When I was 11 my late father took me to the only Grand Prix I ever saw live. It was in Estoril, 1985. If you’re reading this, watching this video, I don’t need to say anything else.
I saw Senna's last win at Adelaide in 1993 (Tina Turner was the concert that evening and she sang 'Simply the Best' when Senna came on stage), I was at his last home race in 1994 and I was at Imola sitting on the hill overlooking Rivazza.
I went to Donnington Park in 1993. I was a young lad, just passed my driving test the week before. 17 yrs old. Borrowed (nicked 😉) mums car. Drove to Donnington Park. Never ever driven on a motorway before. But I had to see the great man from trackside with my own eyes. Senna was sensationally quick in the wet. Delboy Warwick braked at the 200 meter board... Prost and Damon were much faster, they braked at the 150 meters board, but Senna was on another level, he braked at the 100 meters board in heavy rain and Lapped the entire field in the race. Sometimes he was 5 secs per lap faster than everyone else. On lap 1 he overtook Michael Schumacher, Karl Wendlinger, Damon Hill and Alain Prost to go from 5th to 1st in 1 lap. I was amazed by his performance on that special day. Truely legendary performance. So sad he died one year later. Never fogotten. The great man Ayrton Senna 👍.
Forget about Lewis Hamilton, thrashed by most of his team mates, Russell, Button, Alonso, Rosberg, they all beat Lewis in equal cars. Senna beat all of his team mates in equal cars. No one ever beat Senna in the same car over a season like Lewis has been. Senna was on a much higher level than Lewis Hamilton. From what we have seen with Russell thrashing Lewis for 3 years is that if Toto Wolf had given Russell the drive to replace Rosberg in 2017 instead of Botas, then Russell would have thrashed Lewis to win 4 titles 2017 to 2020. Lewis would not be a 7 time champ. Lewis would be a forgoten lgbtq anti family activist long retired ex driver by now.
The Greatest of all time. Senna, the class act.
Senna. The man, the myth, the legend. Rip the GOAT
All anyone needs to know about Senna was his drive in the pouring rain at Donnington going from 5th to 1st in one lap. Incredible!!!
I feel so lucky that i could experience Sennas career from his first day in F1 until his last. Still miss him as if he was a family member and his incredible talent still makes me speechless
Imagine how it would be if Ayrton joined later in his life Indy...
I miss this guy as if he was a family member. He was blessed with this God given talent.
That was his plan, late in the 90's he would switch f1 to CART. I am Brazilian, we know that, and is something that everyone expected naturally, he loved speed. But unfortunately, he didn't have time. He passed
@@pauloluciomachadodebrito8107 amen. He is still the best ever - in my humble opinion. I thought he would have 2 or 3 years with Williams, then I heard a lot of people say he would have a final year at Ferrari - but then again i think that most f1 champs have been linked to ferrari.
It would've been incredible to see him at Indy. Also i wouldve loved to see Nelson race Indy when he was the old Nelson.
Hope you're well and good and staying safe.
What a legend.
@@MrMiD.Life.Crisis in my humble opinion, I think Fangio and Schumacher were generally better. But Senna was away more charismatic, and appeals much more to the general public. But he really didn't like a consulting role like Lauda and Schumacher did have, or in the politics of the sport. He would definitely be racing until the end of the his carrer. He loved Ferrari, he did not went there before because it wasn't good enough for him. I think he would last less in Williams, Williams being always not a good place to work in terms of ambiance, how many Champs and great drivers left there?
Senna I think would give a try in some endurance races I think. I think he would only stop full time around 2010. But f1 it would be 1997/98.
@@pauloluciomachadodebrito8107 you make a great point. Maybe im choosing Senna more with my heart than my head?
I don't know enough about Fangio to be honest, other than the most incredible stats. But I do know that he started really really late and it makes me wonder what he could of achieved if he was racing at the top level in his 20's instead of in his 40's! Although I guess when he was at what i would call a peak/prime age, ww2 was happening.
Hope you're doing good today.
@@pauloluciomachadodebrito8107 o also, how many champs left Williams immediately after winning the championship?
Piquet, Mansell, Prost, Hill. As you say, not the most ambient of teams!
