Senna vs. Prost at Suzuka 1989 Qualifying Onboard

[@Zonda1996]

Those engines sounded angry. Love that noise.

[@thistlejoelullaby3869]

Senna: Artist Prost: Professor

[@saucepanclangerclub2035]

Senna had supreme speed, but Prost was silky smooth, super-smart and patient, which often led to his domination of race day. Where Senna would sometimes scrub tyres ragged to run away, Prost would steadily stalk the finish line with a cleaner, more efficient performance. This was perhaps the greatest duel in Grand Prix racing, since their styles had such contrast. Prost frustrated his opponents, Senna spooked them, and Mansell barged through like a bulldog.

[@deanhollywell2064]

Excellent summing up, 3 fantastic drivers all at the top of their game all with different strengths, occasionally luck may play a part for all 3 and none if them won a championship without the best car but they had to still make best use of it. Fantastic to watch, thrilling every race. Very stiff competition across the grid, not just zprost Senna, Mansell but also other notable chargers and talents as Berger, Piquet, Patrese, Roseberg - all tremendously capable and with better luck regarding reliability ( thinking more Berger for Ferrari) then other champions could've been. I miss those days, real grit, bravery, determination, talent and cunning required to extract the very best from the cars.

[@marcelloschmidt]

You don't know what you are talking about.

[@ospreyslender8931]

Winning is winning, by a mile or an inch

[@markthompson6123]

Well put

[@speedmann194]

He was rarely faster in a race. Prost being faster then senna in race trim is a myth. I watched recently 88,89 seasons back to back and Prost was lucky to be faster then senna 5 or 6 Times , over 32 races. Truth is senna either broke down in the lead, happened 5 times 89 or crashed in the lead. If you do the maths senna was faster about 80% of the time always, qualifying more so.

[@regulator062]

What a speed demon Senna was.

[@ninasaturno]

I think the fact of Senna was left-handed gave him a little advantage. Already in the middle of the first corner Ayrton was ahead of Prost, and I notice a second gear reduction in the freaking middle of the corner, while Alain just made one traditional change in the corner entrance. That second gear change, plus a little later brake in entrance, and the more aggressive driving style of Senna (which in the corners exit he did a kind of fast hits on the accelerator, after confirmed in telemetry) made him almost 1s ahead of Prost already after the first corner. Is sublime.

[@hristoitchov]

His gear changes for T1 and then for T2 are remarkable, lightning-fast. As for having an advantage of being left-handed, I'm not sure. Being right-handed myself, I can't imagine having to change gears with my left hand. Would take a lot of practice to develop a proper feeling.

[@mrpositronia]

@@hristoitchov For us who drive sitting on the right hand side of a car, we change gear with our left hand all the time, however, i would expect engineers to be able to make the suitable arrangements for each driver's needs.

[@hristoitchov]

@@mrpositronia Perhaps, but I've not seen a single seater that has gearshift changes with its gear lever on the left hand side. I guess drivers just get used to it.

[@FLMKane]

@@hristoitchov I've had to learn to shift with both hands switching between USA and Bangladesh. Problem is when I drive auto, I keep putting my hand on the stick to shift and then go "hold on, why am is it stuck?"

[@Barnosca]

What? Clutch is in the right side, like a normal car(for most ppl).

[@cryogenesis51]

Just want to point it out: this was not the only time Senna destroyed Prost on qualifying. Here are "some" other HUGE qualifying gaps between Senna and Prost as team mates: - Italy '89 (+1,790) - Japan '89 (+1,730) - Monaco '88 (+1,427) - Detroit '88 (+1,413) - USA '89 (+1,409) - Brazil '89 (+1,318) - Monaco '89 (+1,148) - Hungary '88 (+1,143) - Spain '89 (+1,077) - Hungary '89 (+1,037) - German '89 (+0,995) - Mexico '89 (+0,897) - San Marino '88 (+0,771) - Australia '89 (+0,738) - Portugal '89 (+0.736)

[@cryogenesis51]

@Barrie Rodliffe Urban legends don't count as historical accuracy. My previous post is full of tangible evidence. All these qualyfing gaps are REAL and proven. Your post, on the contrary, is full of stupid and useless conjectures. By the way Prost won Monaco 1988 because Senna spinned his car into the barrier at Portier when he was 50 seconds ahead! Don't you know Senna won at Monaco 6 times? And it could be 7 times if Ickx didn't decide to stop the race in 1984. Senna was driving a Toleman, while Prost was driving a McLaren! This is a huge proof of superiority! Yckx then was suspended from his race control duties for not consulting with the stewards over his decision before making it.

