Top 10 Moments of Senna Mastery

 Ayrton Senna. The Man. The Myth. The Legend.

10.
Ayrton Senna truly showed his defensive skills at Silverstone in 1993. An electric start saw Senna leading the race, just ahead of his rival Alain Prost in the faster Williams. Even with the professor in his slipstream, Senna defended for 6 whole laps in his slower Mclaren! Senna showed his true colors, and his mastery of defending.

 Senna defending Prost  during the race at Silverstone in 1993

9.
During Qualifying of the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix, a speedy lap saw Senna put in a time of 1:18.38 seconds, (One Minute, 18.38 Seconds) smashing the track record. This earned Senna his 50th career pole position. Senna went 1.2 seconds faster than McLaren teamate, Gerhard Berger.

8.
The 1986 Spanish Grand Prix held one of the closest finishes in F1 history. Senna led in his Lotus and at the final lap, his very worn tires were failing. Nigel Mansell caught up in his Williams. Senna defended his best, but at the final straight, Nigel darted alongside Senna. It was a drag race to the finish. Senna held on to his line and kept first place by just fourteen-thousandths of a second!

                               Video: Formula 1 
7.
During practice of the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix, Erik Comas crashed at the high speed Blanchimont Corner at a 180 MPH. Erik was unconscious with his engine still running, and his foot pressing on the accelerator pumping fuel into the system. Senna noticed the danger of a explosion so he stopped his Mclaren and ran over to Erik's car to shut off the engine and hold Erik's head in a stable position. Erik would later state that Senna had undoubtedly saved his life. At the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix when Senna got into the horrific accident, Erik looked to return the favor, but couldn't do anything to help. Senna had died. Erik was so shocked that he did not participate in the restart, mainly because of what happened at Spa 2 years earlier. 

                              Video: Formula 1  l
6.
At the 1988 Japanese Grand Prix, Senna, the pole-sitter, stayed stationary off the start.  Because of the engine stall in the start, Senna dropped all the way to 16th position. With Senna's maiden championship in mind, he charged through the field and within 20 laps, he was in 2nd position, chasing down championship rival and team mate, Alain Prost. Senna caught Alain, passed him, and went on to win the race, securing the championship. 

 Senna winning at Japan, and claiming his maiden world championship

5.
At the very wet  European Grand Prix in 1993, saw one of F1's greatest first laps.  Senna started 4th on the grid  but a bad start dropped him into 5th position. But the legend didn't give up. Senna displayed all of his wet weather mastery. By turn 7, he had overtaken 3 people, including Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher. Then Senna dived down the inside of Alain Prost into the lead. Senna would go on to win the race!

                                          Video: Formula 1
4.
Senna's reputation as the king of wet weather was establshed at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. Starting in 13th, Senna showed his mastery of the rain by charging his Toleman through the field to second place. He even passed the legend Niki Lauda.  Senna went on to overtake race leader Alain Prost on lap 32, but Prost complained that the weather was too dangerous and race officials agreed. However, Senna wasn't given the win as the results were taken from the last completed lap. Prost was awarded victory. Still, Senna proved that he was a legend.

 A painting of Senna driving his Toleman through the streets of Monaco

3.
In the 1985  Portugese Grand Prix, Senna again showcased his ability in the rain. Senna won his first pole position and pushed his Lotus to the limits. As drivers behind him spun and retired, Senna sailed around the track. He led the race from start to finish and he beat second place by over a minute! Senna had secured his first of 41 career victories!

 Senna pushing his Lotus in the wet weather

2.
At the 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix, Senna won his home Grand Prix during his 8th season. However, the journey wasn't easy. Senna had a electric start and led for 65 laps before his gearbox began to fail. Only 6th gear was available. As Williams' Riccardo Patrese started to catch up to Senna, he managed to steer the broken Mclaren to victory in front of his adoring fans. Senna was so physically and emotionally exhausted after the tough race, the victor was barely able to lift the trophy on the podium.

                                       Video: Formula 1
1.
At the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix qualifying, perhaps saw the best lap in F1 history. Senna pushed his Mclaren beyond the limits through the tough streets of Monte Carlo. He already had pole position, but Senna kept going and pushing the boundaries.  "Suddenly, it frightened me," Ayrton said, "because I realized I was well beyond my conscious understanding. I drove back slowly to the pits and did not go out anymore that day." Senna was a almost a whole 2 seconds faster, than teammate Alain Prost in the identical Mclaren!

                                      Video: McLaren
Tell me in the comments your favorite feats Senna achieved!
And remeber, Senna is not gone, he is one lap ahead of us!