What a career he would’ve had if he hadn’t have passed. Another 2 F1 championships, a potential 500 win, maybe a crack at the triple crown. He loved speed and loved any form of racing. Still the greatest ever for me. Rip king
Ayrton Senna.
Roger Penske.
INDYCAR test.
My God... what could’ve been. #Chills
So Beuatiful story! Senna.. was beyond a race driver... how many people he also supported in brazil with school.. food.. etc etc..
Blessed human being!
Mears never given the credit he deserves in the racing community, underrated
Just goes to show what a classy guy Roger Penske is and what a testament his actions were not only to help Senna with his Formula 1 contract negotiations with McLaren but to also give him the opportunity to indirectly help give even more credibility to IndyCar at the same time. It was definitely a win-win for both of them. It also amazes me to see just how much the IndyCar drivers admired and respected Senna driving ability and recognized that he was the real deal; a genuine racer and a wonderful human being. No one really knows really what would have happened if Senna had taken that seat with Roger but I can assure you Senna would have left the same legacy at IndyCar that he did with Formula 1. Sempre Senna!
Penske got a lot of publicity for his team and I’m sure Marlboro were very happy with him
Talent is talent. Mansell learned quick after his Phoenix testing crash and dominated the ovals in 93. Montoya, Zanardi, etc didn’t do too badly either.
Senna was the king of F1 .
He will be forever, now the cars are just really fast computers. They've done all they can to take the driver out of the equation. No current f1 driver could do what senna did in the rain.
@@dickfitzwelliner2807 Remember mid corner, the extremely fast throttle blip mid corner
Not only F1, motorsports. He changed IndyCar in a day. He proved he could drive group B rally cars at the same level as those who drove them for a living also in one day. He was also immensely adept with superbikes.
that man did one test drive of an Indy car and he insipired so many Indy drivers, a true legend
These IndyCars from the 90's are so beautiful.
Yes. It's about damn time Indycars LOOK like the PROPER Indycars that were the Champ Cars.
Yes they are and sadly now they'll never be beautiful again thanks to that aeroscreen :(
Senna’s talent with Penske’s absolute devotion to winning would have been a world beating combination!
yeah wizerud its not like international drivers race in indy car or anything.
Cory90 some people are just ignorant and cannot help what they write. US beating ? lol
Wizerud Back than they started their season in Australia at Surfers Paradise.
unfortunately he's gone, so many good memories...RIP. Legend
Ruthless in the cockpit - a most caring person out of it. He was my hero in Formula 1 growing up and we'll never see another quite like him in the sport. Saying that, Michael Schumacher comes a very close second.
Goes faster than two indy champs in a series he never did one lap before. Amazn
A 93 indy 500 grid of Senna. Mansell. Emo. Mario. Arie. Magical.
Was thinking what a year with Mansel and Ayrton rookies showing the kids how to drive
Actually, a great scenario would have been that Senna stayed in F1 in 1993, doing his magical things (Donington for example) and then went to Indy for the 94 season, with prost and mansell also on the grid. After a year Senna should have returned to F1, avoiding his death ;P and win he F1 1995 season etc... :)
Dangit Prost, why couldn't you have decided to do one more season for Williams? I never thought of it that way. Senna wouldn't have driven the McLaren-Peugeot, which he knew wasn't going to be any good, and had even told Ron Dennis that. I doubt he'd have just sat out until Prost retired, so it's likely that he'd have come here in '94 if there was no seat at Williams.
Still remember the day Senna died i was over in the gulf in the back of my radio van doing some training and i had the BBC on the HF set and heard the announcement... amazing how memories like that stick in your mind he was such a profound personality and talent. Will never forget him he was such an inspiration to so many .. God Bless Ayrton...
I was watching the race with my son. When he went off, I knew right away it was bad. It was a terrible day.
Great work Marshall Pruett, Ayrton Senna is for me, my forever idol...
Imagine Senna winning the 1993 Indy 500 as a rookie. For bursting into tears.
There is a lot I like to imagine with Senna . If God does exist why does he constantly take the greatest people humanity has to offer. Socrates, Jesus, MLK, Senna, Kobe, etc
@@seanriopel3132 because when God takes normal people, you don't notice. People die all the time, nobody lives forever.