[@hristoitchov]

Barrie, final warning to watch your mouth or you're getting blocked from commenting ever again on this video. Got it? You're way too biased and thick to even have a normal conversation, and all you know is sprout out your nonsense again and again, without supporting them with any evidence whatsoever. You sound like a crazy religious person who just believes things without doing any fact checking. So, again - Honda did not give Senna more power. Prost was doing fastest laps because McLaren told Senna to slow down, and by slowing down he lost concentration. Traffic is no excuse, they both had to go through it. Traffic alone does not cause a loss of 50+ seconds, if you believe that, then you have no understanding of the sport. You can't say Prost won 4 times and Senna just 6, you mean Senna won 6 times and Prost JUST 4. Basic use of language... Yes, Bellof was catching Senna, but Bellof was DQ for an illegal car (team was DQ from the whole season), which is why he was faster. It's also not a certainty that Senna's car wouldn't have lasted, that's just speculation by people in the team. Ickx was not right to stop the race, because it was not a decision he was allowed to make, plus it was all too convenient that it happened just as Senna was about to overtake Prost on the next lap. As far as I know, there's just one race Senna wanted stopped - Australia 1991, but he did not have organizers on his side, and conditions were much worse than Monaco 1984, with cars going off everywhere, especially on the straight, due to water streams crossing the track at a point where the speed is the highest. Prost won in France, sure, he had extra motivation there, could dial a perfect setup, plus at least in one of those races he passed Senna because of backmarkers slowing him down. It doesn't mean he was dominating all of those French GPs. Also, Prost raced longer than Senna did, which is why he had more attempts at both French and Brazilian GPs, and winning the latter happened mostly before Senna had a top car. There's really no room for comparison if you only compare the years in which both fought each other in competitive machinery, because it's clear as bright day that Senna dominated Prost during that period. You can't twist around facts to support something that's not even comparable. And nobody is diminishing anything that Prost achieved, because even Senna himself rated him as the very best in the sport, but to have you trying to make it look as if Senna was just lucky and was not a level above Prost in terms of getting the maximum out of a car, is just ridiculous. Perhaps it would have been even more interesting if both started their careers at the same point in time, because Prost was more similar to what Senna was in his early years, but it is what it is.

[@cryogenesis51]

@Barrie Rodliffe There isn't any real and technical evidence to confirm that stupid urban legend. Only in your mind there is such a thing! The fairy tale about different engines was all made up by Prost. In fact Honda responded to his puerile accusations by providing real and indisputable data outputs proving all their engines were perfectly identical. In this video you can clearly see Prost driving like my grandmother, taking zero risk. Senna was 1,7 second faster than Prost thanks to his aggressive approach and his jaw-dropping talent. Ayrton used more track, he even clipped the grass before turning into 130R. Just look at how he brakes before the last chicane! That has nothing to do with engines, every real F1 fan knows it.

[@cryogenesis51]

@Barrie Real F1 fans do not try to make up nonsense. That's right, and that's why you are not a real F1 fan! ROFL You are shooting yourself in the foot, man! XD You are just a fanboy that keeps insulting people. You keep talking about F1 without knowing anything about it. I'm sorry to open your eyes to the truth, but this video (and F1 in general) is not made for pitful and biased people like you. Get a life and try to have normal conversation with people.

[@hristoitchov]

You asked for it, Barrie. That was the last time you comment here.

[@fredsalfa]

Prost looks very smooth but Senna is just more aggressive

[@bZLxcz]

Alfa Won prost drives like a lady lol

[@projectjt3149]

Alfa Won TBH, I couldn’t find out if it was the bumpiness of the car or if it was Sennas driving style that explained how shaky his hands were. Then I saw this video and it was clearly senna’s finesse driving

[@adithyamahesh6961]

bZ Lxcz Lmao the lady led the race on sunday and won 4 championships

[@adithyamahesh6961]

bZ Lxcz the same style as Lauda, Stewart and Fangio.. would you call them ladies?

[@kimiklimenko1608]

Senna on the limit. The helmet disappeares from camera when he turn left and hiding steering wheel when right. Prost on the same position every corner like he is at home and playing simulator ))).

[@malhotraroger9106]

Senna .....The Man From Another Dimension . We were privileged to watch the impossible made possible . R.I.P.

[@levisalvini4110]

The perfect statement❤

[@sennagalisfan]

Senna the ultimate master . What a joy and holing experience to watch the master at work

[@burns985]

Jackie Stewart once said: Senna is the FASTEST champion i've ever seen.

[@vitaliigavrilov6030]

burns985 absolutely mate! Senna forever!!!!

[@felixlaurenz8742]

He also said that Prost was the better driver.

[@ziguigui22]

He also almost accused Senna to be a dangerours driver.

[@felixlaurenz8742]

@@ziguigui22 Senna was a dangerous driver. He tried to bully Prost and others more than once. Just look at the stats how often he crashed with others (not as often as Maldonado though 😁).

[@ziguigui22]

@@felixlaurenz8742 And very few people knows when both driving for McLaren in 1988 and 1989, Prost got in a head to head competition, in general faster "fastest lap in race" than Senna. Prost was not a driver made to qualify his car in pole position. Prost was built to win championship.

[@mariogasparotto]

Senna was 1.7 second most faster than Prost, in this lap.

