That is an awesome photo, too bad he went to Williams two years to late when they built a **** car (FW16) although by Imola that car had become much more refined. As Patrick Head said "Williams forgot how to design a passive car after having an active suspension for the last two seasons, with Ayrton the car was coming right very quickly, how he was able to put that car on Pole for the first 3 races is beyond me. Once the FW16 was sorted it became a very fine machine, unfortunately by that time we no longer had Ayrton."
Here's a pretty cool letter that Ron Dennis wrote to a fan shortly after Ayrton's death. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Can robots feel emotions? Even Darth Vader showed some paternal feelings for Luke. Thanks for sharing.
Andreas, You think he is a Robot, I used to think that about him as well. Then he gave this very emotional interview to Autosport where he said that Ayrton was the closest man he had a friendship with. Then he went on to say, please don't take it in a "Gay" way, I mean't a bond. It was actually pretty funny seeing Ron Dennis making those comments. If anyone has ever read the book by Professor Sid Watkins introduction about Senna the man, they will see why he was so loved by the F1 community.
Interesting. And when you read loudmouth Piquet's Penthouse interview you realize why Dennis stressed that he meant bond. I've read two Senna related books: One was his own (?) about fitness and eating and the other was about his life and it gets you right inside his mind. Stunning stuff.
Those are great books, "Principles of Driving" and I don't remember the other one. Piquet was always a smart ass, one of the women he was married to was Ayrton's Ex-Girlfriend, and Piquet made some nasty comments. When they asked Aryton to reply he said there is no need to get the Lady involved, perhaps Senna didn't care for her.
But we forget, while Senna was catching Prost at Monaco in 84, Stephan Bellof was catching both of them at an incredible rate. If the race had gone the distance Bellof might have won the race Senna 2nd, Prost 3rd which would have shook up the points even more.
So, does anybody actually know the book that the FW letter comes with? "Monumental Senna" If I am to believe the seller, the book itself is pretty rare.
i can remember where i was when i heard that senna was killed game fair in snaith england they announced it over the tannoy system never really watched gp after senna had gone
Patrick Head on Senna, "Though we operated with Ayrton for such a short time - we were in the honeymoon period, and I'm sure he could be a right bastard with you if he thought the team wasn't pulling properly - he was so thoughtful and clinical in his way of operating. If we sat him down and said: "Look Ayrton, what do you think of doing this?", though he didn't understand the deeper technical issues, you could explained to him what, as an engineer, you were trying to do. He would sit and think, take it all on board, go out in the car, come in and sit and think again. Then you would get a clear, concise summary of all that happened out there, prioritised correctly. But he would never tell you anything until he had seen the tyre temperature and pressure sheet and was sure that they had been right. "I thought he had a really organised brain. He would have been a brilliant person to work with, and I really miss not having had a full opportunity to do so. "If I ever had a really serious think about stopping, it has to be after Ayrton's accident. In thinking about the level of responsibility in detail, after a bit you sit back and say: "I'm not sure I can carry this", because it is inevitable that one day something else will happen. I still haven't fully sorted out in my mind how I view the responsibility, but I have sorted out the bit that says: "Oh hell, I can't take this, I must stop." That bit is dealt with. But sorting out all of it - it is obviously a pretty big impact having someone killed in a car that I have been centrally involved with, and which came out of the company of which I'm Technical Director - that, I haven't done yet." Story from Grandprix.com
Another Interesting Article about Ayrton, with Ron Dennis, Frank Williams, and Patrick Head. Sorry about the length. The legend of Ayrton Senna drives on at Imola, where the memory of his death still casts a shadow over the track. Ten years after his tragic death at Imola, the legacy of Ayrton Senna lives on from the Sao Paulo slums to the streets of Monte Carlo. Next week's San Marino Grand Prix will be one of remembrance as formula one returns, possibly for the last time, to the Italian circuit. Imola 1994 was a watershed for grand prix racing, shocking the world and robbing the sport of a three-times world champion still considered by many to be the greatest man who ever graced a race track. "He was the one driver so perfect that nobody thought anything could happen to him," said former McLaren teammate Gerhard Berger after a terrible weekend that also claimed the life of Austrian Roland Ratzenberger. "He was the only driver I respected," said four-times champion and old rival Alain Prost. The painful memories, present every year at Imola, will