@@Panzer_Runner thank you for pointing that out. I didn't realize normal people die. I thought only famous people did.
@@seanriopel3132 god needed a chauffeur and a driver so he got Senna 🙏
Senna had great talent for driving any car. He needs little time to adapt and show what he knows.
Ayrton Senna was a once in a lifetime talent. Roger Penske is a special kind of race team owner. I would've loved to have seen the two work together in Indy Cars.
OMG I had no idea me and Senna were in the same area back in 1992 !! That's a win in my book
I was within ten feet of him for hours and never had the courage to say anything to him at Phx in the pits for a week, I regret that as he was devoted Catholic like myself. Senna is in my Rosaries and for me he lives on.
Thank you for this video! For me Senna was the best. He is the number one!
Yes she is Ayrton Senna McBride # 1 Superstar. Papa loves you. I am the father of Ayrton Senna.
I admit that the Senna documentary is what got me into racing and actually led me to find IndyCar, which is now my most favorite sport.
Excellent video, excellent story, and *beautiful* car. Thanks Marshall!
You should try F1, Max at Red Bull is the closest I've seen since Senna. Just saying.
Have a good one!
Still miss him...
I was 12 and watched him take his last corner. My uncle was a grassroots motorcycle racer and loved f1 and I'd go to his house to watch f1 races. Senna was our favorite, prost was named the toad eating Frenchman, he didnt like him at all. Right after he crashed my uncle said holy shit!!!! He's dead, he's dead!!! That part of the track is fast. A replay came on and he said something broke on the car, just like ratzenberger's.
It sucked watching the GOAT pass away.
@sennadasilva11 Amazing! I too met him at Detroit along with co-Lotus-driver Johnny Dumphries.
Ayrton was a gentle kind of guy. Of all things, we talked about water skiing! It was surreal...
@@BritIronRebelHe loved water skiing( he was great at that). Model airplanes. In addition to being an airplane and helicopter pilot, he also did two flights in two different Brazilian Air Force fighter planes. He excelled at everything he did..except soccer. He was not good at that haha man, how I miss him!
Roger you are the man!!!! Brazilian kids thanks you!!! God bless you and your family!!
Mr. Penske is a class act HANDS DOWN , always has been. Nice tribute to Senna and some very informative advice and wisdom The Rocket. Nice piece. Thank you
SENNA 👑
If Senna moved to Indycar, he wouldn't have died in that cursed Williams FW16.
@@thea1469 Genius car??? ☹️
Actually the FW16 had a defect. Adrian Newey discovered that the front wing was too low, making the car unstable. It was later fixed. But too late for Senna.
@@fpvillegas9084 and if Annie your granny was your mum sister she would be your aunt. 🤷🏻
@@fpvillegas9084 I've heard it was that plus the side spoilers which provoked an erratic air effect which caused the car to get too bumpy. Newey mentioned that in his book.
But you are right about the floor, because in later versions of that car you can see the floor was much higher. Just check footage on the internet and compare.
“He’s a racer” - Rick Mears
Yup, Senna keep accelerating during in the corner. Senna was a very genius driver. He knew when the perfect moment to brake and accelerate.
@@simonlavelle5572No it was not. That is an annoying reason. The real reason is it helped rotate the car out more, and balance it more. He would do it in a way that he would hit it fast enough to get the speed boost, but not enough to break the tires loose. It had nothing to do with turbos. He did this in karting.
I lived in Tempe in the 90's and was at Firebird just by chance when this test happened. The one thing that sticks out in my memory was that distinctive throttle blip he used to do mid-corner off. The human traction control machine. Awesome stuff.
It's called down shift double clutching. It's called heel & toe if you're using the brake while down shift double clutching. Setting yourself up for the right gear coming out of a corner.
Senna was without a doubt the most naturally talented & intuitive driver I’ve ever seen. If something in a car was thought to be even ‘borderline possible’ in a technical sense, Ayrton Senna could (and would) make it happen. And likely make it happen beautifully. It seems a strange term to use when describing anything in motorsport, but there was something about his driving that was utterly sublime.
@@frankhoward7645 he is talking about Ayrton's unique throttle technique, not about basic shifting techniques
@@sir_vival3087 A throttle blip is when the revs increase but the car doesn't increase speed. As I said above, it's called down shift double clutching, a driving technique that has been lost with the rise of automatic transmissions in race cars.