[@sammaxgoof8507]

Mário Gasparotto an eternity in f1

[@ziguigui22]

@@sammaxgoof8507 But Prost's car was ready for the race, when Senna's one wasn't. Prost said several time said it had not the style to be efficient in warming his rear tires during the qualification. He used the qualification to improve the settings of his car for the race. Prost was extremely clever. That's why, in 1988 and 1989, he got more points than Senna and in a - head to head competition - Prost got more "fastest lap in race" than Senna. In 1988 and in 1989, Prost got ten faster "fastest lap in race" than Senna when Senna only had six faster "fastest lap in race" per year than Alain Prost. Interesting isn't it?

[@GreekSIMRACING]

@@ziguigui22 The simple answer to this that Senna was on Pole leading on all races.He was record on leading laps,he initial opened the gap is first laps with dirty track and full load cruising in fuel save as the had fuel limited rules and his driving style consumption was average 4.5% than others keeping his engine overreving dipping throttle in corners.He set all his fastest lap when he was not leading or had a problem back infield going thru.I was on thought why he had so few fastest laps in his career and search in net and found this.Funny statistics.

[@bradthelad8180]

Do you blink and time is staped?????????? 😨

[@Ellemerob]

@@ziguigui22 Prost achieved 12 fastest laps against Senna from 1988/89. Out of the 12 races in which Prost achieved fastest lap Senna won more of those races than Prost did. Being fastest over one lap doesn't automatically equate to being fastest over a race distance.

[@lucaspierrot3643]

Senna era muito mais agressivo, sabia o tempo certo de colocar a marcha certa na hora certinha, usava a força da reduzida para sair mais forte das curvas, biliscava as zebras, usava o menor e mais curto caminho de uma pista. O cara não era um piloto e sim um gênio, ele era muito esperto

[@dphm117]

Ele treinava mt e era o piloto mais experiente da f1

[@baalbuqu]

@@dphm117 Ainda sim, nesta tomada de tempo o prost tinha 4 temporadas há mais que ele, ou seja, prost tinha mais experiência e levou tempo do Senna.

[@rafabitencourt]

@@baalbuqu Senna era muito superior a Prost, em praticamente todos os aspectos. Fisicamente, mentalmente e agressivamente.

[@anonimo2766]

@@baalbuqu 88 nessa mesma pista Senna caiu pra 16 deixando carro apagar na largada e ainda sim conseguiu chegar em primeiro passando prost que tinha o mesmo carro e tu vem me dizer que prost tinha mais experiência?

[@nicolasoliveira4903]

​@@anonimo2766 Prost tinha mais experiência. Era mais velho. Entendeu?

[@mikemar14]

Wish I would have seen this era of F1 live

[@Tintoycar]

I saw it live and yes you are right, it was unforgettable. I miss it enormously .

[@fhhfgj]

That was when F1 was thrilling. Today yawn fest.

[@fhhfgj]

At least you can watch the races on KZbin!

[@80sf1fan2]

Yes man i would too

[@sven7696]

Best period of F1, difficult handling, less downforce, beautiful cars. one of the first races I saw in F1 was in Monaco 85 I think, Senna with John player, then you already knew he would be a Future world Champion, I was immediately a fan of him, I Also loved mansell's driving style :-) great drivers

[@lucascarioli]

Senna is cleary much more faster and agressive in the corners, specially at 130R. Prost, on other hand, drives more smoothly.

[@dannybodros5180]

1:20 the sheer balls on Senna to downshift at that speed with only one hand on the steering wheel. L E G E N D

[@pepicprasic2038]

Prost did the same a fraction later 😉

[@richard3542]

Im confused. How would you downshift with 2 hands on the steering wheel?

[@syntheovaldy5173]

@@richard3542 😂😂😂

[@JG54206]

Senna is already over 1 second ahead at the hairpin.

[@bZLxcz]

You can clearly see how faster Senna was and how much RAW pace he had overall. He was the best, always getting everything he could from the car, dominating it.

[@jmilne5751]

Could only get everything out of the car for a single lap...Prost did it for entire races & scored more points against Senna in championships...FACT

[@malhotraroger9106]

Senna. The man from another dimension.

[@AMMARTINS74]

O Prost simplesmente estava disputando com o melhor piloto de todos os tempos "Ayrton Senna da Silva " o melhor!

[@chamito7499]

aYrton

[@FilmeseSeriesAsiaticas]

Na época tinha 3 pilotos que dominavam, Prost, Piquet e Senna

[@WonkyFonk]

His braking into the final chicane is just incredible

[@FfortheT]

he is going sideways in braking big time, or am I misunderstanding what I'm seeing?

[@bam_henry]

I admire the contrast between their driving styles.

[@olha.o.conteudo]

Yes that was the F1 my friends! epic !! epic !!

[@chasingpif]

One-hand control on meanwhile braking the car at 1:28 for Senna! WOW!

[@Berchol]

That’s the “car dance” he was used to do

[@yuhki60514]

セナはとにかく速さを求めた攻撃的なドライビング。 プロストはなるべく修正舵を入れない綺麗にタイヤを使うドライビング。 タイヤの魔術師と言われた理由がわかる気がする。 ほんとにすごく対照的。

[@hristoitchov]

I know, but that's how you find the limit of grip in a car that's not perfectly balanced, and even if it is. With these cars that relied much more on mechanical grip than modern F1 cars, and with tracks that were more bumpy than today's tracks, the grip levels change multiple times during a corner, on a micro level. You could say Senna's talent was dealing better with those micro changes of grip, trying to exploit as much of it as possible, so we see a lot of small movements.

