Senna on Prost...

Rememeber old Nige was a whiner and he wanted no part of being on a team with Prost after the waxing he took at Ferrari in 1990. Gerhard just seemed amused. Not surprzing being that he loved to get a rise out of Ayrton.

 

Ol' Nige looks funny with that hat on...his expressions are classic, especially when Prost is mentioned.

Nige may have been a whiner, but he was some racer. Most of these guys were probably prima donnas, but what's not to like about that podium, and their reaction to some interesting commentary from Senna?

If anyone could complain about Prost, surely Senna could as he had the cred to do so.

 

Ayrton is absolutely right. If you want to be the undisputed king, you should race with equal equipment. That's why I really enjoyed the Lewis-Alonso pairing and Senna-Prost pairing. Shame it wasn't Vettel-Kimi pairing. What is the point of boasting supremacy if you can't beat another top driver in equal equipment?

 

Can you imagine Seb or Alonso sporting a moustache like Nige's? Lol

 

IF anyone is complaining its is Senna... he's upset becuase Prost got ahead of him... if it was up to him He'd have Williams priority etc... remember back in 84 when he went to Lotus - he blocked Warwick from coming into the team... so its the pot calling the kettle black.

in the end Prost went to Williams - won hands down in probabbly the most advanced F1-car ever... Senna promptly went there the year after expecting much the same in 94.

 

By that time, it was no longer really about who is better. The bad blood between Prost and Senna had reached such a toxic level that there was no way the two of them can be on the same team with equal level of support. I firmly believe that it would have been a disaster not only for the team but also for the entire F1 sport should them be made into teammates again.

While Senna was an extraordinary driver, he was no saint on the track either. While it may not be fair that Prost iced Senna out of the other Williams seat, but consider everything that had happened between them, I don't blame Prost for not wanting to pair with Senna again. Just like how Mansell did not want to pair with Prost again after their experience at Ferrari. Regardless how Senna felt about the whole thing, the simple fact is that Renault wanted Prost more than they or Williams wanted Senna.

 

Precisely!

 

Those so called base ball caps looked terrible.

 

First, as many people know, I am a big Senna fan. The truth is in this interview he was acting like a spoiled brat that didn't get his way and was lashing out at anyone who would listen. He felt that being the best driver in the world he deserved the best car. Prost got one over on him and he was pissed. Plain and simple. Nigel did the same as Prost, as did Ayrton, etc, etc.

 

In 89 - Senna possibley got the bad end of the stick, but he really is the one to blame for the unfair tactics that started at Imola... if they never had that "agreement" then most likley Prost would have not had a leg to stand on and would not have had "just cause" Balestre and the French probabbly pulled a fast one at Suzuka - BUT Senna did get outside help from the Marshals as well as entering the track at a different point that he went off... so i think it was a right call all along - just the semantics of how it was policed.

In 1990 - Senna caused that all him self. - he clearly kamikazi'd Prost out of the race... he did it deliberately etc... that in my opinion is what keeps him from being THE GREATEST --- Stewart, Prost, Clark, Lauda - Fangio never did stuff like that. Senna made it acceptable ( along with safer cars ) for Schumacher and the guys today to pull all this risky crap.

If Senna were alive today, he would most likely be recognized as great but clearly not the best. Remember he punched Irvine for pulling in front of him... ? this guy was thinking he is just plain better than everyone. death has a way of glossing over all that stuff... All that being said - he was a God gifted natural talent in a car.... no question.

 

I know and I remember our discussions in the past about Senna.

I can certainly understand how Senna felt. Prost and Senna are the two best drivers of their era and they certainly knew how to get under each other's skin. In so many ways, they needed each other as they fuels each other to become better and faster.

IMO, he was. The thing is, it was not as if Senna never saw it happen before. I think he was just surprised and can not accept the fact that it can happen to him too.

 

Like when Eddie Irvine unlapped himself.

 

Agree with you. Some of the underhand tactics used by the greatest are cringe-worthy.

 

Hope you don't mind me popping this vid in B, it sums him up to me.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kUNTtvMOtQ]Ayrton Senna Top Gear Tribute - YouTube[/ame]

 

He did think that and it's certain that there were times that it did play a role (Suzuka 89 and 90) but in this case I feel he simply didn't think that the Williams would be that much better than the McLaren for that long. Senna always positioned himself to have the best equipment possible. Prost out manevored him this time and he was upset because he couldn't have the best car. Also, think about the two men with him in the interview room. Nigel Mansell didn't care much for Prost being that he got spanked by him at Ferrari and Berger was good friends with Senna. He seems more amused than anything else.

 

I was hanging around F-1 Paddocks a lot back in the early 90's... in 1990 the combo of Prost and Mansell was a "dream team". If you remember Mansell totally out classed Berger in 89, and Mansell laid down the gauntlet for Prost in 90... Prost came in and basically totally out manouvered Mansell. while Mansell was back home - Prost was testing at Foriano, working with the engineers etc... he was always at the factory, Mansell, would chopper in test and back to isle of white... So when the racing started Prost had the team behind him... just as he learned from Lauda at McLaren....

Prost's nick name Professor did not come by from just tidy driving, it was his preparation behind the scenes... he was literally at the track till 9-10 at night. on wed's before the race etc.. when Mansell was out golfing ( with Greg Norman) Prost was testing doing set ups, going thru the routien for the next day... Mansell was better with the press and fans... but he was prone to complaining ... Prost complained but it was usually legit... mansell just liked to complain ... even when he was at Williams in the best car ever...

In my book Prost is way over looked when in reality he should have been WDC in 83, 84,85, 86,87, 88 & 90...and he was usually let down by machinery at critial points.

 

I cannot not pick one over the other. Although their driving styles were different they both were professors in their own way.

 

We're going to have to agree to disagree... F-1 is about winning, and being world champion.
Villeneuve was spectacular and a gentleman driver, but he was not really a great driver. he was flamboyant and arguably could have beaten Scheckter in 79... but he respected his position in the team.

Lauda will always be rated a great driver, on stats and on the actual driving record. after the movie Rush comes out... he's going to be huge... I dont think he's been glossed over, only perhaps in the USA. people who follow and know F-1 - know Lauda.

I dont know if you were following Senna when he was racing, but during the early times he was spectacular, and was doing it in less than great cars... Toleman and Lotus. To me he will always be remembered more for his Lotus days that anything he did with Mclaren... his first win in Portugal was truly amazing... wins at Monaco, and tight tracks - again masterclass....

punting people off the track in Mclaren or "intimidating" back markers ... not so classy.

donnington in 93 - Amazing / the classic Senna racing. I just think Senna is built up into something he really was not. I personaly met the guy a number of times and he was always nice but quiet and aloof.

 

OK... we ALL are in agreement then... PROST was better than Senna. The defense rests!!!!