Almost 30 years ago, Brazil watched live the accident that culminated in the death of Ayrton Senna, during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, held in Ímola (Italy). The driver was racing for Williams. In the previous year, however, the three-time champion competed with the car of another English team, McLaren, achieving five victories in the 1993 Formula season”, the pole position that the driver achieved almost without gas in the Australian GP. Interlagos, held in March 28 of that year.
First place came during the Senna’s 100th race for McLaren in the category. In rainy weather, the achievement arrived not without the pilot receiving punishment for having performed a maneuver considered risky during the race, in addition to losing more than ten seconds in the pits.
Despite start in third placebehind Alain Prost and Damon Hill, both from Williams, the Brazilian took advantage of Prost’s abandonment, who hit the latecomer Christian Fittipaldi when the rain pressed down, overtaking Hill when the track dried and the stage champion was crowned. At the end of the race, Senna was welcomed by the public, who invaded the track to celebrate his victory.
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Due to the weather conditions, the remainder of the race included at least a dozen accidents – one of them involving Alain Prost, who led from the start. Another highlight of the stage was the re-debut of a Pace Car in Formula 1which had not been used for 20 years and was on the track for eight laps.
With engine Ford V8 and 685 hpa mechanical set that accompanied the pilot throughout the season, the McLaren MP4/8 it was considered inferior in power to rival models from Williams and Benetton, which in the Brazilian GP used a more modern Ford specification with eight cylinders.
It is no surprise that, after leading three of the first six races of the 1993 season, and having a surprising performance, Senna spent eight consecutive races without achieving a podium position, the longest period without victories in his career at McLaren. This is because the car’s performance was no longer a match for its opponents.
The 1993 victory, in São Paulo, was the first of five that the driver won that season, the other triumphs being recorded in the European, Monaco, Japanese and Australian GPs. Although it was not the season in which the Brazilian accumulated the most triumphs (in 1988 he was world champion after taking first place in eight stages), Senna was runner-up that year.
Furthermore, many consider the three-time champion’s last season with McLaren to be one of the best or even the best of his career, precisely because of the stories behind his victories, such as his triumph after overtaking five drivers in the first lap of the European GP, in Donington, in what is considered by many to be the “best lap in the history of Formula 1”, or the pole position that the driver achieved almost without gas in the Australian GP.
It is also worth highlighting that winning first place in the Adelaide stage, in Oceania, was the last in Senna’s lifeas the pilot died in May of the following year.
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