Schumacher was catapulted off the road when his rear wing flew off in the direction of Budapest airport!  The Lotus of Mika Hakkinen and Martin Brundle were easily dispensed with and finally, a bullish pass on Berger got Mansell back into second spot, even when third was enough for the title.  After many near-misses, Nigel had done it at last!

1997

WINNER: Jacques Villeneuve (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Damon Hill (Arrows Yamaha), 3^rd: Johnny Herbert (Sauber Petronas)

THE Damon Hill/Arrows combination always looked like it would fail and so it did; but for one magical weekend in Hungary.  The world champion recaptured his 1996 form to qualify his underpowered chassis in third spot.  Hill jumped past Jacques Villeneuve into the first corner and then sensationally overtook Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari on lap 11 into the first corner.  Blistered tyres and a spare chassis finished Schumacher’s podium chances and he wasn’t the only one suffering.  Giancarlo Fisichella spun off trying to pass the Ferrari; Mika Hakkinen lost engine power on his McLaren and Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s bad luck continued when the fuel filler cap refused to open at his pitstop.  After seeing off the threat of David Coulthard, Villeneuve pursued in vain, but cruel luck was about to strike.  Hill’s throttle started cutting out with three laps to go, leaving him a sitting target.  On the last lap, Villeneuve used the grass on the exit of turn three to steal victory from Damon’s deserved grasp.  Johnny Herbert came home in an excellent third for Sauber.

1998

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Jacques Villeneuve (Williams Mecachrome)

HALFWAY through the 1998 race and Michael Schumacher’s world championship hopes looked to be in tatters.  The McLaren’s were walking away into the distance and Schumacher was struggling to pass Jacques Villeneuve’s Williams Mecachrome.  Ross Brawn came up with an absolute masterstroke and brought Schumacher in for an early second stop, turning his race into a three-stopper.  His searing pace was unleashed and when the McLaren team tried to respond, they crucially lost track position.  Even a brief excursion onto the grass on lap 52 couldn’t halt Schumacher’s charge and he started lapping three seconds quicker than anyone else.  By lap 60, his advantage was sufficient enough to pit for the third time and retain his lead.  Mika Hakkinen’s challenge faded thanks to a faulty shock absorber, which relegated the Finn to a lapped sixth, behind David Coulthard, Villeneuve, Damon Hill’s Jordan and a flu-ridden Heinz-Harald Frentzen.  Even today, this remains one of Michael Schumacher’s greatest ever victories.

2001

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari), 3^rd: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes)

THIS was nowhere near a classic, but it was a title clincher.  David Coulthard had to beat Michael Schumacher to stand any hope of launching a title fightback.  It became ever more unlikely when Schumacher lapped 0.7secs quicker than anyone else in qualifying.  He took off at the start and wasn’t seen for the remainder of the afternoon.  The main scrap was between Coulthard and the second Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello.  DC lost out at the start to the Brazilian, but slick McLaren pit work got the Scot out ahead in the first round of pitstops.  However, Ferrari turned the tables at the second stops and Barrichello leapfrogged ahead again.  The path was clear for Schumacher to take his seventh win of the season, his fourth world drivers’ championship and to equal Alain Prost’s record of 51 GP victories.  With Barrichello second, the constructor’s championship was also sealed in Ferrari’s favour, having scored nearly double the points of nearest rivals McLaren.  For Ferrari, it was the perfect day and years of Maranello domination were well and truly underway.

2003

WINNER: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 2^nd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams BMW)

THE remarkable Fernando Alonso had gone off the boil in mid-season and Jarno Trulli had outpaced him in the last three events.  When Trulli went quickest in Friday’s qualifying session, with Alonso down in sixth, it looked like we were in for more of the same.  However, Alonso stormed to pole position on Saturday and never looked back.  He was massively helped by Mark Webber’s much slower Jaguar getting into second position in a chaotic start.  Webber held up the rest of the opposition, allowing Alonso to build up a 30 second cushion in the first 15 laps.  Rubens Barrichello’s championship challenge ended when he suffered a calamitous rear suspension failure.  After spinning at the second corner, Ralf Schumacher produced a stirring fightback to fourth position, but his title chances also looked dead and buried.  This was because his team-mate, Juan Pablo Montoya survived a scrappy spin in the closing stages to finish third.  Kimi Raikkonen was an excellent second and it set the championship up for a grand finale, especially as Michael Schumacher qualified and finished a very distant and lapped eighth.  At least he started; Ralph Firman fractured his heel and missed the race after a terrible crash in practice, but this was Alonso’s weekend, as he stole Bruce McLaren’s record to become the youngest ever Formula One winner.  That was until a young German called S. Vettel came on the horizon of course!

2006

WINNER: Jenson Button (Honda), 2^nd: Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber)

BOTH Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher entered the race with grid penalties.  Alonso had been penalised for brake-testing Robert Doornbos in Friday practice, whilst Schumacher overtook Alonso and new BMW driver Robert Kubica under red flags on Saturday morning.  On a wet day, the unpredictable took place.  Alonso produced a great drive and looked set to win from 15^th on the grid.  However, a wheel nut came loose after his second pitstop, which left him spinning helplessly into the barriers.  Schumacher couldn’t take advantage though; retiring with suspension damage after minor contact with Nick Heidfeld with just three laps remaining.  Kubica’s later disqualification still earnt the German a fortunate point.  All this opened the door for Jenson Button to storm through from 14^th on the grid to claim his first Grand Prix victory.  Pedro de la Rosa was a notable second for McLaren, recording his first podium finish.

F1 classic races - Canada

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  This is my selection, of races in Monaco between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1991

WINNER: Nelson Piquet (Benetton Ford), 2^nd: Stefano Modena (Tyrrell Honda), 3^rd: Riccardo Patrese (Williams Renault)

NIGEL Mansell totally dominated the 1991 event, but he endured the curse of Murray Walker and the race ended up being won by his bitter rival, Nelson Piquet.  It was Pirelli’s last win in Formula One before they got involved in the sport again this season.  The Williams Renault was turning into the fastest car and they annexed the front row in qualifying.  Mansell beat his team-mate Riccardo Patrese off the startline, with Ayrton Senna giving vain chase in third.  On lap 25, Senna went out with electronic issues, which had also claimed his team-mate Gerhard Berger.  The scene was set for a Williams 1-2, but Patrese’s gearbox starting misbehaving and he dropped to fourth.  On the last lap, Mansell was waving to the crowd in celebration, whilst Walker was using his line ‘his first win of the 1991 season for BBC viewers.’  Round the Casino hairpin and the Williams ground to a halt, with a sudden gearbox failure.  It let Piquet in for a lucky win, whilst the impressive Stefano Modena earnt his best ever Grand Prix finish in a Tyrrell Honda. 

