10 Ayrton Senna cars

Today, in memory of the great Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna, who died on May 1, 1994, I propose to trace his racing path through cars. Ayrton's first car in the motorsport queen, the Toleman TG183B Hart, will be the most unusual car of the Brazilian's career. What is so special about it? Engine "monoblock": the head and cylinder block are a single unit. This design eliminates burnout of the cylinder head gasket, which increases reliability. By itself, this concept was nothing new - the Offenhauser motor used in the overseas Indycar series had a similar layout. But for Formula 1 of those years it was a revelation.




The location of the radiators in the front wing! Frankly, in the eighties, this arrangement looked strange. In the seventies, designers often installed a cooling radiator in the front of the car, including in the front spoiler. But in 1984, such a design did not give any advantages and looked strange.

Biplane rear wing

After the “flat bottom” rule was introduced in Formula 1, the designers believed that there was only one way to increase downforce: an increase in the rear wing. The infinite growth of wings was hampered by two circumstances:

✅ First, the growth of aerodynamic drag
✅ Secondly, the Technical Regulations

And then ingenuity came to the rescue. Rory Byrne, chief designer of the Toleman team, installed two wings back to back! An interesting decision, but in the design of Formula 1 it is important not how unusual the car looks, but how fast it goes. And with that, Toleman Hart had big problems! But Toleman made the Brazilian famous: during the Monaco Grand Prix, which took place that year on a wet track, Ayrton so irresistibly broke through to the top that he had to inevitably win the race! Unfortunately, the race was stopped, preventing Senna from creating a sensation.

At the end of the 1984 season, Ayrton Senna moved to the illustrious British team Lotus. Previously, such aces as Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti played for this "stable".

Lotus 97T Renault, 1985

Senna's first "normal" car, which brought the Brazilian driver his debut pole position and victory in the race. Estoril '85 was the birth of the legend of the "rain man", because Ayrton then proved to skeptics that he was able to "walk on water". But Lotus, even equipped with a powerful Renault engine, was inferior to such cars as the McLaren MP4 / 2C and Ferrari 156.

Lotus 98T, 1986

Became the most powerful car in Senna's career. In the qualifying version, with a boost of 5.5 bar, Renault EF15bis equipped with "pneumatic valves" developed 1300 horses. Which, of course, was less than the BMW M12 / 13, but more than the Honda, Ferrari and Porsche. Thanks to this power, Ayrton managed to win eight pole positions in the 1986 season, and for this he received 8 Vespa 125 T5 Pole Position scooters - the prize for the fastest time in qualifying! But there were fewer victories: only two - the French engine was too fond of eating fuel!

Lotus 99T Honda, 1987

There were no springs and shock absorbers on this car - the “active suspension” took over their functions. In theory, this led to an increase in downforce due to a constant ground clearance, and at the same time reduced the load on the tires. But in practice, it turned out that too much power is required for the hydraulic pump of this suspension! Therefore, Ayrton shone only where the power of the engine faded into the background, that is, on city roads in Monte Carlo and Detroit. In both cases, Senna won, despite the fact that he himself was not enthusiastic about this design.



Parting with Lotus did not go too smoothly. Even in Hungary, the bosses of this team no longer need the services of Senna. But the young child prodigy did not remain without work - he was instantly lured into his team by Ron Dennis!

McLaren MP4/4 Honda, 1988

The main car in Senna's career, because on it the Wizard became the World Champion for the first time. Together with Alain Prost, they managed to win fifteen victories in sixteen stages! Technically, this McLaren was not a revolution, unlike the Lotus 99T, but it cannot be called ordinary either. This car, against the background of contemporaries, was distinguished by the following solutions.

✅ First, Gordon Murray's ultra-low chassis concept
✅ Secondly, a transverse three-shaft gearbox designed by Peter Weissman. In those years, it was believed that such an arrangement gives an advantage over longitudinal boxes.
✅ And thirdly, a powerful and economical Honda RA168E engine

In the qualifying version, this engine developed 685 horsepower, and in the racing version, 630. But more importantly, this McLaren had 150 liters of fuel for the race! But the only competitor of the “red-whites”, the Ferrari F1-87, had big problems with fuel consumption, because of which, during the race, the Scuderia pilots often reduced the turbo boost pressure to get to the finish line.

1989-90: McLaren MP4/5 and 4/5B

Both of these cars are derived from the 1988 design, and both were equipped with Honda V10 engines, so I decided to combine them into one model. The McLarens of these years from a technical point of view looked extremely conservative: they did not use a semi-automatic gearbox, traction control. And the very aerodynamic concept with a low floor in front was rapidly becoming obsolete. This was especially evident against the background of the Tyrrell 019, the design of Mizho and Postlethwaite, as well as the Leyton House (March) cars of Adrian Newey. But the powerful Honda engine and Ayrton Senna at the wheel allowed the Ron Dennis team not to think about such “little things”.

McLaren MP4/6 Honda, 1991

It's a dinosaur! Well, for the fans of this team - an orthodox car. It is not clear how Senna managed to snatch the world title on this obsolete car! For more information about this car, you can read here: McLaren MP4/6 Honda, last V12 champion

McLaren MP4/7A Honda, 1992

According to contemporaries, at the time of its debut, this car was called "electronic death". Of course, for Williams. Judge for yourself, on this car they used such “things” as:

✅ Electronic gas pedal
✅ Two-way telemetry "boxes - car - boxes"
✅ Semi-automatic transmission, with the possibility of fully automatic control
✅ Traction control system (traction control)

But this McLaren lacked the main thing: active suspension and reliability. As a result, the nickname turned out to be prophetic, and for the most part the starts in the grand prix ended for these cars with “electronic death”.

MP4 / 7 - the most powerful of the "atmospheric" fireballs of Senna! According to Akimasa Yasuoka, the Honda RA122E engine reached 880 horsepower at the end of the season!

McLaren MP4/8 Ford, 1993

Compared to last year's model, the G14 has made an impressive leap forward in terms of reliability and aerodynamic efficiency. Representing a creative reimagining of the Williams FWXNUMX, the McLaren looked in some ways a superior design. Patrick Head, technical director of the Williams team, noted that the McLaren's active suspension looks preferable.

The main, and only, drawback of this car was the client's Ford Cosworth HB V8 engine. It wasn't until Silverstone that a "pneumatic valve actuation" appeared on McLaren's car engines, which made it possible to catch up with Benetton, but Williams Renault still had more horses.


— Martin Whitmarsh.

In early autumn 1993, Ayrton's dream came true: he signed a contract with Frank Williams. Tired of two seasons of defeats, the Wizard was sure that the miracle car would bring him to the fourth championship title.

Williams FW16 Renault

But the carriage turned into a pumpkin. More information on this machine is available in the material: Williams FW16: dedicated to the memory of Senna

It is believed that in Formula 1 it is impossible to win without the best car, and the exceptions, in the person of Alain Prost, only confirm the rule. But if you look closely at the Wizard's cars, it turns out that Ayrton had such a car twice in his career: in 1988 and 1989. The titles of 1990 and 91 were won not thanks to technology, but in spite of it!