[@Mformularacer]

prost had pretty much resigned to beating senna in qualifying at this stage. he concentrated everything on the races. it's exactly like niki lauda in 1984. prost was much quicker in qualifying but in the end lauda won the championship because he was smarter on race day.

[@noobednatherium4082]

Smart enough to stop Senna from finishing.

[@EBB01]

@@noobednatherium4082 Ser esperto = ser o preferido do Balestre !

[@speedmann194]

Difference is Prost didn't have 3 engines give up on him 89 that's why Prost won 89 very lucky

[@speedmann194]

@@jonathanparle8429 well he definitely was faster majority of the time, to be faster must mean more stress on mechanical components. I'm sure given equal equipment a number 1 driver should have more mechanical breakdowns then a number 2 driver

[@TrevorLahey_69]

Pole position and he even locked the tyres at the last chicane, what an astonishing driver.

[@N3V2-Nevto]

I was replaying this part 1:04 (use your left earphones if you have one) just listen how Senna is fast foot stomping on the pedal. that mesmerizing to hear and to watch. Prost on the hand goes smoothly as traditionally as what we do as usual in racing. Senna pushed hard on this.

[@Ferrari312pb]

Okay, first thing : this is the '88 Japanese Grand Prix. Senna was in fact just 0.324 seconds quicker than Prost in final qualifying and both are driving for McLaren ( if in doubt, see Wikipedia ). Second : no doubt Senna was a genius behind the wheel, but then so too was Prost. What always strikes me when I watch this clip is how effortless it all seems for Prost while Senna is really having to pull out all the stops to live with him. Prost's car is always perfectly well balanced with no attitude on it at all. Senna, in contrast, has a moment under braking into turn 11, the hairpin, takes more kerb on exiting 130R, and gets a real wiggle on under braking for the final Casio Triangle. His car control for that last corner is phenomenal, making a lightning correction one-handed while downshifting ! Still, Prost deserves credit for going nearly as quick without any drama.

[@hristoitchov]

It's 89, because obviously these are V10 normally aspirated engines, not to mention the 88 cockpit looked much different. The 88 pole in the turbo cars was much slower, something in the 1:42s or 43s. I don't give a damn what Wikipedia says, anyone can edit that. Go look it up on proper F1 stats website. The gap in this case was exactly 1.7 secs, and the reason why Prost is driving smoother is simply because he's not pushing it as much to the limit as Senna is, therefore not really having to deal with changes of balance through corners. Senna has "moments" because he's exploring the very limit of the car and has to catch its tendency to snap away. Prost is hardly nearly is quick, unless you consider 1.7 seconds a small gap (and if you do then you're not really qualified to comment on F1 videos).

[@Ferrari312pb]

hristoitchov Yes, you are absolutely right, .My apologies. No need to get nasty though.

[@mskidi]

hristoitchov Prost was naturally smoother and faster.I always thought that if someone held a gun on his head and forced him to drive on the absolute limit which he never really did,he would be head and shoulders above anyone else in raw speed. On dry cirquit and without traffic Senna never really managed to dominate him even with his overly agressive, over the limit style.

[@hristoitchov]

mskidi The main difference was Senna could drive ANY car on the limit, even if it was badly setup, unbalanced, etc., while Prost needed a very good car and then he was untouchable with it. The race events for which he managed to get the car exactly to his liking, Senna couldn't beat him, but this obviously happened (and still happens) very rarely, so Senna's natural ability to extract the maximum of a car, regardless how good it is, worked in his favour most of the time. A smooth style never works on a not-so-perfect car, and cars are usually not perfect, some adapting is necessary, some sensitivity. And I don't agree Senna's style was overly aggressive. Just look at some of his 93 and 94 onboards, he's smooth as silk. Whatever the car demanded, he delivered. Oh and one more thing - I read somewhere Prost started risking a lot less after a huge shunt in the mid 80s; prior to that he was something of a Senna in terms of raw pace.

[@mskidi]

Again its a matter of approach.I am not sure whether Prost was less capable of driving an unstable car to its limit or less willing to take the risk. The fact that Prost changed his racing style after his first F1years and an almost fatal accident, as you pointed out, makes an hypothesis even more difficult. I think thats something we will never find out. But truth be told his later and trademark calculatory-safety first-points oriented style seemed to work perfectly during the 1986 season when he won the championship with a car visibly inferior to the Williams. With that car i gather Senna would have produced moments of brilliance, win a couple of races in the wet laping everyone and scoring 7-8 poles, but i doubt he could have won the championship. He couldnt resist his nature of going all out sprinting on any race. For example in 1994 i think Prost would have taken it easy with that unstable car and probably score 10-14 points on those first three races. Problem is that there is a general concept of Prost today where his actual driving abilities are completely overlooked. You must be the first Senna fan i encounter that understands how fast Prost could be.