1995

SOLE: Win for Jean Alesi in his career came emotionally in 1995

WINNER: Jean Alesi (Ferrari), 2^nd: Rubens Barrichello (Jordan Peugeot), 3^rd: Eddie Irvine (Jordan Peugeot)

ON HIS 31^st birthday, Jean Alesi secured an emotional and popular victory in Montreal.  To add fuel to the fire, the Frenchman was driving Ferrari No.27, driven in the past by the Canadian darling, Gilles Villeneuve.  Michael Schumacher had been storming to an easy win, but the champion suffered a gear selection problem, which robbed the German of certain victory.  Thanks to a late tangle between Martin Brundle and Gerhard Berger, Schumacher still finished fifth.  Alesi only just made it to the line, as he spluttered to a halt out of fuel on the slowing down lap.  For once, his luck held together when he needed it most.  Gearbox failure left an unhappy Damon Hill on the sidelines and this allowed the two Jordan’s of Rubens Barrichello and Eddie Irvine through into an unlikely double podium result for the underperforming squad.

1998

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Giancarlo Fisichella (Benetton Playlife), 3^rd: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari)

IN AN incredible event, Michael Schumacher produced a stirring comeback drive to win and relight a fading championship challenge.  He was helped by a miserable day for the all-conquering McLaren’s, who both retired.  Mika Hakkinen’s gearbox got jammed at a restart, whilst David Coulthard pulled off with transmission failure.  There had been a restart after Alexander Wurz clipped Jean Alesi and barrel-rolled his Benetton three times into the gravel trap.  On the second start, Ralf Schumacher spun his Jordan wildly, and Alesi, limping around with no front wing after contact with Eddie Irvine, was collected by Jarno Trulli.  The Prost car ended up on the top of Alesi’s spare chassis.  Irvine recovered from a puncture to finish a fighting third.  Even after the McLaren’s disappearance, Schumacher Snr didn’t make life easy for himself.  On lap 20, he returned to the racetrack after a scheduled pitstop and pushed the Williams of Heinz-Harald Frentzen off the circuit.  Patrick Head was furious, and with good justification.  Schumacher was given a stop-go penalty and then survived a vicious attempt by Damon Hill to put him in the wall on his comeback charge.  Hill was accused of dangerous weaving by his former enemy, and his luck ran out, as his throttle cut out, which wrecked his podium chances.  On a charge, Schumacher hunted down the long-time leader Giancarlo Fisichella, got ahead after his second stop and went onto record a stunning victory.  After his rolling antics early on, Wurz did very well to finish a superb fourth in the spare Benetton.

2005

WINNER: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)

THIS was a case of waiting for your rivals to falter and Kimi Raikkonen did that in 2005.  Raikkonen was behind the two Renault’s and his team-mate for the majority of the afternoon, but benefited from their dramas to win in Canada.  First, Giancarlo Fisichella crawled around to retire with a total hydraulic failure, gutted to lose a potential race victory.  Next, runaway championship leader Fernando Alonso made a rare mistake touched a wall and terminally damaged his rear suspension.  Finally, Juan Pablo Montoya was so incensed by a poor McLaren strategy call, that he exited the pits with the red light still on during a Safety Car period.  The Colombian was promptly disqualified.  Raikkonen survived a late steering scare to hold off Michael Schumacher for his third win of the season, whilst Rubens Barrichello came through from a pitlane start to finish third for Ferrari.

2007

LUCKY: Kubica escaped serious injury from this smash in 2007

WINNER: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), 3^rd: Alexander Wurz (Williams Toyota)

A STAR was well and truly born in this event in 2007, as Lewis Hamilton overcame four nerve-racking Safety Car periods to earn his first ever Formula One victory.  His feat was overshadowed by a sickening crash for the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica.  On lap 27, shortly after the first Safety Car period to recover Adrian Sutil’s crashed Spyker, Kubica clipped the Toyota of Jarno Trulli on the rundown to the Casino hairpin.  The Pole’s front wing went underneath his chassis, launching him airborne and violently into the crash barriers.  The car totally disintegrated and the remains rolled back across the road to the opposite guardrail.  Incredibly, Kubica escaped with just a sprained ankle and would miss only one event in his full recovery.  Aside for one lap during the first Safety Car, Hamilton led throughout and stayed cool under intense scrutiny, on a day when the more experienced got into trouble.  Both Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella were disqualified for repeating Juan Pablo Montoya’s mistake in 2005, by charging back into the race with the red light still on at the pitlane exit.  Hamilton’s team-mate, Fernando Alonso went off the track four times at the first corner during the race, and finished a lame 7^th, having been sensationally passed in the closing stages by Takuma Sato’s Super Aguri Honda.  Hamilton cruised over the line relatively comfortably to head home Nick Heidfeld’s BMW and Alexander Wurz, who secured his first podium for ten years.  He’d started down in 19^th on the grid, which highlighted the chaos that was Canada 2007.

2010

WINNER: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Jenson Button (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)

LEWIS Hamilton managed his tyres the best last season to earn back-to-back wins on Formula One’s return to North America following a one year sabbatical.  Hamilton led Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso home, in the only event that saw drivers having to make multiple pitstops on a dry racing day.  Had it not been for some rotten luck in traffic against Jarno Trulli and Karun Chandok, Alonso might well have stolen the win for Ferrari.  Sebastian Vettel nursed a gearbox issue to finish fourth, just ahead of team-mate Mark Webber, who’d tried a different race strategy in an effort to win, but wound up fifth.  In his comeback season, Michael Schumacher drove appallingly and got criticised for squeezing Robert Kubica onto the grass and Felipe Massa into the wall.  He finished in 11^th.

