Ayrton Senna’s best F1 races

1984 Monaco Grand Prix

Arriving in Monaco, only five races into his F1 career, Senna was already drawing attention for his performances. He’d scored points in South Africa and Belgium for the generally uncompetitive Toleman team, but his performance at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix thrust him into a spotlight that he would never leave.

Having qualified in 13^th place, more than two seconds behind polesitter Alain Prost, Senna rose to ninth on lap one as torrential rain fell, and had overtaken numerous veterans of the sport including world champions Keke Rosberg and Niki Lauda to climb into the podium places.

In tricky conditions the Brazilian’s natural talent was shining through the spray, and he climbed to second place and began carving into the lead of Prost. Senna was lapping four seconds faster than the Frenchman and catching rapidly, but his charge was halted by the throwing of the reg flag after 31 laps.

Controversy followed as questions were raised over the decision to stop the race, but the result was ratified and Prost was named the winner ahead of Senna, who believed he had a chance of a maiden grand prix victory taken away from him.

Regardless, Senna’s performance confirmed that a new star had arrived in F1, and it was only a matter of time before he would be competing regularly for race wins and world championships.

1985 Portuguese Grand Prix

Following his exploits in Monaco, Senna would have to wait almost a whole year to take his first F1 victory and it was in extremely wet conditions again that he was able to make the difference. Having moved to Lotus, he was in a position to challenge for regular podiums, and made an immediate impact in just his second race for the team.

He qualified on pole, 0.4 seconds quicker than Prost in second and over a second faster than his team-mate Elio de Angelis, and from there he never looked back. As the rain soaked the track, he pulled out a 13-second lead by lap ten and continued to pull away to win by more than a minute, lapping everyone except the second-placed Ferrari of Michele Alboreto.

His pace in such appalling conditions was extraordinary while the likes of Prost and Rosberg spun into retirement, underlining his fearsome ability and car control. Few drivers have ever outperformed the opposition quite so comprehensively as Senna.

1988 Japanese Grand Prix

Over three seasons at Lotus, Senna’s performances earned him a move to McLaren as team-mate to Prost, and his arrival there coincided with the unveiling of the team’s dominant MP4/4 for the 1988 season. His new partnership with Prost swiftly descended into a bitter rivalry that saw both drivers duking it out for the drivers’ championship.

The pair traded wins all season long, and by the time they reached the penultimate round at Suzuka, Senna knew a win would guarantee him the championship. Prost led the standings by five points, but with only the drivers’ best 11 scores counting, he could only improve his total by three points. Senna meanwhile had the potential to add 18, and with more wins to his name he was the favourite for the championship.

He set about putting the car on pole, his 12^th of the season, by more than three tenths of a second, but a disastrous start saw him drop to 14^th position by turn one, and Senna would have to do it the hard way if he wanted to claim his first F1 title.

By the end of lap one he had climbed back up to eighth and onto the tail of Ricardo Patrese, as he continued to scythe his way back through the field in pursuit of his team-mate and championship rival. It was stunning progress, but Prost was comfortable at the front, with a 12.2-second lead over Senna by the end of the third lap.

When rain began to fall, the balance shifted as Prost began to struggle with gearbox issues and became embroiled in a scrap for the lead with Ivan Capelli. Senna’s pace was relentless, and he caught up to the back of the leading pair by lap 19. When Capelli retired with an electrical problem, the duel between the McLaren team-mates began.

As Prost was held up by backmarkers at the chicane, Senna took his opportunity to storm up the inside of Prost heading into turn one on lap 27 and take a remarkable lead. From there, the Brazilian never looked back. Even as the weather deteriorated further and drivers struggled on slick tyres Senna was imperious, and he came home with a winning margin of 13 seconds to claim his first F1 world championship.

1989 Monaco Grand Prix

McLaren was decidedly less dominant in 1989, but Senna’s prowess around the streets of Monaco remained unrivalled, and following his crash while leading a year earlier he was on a revenge mission to reclaim his crown.

In his usual emphatic style, Senna once again on pole, had set a lap time 1.1 seconds quicker than his team-mate Prost and made a lightning start to lead the race by almost two seconds at the end of lap one. From there he proceeded much as he had done a year prior, extending a massive lead over the rest of the field.

Trouble struck around half distance as Senna lost first gear and then second gear in the space of five laps, a huge problem around Monaco where the slow speed corners are so frequent, and suddenly another win in Monte Carlo was under threat.

He somehow managed to circumnavigate his issues, though, and continued to lap at considerable pace for the remainder of the race and come home a comfortable winner, some 52 seconds ahead of Prost. It was an astonishing performance to come back after throwing away a certain victory in 1988, to banish that demon in such dominant fashion encapsulated Senna’s brilliance.