remain even if the circuit has changed and teams treat next week's race, coming a week before the May 1 anniversary, as business as usual. "I'll try to keep my head low, as will Patrick," said Frank Williams, the team boss who faces another trial in Italy along with technical director Patrick Head and former designer Adrian Newey as a result of Senna's death in their car. All will remember a hugely talented driver and may wonder, as many have over the past decade, what might have happened had Senna lived. Would Ferrari's six-times world champion Michael Schumacher, now heading for his fourth win in a row to match the best start of his career in 1994, have been the same record-breaking phenomenon that he is today? One can only imagine the battles the two might have had. Senna was 34 and at the height of his powers just as the 25-year-old Schumacher was emerging with Benetton. Could Senna, whose record of 65 pole positions still stands, have equalled Juan Manuel Fangio's record of five titles before Schumacher did in 2002? Their rivalry might even have matched the intensity of that between Senna and Prost, a feud fuelled by controversial title-deciding collisions at Suzuka in 1989 and 1990. "He felt that there was a part of formula one that was prepared to win at all costs," said McLaren boss Ron Dennis, whose cars took Senna to his titles, when asked what the Brazilian had thought of Schumacher. "It was a group of people that fell into that category, not just drivers, but elements of teams or whole teams. And he felt that certainly Michael fell into that category and that was never his way of going into formula one." Whatever the conjecture, it only heightens the mystique of an absent champion whose charisma, intelligence and talent combined the spiritual and the sporting to a rare degree. Dennis spent more than an hour talking to reporters about Senna at the last Bahrain Grand Prix. "His legacy is moments like this." he said. "Even 10 years after he lost his life, there is still a tremendous interest in him. I do not think Ayrton would change anything that happened. "He lost his life doing something he was passionate about. It was his life to the exclusion of many things that other drivers and individuals enjoy." - Reuters
Hmz... just noted that prices start at around Euro 400 for a clean copy... no wonder the seller was asking a friggin fortune for it with those signatures and letter included with it...
I got mine as a gift about 6 years ago from my fellow Senna buddy. Here is another excellent article for anybody who has the time to read it. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,12771-1080958,00.html
One last one from Patrick Head: Some say he believed he had a covenant with God. Certainly, when needed, he had access to some place not entirely of this earth. He was always savagely fast, of course, but sometimes thats not enough - like when he was in an early-94 Williams with an aerodynamic imbalance against Michael Schumacher in a near-perfect Benetton. Where he summoned those three poles from was a secret between him and the Almighty. When Patrick Head says they were the most remarkable performances he has ever seen anyone perform in one of his cars, it counts. They were just the parting shots of his extraordinary career. There were those days at Monaco, playing nip and tuck with team-mate Prost for pole, when hed suddenly summon a lap that made everyone around doubt their sensors. There was the race there in 88 trying to go a whole lap up on his nemesis and looking for a time to be on course to do so before backing off then crashing out. Some says he was arguing with God. About the terms of their agreement?
Here some shots from that 84 Monaco weekend. Also note the camera on top of the 2nd Renault. Shooting footage for "Lap of the gods". The good weather pics are all from training and qualifying. I only included one rain picture. Back then film didn't have today's high speed ratings and it was though to get anything decent in low lighting conditions. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Fantastic shots. If you have any other F1 shots (especially of Senna) I'd love to see them! That shot of Arnoux has just been made my desktop here at work.
Oh well, thank you! I have more Ayrton shots, I can dig up. One day I'll get a house with a decent garage and I want to decorate the walls with F1 Ferrari shots I took over the years. That one from Arnoux will be one of them. The years of the most powerful F1 cars of all times!
Speaking about that, does anybody have the book "THE TURBO YEARS" by Alan Henry, excellent look at the 1,000+ bhp cars of the 80's. No wimpy paddle shifters, traction control, narrow body, slick b.s. Real Cars driven by Real Men.
Thanks Tony for posting all those great quotes on Ayrton. I still miss him so much . Cant believe its already been almost 12 years ! Saudades !
Your welcome Andrew, and no I can't believe it has been so long. I still miss seeing him race, but I also miss the bygone ERA of the late 80's F1 as well.
This is a theme that was played on Brazilian TV everytime he won .. http://rapidshare.de/files/9581144/Ayrton_Senna_-_Tema_da_Vit_ria.mp3.html Dunno if you ever heard it.
