Dedicated to Ayrton Senna
It all happened for me one day during one of many stays in South
America, more specifically while in Santiago, Chile when I woke up
early on a Sunday morning in order to take advantage of the early light
to get some good shots of my neighborhood. It was this place and time
of the day that was ideal for me; who was a photographer way back then
in 1992.
It was on that Sunday in May after shooting a role of
film that I decided to go home and catch the Formula one race on
television; the Monaco Grand Prix which I had heard so much about but
had never seen. If truth be let out I was not a car racing fan at the
time as I really knew very little if anything about car races other
then the fact that they bored me stiff specially after having seen the
American Indy and NASCAR races which like other American sporting
activities that include baseball simply held no entertainment for me
what so ever.
With regards to formula one this after having
seen four races that season even I could see was something different
from what I had known before. For instances it was not cars doing laps
around a circle as was the case in America but a circuit and I could
see a lot to gather my passion and I perhaps would have even become a
great fan of the sport had it not been for the one factor. There was
one man, “Nigel Mansell" driving for a team called “Williams Renault"
who had not only won all four races that season but had lead them all
from start to finish. It was not so much that I had anything personal
against this English driver but for me who was not a fan of the sport
yet and far less one of his the fun of seeing one man win so easily
over the rest held no joy for me.
It was on that Sunday while
watching this formula one race that I witnessed again how Nigel Mansell
was leading this race which like all the others that year he had lead
from start to finish but on this occasion he was leading over Ayrton
Senna Da Sylva who found himself in second place. I after having
watched four races had learnt that in this sport a two second lead was
a big deal; in fact sort of like in slalom were half a second is a huge
deal though Mansell was not two seconds ahead of Senna but 30 seconds
which for all intensive purposes might as well have been an eternity
specially since only nine laps were remaining on a course were
overtaking was extremely difficult.
With regards to Ayrton
Senna I had heard in the four races that I had watched that year that
he was one of the best but in truth I saw nothing in him that would
have suggested this. He only had eight points in the standings which
was far less then Mansell who already had forty and though I knew he
was world champion from the year before I could not figure out what
made people praise him as they did. I at that point was willing to turn
to another channel were a football match from the Italian “Serie A" was
due to begin because even with what was my limited knowledge at that
time I could see that Mansell was almost a sure thing to win that day.
In
recalling this day the only reason I turned on this race was because I
wanted to watch something before watching the “calcio" as we Italians
call it and because I knew it took place on the streets of Monaco where
I had once driven a car myself so it was with this in mind that I tuned
in to this race but I will never forget that moment when I was about to
turn the channel thinking it was over and perhaps if my old TV set had
had a remote control I would have done so quicker. All I remember was a
scream naturally in Spanish coming from the set “Ayrton Senna has taken
first place", this statement making me freeze as I wondered how that
was even possible but as my eyes turned back to the screen the image
only confirmed what had been announced.
Senna was in first
place because for some reason which I had not really been paying
attention to which I would find out later; Mansell had gone in to pits
because he had blown a tire that for some strange reason took his pit
crew 39 seconds to fix (the norm being far less). This was all the
break that Senna needed to take first place but taking first place was
one thing holding on to it with Mansell and his Williams Renault which
like many were saying was by far the best car in the world at that time
was a different matter. True Senna had a nine second lead and it was
not so much that I wanted to see him win but or that I wanted to see
Mansell loose but I had had enough of watching a one man's domination
so it was unwillingly in fact that I started pulling for Senna to win
more because I wanted to watch somebody else win for a change.
Mansell
was gaining as his engine was clearly stronger, despite his having only
ten cylinders in comparison to Senna's twelve but in spite of this he
was quickly getting closer to the point were he even gained an almost
incredible five seconds in one single lap. The lead had been cut to
under a second this putting Mansell so close to Senna's car to make one
think that at any second he could overtake him; as it seemed that he
with three laps to go was practically breathing down Senna's neck.