[@ademirdutra2531]

2 masters dravem 2 good racing 2 mestres na pilotagem que nao preçisavam da ajuda do companheiro de equipe boms tempos que jamais teram igual

[@JCDenton2000]

Both terrific drivers. Big fan of both. Prost lost it when he braked a little earlier in Degner curve

[@bZLxcz]

JC Denton he was already behind in the s' curves

[@hristoitchov]

It's definitely not just that. Senna carries more speed into corners and gets slightly earlier on the throttle, drifting the car a bit. He's also braking a tad later, especially going into slower corners, and uses the transmission to slow the car quicker. Obviously he didn't do this to such an extent in races, because the car wouldn't last if he did.

[@wesdsomething]

The same car sounds completely different in Senna's hands

[@crighini576]

Likewise the same car sounds completely different in Prost's hands .... just sayin

[@l0dgey]

it is the way they both used the throttle differently, senna "stabbed" at the accelerator whereas prost i assume (pure assumption i have never seen graphics of prosts throttle control) was more smooth

[@bZLxcz]

C Righini i cant see that in the video, prost was more than a sec slower

[@treatb09]

he kept it near its limit more often. he really pushed the car and kept it singing. he knew how to use the power band right in the apex. prost like to sit back and enjoy his advantages. while senna actually worked with machine, he worked hard, to get the most out of what he was.

[@ziguigui22]

Prost said he had seen Honda's engines coming written "special Senna".

[@cavaleri]

Senna se metía de cabeza en la chicana y la transitaba más complicado, Prost la hacía más limpita y salía mejor armado. A la T1 llegaban casi igual. Vean el video "Suzuka 1989 50fps", antes del toque, ahí se ven claritas las diferencias en ese sector entre uno y otro. Increíble el estilo de esos dos monstruos. Increíble.

[@soxierdi5575]

Best driver of all times SENNA

[@randythuro474]

I don't know if Honda gave Senna more power. But from someone who's raced dirt bikes, Formula Fords, Sedans, Karts and watched Senna all my life, he's hands down one of the best F1 drivers ever. Mind you, Mansell, Piquet, Senna and Prost were some of the greatest ever. I do have a soft spot for Piquet though, super talented. Would have won 4 world championships if it wasn't for a blown engine. Always admired his car control. I remember one particular Senna/Piquet battle. I'll see if I can find it.

[@randythuro474]

Oh yeah, Piquet rules! 0:30 - 2:00+ kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6jEk2idZdVgi68

[@MontrealParisNY]

What's more interesting. During that F1 era all teams were, as a result of a contract signed by F1 authorities, equipped ONLY with the GoodYear's tires. That is, each team had the same pack of tires and couldn't do anything to improve that part of a car. It's astonishing how Senna managed to take poles so regularly and convincingly. It wouldn't have happened for any other reason but his personal driving skills and performance.Don't forget him drive black Lotus back in 85-87.

[@rafaelmarmusic]

As Senna's fan boy I admire Prost's composure. So solid chill...

[@fabianmolinari5566]

What races Gilles Villenueve and Senna would have had, two very aggressive drivers 👊🇦🇷

[@TheKooster31]

already left prost at S-Curves

No use having a clean and smooth style if you end up in second. Senna style is much more efficient!

[@michamarczuk1420]

Only in qualifying

[@fujineetomori]

Personal preferennnnnceeeee I'm one of the faster of the pack but there's still alot there that holds firmly to conventional methods and still at the top, while mine's driving is just downright a massive finger to conventional methods

[@ducic9095]

Senna war und bleibt der beste Fahrer aller Zeiten ❤ und Fangio

[@cjfb92]

senna the brazilian pride...o maior de todos os tempos

[@FilmeseSeriesAsiaticas]

Acho que um dos melhores, Piquet também era bom tem 3 títulos igual o Senna, Prost tem 4

[@baalbuqu]

@@FilmeseSeriesAsiaticas 3 títulos porém com 4 temporadas há menos. Sem contar as poles e número de vitórias. Ai é melhor deixar pra lá...

[@caluzzucarrazzi5549]

Does anyone else really sit down and view the different approaches these 2 drivers took around the track? I’m talking shifting patterns. Senna is about revving the car out, Prost short shifts it, almost as though he doesn’t trust his ability to tamper with its limits as much as Senna could. Probably why Prost’s cars would last longer in race, although that wouldn’t matter on a hot lap like this. Also, Prost skips gears going down the gearbox whereas Senna hits each one. See how in the first corner Senna goes 6-5-4, and then mid corner 4-3. Whilst Prost goes 6-4-3 right off the bat. Senna touches the limiter before the esses whereas Prost does not. At Degner (curve 8) Senna goes 5-4, and then for the second part goes 4-3-2. Whereas Prost goes 5-3, and then 3-2. Senna revs it out in 4th approaching the hairpin, whereas Prost gets it up to 5th. Senna then downshifts 4-3-2-1 (you can distinctly hear it as well as see his hand) for the hairpin, whereas Prost goes 5-4-2-1, to note, that 4-2 always causes his rear end to kick out when you view his onboard race footage here. Throughout the rest of the lap, the drivers use the same gears for each different part, besides the fact that Prost still elects to skip gears going down, whereas Senna is always tapping each one. For example for the chicane Prost goes 5-3-1, everytime. Crazy how Senna almost lost it before the chicane under hard braking, he really strung the car out there with everything that he had, and still managed a 1.7 sec pole gap over Prost’s lap despite this hiccup. Just immense, the men who drove these cars were absolute ABSOLUTE legends, and modern day F1 has NOTHING on em.

