Series shows Senna’s obsession with victory and behind-the-scenes of the rivalry with Piquet and Prost | formula 1

Ayrton Senna has already had his story told in different ways, but not as it will be seen from Wednesday, May 1st, the day that marks three decades since the driver’s death. “Senna by Ayrton”, new Original Globoplay documentary series, produced by Globo’s Núcleo de Documentários do Esporte da Globo, tells this journey through the protagonist’s eyes, in the first person. The work was entirely based on images from the collection and is directed by Rafael Pirrho and Rafael Timóteo, who also wrote the script alongside Camila Côrtes and José Emílio Aguiar.

See teaser for the documentary “Senna by Ayrton”

The three episodes of “Senna por Ayrton” will be available to Globoplay subscribers starting this Wednesday, the 1st. A material that gives the dimension of who was the driver capable of winning the admiration of people all over the world and shows why, even 30 years after his death, Senna is still considered by experts to be one of the best in the history of motorsport.

One of the most discussed themes in the documentary is the Brazilian’s constant desire for victory and, of course, the dispute with his opponents. Among the many rivals that three-time champion Ayrton Senna had throughout his career before and during F1, two of them stand out: Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet. The first; tormentor in two of his three titles; the second, which suffered the biggest overtaking of all time in the category, was a relentless antagonist both on and off the track. The relationship with the two multi-champions was also revisited in the series “Senna by Ayrton”, by Globoplay. Find out more below!

“Senna was missing for these months so he didn’t let me show up. It was so he wouldn’t have to explain to the Brazilian press why he doesn’t like women.”

The phrase said by three-time champion Nelson Piquet at the beginning of 1988 in an exchange of jabs by the media illustrates the tense relationship between him and also three-time champion Senna. It all started with some exchanges of barbs at the beginning of Senna’s F1 career; Ayrton looked for Piquet to talk, but there was no response.

Piquet said he spoke to him on another occasion, but explained that a pilot needed to follow his own path. To Brazilian journalists, Senna admitted to feeling snubbed.

The then owner of Brabham, now former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, tried to hire Senna, but the first three-time Brazilian champion vetoed the suggestion – although he denies what happened. The tycoon and the driver even considered a $100,000 bet to see who would be faster in a test in which Ayrton raced the team’s car in 1983, but Piquet ended up being the best on the day.

The two main Brazilians in F1 in the 1980s had moments of truce, between 1984 and 1985. They even had dinner together in what rival Elio De Angelis classified as “la prima e la ultima” among their compatriots. At the time, Senna’s biographer, Ernesto Rodrigues, reports that Piquet even advised the young man about the impact of excessive popularity on his life.

In 1986, on the 57th lap of the Hungarian GP, ​​Piquet overtook Senna in what would later be considered the biggest overtake in the history of F1, at the end of the pit straight.

Senna had taken pole while his Williams rival started alongside him, in second place. The two took turns in the lead before the decisive moment, but the victory went to Piquet, who complained about his compatriot:

– Ayrton closes on one side, closes on the other, you have to get used to that.

The duo also starred in the Portuguese GP in 1986, alongside rivals Prost and Nigel Mansell, in the historic photo with the quartet sitting on a wall in the pits of the Autódromo de Estoril, in a friendly atmosphere. The click was the idea of ​​Ecclestone, until then Piquet’s boss at Brabham, and brings together the drivers who dominated the category between the mid-80s and early 90s, totaling eight titles.

However, off the track, the years 1987 and 1988 were tense for the duo. When Senna arranged his move from Lotus to McLaren in 88, Piquet was leaving Williams due to a bad relationship with his colleague Mansell and began to be considered for his compatriot’s place.

Tense conversations in the press about marketing moves and contracts heated up the atmosphere between them; while Ayrton argued that Nelson’s possible success would be thanks to the project he left behind in the team, Piquet went so far as to say that he was approached by McLaren.