Mansell was going much faster, this point there was no arguing but
despite it all he simply could not pass Senna who was doing what even
an untrained eye like mine at the time could see was a masterful job of
blocking Mansell of from passing him. I could even see the despair in
Mansell who was also a great driver (though not as great) with a far
superior car doing everything he could to overtake but no matter what
steps he took this driver who a few months ago I had not even heard of
always managed to simply stay one jump ahead.
Comedy was even
to be found at how Senna managed to keep from being passed as in truth
he practically spent that last three laps with Mansell's front bumper
touching his rear bumper and there were even those moments in which he
was almost side by side but try as Mansell might he just could not pass
as Senna simply would not allow it. The final lap came and as Senna's
car crossed the finish line in first place (with Mansell, side by side
a fraction of a second behind) it blew its engine but this was no
longer of consequence for the race was over. Senna had won the Monaco
Grand Prix for the third time in a row and forth in his career but how
he had managed to block of this car which was going so much faster then
his with a car that was about to break down was something that made me
admit “Ok, he is as good as they said he is".
Upon seeing this
Brazilian cross the finish line I cheered like I had rarely done for
any sport that was not football not only that he had won but the manner
in which he had done it. Naturally with a blown engine a car will not
go to far and in a tremendous show of sportsmanship Nigel Mansell
allowed Senna to ride on his car to the podium where he received his
first place trophy with champagne being poured on him by Mansell
(second place) and Ricardo Patrese (third place). Patrese being an
Italian driver also from the Williams Renault team. As a foot note I
remember that on that day a young driver from Germany; Michael
Schumacher came in fourth.
There are moments in sports those
who are fans will never forget. This holding true no matter what sport
we follow but to me this was one of them. Technical information
concerning the new sport or at least new to me that had caught my
passion which I read about after that Monaco Grand Prix was that unlike
Indy racing; in this sport not all cars were equal and sometimes the
difference between one racer's car and the next was really enormous as
was the case between Senna's car and Mansell's that season.
Regarding
Senna I also did my homework; finding out that he was from Sao Paolo
and that at the relatively young age of 31 was already a three time
world champion in Formula One who had won a career total of 33 races
which placed him in second only to Alain Prost's 44 on the all time
list. Concerning his relationship with Alan Prost; this was far from
being friendly as Prost had crashed in to Senna during the last race of
the 89 season which be virtue of eliminating both drivers guaranteed
Prost (who was slightly a head in the point standings) the driver's
title. Senna however would not be outdone and it was the year that
followed that he would return the favor by crashing in to Prost in
another collision that would take both out of the final race however on
that occasion it was Senna who was leading in the point standings.
By
the time of the next Grand Prix without much room for doubt I had
become a great fan of Senna's as I saw him being to his sport what
Jordan was to basketball, or Maradona was to football, or Louganis to
diving. Naturally if the issue by his fans this he had millions not
only in his native Brazil where his popularity rose even above that of
Pele (a football player whose greatness was almost equal to Maradona's)
but all over South America where he was idolized.
The next
race; the Canadian Grand Prix came with Senna managing to win pole
position but this was a feat he would only do once that season and as
for the rest of the season much to my disappointment I would only see
Senna win two more races and finish in fourth place in the driver's
championship behind Mansell in first, Patrese in second and Schumacher
in third. Despite this however Senna did win three races that season;
this number being second only to Mansell's nine races which broke the
record for a single season which had been held by Senna with eight.
With
the 92 season over with as well as the year I moved back to the States
where I continued to watch F 1 in the 93 season that would see Senna's
team McLaren change engines from Honda (who withdrew from Formula one)
to Ford which not by chance was also being used by the Benetton team
which Michael Schumacher was a driver for. The 93 season also brought
along with it other changes such as Mansell leaving Williams to be
replaced by Prost while Senna's teammate Berger was replaced by Michael
Andretti ( Indy champion as well as son of 1978 F 1 champion, Mario
Andretti). Senna's team was using new engines but rather then shorten
the gap between themselves and the Williams team they in fact widened
it for now not only were their engines not as strong as those of
Williams but theirs were not even as powerful as those of Benetton who
had it in their contract with Ford that they had exclusive rights to
Ford's most advanced engines. This meaning that Mclaren would
constantly be getting Ford's second best engines after Benetton had
finished with them.