F1 classic races - Monaco

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  This is my selection, of races in Monaco between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1992

DRAMATIC: Senna's slower McLaren holds off Mansell in 1992

WINNER: Ayrton Senna (McLaren Honda), 2^nd: Nigel Mansell (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Riccardo Patrese (Williams Renault)

NIGEL Mansell was aiming to become the first driver since the days of Alberto Ascari in the 1950s to win six races in a row.  He dominated this race from pole position, until he collected an unfortunate puncture with seven laps to go.  Ayrton Senna inherited the lead, but Mansell quickly caught up to the McLaren Honda and drove all over the road, in a desperate attempt to overhaul the Brazilian.  Senna made his car the widest possible around, and despite doing all he could, Mansell couldn’t find a way past.  Ayrton securing his fifth win in six Monaco Grand Prix’s.  It was a belting finish.

1996

CHAMPAGNE: Panis, Coulthard and Herbert spray the bubbly

WINNER: Olivier Panis (Ligier Mugen Honda), 2^nd: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Johnny Herbert (Sauber Ford)

THIS was the race which should have the title ‘Last Man Standing.’  21 started, only four finished!  The drama on a greasy track surface started when Jos Verstappen, the only man stupid enough to start on slick tyres, slid straight into the St. Devote barriers.  Moments later, world champion Michael Schumacher made a rare error and hit the wall at Portier.  Damon Hill led from the start and was miles ahead of anyone else when his Williams Renault blew up in the tunnel on lap 40, leaving Damon devastated.  This promoted Jean Alesi into the lead, but a wheel bearing stopped his Benetton in the pits.  The second Williams of Jacques Villeneuve was never a factor in the victory chase, but was taken out by the hopeless Forti of Luca Badoer.  All of this drama saw Olivier Panis come through from 14^th on the grid to secure a gigantic triumph for the fading Ligier Mugen Honda team.  Brits David Coulthard and Johnny Herbert, plus the other Sauber of Heinz-Harald Frentzen were the only other finishers.

1997

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Rubens Barrichello (Stewart Ford), 3^rd: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari)

WILLIAMS took a mad pill before this race, chucking away their qualifying advantage.  On a wet circuit, the team elected to start pole man Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jacques Villeneuve on slick tyres.  Michael Schumacher drove past the pair at the start, and went on to produce a Monaco masterclass.  Schumacher was a phenomenal 21 seconds clear of Giancarlo Fisichella’s Jordan by the end of lap five.  Villeneuve gave up the chase by smacking the rear corner of his car against the wall at St. Devote, whilst behind lapped by Schumacher on lap 16.  Frentzen struck the wall in the chicane, whilst running a lonely 9^th.  Despite a quick trip down the escape road in the worsening conditions, Schumacher won the race by country miles.  Rubens Barrichello produced a stunning drive from tenth on the grid to score a brilliant second place for the new Stewart Ford outfit, leaving Jackie Stewart full of emotion.  Eddie Irvine made it a great day for Ferrari, with the final podium position, ahead of 1996 winner Olivier Panis and Mika Salo, who claimed Tyrrell’s final ever world championship points by not coming into the pits at all during the timed out 62 laps.

2002

WINNER: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Ralf Schumacher (Williams BMW)

FERRARI and Michael Schumacher were reeling from the team orders scandal that hit F1 after the Austrian race two weeks earlier.  In Monaco, the unbeatable F2002 was beaten for the only time in the 2002 season.  Schumacher qualified third, and couldn’t find a way past David Coulthard.  Coulthard blasted past Juan Pablo Montoya off the start, survived a technical gremlin at half-distance and benefited from a upgraded package by McLaren to hold off a feisty challenge from Schumacher.  Montoya couldn’t respond, as his Williams BMW suffered a total engine failure.  Ralf Schumacher salvaged third place for the team, despite a late pitstop to replace a delaminated tyre.  The other Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello had a clumsy afternoon, which included a collision with Kimi Raikkonen and a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pits.  Barrichello ended out of the points in seventh position, behind Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who scored the final ever world championship point for the Arrows team, before they folded later in the season.

2005

WINNER: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Nick Heidfeld (Williams BMW), 3^rd: Mark Webber (Williams BMW)

A STUNNING stint after a Safety Car saw Kimi Raikkonen clinch his first and ultimately, only triumph around the streets of Monte Carlo.  Raikkonen took pole position, benefiting massively from one of his main rivals on the weekend, Juan Pablo Montoya, being sent to the back of the grid for causing a Saturday morning accident between David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve.  It looked like McLaren had thrown away Raikkonen’s clear advantage, by not pitting him during a Safety Car period.  It was caused after Christjian Albers spun his Minardi, causing a blockage at the Mirabeau hairpin, which ended with Coulthard being, ran into the back of Michael Schumacher, terminating the Scot’s challenge.  However, Raikkonen produced a series of searing laps when racing resumed, pulling away from Fernando Alonso, who was struggling with heavy rear tyre wear.  Despite his best efforts, Alonso couldn’t resist the faster Williams of Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber, but still finished fourth, to keep a significant championship lead.  Michael Schumacher didn’t make many friends in Monaco 2005.  Coulthard was furious with his retirement, and then he passed Rubens Barrichello, who was unhappy with the strong move on the last lap by his team-mate.  To compound matters, a strong attempt at passing brother Ralf on the start-finish straight, nearly put the Toyota in the barrier.

2008

RECOVERY: Hamilton won in 2008, dream result after an early scrape

WINNER: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber), 3^rd: Felipe Massa (Ferrari)

LEWIS Hamilton followed in the footsteps of his hero, Ayrton Senna, by recovering from a careless slap with the barriers in the early exchanges to win in 2008.  The Hamilton family felt they had been robbed of victory in 2007 by McLaren team orders.  Lewis rewrote the wrongs of 07, but he got lucky, after striking the wall at Tabac on lap six, left him with a puncture.  McLaren switched his strategy at that point, and combined with stunning driving and a drying track, it changed the race.  Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa put in gritty performances to complete the podium, but Adrian Sutil was cruelly robbed of a deserved fourth place, when his Force India was rammed at the chicane by a out-of-control Kimi Raikkonen.  For his part, Raikkonen ended up out of the points, which started the disintegration of his world championship defence.