I could listen to Mears talk racing all day long.
Ayrton Senna the best driver in history!
What a year Indy 1993 would have been having two F1 giants in Mansel and Ayrton head to head for the title knowing 1992 they were both charging for the F1 title
Fantastic job, a little depressing to see how far Indycar has fallen since then, the fact that a test in an Indycar could put any pressure on Ron Dennis shows how strong Indycar was back then. It does make me wonder if Aryton would have ended up in Indycar after his F1 career. Great work Marshall, happy to decided to give up a weekend of nights to put this together for the fans and as a tribute to Senna.
Wonderful job, Marshall! Thank you for remembering Senna!
Too bad he never got into Indy. Roger Penske would have definitely found a spot for him.
So glad you had some video of this event. To see Emo, Tracy, and Senna in that car is just fantastic. Rick Mears has always been a fav and anyone who watched him win all those Indy 500's knows that he was a force like Senna in his own way. Penske is just pure class.
As a Senna, F1 and Indycar fan, this was great. Thanks a lot to all involved and for the upload
Imagine what the 93 season would have been. Ayrton we miss U!!
Thank you so much for this lovely footage/tribute!
Senna is the GOAT in motor racing. Remember also that Senna was not only a driver but also an engineer. Senna wanted to under the nuances of the car and track.
The GOAT of Formula 1. The greatest drivers have to dominate in all series.
Senna used to walk alone every track before start the two days practice and pole day .
Senna himself would say that Jim Clark was the GOAT. He even used to go and stay at Sid Watkin's house to visit the Jim Clark museum. Senna is one of the greatest of all time but Jimmy is #1.
@@8-bitsteve500 Senna had great respect for Jim and was really close Fangio friend. Think in his mind they had the same tune , type only few ever or will have.
Thank you again Marshall ! Great historical piece of racing, absolutely brilliant.
Amazing piece of Motorsports History. Congrats.
An excellent film, Marshall. Very well done and the storytelling was second to none.
The car is absolutely beautiful, like no joke I think there was a Minichamps replica of this car but Replicarz should sell this car in 1/18 as well...
Vine Wood Your right. Minichamps has a 1:43 scale model of the Senna Penske car. It's one of the Senna collection.
Just think, had he come to Indycar, he may be still alive... One of the greatest. I wish I could have watched him
CruelYeti 100 percent agree! I wish I could have seen him too. He was long before my time yet I still miss him.
Senna should be alive. I thought it was a huge mistake to go to Williams when he did. Bad timing, Williams was no longer the dominate team, they were on the downside by then.
50 gary
On the downside?
Williams won in 1992, Mansell and 1993, Prost, Damon hill came very close in 1994, second to Schumacher and second to Schumacher in 1995, then he won in 1996, Jacques Villeneuve won in 1997. That is some downside.
Funny you list the Mansell years as part of my "downside" comment that was not Senna in the car. The Mansell car was so good many other drivers could have won in it, (let alone Senna), that's domination. Senna in 1994 the Williams did not have that all conquering advantage that it did prior to 94. Williams lost out two years running, that's a downside, you make my point. In F1' two years is a long time.
50 gary
So in 1992 the Williams was the best car and anyone could have won in it, 1993 when the williams was very good, but not entirely predictable, Prost did win, he was the one driver Senna could not beat on equal terms, 1994 when the Williams was still very good and Senna was struggling with the handling, so much so that Senna asked Prost for advice about it.
In F 1 two years is not so long and 1994 the title was between Hill and Schumacher, just one point in it. 16 eaces and 15 won by Benneton or Williams, but for the collision in Adelaide Hill would have been world champion that year too. Such a big downside isn't it?
1994 the Williams had the more powerful Renault engine and won the constructors title, 1995 both had the Renault engine. and the Williams drivers came second and third so the second Benneton driver only came 4th.
Thank you VERY much for putting this video together. Was a huge fan of Senna and still am concerning “ The Captain” and his organization’s massive contribution to motor sports. Learned some interesting things here. Thanks again.
Oh how I wish he had gone to Indycar. The "Split" would never have happened and he would probably still be alive today.