1991 Brazilian Grand Prix

One of the major stories in Senna’s career up to this point was the fact he was yet to win his home grand prix. In seven attempts he’d finished only three times, twice on the podium, but never on the top step. It was one of very few grands prix the Brazilian hadn’t won, and by 1991 it was almost as if he cared more about winning in his home country than winning another world championship.

By the time he arrived at Interlagos for his eighth attempt at glory he was national icon of monumental proportions. The entire nation idolised Senna, and he desired so dearly to deliver them a victory on home soil. Emotions were sky high throughout the weekend, and the place nearly erupted when he qualified on pole position ahead of the Williams pairing of Ricardo Patrese and Nigel Mansell.

Senna made a decent start, and led Mansell in the early going, but the Williams driver slowly began to gain advantage and was closing the gap to the home hero as they prepared to make their first pit stops. Mansell’s tyre change was a slow one, and he emerged from the pitlane seven seconds behind Senna, but the Williams was the faster car, and the Brazilian crowd were bracing themselves for yet another disappointment.

Hope was kindled when Mansell had to stop again for a puncture, but Senna’s gearbox was failing yet again. He lost fourth gear and slowed considerably, his lead diminishing lap after lap. Senna was fighting with everything he had, but Mansell suffered his own gearbox failure and retired ten laps from the end.

The tribulations weren’t over. Senna’s gearbox continued to deteriorate as he lost fifth and third gears, and was forced to complete the final few laps of the race in sixth gear. It was a heart stopping few minutes as Patrese came within touching distance of snatching the lead, but Senna was able to hold on and claim a hugely emotional victory.

Those scenes in the aftermath, as Senna, suffering from extreme exhaustion, had to be lifted from his car and helped up onto the podium, are legendary, as the entire nation of Brazil hailed their hero, a victor at last.

1993 Brazilian Grand Prix

Senna was doomed to play second fiddle to the dominance of Williams in 1993, but he proved on several occasions that year that he would not be simply brushed aside. Starting from third in Brazil behind the two Williams cars, he got an immediate jump on Damon Hill at the start and applied constant pressure to Prost ahead.

He couldn’t maintain the pace for long though, and he dropped back behind Hill on lap 11. He then dropped further down the order after he was given a ten-second stop-go penalty for overtaking under yellow flags.

Not long after, heavy rain began to fall, and Senna was among the first to pit for wet weather tyres as Prost, Hill and Schumacher ahead continued on slicks. Prost crashed out of the lead as the track was flooded by a deluge, and it was Hill who led Senna as the safety car was deployed.

As quickly as the rain had started, it ceased, and track conditions slowly began to improve as Senna piled the pressure on Hill at the restart. With conditions far from ideal, it was the Brazilian again who stopped first for slick tyres, an inspired move that saw him up to speed as Hill emerged a lap later. With warmer tyres, Senna made an easy pass to take the lead and proceeded to drive away from the Williams to take a hugely impressive victory. It was a typical display of Senna’s innate ability in tricky conditions, and a precursor to what would follow two weeks later.

1993 European Grand Prix

From the tropical climes of Brazil to the soggy British midlands, Senna was again expected to sit in the shadows of the Williams team, but again he refused to follow the script. The race got underway in damp conditions, and Senna, starting fourth, was cornered on the way into turn one and dropped to fifth behind Prost, Hill, Karl Wendlinger and Michael Schumacher.

Cue perhaps the most famous first lap in F1 history. By turn two, Senna was ahead of Schumacher and up to fourth. At turn three, he swept around the outside of Wendlinger and up into third. He took second from Hill into turn seven, and finally dethroned Prost for the lead through the hairpin at turn ten.

It’s simply impossible to find the words to describe the prodigious skills on display as Senna appeared to be driving on a different race track to everybody else. Finding grip nobody else could find, carrying speed nobody else could carry, he was simply untouchable at Donington Park that day – a day when being on the right tyres at the right time was the only strategy.

The track dried before the rain started to fall once again, and the field tried desperately to keep up with tyre changes. Senna lost a huge chunk of time as he came in for a fourth stop for dry tyres, and dropped back behind Prost.

There was more rain, but this time Senna elected to stay out on his slicks and Prost ahead stopped again. The Brazilian was proven a genius as the weather improved and the Williams driver was forced to make another additional stop. By this time, Senna was more than a minute ahead of Hill, who had taken second position after Prost stalled in the pits and fell a lap behind the leader.

This was a true Senna masterclass as he made a mockery of the rest of the field in what was one of the greatest displays of superiority the sport has ever seen. After four pitstops, including an additional run through the pits as he aborted a fifth tyre change, Senna took what would be one of his final F1 victories, perhaps the finest of them all.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.