F1 classic races - Spain

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  This is my selection, of races in Spain between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1991

WINNER: Nigel Mansell (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Alain Prost (Ferrari), 3^rd: Riccardo Patrese (Williams Renault)

F1’s first visit to Barcelona came in September 1991.  It will be remembered for one of the most iconic pictures in Grand Prix history.  Championship rivals Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna went wheel-to-wheel down the long start-finish straight, wheels almost touching sparks flying at nearly 200mph.  Mansell went onto claim the place from Senna and in a race he needed to win, to keep his slim championship hopes alive, did so.  Senna spun in the last corner, then struggled with fuel consumption and limped home a disappointed 5^th.  Pole-sitter Gerhard Berger dropped out with engine problems and with Michael Schumacher also spinning away a possible podium chance in only his fourth Grand Prix start, Alain Prost came through from 15^th at the end of lap one to finish second.  This was because he took the brave decision to start the race on dry tyres on a damp circuit.  However, this was the day when two true Grand Prix legends refused to back down and gave the neutrals a spectacular moment to remember, that is still talked about today.

1994

WINNER: Damon Hill (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Ford), 3^rd: Mark Blundell (Tyrrell Yamaha)

FOUR weeks after Ayrton Senna’s tragic accident at Imola, Damon Hill gave the whole Williams Renault team a huge boost, with a great victory.  Hill capitalised fully on a rare technical glitch on the formerly invincible Benetton Ford of Michael Schumacher to claim his fourth F1 win.  Schumacher dominated qualifying and disappeared in the early stages with a series of blistering early laps.  However, the young German hit trouble shortly after his first pitstop, when he got stuck in fifth gear for the rest of the race.  Incredibly, he still finished second, less than 20 seconds behind.  Late engine failures for JJ Lehto and Martin Brundle handed Mark Blundell a shock podium finish, ultimately the last time we’d see a Tyrrell on a Formula One podium.

1996

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Jean Alesi (Benetton Renault), 3^rd: Jacques Villeneuve (Williams Renault)

FORCEFUL: Schumacher passes Villeneuve on his way to victory

IN THE torrential rain of Spain 1996, Michael Schumacher proved again just why he was the best.  Schumacher destroyed the competition to win the Spanish event by over a full minute from Jean Alesi.  The 1996 Ferrari was not a good car, but Schumacher could still produce drives that would startle anyone, and this was a prime example.  Rookie Jacques Villeneuve did well to finish third, in a race that saw just six of the 20 cars finish the race.  Retirements included Rubens Barrichello, robbed of a certain podium by a clutch failure on his Jordan Peugeot and Damon Hill, who spun three times in the first 11 laps, and ultimately – ended his race by crashing into the pitwall.  Hill could only watch on in awe of his main rival’s total exhibition of driving in such foul conditions to record his first of what would be many victories at the wheel of the Scuderia.

1997

WINNER: Jacques Villeneuve (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Olivier Panis (Prost Mugen Honda), 3^rd: Jean Alesi (Benetton Renault)

TYRES were the main factor in the outcome of the 1997 event on the Circuit de Catalunya and nearly saw a giantklling upset.  Had it not been for Eddie Irvine’s inability to use his mirrors whilst being lapped, Prost and Olivier Panis might well have won this event.  Panis only started 12^th, but his more durable Bridgestone tyres and solid Prost chassis saw him charge through the field.  This came on a day where Heinz-Harald Frentzen squandered a front row starting position and finish in a very poor 8^th for Williams.  To make Frentzen look even worse, his team-mate Jacques Villeneuve was easier on his Goodyear tyres and went onto take the chequered flag, though if it hadn’t been for Irvine’s ignorance, he probably would have limited defence against the charging Panis.  Two weeks later, Panis season and career effectively ended with two broken legs in a sickening crash during the Canadian Grand Prix.  Jean Alesi scored a much-needed rostrum for Benetton, as Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard, suffered significantly from the abrasive track surface, which destroyed their tyres.  Schumacher salvaged fourth, whilst Coulthard was overtaken by Johnny Herbert on the last lap and had to settle for a disappointing sixth.

2001

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams BMW), 3^rd: Jacques Villeneuve (BAR Honda)

SOMETIMES, sport can be just utterly cruel for no particular reason.  Mika Hakkinen was the victim of this fate in 2001.  In the first event since traction control and launch control devices were allowed back into the sport, the Flying Finn was in complete command.  He followed Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari closely through the first two stints and then took the lead at the final round of pitstops.  Although helped by a strange vibration from Schumacher’s Ferrari, Hakkinen proceeded to pull out a minute advantage, having lapped the entire field.  Then, on the last lap, his clutch packed up through turn three.  It exploded three corners later, leaving the ailing McLaren on the side of the grass.  You just had to feel for Hakkinen, and even Schumacher had to console his rival afterwards.  Michael knew how lucky he had really been on this day.  David Coulthard was a victim of the new technology and started from the back of the grid.  He recovered to fifth, but was accused by Ron Dennis of suffering ‘brain fade’ afterwards.  This allowed Juan Pablo Montoya to collect his first points in Formula One, with a second place drive, and Jacques Villeneuve to earn the first podium in F1 for the BAR Honda outfit.

 

2003

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 3^rd: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)

BEFORE 2003, Spain was never interested in Formula One.  Crowds were mundane at Barcelona and little interest was credited until Fernando Alonso turned up.  His fans from his native Oviedo descended on Barcelona and saw the youngster push Michael Schumacher all the way.  Schumacher held on to win on the debut of the new F2003-GA, but Alonso won the plaudits of many for his outstanding drive.  Kimi Raikkonen’s championship lead was cut, after he pressed ‘self-destruct’ on the grid and clattered into Antonio Pizzonia’s Jaguar on the grid, whilst David Coulthard tangled with fellow Brit Jenson Button and ended in the gravel pit, making it a miserable day for McLaren.  Although Schumacher had taken the expected victory, this was the day when everyone sat up and took notice of Fernando Alonso’s ability as a Grand Prix racing driver.