[@MontrealParisNY]

This is true in every respect. Senna went even further with qualifying. Contrary to all other drivers ,at some point he started to occasionally pass his turn and instead he drove onto the circuit just before the last moment given by authorities. So, instead of three runs, as usually a driver was granted, he had only one , and that was incredible that with this sole run he could achieve the pole. His opponents and competitors seemed intimidated by his behaviour. Great self-confidence.

[@BrunoCrocco]

Senna, simply THE BEST.

[@FilmeseSeriesAsiaticas]

Um dos melhores na época junto com prost 4 títulos e Nelson Piquet 3 títulos, esses 3 dominaram

[@pedrocamilo8044]

Dóis gênios e uma história gratidão

[@LevíGarrote]

The same car, the same engine...How could it be? Senna was insane.

[@allanbender]

Senna realmente é o melhor, mas Prost não fica mt atrás não, era fantástico e lembro de como eu odiava ele pq tava levando a melhor pcausa de sua Williams q na época era o melhor carro. Eu vi esses dois gênios da pista, obg Deus!

[@FilmeseSeriesAsiaticas]

Tá esquecendo do Piquet, assim como o Senna tem 3 títulos, Prost tem 4

[@baalbuqu]

@@FilmeseSeriesAsiaticas Prost, correu 13 temporadas. Conseguiu ser demitido da Ferrari. Senna tem mais poles que Piquet e Prost.

[@gintonika]

Surely a heated discussion here. I had the luck to watch live both of them driving. Each one with his strenghts, they were amazing at what they did. It was probably the biggest, fiercest and the most bitter rivarly of any sport, ever, in the story of mankind.

[@andresm.4032]

Senna alargaba un poco más las frenadas, eso se nota por que contravolanteaba más que Prost en la entrada de las curvas, ya que al bajar de marchas más rápido el eje trasero pierde tracción por que el motor frena el mismo. También tocaba el acelerador un poco antes, aunque los dos utilizan las mismas marchas en las curvas.

[@ursulita024]

Alargaba las frenadas, estiraba y exigia los rebajes, ni hablar de la rabia que tenia ese Honda!!pero ademas, aplicaba mejor la potencia en plena curva.Prost era mas prolijo en el manejo , por asi decirlo, pero dibujaba mucho el circuito,cuidaba la cuerda hasta en clasificacion, clara muestra de la falta de control total de la adherencia, Senna en cambio siempre jugaba con el limite de la traccion, por eso sabia hasta donde podia llevar el dibujo del circuito y por ende, hacia otras trayectorias de circuito. Creo que Prost lloraba de envidia, pero no por no ganarle, por no tener la misma capacidad de hilar fino.Se notaba la impotencia y se le opacaba la soberbia...

[@RiiRiuz]

@@ursulita024 ooh!! 🙌👏👏Es exactamente como yo lo veo, en el vídeo. Me Describes a la perfección la situación. Se re notaba esa diferencia de estilo de pilotaje.😉👍

[@rodrigorc4752]

Like Senna said: "To know your limit, you have to touch this limit". Senna always went for the limit of the car and track, exploring the full potencial of the machine and of himself. Prost was more conservative. This could give him some poles and some wins, but Senna always aimed the next level.

[@chipone10]

Senna and Honda Power!

[@Smokin438]

Oh how formula 1 has changed...I miss older technology.

[@WonkyFonk]

@hristoitchov Its fascinating to watch how hes always adjusting the wheel. As you say, hes on the edge of the grip available, dancing the rear end around. Beautiful. I wasn't old enough to appreciate this guy at the time, which is a big shame.

[@pvultureb8341]

So you ever wondered why Senna was brilliant... Prost looked like he wasn't trying. Senna gave it, he made sure he was right. He was astonishing.

[@hristoitchov]

Perhaps Prost really wasn't risking it all on this Qualifying lap, knowing he'll have hard time beating Senna for pole anyway. Senna wanted to be fastest in every session he drove, regardless of circumstances. It was his way to gain the upper hand psychologically.

[@hristoitchov]

Zaptwell Rogers It did work to some extent, it affected everyone in F1 really. They just couldn't understand how Senna could pull out such miracles in Qualifying and at some point everyone simply assumed the pole would be his at every race meeting. It does undermine your confidence when someone is consistently much faster in a single lap for years.

[@adithyamahesh6961]

Pvulture b prost isn't the qualifying type of guy. He'll play it out on sunday.

