Renault boss pays tribute to Senna
Renault boss Flavio Briatore has today described Ayrton Senna as “the complete man” as the motor-racing world prepares to pay its respects to a legend this weekend.
It is 10 years since Senna was killed at the San Marino Grand Prix, the then Williams-Renault driver ploughing into a concrete wall at 137 miles-per-hour at Imola’s Tamburello curve.
The Brazilian’s death at the age of 34, caused by a front-suspension strut breaking and piercing his helmet, sent shockwaves throughout the sport.
A decade on, and Senna’s memory will again be poignantly remembered, in particular by the fact on Saturday the main grandstand at the circuit will be dedicated to the three-times world champion.
Briatore, who was Benetton chief in 1994, said: “For me, Senna was more than just a complete racing driver, he was a complete man.
“His mental capacity was astonishing, and one thing sticks in my mind more than anything else.
“On the grid at Imola in 1994, when Benetton were running Ford engines, I greeted and shook hands with Renault’s president, Louis Schweitzer.
“Only months later did I learn that Ayrton had been watching us and had commented right then that Benetton would definitely be using Renault engines in 1995.
“Even at that point, minutes before the start, he had the mental capacity to make this political observation as well as prepare for the race. Of course, history proved him right.”
Senna’s commitment to the sport can never be called into question, while his attention to detail amazed all those who worked with him.
Pat Symonds, now Renault’s technical director, recalls one incident at the 1984 United States Grand Prix when Senna was racing for Toleman and he was the team’s race engineer.
“After qualifying well, and running as high as fourth, Ayrton eventually had to retire from damage caused by hitting the wall,” said Symonds.
“On returning to the pits, he seemed shocked that he could have hit the wall; his immediate reaction was: ‘I know I didn’t make a mistake – the wall must have moved.’
“The concrete block in question must have weighed about 20 tonnes, and we were naturally sceptical, but he was so insistent that he actually persuaded me to walk round the circuit and take a look.
“When I did so, the wall had indeed moved. Somebody had clearly clipped the previous block and in doing so, displaced the next one by only about four millimetres, so the transition between the two blocks was no longer smooth but marked with a tiny step.
“That was when the precision to which he was driving really hit home for me. Don’t forget this was a guy in his first season of F1, straight out of F3.”