F1 classic races - Turkey

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  As Turkey has only held seven races before and not all of them have been classics, here is a varied selection of events from events no longer on the F1 calendar, plus two races from Turkey between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1991 – France

WINNER: Nigel Mansell (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Alain Prost (Ferrari), 3^rd: Ayrton Senna (McLaren Honda)

RICCARDO Patrese started from pole position for the first French Grand Prix to be staged on the new Magny-Cours circuit, but he made one of the worst starts of his career, and never recovered from it here.  The battle for victory was between Alain Prost, on home soil in an uncompetitive Ferrari and Nigel Mansell’s Williams.  Mansell had a slower tyre stop, but managed to catch and pass Prost twice, eventually scoring a long first overdue victory of 1991.  Ayrton Senna was a distant third, holding off a similar hard challenge from Jean Alesi, with Patrese a disappointing and lapped fifth.

1997 – Argentina

WINNER: Jacques Villeneuve (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari), 3rd: Ralf Schumacher (Jordan Peugeot)

FORTUNE and a more competitive chassis saw Jacques Villeneuve win an absolutely barnstorming Argentine Grand Prix, but he had to work really hard all day.  His main rival for the championship in 1997, Michael Schumacher took himself out of the event on the first corner.  The German tangled with the Stewart of Rubens Barrichello, who also picked up severe damage.  Initially, it was Olivier Panis who was threatening Villeneuve, before engine trouble hit his Prost.  Eventually, the Canadian, who was battling a stomach bug all weekend, had to resist stern pressure from Eddie Irvine.  Although he chased him home hard, Irvine never really got close enough to make a sufficient overtaking attempt, and finished a close 0.9secs behind.  Jordan’s Ralf Schumacher, in only his third ever F1 outing scored a podium finish.  However, he achieved this at the cost of a fruitful relationship with his team, knocking off Giancarlo Fisichella and starting a civil war between the pair.

1999 – Austria

WINNER: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari), 2^nd: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes)

AUSTRIA 1999 was David Coulthard’s worst nightmare.  Not only did the Scot run into his team-mate Mika Hakkinen on the first lap, he allowed Ferrari to score an unlikely victory.  McLaren had been a full second quicker than the opposition in qualifying, missing Michael Schumacher, who was starting his recovery from a broken leg at Silverstone a fortnight earlier.  However, Coulthard tried an ambitious lunge on Hakkinen, which ended in contact at the second corner.  The Flying Finn recovered from a spin and 21^st at the end of the opening lap, to finish an incredible third.  Coulthard sped 14 second clear at one point, but Eddie Irvine went longer on strategy, and with some blistering Schumacher-esque laps, overtook the Scot for his second win of the season and it threw the world title race wide open again.  Coulthard’s and Hakkinen’s expressions spoke volumes on the rostrum afterwards.

2005 - Bahrain

WINNER: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 2nd: Jarno Trulli (Toyota), 3^rd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes)

NEVER mind motorsport, but tennis was dangerous to Juan Pablo Montoya.  A freak accident left the Colombian with a fractured shoulder and out of the Bahrain event.  He wasn’t missed by the McLaren team, as super sub Pedro de la Rosa set fastest lap and finished a stunning fifth in an action-packed event.  It was one of the hottest races ever in history, and Michael Schumacher’s hydraulics couldn’t take the heat.  They gave up on his new Ferrari after 12 laps.  With Rubens Barrichello only 9^th after gearbox troubles, Ferrari’s gamble on saving their 2005 season with a new car had backfired spectacularly.  The path was clear for Fernando Alonso to record back-to-back victories, with Jarno Trulli’s Toyota finishing second for the second successive race.  Kimi Raikkonen earnt his first podium of the season, to highlight McLaren’s impressive pace in the desert.

2006 – Turkey

NOTCH: Massa led Schumacher all the way to glory in 2006

WINNER: Felipe Massa (Ferrari), 2^nd: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 3^rd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)

THIS was the weekend when Felipe Massa really came good and went up a level in his F1 career.  Massa took pole position and his maiden Grand Prix victory in a nail-biting climax.  The start was just as chaotic, as Giancarlo Fisichella spun infront of the pack and caused mayhem.  Kimi Raikkonen, Scott Speed and Nick Heidfeld all suffered significant damage, with Raikkonen eliminated after a pitstop for checks.  As Massa led from the front, the Safety Car was deployed after Vitantonio Liuzzi spun his Toro Rosso and stalled on the exit of Turn One.  Championship rivals Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher swapped places in the pits, as Schumacher was held up, having to queue up for Massa to be serviced first.  In the dying stages, the retiring German did all he could to pass Alonso, but like at Imola in 2005, he couldn’t find a way through and had to settle for third.  As Schumacher couldn’t find a way through, Massa was allowed to win his first event in Formula One.

2010 - Turkey

RIVALRY: Began after this Red Bull collision last season

WINNER: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Jenson Button (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing Renault)

RED Bull Racing totally shot themselves in the foot last season, when under pressure from McLaren.  Mark Webber began from pole position and led the first 40 laps.  A slow pitstop dropped Lewis Hamilton behind Sebastian Vettel, but Hamilton and Jenson Button stayed right on the tails of the Red Bulls throughout.  On Lap 41, Vettel, with a higher engine setting, went to overtake Webber.  The Aussie left minimal room and Sebastian made his way past.  However, he began to deviate right before a car length’s room was given and they collided.  Vettel span into retirement, whilst Webber had to pit for a new front wing, surviving for a podium finish.  The McLaren’s of Hamilton and Button had a similar dice later, which saw the duo swap the lead.  However, they kept it clean to secure a 1-2 for the British team; Hamilton’s first win of 2010.  Although most experts thought Vettel was to blame for the Red Bull clash, the management seemed to shoulder the blame onto Webber.  This began a fractious summer for the pair and the Milton Keynes based team.