[@lethalchocobo1886]

Senna was the absolute master at qualifying to the point where Prost wouldn't even really bother about the pole. He also always preferred to set-up his car for the race anyway. However when it came to driving on Sunday, that's where he would truly shine, even if his style seems 'boring' in comparison to Senna. It breaks my heart to see the amount of noobs on KZbin who never saw any of them race, and influenced by that piece of crap called "Senna" the movie, coming in and taking a dump on Prost. Know that when you're shitting on him, you also do it on Senna. Prost was his yardstick and at the time the man to beat. Without him there is no Senna, not the one who become a legend. Both were exceptional drivers, both had their own philosophy about racing, both had their flaws and their rivalry will stay forever in the memory of the sport. Respect both of them.

[@edusoares1445]

Senna = raça e técnica. Prost = frieza e técnica. Senna= mais agressivo. Prost = mais suave. Senna = imprevisível. Prost = cirúrgico. Senna = titã. Prost = colossal.

[@JENNY-kh3to]

SENNA IS SENNA IS SENNA

[@olha.o.conteudo]

Yes fantastic genius this guys. Senna, Prost, Rosberg, Mansell, Piquet, Lauda, Hunt (...) Unfortunately believe that there will be equal !!! "I quote only the mad skilled" Tiko

[@hristoitchov]

@WonkyFonk Yes, I've seen it, both the theater and extended versions. And yes, I wish today's cameras wouldn't have so many filters and dampers, it gives a very false impression about the way the driver actually sees and feels it.

[@paolociarpaglini1303]

Ayrton ability was two in qualifying lap, always makes the best lines and above all being able to exploit, braking in a unique way when entering corners.

[@arman4063]

Jeez. The other cars looked like a different category.

[@ShineStreet]

Senna is a pro gamer, he has a higher framerate value.

[@ddavideo]

Simply at another level

[@juanm.5803]

Aca esta la prueba de que Prost sabia q con el mismo auto, en una qualy senna lo mataba, por eso no lo queria en 1993

[@hristoitchov]

@WonkyFonk Yeah, considering drivers back then would never do any practice with those Q tires prior to using them for their hotlaps, Senna just managed to somehow know in advance how much grip they would offer, and even go beyond it like he does here under braking for the chicane.

[@szczecom8467]

Senna was master at qualies but Alain was a bit better during races. During Japan '89 Alain was playing a game with Ayrton, being faster on straights after removing one of his wings, made Senna no chances for succes except one kamikaze maneuver

[@hristoitchov]

@WonkyFonk I didn't really follow F1 either as I was also a kid back then, but after watching a Senna film about his Lotus years when I was around 7-8 years old, I became a fan. Thankfully there's so much footage on the Internet today and also a lot of articles to read about the era. As for Prost, he didn't have the raw speed of Senna, but he was extremely consistent and technically educated. What I dislike about him was his lack of honesty.

[@MrYoumitube]

I have to say I need to watch more Prost. IMO so underrated even though he won many world championships. Maybe it's because he was up against Senna who had an aura and popularity around him. Prost looks so smooth and less of a risk-taker.

[@marcelomiranda7553]

O som dos motores era maravilhoso...

[@LevíGarrote]

Damn... Senna was insane

[@tweber1286]

The feed back from the car is what made senna so fast

[@MrDLRu]

Is it possible to post up the Monaco qualifier with Jackie Steward commentating the lap..Loved listening to Jackie while watching Senna ripping down the streets of Monaco...I think it was 1990. Thanks for the video comparison.

[@hristoitchov]

I don't think I've ever seen Jackie Stewart commentary on a lap of Senna around Monaco, but the lap itself was uploaded by the official F1 channel a few years back - kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6a7l3R-fbOGfNE

[@Ellemerob]

Jackie Stewart commentated on Adelaide qualifying in 1990. Not sure about Monaco.

[@MrDLRu]

@@Ellemerob It was NBC airing in US and Jackie critiqued Senna's pole position qualifying lap. It was either 89' or 90'. I had recorded it to VCR tape, but it got overwritten at some point. It was up on YT, this goes back a bit, but NBC pulled it for copyright infringement.

[@MrDLRu]

@@hristoitchov Oh, thanks...1yr later, lol. Anyway, that wasn't the one, so it looks like it was in 89'. NBC aired it here in US, but pulling the video of the lap someone posted up. Always loved listening to Jackie commentate.

[@Michaelingolfhansen]

Notice that the gearing ratios of the to cars seem very different!

[@hermesbjr]

Senna the best forever

[@patrickdepailler4468]

2 artistes avec un style différent

[@hristoitchov]

It's difficult to say who is better, it's too vague term, but if we talk about faster, Senna is obviously much faster, exploiting the limits noticeably more. He was particularly good with Qualifying tires, somehow knowing where the limit was with them without actually doing any practice laps (since they had to preserve them before the session and couldn't test them out).

[@Flightjunkie4u]

OMG. How did Wanna wind up so far ahead of "The Professor". Just plain gifted.

[@sergiodeodato3150]

Simplesmente o número 1e estará sempre vivo em nossos corações

[@redd605]

Senna changing gear much later and on throttle much later and carrying more speed in the corners ,prost positioning and entering the corner correctly and smoothly

[@jcam4552]

A F1 tem filmagem de todo tipo e de tudo. Só não tem filmagem do acidente do Senna? Matrix...