Thanks for documenting that. I'm a Senna fan and love these type of stories.
Fantastic! Thank you for this!
Great work, man. Well done. Thanks for bringing perspective into that test. I’m Brazilian and, at that time, I remember the media fuss around him switching to IndyCars. It went on for several months. It it was a message to F1 and to McLaren, more than anything. Reading Ayrton’s biography, I learned that at that same time he was spending countless hours on the phone with Europe negotiating his $1M per race contract with McLaren.
Also very thoughtful of Penske to restore the car. That’s love for Motorsport right there.
Wonderful video. Thank you so much.
Phenomenal driver with an edge... ways believed he could win. Senna the racing world miss him.
Loved this! Great job guys considering how much time you had, loved it!
WOW thanks for Sharing ... I have been watching you a lot these days on youtube for Daytona and Indy test and also bought the racer mag for a year
Great film had only heard about this test briefly it was nice to get some details on it. Also thanks for putting this together Marshall Pruett always enjoy listening to your podcasts. I strongly advise the rest of the viewers to go and check them out. Suppose at the end of the day this is just another one of life's what ifs. RIP Ayrton Senna.
It's tremendous to hear from those involved, how fresh and lively their memories are after so many years. They somehow give the impression, beside all competition, of something like a racing community. Nice to see, that passion, talent and commitment are acknowledged all over the world. As for the test: Sometimes the best stories are the unwritten ones. Would have been awesome to see Senna in Indycar... Especially as I regard the early 90s as the time, when CART came closest to matching and threatening Formula 1. After 25 years, you still feel the enormous impact Senna had in the racing world. Class act - I'm still depressed, he had to leave so early.
Such a great story... thank you Marshall and all involved in documenting this great period of history. Sounds like we are going to lose Firebird next year (Now Wild Horse Pass). It will never go down as a great race track, but it sure had it's moments in time and history.
Beautiful car, what a work of Art and for Roger to do that restoration, amazing. All legends.
What a legend..
Amazing. Great documentary about that day. Best wishes from Brazil #sennasempre 🇧🇷
Inspirational & touching to see how the great man connected to so many.
8:16 - 49.14s "Easy to drive"
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PS: Emmo best lap: 49.70s
Thanks a lot, Marshall. Very cool video, and awesome to hear Mears opinion on Senna. Keep the good job on Racer.com and on the podcast as well!
WOW!That is a great video. Thank you Mr.Pruett.
Great job, Marshall! Outstanding piece.
thank you for upload...the great senna
Great Job Marshall, a terrific piece.
Thank you, it was amazing and brings back memories
Great job Mr. Pruett. Great to see this car restored along with the PC23 that's been rebuilt here in the UK.
Thank you for this! Fascinating.
Great little edit / film. Nicely done.
Awesome story and the production is really good!
To my racing idols Rodger Penske and Rick Mears on May 25th 1998 a beautiful daughter was born Ayrton Senna McBride the love of my life in memory of the greatest race car driver she is a tribute Ayrtons legend lives on.
What an amazing story and very well told. Awesome doc Marshall.
What a beautiful and inspirational piece. Besides the figure of Ayrton Senna, the centerpiece, we see past drivers for Mr. Roger Penske who are HOF drivers in their own right. Very well done Marshall Pruett! I don't think that anyone else could have put this together as well as You Sir!
Wished he had taken this route. I’m sure he’d still be alive today. What a legendary talent.
Great job, Marshall!
Great short film, great story!
Very good job Marshall! thanks from Brasil
I really envy people who witnessed and experienced Senna being a driver or just being Senna... But extremely grateful for vids like these...more plss pls plss.
If Senna would have wanted to drive for Penske in '93, Marlboro/PMI would have fitted the bill for another car in the team I have zero doubts.
"we're starting to race computers" Senna nailed it as that's what F1 has become. Much different from the brutal cars of Senna's era.
The cars of Senna's era that would be the turbo cars that senna had to drive for 4 years and other drivers had to drive for longer. They were not as dangerous as the cars had been a few years earlier.
Baxrok2 racing the computers was just the very beginning. He would not have been happy a few years later.