F1 classic races - Australia

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  This is the first selection, of races in Australia between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1991 (Adelaide)

TORRENTIAL: Senna holds off a determined Mansell

Winner: Ayrton Senna (McLaren Honda), 2^nd: Nigel Mansell (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Gerhard Berger (McLaren Honda)

THE final race of the 1991 championship was meant to be a happy and relaxed occasion.  In the end, it turned into a farce.  In fact, it was stopped after 14 laps, due to torrential rain.  It is the shortest race in world championship history and only half points were awarded.  Ayrton Senna started from pole and led the whole race, but came under pressure from Nigel Mansell’s Williams.  The rain intensified on the Adelaide street circuit and it wasn’t long before Jean Alesi, Nicola Larini and Pierluigi Martini all crashed in a straight line on the backstraight.  As aquaplaning got worse, Mansell was caught out and smashed backwards into the barriers just before the race was eventually red-flagged.  He was carried away in an ambulance with minor injuries.  The race was a sad end to Nelson Piquet’s distinguished career.  The Brazilian finished fourth for Benetton, but was bitterly disappointed to retire from the sport after three world titles in such a damp squib.

1994 (Adelaide)

DECIDER: Hill and Schumacher collide

Winner: Nigel Mansell (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Gerhard Berger (Ferrari), 3^rd: Martin Brundle (McLaren Peugeot)

THE first championship showdown in Adelaide since 1986 was between Michael Schumacher’s Benetton and Damon Hill’s Williams.  Only one point covered the two drivers coming into the race and they were in a class of two.  It ended controversially when Schumacher’s Benetton understeered off the track on Lap 36 at Westfield Bend.  Hill, unsighted lapping Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s Sauber missed the German’s contact with the concrete barrier and immediately dived for a gap on the inside at the next corner.  Schumacher turned in and contact was inevitable.  Michael’s car was launched into the air and ended in the tyre barriers.  Sadly for the British fans, Hill’s wishbone had been bent in the contact and after a slow lap back to the pits, was forced to call it a day.  Nigel Mansell, in his last drive for Williams had started on pole position and overtook Gerhard Berger on Lap 63, when the Ferrari driver went down an escape road.  He won fantastically to earn Williams the constructor’s championship.

1999 (Melbourne)

Winner: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari), 2^nd: Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Jordan Mugen Honda), 3^rd: Ralf Schumacher (Williams Supertec)

AFTER 81 attempts, Eddie Irvine won his first Grand Prix for Ferrari, but it was a gift given to him by the dominant McLaren Mercedes team.  Reigning champion Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard were 1.3secs ahead of the opposition and led by 16 seconds inside of 14 laps.  A spectacular rear wing failure for Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR Supertec saw the Safety Car obliterate the McLaren’s lead.  Seconds later, Coulthard pulled into the pits to retire with a gearbox problem.  When the Safety Car withdrew, Hakkinen was crippled by a throttle issue and Irvine took the lead into the first corner.  The Finn only lasted another three laps before retiring in the garage.  Michael Schumacher was also struck down by reliability problems including a puncture and recurring gear selection problems.  He finished out of the points in 8^th place, allowing Irvine to step out of Schumacher’s shadow and earn his day in the sun Down Under.

2003 (Melbourne)

Winner: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams BMW), 3^rd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes)

THE biggest shake-up in the rules and regulations since 1997 mixed-up the field and put an end to the Ferrari F2002 dominance.  Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello grabbed the front row of the grid, but changeable conditions opened the door for the Michelin-shod cars.  Barrichello crashed on lap six and Schumacher made a late switch to dry tyres on a drying track.  Kimi Raikkonen came through from 15^th on the grid and took command of the race.  The Finn even managed to have the cheek to stick Schumacher on the grass at turn one during an epic scrap.  However, Raikkonen edged 1kmh over the pitlane speed limit and earnt himself a drive-through penalty.  Schumacher was back infront, but needed to pit again when his barge boards fell off like a broken down Meccano set.  Juan Pablo Montoya inherited the lead, but the Colombian spun his Williams on the exit on turn one and this allowed David Coulthard to come through almost unnoticed from 11^th on the grid.  The Scot recorded his second Australian Grand Prix triumph and his 13^th win in the sport, ultimately his last.  With Schumacher only managing fourth behind Montoya and Raikkonen, it was the first race since Nurburgring 1999 that neither Ferrari had managed to make the podium.

2006 (Melbourne)

Winner: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 2^nd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Ralf Schumacher (Toyota)

JENSON Button produced a stunning lap on Saturday afternoon to secure pole position, but his Honda Racing car was all at sea in the cooler conditions on Sunday.  He was never able to get his tyres upto temperature after four Safety Car restarts and to compound his misery, his Honda engine exploded in a bull of flame on the penultimate corner of the race.  Fernando Alonso avoided all the chaos and led the majority of the race, to win in relaxed fashion.  Kimi Raikkonen came second, despite needing a new front wing during a pitstop and Ralf Schumacher recovered from a drive-through penalty to secure a great podium for Toyota.  Juan Pablo Montoya failed to finish, when he killed his engine by pressing an ignition switch following a wild and wacky trip down the grass.  Ferrari had a miserable weekend, as neither car finished in the top ten in qualifying and then, both Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher crashed out of the race in dramatic fashion. 

2009 (Melbourne)

FAIRYTALE: Button and Barrichello complete an epic story

Winner: Jenson Button (Brawn Mercedes), 2^nd: Rubens Barrichello (Brawn Mercedes), 3^rd: Jarno Trulli (Toyota)

AVOIDING the controversy of the double diffusers, which erupted on the opening weekend of the 2009 season, a fairytale story was unfolding at Brawn GP.  In November 2008, Honda announced their immediate withdrawal from Formula One, putting the team up for sale and leaving many members of the team in limbo.  After tense and frustrating negotiations, Ross Brawn completed a management buyout and with limited testing, turned up at the final pre-season test nearly a second quicker than their rivals.  The car reignited the failing careers of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello and the pair secured the front row of the grid in qualifying.  In the race, Button led throughout, whilst Barrichello had to battle through the field, after making a poor start and making contact with Mark Webber on lap one, which damaged his front wing.  The race finished behind the Safety Car, after Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica tangled, whilst dicing for second spot with three laps to go.  This completed the Brawn fairytale, with Jarno Trulli winding up third after a pitlane start.  This is after Lewis Hamilton was excluded in Malaysia, following evidence was produced that he had lied to the Melbourne stewards after the race for a Safety Car incident with Trulli. 

