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Senna in front!

15. Oct 2021 
by Guillaume Alvarez
6375 views

It is said that a picture often tells more than a long speech… This picture has the good taste of nostalgia, at a period where the drivers in Formula 1 used to get their lap times and the gap with their opponents on a piece of paper, as large as a supermarket ticket… Such was the Formula 1 of the 1980’s, a wonderful decade that saw the emergence of the turbo technology, lot’s of experimentation and the rise of a certain Ayrton Senna.

This picture was taken at the French grand Prix, seventh race of the 1985 season at the Paul Ricard circuit, in the cockpit of one of the two Ferrari’s 156/85 (either Michele Alboreto or Stefan Johansson, replacing René Arnoux who was sacked after just one race in Brazil).

We are in the middle of the first of two qualifying sessions of the week-end, and Senna, already winner of his first Grand Prix at Estoril, and 4 times a pole man, has just put the best lap of all at the wheel of his Lotus-Renault 97T with a gap of… 1.15 seconds on fellow Brazilian Nelson Piquet (Brabham-BMW BT54).

Ultimately, it’s Keke Rosberg (Williams-Honda FW10) who will take pole position in a best time of 1.32.462 on Saturday afternoon, and finish second in the race behind Piquet, a race where Senna had to retire.

Senna in front, the others far behind: an image that will be iconic for Formula 1 for many more golden years…

CIRCUIT PAUL RICARD, FRANCE – JULY 07: Ayrton Senna, Lotus 97T
Source: DR

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