And yet he tried everything to get a drive with Williams in 93 to pilot the all singing all dancing fw15
And yet, the cars today are much more difficult to drive, because they are incredibly precise and delicate machines. What the 80's and 90's F1 cars lacked in finesse and control, they compensated with brute force.
The cars of today are WAY FASTER than the 80's and 90's F1 cars, due to better aerodynamics, due to computing, telemetry and engineering. So, in order to control all the variables, you NEED a computer. Why? Because the human brain can't track them anymore.
What Senna never understood is that F1 was ALWAYS about the car, much like a wild horse, and the pilot was some kind of a jockey, trying to dominate the wild beast he was sitting on.
Today, the cars are like fighter jets, and the pilots are like fighter pilots, with pretty much the same body types and so on. Look at today's jet fighters... Pretty much all control surfaces and most of the tracking and some of the flying functions are automated, because it took TWO PEOPLE to control the plane, one to fly and one to track every single other thing. Today, it only takes one, and a computer.
Same with today's F1 cars. They are so much more complicated, that they would need a second person adjusting the suspension modes, engine modes, boost, opening the DRS, and so on. Have a look at the steering wheel of a today's F1 car, and take a look at Senna's steering wheel, and if you don't understand why F1 is the way it is today, you never will. And if you don't, watch another sport.
Ayrton Senna was and still is to this day the most talented and gifted F1 driver of all time. It was so amazing to watch him get so much more from a car than anyone else could he had feeling and touch he was at one with the car as though he had motor oil running through his veins. When you watch the likes of Hamilton vettel and all other modern drivers it just makes you realise how special Ayrton was. God bless R.I.P
Great video!!! Thank you!!!
Paul Tracy ran a few races in the nascar Busch series back in the mid 2000s. I won a contest and got to sit literally in his pit box for the race. I got to meet all the big names and still have everyone's signatures including Paul obviously. He was a class act. The memories have lasted much longer than the relationship with the girl I took with me 🤣🤦♂️. Good times
Simply the GOAT. Saudades
Ayrton Senna !! nothing need be said except. RIP champ
Awesome stuff, thank you!
great vid thank you very much
THANK YOU Marshall. Aside from this being a great little film, I've been in so many conversations this month about this and too many people, who should know better, all try to claim he wanted to come race IndyCars. When the truth is, he never had any intention of racing over here. It was a publicity stunt by him, plain and simple, sadly, it worked and duped a lot of people. Most of the team and Emmo himself realized this once he said he wasn't interested in driving on the oval. Supposedly, Emmo was furious with Senna over this and refused to talk to him for a while. GREAT video!
in one of the interviews on the test he was quoted as saying thank you I will be back one day . Its highly likely had he lived after his F1 career he would have tried for a triple crown with they indy 500 and le mans 24 hour. It would cement his reputation as the greatest race driver of all time.
Oh, I've no doubt about that, it's just this test was more of a stunt to force Ron Dennis' hand.
Personally I took the positive things away from this that Roger Penske himself did. The test could easily have served two purposes: 1) force the hand of Ron Dennis, 2) satisfy Senna's curiosity about the future. I think you're focusing on the wrong lesson here.
Great video thanks for the upload, It would of been majestic to see Ayrton Senna race in the USA 🇺🇸 🏁
Ayrton made the test only to put pressure on Ron Dennis for the 1993 campaign
04:03 "...as far as charisma Senna topped any single brazilian we've ever met and I think any single Brazilian who will ever be born."
As a Brazilian I couldn't agree more.
Why do Brazilians shit on Piquet? Not only was Piquet one of the best F1 drivers he was also the funniest by far.
@@joshhill5932 because Piquet doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut, he likes to create controversies. Not long ago he created another controversy implying that Senna was gay. Senna is dead and cannot defend himself. You from outside Brazil do not know these things. Piquet is resentful.
@@leonardokdc1 Isso. Piquet foi um dos melhores pilotos que o Brasil já, mas ainda vejo o Senna como mais completo. O fato é que ele tem ressentimento de não ter tanta popularidade e ser lembrado pelo povão, naquela época muitos aqui só assistiam F1 por causa do Senna, depois que morreu então.. se tornou um mito que nenhum piloto daqui vai conseguir superar nesses quesitos.
@@leonardokdc1😂😂😂😂😂 in 2021 he was after Hamilton.