To his parents and family he was known simply as Beco. To those who raced against him early in his career he was Ayrton Senna da Silva, but to those who loved him he was simply Senna; the greatest F1 driver of them all. We all have our own memories of the moments that define the man who died twenty years ago today. For some it is his crash with Alain Prost at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix, a low point in a tumultuous two-year rivalry. For others it was his dominant opening lap at Donington in 1993 where, in torrential rain, he passed five drivers on the first lap in one of the most amazing displays of car control.
For his former McLaren teammates the moment that defined the man was an awe-inspiring qualifying lap from the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix. Already in pole position from earlier in the session, Senna took to the track to cement the position and put in a superhuman lap, which saw him 1.427 seconds quicker than his nearest rival around the tight and twisty principality.
To commemorate that lap McLaren has put together a special video that uses the actual car and overalls Senna wore on that day. Intermixed with audio from an interview with motorsport writer Gerald Donaldson, Senna talks about driving by instinct and being in a different dimension "...like I was in a tunnel; well beyond my conscious understanding."
Anything else?
The specially commissioned video can be viewed here while an account from Gerald Donaldson on the interview that weaves its way through the film can be found on www.mclaren.com/formula1.