Piquet also stated in an interview that, if he were team boss, he would hire Senna for his youth and potential – but that his compatriot would only be champion when he and Prost retired.

At the beginning of 1988, during pre-season testing at the Autódromo de Jacarepaguá, in Brazil, Senna told reporter Sérgio Rodrigues the reason for disappearing during the holidays:

– I had to give others a chance to show off a little. After all, it didn’t make sense for the guy to be a three-time champion and for me to continue to be the topic. Since no one likes him very much, the only way was for me to disappear so he could appear for a while.

Senna recanted and said it was a joke, but the speech led to a reply from Piquet, who suggested that his compatriot was homosexual. The case was taken to court, however, it was unsuccessful.

The documentary “Senna by Ayrton” reveals interviews from the time in which the São Paulo pilot opens up about his relationship with his compatriot, in relation to whom he admitted to having “restrictions”, and considering “an angry person and a fickle guy, with different ideas, education and views”.

But not everything in the relationship between the duo was animosity.

Before the 1990 Japanese GP, a year after Senna was almost prevented from competing in the season due to the episode with Prost in Suzuka previously, the drivers discussed the procedures for the race. Piquet defended Senna for cutting through the chicane after leaving the track, which was agreed by the rest of the drivers.

Senna and Piquet also shared eight one-two finishes between 1984 and 1994; Ayrton won three times and Piquet five. The last race with the pair in first and second place was the 1990 Canadian GP, ​​won by the McLaren driver. In total, the pair of compatriots have 16 podiums together – the last in Belgium, in 1991, where Senna also came out on top.

Senna arrived at McLaren in 1988. There, there was already a two-time world champion Prost, with whom he would begin a friendly relationship of praise and public jokes. To the press, Ayrton even declared that his teammate was the greatest active driver of all time.

But while the Professor’s dominance in the opening half of the season gave way to Senna’s evolution in the fight for the title, the jokes about competing even off the track became serious. At the Portuguese GP, 13th stage of 1988, Prost squeezed Senna off the track. The Brazilian reciprocated with a blow to his colleague, on the pit wall, which began a long enmity.

The following year, 1989, began with Senna overtaking Prost in Imola to sour the atmosphere once and for all, breaking an agreement between the pair. The year would end with Prost tri after a crash in the Japanese GP.

To the press, Prost explained that he had removed his foot on several occasions to avoid colliding with Senna, but that he had warned that he intended not to do so that time, leading to the contact. He declared that the title was his revenge.

Senna was also disqualified from the race for, after the crash, cutting corners to get back to the track safely. He also accused the president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and Prost’s personal friend, Jean-Marie Balestre, of manipulation.

The entity’s manager was even questioned about his relationship with the Professor, but he responded. Senna ended up suspended for six months and fined 100 thousand dollars; however, he recanted to guarantee his entry into the 1990 World Cup.

Prost went to Ferrari in 1990, justifying himself by a situation that was impossible to continue, but the rivalry with Senna continued. The title was decided again with a crash at the end, in the Japanese GP: the Frenchman went after his rival in the first corner, but abandonment guaranteed Senna’s second. After the incident, Prost revealed that he had considered slapping his rival, who also spoke out.

For Senna, his second championship was a rematch to the 1989 episode. The two, who even shared the same manager managing their contracts during their McLaren days, would no longer compete for titles; Even so, they would continue to find themselves in F1.

“Starting from pole, I told myself that I was going to play hard. But I never expected that Prost would try to get in front of me. And I was wrong in my first assessment.”

When he moved to Williams in 1993 after a sabbatical, Prost reportedly vetoed Senna in his new contract. The Frenchman won the title that year and retired; before, they even shared the podium in Senna’s last victory in F1, at the Australian GP, ​​in which the four-time champion was second.

With Prost off the track, the pair’s relationship improved. But Senna’s fatal accident, seven months later, interrupted the rapprochement process. At the three-time champion’s funeral on May 5, 1994, the Frenchman was one of the men who carried the Brazilian’s coffin.