Duel of the Titans: Ayrton Senna vs Alain Prost, bitter end

We continue with the magnificent duel that the legendary had Ayrton Senna vs Alain Prost. And finally we come to 1989 Suzuka GP, penultimate test of the season. Senna has won more GPs (6), but suffered several retirements (5), while Prost was much more regular, with 4 wins, 6 second places and only one retirement. Therefore, the McLaren drivers had a 16-point difference in favor of Prost (76), and Senna (60) was forced to win if he wanted to keep his chances for the Title. Ayrton had achieved pole in an overwhelming way (1,7 seconds difference) and Prost got second place. Everything pointed to Senna being unattainable at Suzuka. But, as we discussed yesterday, history offered us one of the most controversial moments that have been experienced in this sport.

Despite the expectations, Prost came out better and overtook Senna, taking a certain advantage. Senna began to follow in his partner's wake, struggling to wrestle position from him. And Senna came; on lap 47, six laps from the end, Senna goes all out and tries to overtake Prost when braking before the Casio chicane, causing the collision between the two, leaving the cars stopped in the run-off area of ​​the chicane. Prost protected his position and did not open the door, while Senna risked too much by getting into the gap left by the Frenchman. Prost got out of the car; At that time, he was the virtual Champion of that year, however Senna decided to continue and, thanks to the stewards who pushed him through the loophole, he managed to start his McLaren and resume the race.

Senna started a spectacular pursuit of Nannini (Benetton), who had overtaken him while he was in the pits, changing his front wing which was broken as a result of the accident. And he got it; in the same corner where the incident occurred, Senna manages to pass Nannini with only two laps to go, and wins the GP. It was a tremendous finish for Senna, however, the joy was short-lived as the FIA ​​disqualified Ayrton for missing the chicane. The 1989 World Championship definitely went to Prost.

The president of the FIA ​​at that time, the Frenchman Jean-Marie Balestre, was very hard on Senna; since apart from the disqualification he imposed an important economic sanction and the suspension of his F1 super license for 6 months. He was a very hard blow for the brazilian, who tried to challenge the decision to recover those valuable points, but that only served to be severely punished.

SESSAO

For this season there were some changes. Prost, given the unsustainable situation at McLaren, decided to go to Ferrari. This year McLaren continued to perform at a high level, and Senna also did a great job taking 6 wins. But the Ferrari of that year was competitive, especially in the hands of Prost, who managed to take 5 wins. These results are the ones that existed until the Suzuka Grand Prix, since, again, the penultimate event of the season was going to give a lot to talk about…

On this occasion, the roles were crossed, and it was Prost (68 points) who had to win the race at all costs in order to continue opting for the World Cup. Senna (78 points), as usual, took pole position, followed by Prost. Again, controversial: The pole was on the dirty side of the track. Senna spoke with the race stewards and it seemed that finally the pole would move to the clean side, but Balestre (the highest authority) did not give his arm to twist and the pole stayed where he was. Already in the race, Prost takes the lead at the start and Senna launches behind him like an exhalation, Upon reaching the first corner, Prost begins to take it leaving a small gap and Senna gets into a gap on the inside that was to disappear... Again, the collision between the two occurs, ending the two cars stranded on the gravel. The 1990 World Title went to Senna, in another controversial ending.

As Senna would later declare, the disqualification at Suzuka 89 and starting on the dirty side in 90 were Balestre's decisions that made him a long year and, on that occasion, he was not willing to lose the Title, in any way.

last seasons

As of 1990 the rivalry continued, but under the intensity, especially due to the circumstances. In 1991 Senna's McLaren held up well but Prost's Ferrari was a big flop. Prost went so far as to declare that it would be easier to drive a truck… Given Prost's constant complaints, Ferrari fired the French driver who did not compete in the last round of the season. Senna's rival that year was Nigel Mansell, who was driving an increasingly competitive Williams-Renault. Finally Senna was the champion, taking his Third World Title.

In 1992 it was a triumphal ride for Williams-Renault. The difference with the other cars was very big, especially due to the inclusion of the “active suspension”. That type of suspension was controlled by an electronic control unit, so that the car always maintained the same height with respect to the ground, achieving infinitely higher cornering. Prost took a sabbatical and Senna had to settle for following in the footsteps of the Williams. That year, how could it be otherwise, Mansell won overwhelmingly. Even so, the victory that Senna achieved in Monaco, stoically enduring Mansell's continual attempts to overtake him during the closing laps.

En 1993 Williams was still the team to beat. That year Prost replaced Mansell. Senna tried by all means to enter Williams, even offering Frank Williams (team manager) to compete for the team without charge to get a car that would have allowed him to return to glory, but it was not possible. Prost included in his contract with Williams a clause not allowing Senna to be his teammate. Senna called Prost a coward for not wanting to share a team, but Prost didn't want the title to slip away from him again.

The premonitions were fulfilled and Prost won his fourth World Cup, with a car that was far above its rivals. However Senna, despite the notorious inferiority of his McLaren, managed to make a great Championship and managed to finish second, ahead of Hill's Williams (Prost's partner). He managed to win 5 races, one of them, the European GP (held at Donington Park), was one of his most epic victories. On the first lap, finding himself fourth, he managed to overtake everyone on the first lap. It was a rainy GP, and Senna gave another masterclass in the rain, eventually leading all the drivers except Hill for a lap.

For 1994 everything changed. Prost had retired the previous year and the FIA ​​removed all electronic aids. Senna finally managed to sign with Williams, but the car did not live up to expectations; it had a lot of speed, but was very unpredictable and difficult to drive. Senna seemed to be unmotivated, out of place... his great rival, Prost, had withdrawn.

«A special hello to my,… to our dear friend Alain. "We all miss you Alain." That beautiful phrase was the one that Senna dedicated to Prost, while he was doing a practice lap at the Imola circuit (San Marino). Days later, Senna's fatal accident occurred on that circuit during the race (San Marino GP), when his Williams brutally crashed into the wall of the Tamburello curve at more than 200 km/h. That weekend was one of the blackest in F1 history.. A day earlier, the pilot Roland Ratzenberger had also lost his life during qualifying on Saturday. Prost later stated that a part of him died when Senna left us on that fateful day.

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