2010: A year of the best TV adverts

Here is my favourite selection of TV commercials from 2010.  Included are the likes of dogs, bees, Homer Simpson, Little Britain and Nigel Mansell.  Enjoy watching!




































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Ayrton Senna - A Genius Remembered

This year, the legendary Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna would have celebrated his 50^th birthday.  Sadly, he isn’t around to cherish this amazing anniversary – sixteen years after he tragically perished at the wheel of the Williams FW16 in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.  However, this opportunity gives me the chance to produce my memories of Ayrton Senna: The Man, and Ayrton Senna: The Genius behind the Wheel of a Racing Car.  Forget Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher: In my opinion, Senna was the greatest ever human being to drive in Formula One.

Senna was very successful in the junior formulae in Brazil and in England.  He had begun karting at the tender age of four.  For him, racing was in his blood and so to, was his will and desire to win.  To him, second place wasn’t acceptable; he felt it was first of the losers.  He underlined that ruthless streak early on in his career, in the tense and exciting duel with Britain’s Martin Brundle for the 1983 British Formula 3 Championship.  Senna dominated the first half of the season, Brundle the second half and it left Ayrton to pull off some crazy overtaking attempts that often ended in accidents.  Eventually, he overcame Brundle in the season finale at Thurxton, and Formula One beckoned.

Despite testing for McLaren and Williams in the winter of 1983, Senna opted to sign on for the Toleman team, an unfamiliar name to many in the sport.  Immediately, Senna made an impression, despite his inferior equipment.  He came so close to winning his maiden race that season too.  In Monaco, Senna made full advantage of the awful weather conditions, to charge through from 12^th on the grid.  He pulled off some stupendous overtaking moves, with the confidence that suggested he would be a champion in future waiting.  Only the insistence of race leader Alain Prost got the race red-flagged, though the half points would eventually cost him the 1984 championship.  Senna insisted that he would have won if the race had run just one more lap.  The determination to succeed was firmly there.  Podiums at Brands Hatch and Estoril followed, but Senna knew that Toleman was not a long-term stay.  He went to Lotus for the next three seasons, convinced that this might be the team that could deliver him the world championship.

In only his second race for the famous British marquee, Senna won in Portugal – in very similar conditions to those of Monaco 1984.  Second placed Michele Alboreto was the only driver not to be lapped, in a clinical and masterful performance in the wet.  Not only did Senna edge himself into a great wet weather runner, he developed a close association with the Japanese manufacturer Honda in his time at Lotus, and also the amazing skill he had to pull off a flying lap when the chips were down.  Eight pole positions went his way in 1985, and this skill remained in Senna’s book all the way through to his untimely death.  Although Schumacher has beaten this statistic now, it took him twelve years to do it after Ayrton’s death.  Sixty-five pole positions in 161 races, over 33% is one of the most impressive ratios I’ve ever seen.  In his three years with Lotus, Senna achieved 3^rd place in the 1987 championship and six wins, including a maiden triumph on the streets of Monte Carlo.  However, the British team was on a steady rate of decline and Ayrton elected to jump ship, taking Honda with him to McLaren.

Frustrated by seeing the more superior Williams of Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell often get the better of him, despite his undoubted talent, Senna was convinced the switch to McLaren would finally give him the success it craved.  There, he was partnered with the Frenchman, Alain Prost, the golden boy of McLaren at the time.  Fireworks would explode between the pair, though not initially.  The 1988 McLaren Honda was the most dominant car in Grand Prix history, winning 15 of the season’s 16 races.  If Jean-Louis Schelesser hadn’t rammed Senna in the closing stages at Monza, it could well have been a clean sweep.  Senna won eight races, to Prost’s seven – though the ‘Professor’s’ consistency meant he went on to score more championship points.  However, on a countback system, which the sport used at the time, Senna knew that victory in the 1988 Japanese Grand Prix would be enough for his first championship.

The start was a disaster, Senna squandering pole position, and dropping to 14^th by Turn 1, giving Prost a colossal advantage.  Very quickly, Senna showed the superiority of his McLaren, and charged through the pack.  By Lap 16, he was fourth and eleven laps later, was challenging for the lead.  When Prost was trapped in backmarkers, Senna seized his opportunity and squeezed past his team-mate on the start-finish straight.  It was a clinical piece of overtaking, and a drive that thoroughly deserved to win the championship.  Prost was very gracious in defeat, admitting that Senna had been the better driver during the campaign.  Apart from a moment in Portugal, when Ayrton had nearly put Alain into the pit wall, their battle had been clean and a joy to watch in 1988.  Sadly, the next two years bought politics and accusations to the heartfelt of the game.

Race two of 1989 was the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.  Prost and Senna had entered a gentlemanly agreement, that the man who approached the breaking point for the Tosa hairpin first, would go onto win the race.  Senna took pole position and led on the first lap.  However, when his good friend Gerhard Berger crashed at Tamburello and his Ferrari burst into flames, the race required a restart.  Prost made the better start, and led approaching Tosa.  Senna, presuming that the agreement only meant on one attempt, stole the lead into the hairpin and drove into the distance.  Perhaps a gentle misunderstanding, but Prost, who finished over a minute adrift, refused to talk to Senna again.  

1989 was not a lucky year for the Brazilian, losing certain victories in USA, Canada and Italy due to mechanical problems, whilst he was taken out in Portugal by the already disqualified Mansell.  Once again, Suzuka would be the deciding factor in the championship battle, this time with Prost the overwhelming favourite.  Senna had to win, to stand any chance of taking the fight to Adelaide.  He lost the lead with a poor start, and harassed Prost all afternoon, with little chance of getting ahead.  On Lap 47, he closed up and made his move into the final chicane.  Prost, knowing that Senna had to win turned into the corner and the accident was inevitable.  The two McLaren’s interlocked wheels and slid to a halt.  Prost unbuckled his belts and walked away, but Senna kept his engine running and restarted.  However, he needed outside assistance from the marshals to get going again.  Despite needing to pit for a new nosecone, catching and overtaking the Benetton of Alessandro Nannini, Senna won and was promptly disqualified, for the outside assistance offence.  Prost was champion.  Ayrton was furious, almost refusing to race in Australia, threatening to walkaway from the sport he loved, believing that a conspiracy had been set-up against him, by Prost and the unpopular FISA president, Jean-Marie Balestre.  More allegations and accusations followed, and Senna’s super license was revoked.  Had he driven Formula One for the last time?