[@marceloguimaraes7608]

Epic! Amazing! Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!

[@MrBluntNose]

1:27 Holy shit you can really see the difference in driving style as they're braking for the chicane

[@azapro911]

Something I hugely admire about Prost is that he never got flustered by huge qualifying gaps to Senna, knowing that the race was where points got decided.

[@back_Texas_ball_yesyesyes]

0:02Japanese?!

[@adanlgfernandez7152]

Ayrton Senna con el mismo monoplaza en el circuito más completo del mundial 1.5 segundos al francés en la pole😂

[@CarlosdeZee]

Prost drove so very smoothly. Conserving tires and indeed the whole car and engine

[@MrDrBlahh]

Almost terrifying the way Senna wrestled the car around, like he was always slightly out of control but could bring it back just enough to continue. Prost seemed the exact opposite, smooth steering and throttle to do just what was needed. Both amazing drivers in their own ways.

[@MoniFps]

Martin Brundle once said, "Schumacher drove with his head, Senna drove with his heart". I think you can say the same on Prost, he drove calculating everything that was happening in the track, that's why he was the "Professor". Both were amazing to watch.

[@gazzawils1]

excellent !! thanks for posting.

[@MaxVerstappen13389]

Crazy that the Suzuka track layout hasn’t changed at all since the 80s

[@myspotmyrules3048]

Pra mim, os dois melhores da F1 até hoje. Seguidos de perto pelo Piquet e o Mansell.

[@FilmeseSeriesAsiaticas]

Mansell era azarado, Piquet tem 3 títulos igual Senna

[@myspotmyrules3048]

@@FilmeseSeriesAsiaticas kkkkk. Obrigado por me dizer que o Puquet tinha 3 tiltulos como o Senna…..🙃 O Prost tem um a mais que os dois. 😂. E não o Mansell não era azarado. Ele era precipitado.

[@anonimo2766]

@@myspotmyrules3048 na verdade quem tem 4 título mundial eo Senna 89 roubaram o título dele na cara dura

[@myspotmyrules3048]

@@anonimo2766 roubaram um do Hamilton 5 meses atrás, oficialmente ele só tem 7, então vamos pelo oficial.

[@kdmq]

Prost was marginally better on acceleration but Senna absolutely blew him away on braking.

[@jasmijnariel]

Man 2 team mates but a world in between

[@backchat6607]

Can you imagine Senna beating Hamilton or vettel by 1.7 seconds per lap? Lol. If Vettel beats kimi by 3 or 4 tenths its considered a demolition job these days, the Standard is so much higher now.

[@hristoitchov]

+Back Chat The main advantage Senna had back then was that he somehow could feel where and how much the extra grip of the Qualifying tires was, considering they didn't have any practice on those tires. If they run on similar tires these days, without running them in practice at all, we could see bigger differences in lap times. Of course probably not as big, because of all the simulator work available now.

[@drazenbudis1303]

Also, the cars developed in such a way that everything in them is made to make it as easy as possibile to drive it on the very limit (gearshifts, tyres, aero, driving aids), and then kinda comes as a common sense that, if everyone is able to drive as soon as possibile as fast as possibile, the margains will be significly smaller. It is a pattern traceable also in modern WRC (remember those 80's victories with over couple of minutes?), mid 90's BTCC and so forth.. To say that drivers didn't evolve would, of course, be a lie, but they did that in stretched limits of newer, faster and easier to drive cars. What is more enjoyable for the crowd? You be the judge..

[@Sortsylic]

hristoitchov the main advantage Senna had was Honda's support, while they ignored Prost's requests on engine and gearbox setup

[@hristoitchov]

What Honda support? It was all made up by Prost and his baseless accusations of favoritism, to which Honda responded by providing data outputs proving there's nothing like that, plus they started choosing engines randomly before each event, so it was impossible to give Senna a better engine. In fact in this particular race, Prost's engine was working flawlessly, while Senna's developed an issue which robbed him of some of the horsepower. That is why he struggled for so long to get close to Prost and attack him. As for ignoring setup requests, I really doubt it, because it's not Honda who decide that, but the race engineer working with the driver...

[@JeeshanChoudhury]

I'm not sure about this particular race, but it was well documented that Prost's car was 5mph slower than Senna's on the main straight at Monza in '89 despite him running less wing with his setup, which correlates with the Honda favouritism theory.

[@WonkyFonk]

@hristoitchov I agree about Prost. The old footage is wonderful, gives a much better impression of the speed of the cars. And the bumps really fed back through the steering quite agressively. I assume you've seen 'Senna' movie?

[@ΜιχαληςΛαλουσης-φ4ξ]

The real F1

[@r.l.acorporation9901]

Senna 😍😍

[@hristoitchov]

Yeah, that's where most of the corners are. After that it's just 3-4 actual corners where the driver can make a difference, the rest are just flat-out straights.

[@hristoitchov]

Yes, howadays driving skill to put and keep the car on the limit is rarely seen because it's detrimental to performance. Such a pity.