On Tuesday 4 October 1988, on his return to Brazil, Ayrton Senna categorically denies having spoken of sabotage to his car, after the disappointing performances in Portugal and Spain.
"I never implied that there was sabotage, it's absurd".
The Brazilian driver reaffirms his full confidence in McLaren and Honda. Waiting to see at Imola, from Tuesday 11 October to Friday 14 October 1988, the McLaren with aspirated Honda engine and perhaps also the Ferrari defined as hybrid with the new twelve-cylinder, the great maneuvers of the car manufacturers continue at a distance in view of the World Championship of Formula 1 for 1989. On Wednesday 5 October 1988 another new engine made its debut, a ten-cylinder V-shaped 64°, forty valves, from Renault. The debut takes place at Le Castellet, in France, on a current Williams car driven by Riccardo Patrese. Renault, after entering the world of Grand Prix in 1977 with the innovative turbo and having obtained forty-two pole positions and eighteen victories up until its retirement at the end of 1985, thus makes its return, this time however only as a supplier of engines, having signed an agreement with Williams. The tests, hampered by the rain among other things, are top secret. The French company uses a building it has on the Le Castellet circuit and keeps all prying eyes away: one can only note that Patrese puts in around fifteen laps several times and you can hear that the noise of the new engine is captivating, dry and powerful. It continues until Friday. In Maranello, meanwhile, Ferrari put Roberto Moreno on the track, with the F1-89 car designed by John Barnard. The Brazilian driver completes about twenty laps, obtaining the best time of 1'11"04, a more than decent result, which constitutes the record of the new single-seater. But the Maranello team program continues: on Thursday 6 October 1988, Berger will also be there who for the first time he should drive this car and also test an F1-88, this year's one, on which, however, the naturally aspirated 12-cylinder has been mounted, to carry out comparative tests and above all to run the powertrain in active and non-active conditions only at the counter. In the meantime, Ferrari is also completing a project that involves considerable investments on the Mugello racetrack, recently purchased. The formal deed for the passage of the track (built by A.C. Firenze in 1974) from the old management company (Aim), which belonged to Saim which held the share package, took place on Thursday 29 September 1988. There is talk of registering the new plant to Enzo Ferrari. The general manager of the new Saim is engineer Gian Battista Razelli, who holds the same position at Ferrari. The investment plan, which will also involve the closure of the track, is aimed at making Mugello, which will also be used for tests of grand touring cars, also capable of hosting Formula 1, as an alternative, or even in replacement, of tracks which have practicability problems also linked to environmental issues. From the grandstands of the Imola circuit, where, despite the bad weather that was raging, there were a few hundred people, a big applause exploded on Wednesday 12 October 1988. In the pits those of Formula 1 wonder: what happened? Maybe Alain Prost set a new record? No. Simply, Gerhard Berger comes out of the Ferrari garage on foot, just to stretch his legs. It's afternoon, the weather is gray, it's drizzling, the track is wet. Only McLaren continues to lap, but at a not very high pace. The Austrian driver nodded to the small crowd: after his stupendous victory at Monza, he knows very well that he is in the heart of the Ferrari fans.
"It's the beautiful side of the adventure I'm on. What warmth these guys can convey to you. But that's not enough, I'd like to have and give more. For this reason I don't want to relax, I want to fight to the end in a championship that unfortunately speaks almost exclusively with the voice of McLaren, which has only given us small satisfactions, even if a success, in my opinion deserved, like the one in Italian Grand Prix".
And here is the current topic introduced. Last year Ferrari won the last two races of the season, in Japan and Australia. Is there any hope of repeating the feat?
"To be honest, there's no chance of finishing first either in Suzuka or in Adelaide. We must have no illusions".
What are the concrete problems?
"Always the same, especially the one regarding fuel consumption. On the Japanese circuit we will still be at the limit. In any case, the situation looks less difficult in the first race".
Who will win Senna or Prost?
"They are both first class drivers. But I don't feel like making a prediction. I don't know what happened and what will happen in their team. I'm struggling and have issues I'd like to have with Alboreto. In any case, it doesn't interest me much: the fact is that this year in several races even the worst of the McLarens was better than the Ferraris".
But are you working for next year?
"Of course, I'm always confident. But I can't make any judgments yet. I tried the car designed by Barnard: there are many valid things. It seems to me that he has tried to take steps forward. However overall nothing can be said, you have to wait. The only concrete fact at the moment is that the new McLaren seems to be going very fast. I spoke to Prost, he is delighted. He says that the ten-cylinder engine is exceptional, that the acceleration is extraordinary.Ferrari will have to make an enormous effort to catch up. While I was shooting this morning he overtook me with a certain ease… ".
Gerhard Berger is not a driver who is easily discouraged, and it is clear that in the season finale, if the opportunity arises to seize a brilliant result, he will not be asked. And indeed he concludes:
"I want to try, we will do everything. The team is very concentrated, so much so that we leave no stone unturned, and even if we are at the end of the season, we are here to try something new, to try to grow just enough to make life more difficult for Prost and Seine".