The following March, he was back, having apologised for his actions and won the season opener in Phoenix.  Once more, the fight for supremacy was between Senna’s McLaren Honda and Prost, who had swapped seats with Berger and moved to McLaren’s arch-enemies, Ferrari.  For the third successive year, Japan was the deciding point for the championship saga.  This time, it was Prost who needed to win to keep his title dream alive.  Senna took his customary pole position, but bitterly complained all weekend that pole position was on the dirtier side of the grid.  He campaigned for it to be changed, and Prost actually agreed.  The officials granted Senna’s request, but Balestre refused to back down.  Consequently, Senna vowed that if Prost turned into Turn One first, he would regret it.

Twenty-four hours later and Senna sprinted away, but Prost got the better start and took the immediate advantage.  Senna looked for a gap on the inside of the first corner that was simply always going to disappear.  The result was catastrophic.  The McLaren and Ferrari disappeared into a cloud dust, the pair clambered out of their battered motorcars, neither talking to the other but the outcome of the 1990 FIA Formula One World Championship had been decided in a matter of seconds.  Replays clearly put the blame fair and square at the Brazilian’s door, though he defended his actions long after the event.  It was a second title for Senna, but bittersweet and distasteful in the circumstances.  Only at the same event a year later, with Balestre gone and replaced by Max Mosley did Senna admit that he deliberately ran Prost off the road in 1990.  He will and desire to win couldn’t be faulted, but in attempting to knock another car out on purpose was a hideous crime, which on a normal UK road would land you with at least a driving ban, and possibly a jail sentence.

In 1991, Senna won his third and last drivers title, for the umpteenth time at Suzuka, the deciding point of most title battles.  Prost fell away and was fired by Ferrari before the season’s end, so it left for a renewed rivalry to remerge between Senna and ‘Il Leone,’ Nigel Mansell.  Senna won the first four races in 1991, but as the Williams Renault became the stronger package during the campaign, Senna grew frustrated, realising that McLaren were being out developed by a rival for the first time in his stint with the Woking team.  Eventually, reliability and a terrible pitstop in Portugal shot Mansell’s 1991 title dream, but not for the worth of trying.  He went wheel-to-wheel with Senna, sparks flying at some 200mph down the backstraight of Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, one of the sport’s most iconic images.

As the Williams team mastered the active suspension and traction control systems, McLaren drifted further behind the game and Senna had to work especially hard for any of his later victories in his career.  1992 was a major disappointment, as Ayrton finished 4^th in the final standings, with just three wins, compared to the nine of the dominant Mansell.  Honda pulled out of F1 at the end of the season, and Senna questioned whether he should remain in the sport, especially when Prost ‘vetoed’ him not to drive alongside him at Williams in 1993.  Senna was incensed with this, but pot, kettle, black spring to mind when he did the same thing in 1986, to deprive Derek Warwick of a Lotus drive.  One of his greatest victories came in Monaco 1992, when he managed to hold off a hard-charging Mansell, who clambered all over the back of his McLaren in the last five laps. 

However, he had saved the best for last on a damp, dull Easter weekend in 1993.  The venue was Donington Park for the European Grand Prix.  Senna, now in a McLaren Ford had qualified 4^th and made a bad start, squeezed out by the uncompromising Michael Schumacher on the rundown to Redgate.  Undeterred, he out-accelerated the young German on the exit, and then swept past the fast-starting Karl Wendlinger in his Sauber around the outside of the Craner Curves.  Next target were the dominant Williams and just three corners later, he went inside Damon Hill to move into second.  He tore into Prost’s early advantage and finally, outbraked his chief rival into the Melbourne Loop.  He had gone from 5^th to 1^st by the end of the first lap, definitely the greatest lap in Grand Prix history.  Senna won the race from Hill by nearly a full lap.

For 1994, Senna got his dream move to the almost unbeatable Williams Renault squad.  With Prost having retired, and Mansell conquering the IndyCars scene in America, this was Senna’s chance to add to his forty-one victories.  Sadly, the partnership that promised so much never came to fruition.  Senna didn’t like the handling of the FW16, and had a miserable first two races.  He spun off and stalled his engine in Brazil, chasing down Schumacher’s Benetton, then was tipped off by an over-ambitious Mika Hakkinen into the first corner of the Pacific Grand Prix.  Arriving at Imola, Senna had no points, Schumacher twenty.  Autosport magazine claimed he was a man under pressure.  He didn’t show it though, focused on his goal to bring Williams back to the top, after an unconvincing start.  He blitzed the entire field in San Marino, setting the quickest times in every single session.  However, accidents to his countryman Rubens Barrichello and the death of Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger in qualifying deeply affected Senna.  Deep down, he didn’t have the passion to race.  Some say he was not on the best of terms with his family, due to his burdening relationship with Adriane Galisteu.  Others suggest he believed that Schumacher and Benetton were cheating their way to success, by using the now banned electronic aids.  Either way, he put those issues aside, dropped his crash helmet and went out to race.  A startline accident put the race under caution behind the Safety Car.  On the restart, Senna charged away, determined to pull away from the pest that was Schumacher.  On Lap 7, he entered the flat-out Tamburello bend when his Williams refused to turn into the corner.  The rest they say is history….

Ayrton Senna may have not endeared himself to everyone.  However, his skill behind the wheel of a racing car cannot be questioned, nor could his charitable work he put in for many local Brazilian and worldwide charities.  His speed, desire and commitment to win were immense, even if some of his tactics had to be questioned.  A devote Christian, Senna believed that God would save him on the racetrack.  His death brought shock to the whole world – and the funeral that followed brought Brazil to a complete standstill.  Chillingly, he had predicted that the new regulations for the 1994 season would bring serious accidents, possibly even bring the horrible fatality that he feared could happen.  On May 1^st 1994, the world lost a famous icon, and although Williams found replacement drivers easy to come by, Formula 1 will never see the likes of him.

Ayrton Senna is a legend who leaves an endearing legacy to many, and is a sporting legend that will never be forgotten.

21st March 1960 - 1st May 1994