The season started with the first race
taking place in South Africa where Senna took second place to Alain
Prost's first place, while Schumacher took third though. At one point
during the race Schumacher had been in second place only to be passed
by Senna when both came in to pits. Senna however like all great ones
was not one to lament so as the season continued he went on to win the
next two races and three of the next six. One of these being again
Monaco like he had done the previous year and another being in his
native Brazil where once again he proved to by the master of wet
conditions but however with the technological difference being enormous
Alan Prost, another great driver in his own right (finishing his career
with 51 wins and four world titles) would not be denied the 93 world
title despite what could be classified as Senna's gallant effort.
Prost
in his Williams Renault went on to win seven out of sixteen races that
year which clinched him the world title for the forth time while Ayrton
Senna in what I would call perhaps his finest season considering all
his disadvantages would go to win five races and finish in second place
(which to Senna personally meant very little after having been three
time world champion) a head of both Damon Hill (also of Williams
Renault and F 1 champion in 96) and Michael Schumacher (future seven
time world champion) who in fact baring the Williams cars had the best
car in F 1.
Senna after the 93 season moved over to Williams
Renault which prompted the retirement of Alain Prost from Formula One
as he did not wish to be second driver to Senna. To me at the time it
seemed almost a certain that Senna would be world champion in 94 after
all he had the best car though Benetton with their Ford engines had
truly shortened the gap in the off season between themselves and
Williams. Schumacher then at the age of 25 was a already a great driver
but he had not been able to beat Senna in the previous season despite
having the more advanced car.
The 94 season would turn out to
be the last however for the man who had become an idol of mine as a
blown engine would see him leave the first race of the season while
being in second place after having been passed by Schumacher in pits
though not in racing conditions. The second race like the first would
see Senna win pole position but again not the race as a first lap
collision on the very first turn would see Senna knocked out of the
race which Schumacher like the previous race would go on to win. The
season was shaping in to a strange one as Senna twice had managed to
get on pole but had not managed to finish either race due to first
mechanical difficulties and then a crash.
It was after those
two first races that San Marino came which is known as the fastest race
in Formula one. Perhaps there was something that weekend in Italy but
what ever it was an Austrian driver named Ratzenberger was killed that
weekend during practice. The third race like the first two of that
season saw Senna start from pole position with Schumacher in second
place but unlike the previous two Senna kept his lead till another
mechanical failure as had been the case during the first race saw him
crash in to concrete wall at a speed of 320 kilometers per hour. The
sight was one my mind will never get rid of: seeing Senna crash with
his car almost exploding as it hit that wall; the force of which left
Senna unconscious as he was taken to hospital by helicopter where he
arrived in a coma after which he passed away. I must admit tears was my
reaction as I heard the news that Senna had died for he in the two
years I had known of him had become an idol to me not only because he
could win races in Formula won in spite of having a car which was at
least as far as 92 and 93 far inferior to those of his rivals but for
his competitive nature which placed winning above everything.
To
many Senna was a man who was winner though one who was aloof, selfish,
arrogant and self-centered however to those whose opinion be such I say
that they have the right to think as they see fit but I also say to
them to look at how he once could have one a race as he was in first
place and on the last lap with the driver's championship already his
rather then rack up another win for himself allowed his team mate
Gerhardt Berger to get the victory. They might also consider how after
the 92 season he congratulated Mansell for having won; claiming Mansell
had been the better driver who deserved to win and making no reference
to how he had had the better car which he did not use as an excuse.
Many
might ask if I believe Senna to have been better then Schumacher and to
those that do I would say that with Formula One being a sport in which
perhaps 85 percent of winning depends on the car and so few on the
driver it would be hard to say but I in my never humble opinion would
say that he was as good. Schumacher naturally won more races and world
titles but then again Schumacher did race more years (almost twice as
many) and without having to face such strong competition from the likes
of Prost, Mansell, Piquet or Lauda. I for my part ask what would have
happened and how great Formula One would have been if Senna and
Schumacher would have gone on to hold the great rivalry that should
have been had Senna lived on.