And he's right, because two days are enough for McLaren to set the new unofficial track record for cars with naturally aspirated engines at Imola. Wednesday 12 October 1988 Alain Prost completes the fastest lap in 1'29"529, at an average speed of 202.661 km/h. A clearly better time than the one (1'30"590) that Sandro Nannini had obtained with the Benetton Ford in May , in the qualifying rounds of the San Marino Grand Prix. With this result, the Frenchman would have placed himself in third place. Even Ferrari, however, is not doing badly. Berger simulates a Grand Prix (64 laps) without problems and does better than in May. The Maranello team carries out engine tests which will continue on Thursday (rain permitting) with a different powertrain to make comparisons. Ayrton Senna and Minardi with Pierluigi Martini will also be present at Imola on Thursday. In the meantime, FISA sends to he Brazilian automobile federation, with the prayer of diffusion in the local press, a telex in which it informs that it has asked Honda that Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna have absolutely identical engines.
"The president of FISA, Jean-Marie Balestre, has firmly asked Honda that the two McLaren cars be equipped with absolutely identical engines for the upcoming Japanese and Australian Grands Prix. This is to guarantee the seriousness and credibility of Formula 1".
During the world motor sport conference that opened in the evening in Paris, Balestre adds that FISA will pay close attention to the smooth running of this final phase of the championship between Senna and Prost. Balestre declares:
"I asked Honda and McLaren for precise guarantees so that the two drivers are treated on equal terms. I have made an investigation and I can say that there has been no match-fixing in the previous races but if there are any irregularities, serious penalties will be established".
Almost simultaneously with the announcement of Balestre, Honda from Tokyo announces that it has developed two technologies to increase the performance of turbo engines. The first concerns the valves whose opening is no longer fixed but variable according to the engine speed and is regulated by a computer. According to Honda, this system allows for an increase in power. The second system, on the other hand, makes it possible to reduce the turbo response time, allowing more horsepower to be used during acceleration at low revs. Ayrton Senna, who left Brazil on Tuesday evening to reach Imola, laconically comments:
"This is politics, and I don't want to get into it, because my job is just to race".
However, FISA's step at Honda is serious, and seems to lend credence to the hypotheses according to which Prost would have had a more powerful engine on his McLaren, in Portugal and Spain, than the one received by Senna. Thursday 13 October 1988, in Imola, Senna and Prost barely touch each other: one arrives, the other leaves. Prost says he is confident, he makes it clear that he will attack in the last two races, that he wants this third world title. Senna doesn't get overwhelmed, he tries to seem calm. In the meantime, the Brazilian beat the French on the track: with the naturally aspirated McLaren-Honda, Senna surpassed the record (1'29"529) that his team-mate had set the day before. His time, 1'28"914 ( at an average of 204.062 km/h), is impressive, if we consider that these are simple tests and that the car is a hybrid, derived from the one currently racing with the turbo. Who knows how the new one will go, which will certainly be better. But the future is still far away. For the moment, Senna and Prost are thinking above all of the two races that divide them from the end of the season, and in particular from the world championship.
"Now I am convinced, I will go to Suzuka in Adelaide to win. In any case, I will try to stay ahead of Ayrton if by chance Ferrari tries to repeat last year's feat. But I'm afraid he'll have to deal only with my strength, as I don't think McLaren will let themselves be beaten or taken by surprise this time".
Senna replies to the Frenchman:
“Prost has a five-point lead. So it's going to be a good fight, I've prepared myself well: a few days of relaxation at home, in Sao Paulo, some gymnastics. Fear? No. I'm focused as always, I'll do my best. In any case, now the World Championship is more exciting than before".
On the Honda case, on the controversies and insinuations that arose after the strange results in Estoril and Jerez (and also after the previous ones unfavorable to the Frenchman) the two McLaren drivers didn't talk about it. After all, even if they had different opinions or evidence, no one would want to start a controversy in this period. Alain Prost says about it:
"I don't think about anything. It is difficult to interpret the intentions of the Japanese. I don't think anything particular is going on, it's normal racing situations. At Monza, for example, I had three different engines available that didn't work very well. In Spain I was able to drive a car with a new chassis and I started being competitive again".
While Senna, who also spun without damage at the entrance to the garage, replies:
"I refuse to believe that a serious company like Honda has sabotaged me. The truth is that I did 14 races, 12 went well, two badly. But not because of anyone else. There are still small differences between our cars, wanted by us drivers. It may also be that sometimes one gets the right solutions and the second gets them wrong".
