When F1 legend Ayrton Senna won a race with practically no brakes?
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Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna was a Brazillian racing driver who was known for his fierce and aggressive racing style and his achievements in Formula 1. Senna is a three time world champion having the title in 1988, 1990 and 1991. He is widely considered by fans as the greatest F1 driver in the history of the sport. Today we will take a look at an interesting story from his Formula Ford racing days.
With race cars moving around that track at the speeds that they do, you need to have good brakes in order to smoothly go around the track without going off and crashing. However this did not seem to be the case when Ayrton Senna was racing in Snetterton, England, during the 1982 Formula Ford championship. To control a car whose brakes aren’t top notch is one of the most impossible task. However impossible isn’t a word that Senna was familiar with.
After starting the race first, Ayrton Senna discovered that he was suffering with brake problems when he tried slowing down to avoid debris from an opening lap crash. This problem meant a huge disadvantage for the Brazilian driver and cost him some places in the first half. This meant a complete change of driving style in order to take the lead back which the race managed to do quite skilfully.
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Ayrton Senna managed to REGAIN the lead
In the ending stages of the Grand Prix, Senna went on to take back the lead and went on to win the grand prix using only his rear brackets to shock everyone. After the race, the Ayrton Senna described what happened and the mechanics confirmed his front brake discs were cold which meant that they weren’t used at all. Some still wonder how the Brazilian driver managed to pull off this feat and even go on to win the race.
Ayrton Senna had a lasting impact on Formula 1 and his untimely death during a grand prix accident pushed the governing body to make the sport safer. Since then, the number of driver deaths have decreased by a whole lot and it wouldn’t have been possible without Senna’s effect on the sport. Being wildly regarded as the best driver, people compare him with Max Verstappen’s in today’s day due to them sharing a similar aggressive driving style.
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Varad Joshi
(940 Articles Published)