On Friday 14 October 1988, the rain stopped the teams' final day of testing at Imola in view of the next Grand Prix in Japan. Only Senna with the aspirated McLaren, Nannini with the Benetton and Capelli with the March took to the track. The best time of the morning was set by Senna, who on lap 21 set a time of 1'30"215 at an average speed of 201.120 km/h. After the tests at Imola, the very long Formula 1 World Championship is finally drawing to a close. Finally because it was a boring championship after all, thanks to McLaren who won 13 of the 14 races held so far. Or perhaps better, to the demerit of the other teams who were unable to put up a minimum of resistance to the English stable powered by Honda engines. In a provisional balance, however, a clarification is necessary: the same engines also had Lotus, which certainly did not make a good impression. Which is why much of the supremacy demonstrated by the team of Prost and Senna must be assigned to the skill of the two drivers, and to the competitiveness of the cars designed by the technical staff led by Gordon Murray. However, the world championship title for brands has already entered the roll of honour. The great challenge between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost remains to flavor this season finale, divided in the standings by only 5 points, with the Frenchman in the role of leader. A challenge that seemed, in the first races, to turn in favor of the transalpine, then passed decisively into the hands of the Brazilian, so much so that by now, after the Italian Grand Prix, the games seemed made for Senna. But a surge by Prost in Spain and Portugal called everything into question, among other things arousing suspicions for the sudden drop in performance of the single-seaters driven by the South American. And it is precisely on the wind of these controversies that Formula 1 moves to Suzuka, on the track where Honda usually carries out its most secret tests, where the Japanese Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the World Championship, is scheduled for Sunday.
Senna will have the possibility to definitively close the fight in his favor: in fact, a victory will be enough for him, whatever the placement of his team-mate-rival, to win the title. Ayrton, who despite being behind in the rankings, is favored by the regulation that allows you to accumulate only 11 results, will then have a chance to appeal in Adelaide. Even in the event of Prost's success in Japan, the Brazilian will be able to become champion with a last-minute victory in Australia. In short, the only possible tactic for Prost will be to not let the opponent win. At this point, therefore, rumors and hypotheses are inserted, the many speeches of these days. Some say that Honda would have preferred to prolong the agony up to Suzuka to keep interest in the World Championship alive, and to organize the apotheosis at its home circuit. A sincerely not very credible inference because, even if today with the electronics it could be quite easy to condition a driver's race, this would have been a not very sporting action. Indiscretions coming from Japan would then indicate Ayrton Senna as Honda's candidate in pectore for the victory of the world title. But to complicate things, with other leaks perhaps artfully provoked, last week the rumor emerged according to which Senna himself, sensitive to pressure from his family stressed by the risks run by the young driver, would have already decided to retire if managed to win the World Championship (actually, Ayrton Senna made this promise to his mother, almost jokingly, to reassure her, but we both knew perfectly well that it would never be kept). This information, which if it has not yet provoked a position from the Brazilian, has nevertheless been confirmed in circles usually very close to him. If that were the case, what interest would the Japanese manufacturer have in promoting a World Champion if in the end it couldn't use him for at least one more year? Better to keep Prost going as he hasn't yet expressed any of these intentions.
While waiting for a clarification from the interested party (the Brazilian driver), the story thickens with doubts. However, there is one possibility that feeds the hopes of the fans is those who believe in Formula 1 as a clean sport, despite the enormous interests at stake. The hope that Prost and Senna will give life to a race, perhaps with no holds barred, but on equal terms, erasing any doubts.
"There are no team orders: we should just be careful at the start and in the first lap. For the rest of the race, we'll be free to do whatever we want".
So say Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna on the eve of the Japanese Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the Formula 1 World Championship, the race that could be decisive in the fight for the title if the Brazilian were to win. Apparently the two great rivals are serene and calm. Yesterday the Frenchman completed his physical preparation: half a lap of the track, just over two and a half kilometres, early in the morning, then gymnastics and breathing. Senna, on the other hand, remained in the garage, looking closely at his car. Yet tension is felt in the air. Behind the mask of Olympic calm, the two drivers are certainly nervous under the pressure of a psychological pressure that cannot be avoided. The executives of McLaren and Honda have no doubts that Prost and Senna will compete on equal terms. By now the worm of suspicion has crept in, recent results give us food for thought. Many are wondering: who will be the favourite, on which ace has the Japanese company that supplies the engines bet? To tell the truth, another rumor was circulating in the pits, all in all quite reliable. Given that the conquest of the drivers' title is a matter of course in any case, Honda would like to do the en plein on their home track, to avoid last year's bad impression when Berger's Ferrari surprisingly won. For this reason, very special engines would have been mounted on the Lotus of Piquet and Nakajima, very powerful engines, especially for qualifying. To try to have four cars in the first four places of the grid. Alain Prost says:
"The situation is very uncertain. I am for the third time fighting for the title in the last two races of the season. Lost to Lauda in 1984 by half a point, won quite easily the following year and managed to double in 1986 prevailing over Piquet and Mansell in the final race in Adelaide. I'm not saying I've gotten used to this stress, but at least it's an experience I've already acquired. I don't have much to lose. Senna, on the other hand, wants this success with all his soul, he thinks of nothing else. Perhaps he is the one who has to overcome the greatest mental difficulties. On the practical one he is very strong, it is not easy to beat him. This is the truth".
The Brazilian does not counter. Maybe he saves the words for the next day. In any case, Senna shows that he was very annoyed by what has been said and written in recent days, especially with regard to his possible retirement from the sport should he win the championship. We leave the two contenders to their own lucubrations. The only fact that nobody seems to have any doubts about is that a McLaren will win on Sunday. Even at Ferrari, prudence is a must when making predictions. The men of the Mannello team affirm:
"We are in Japan. We won last year. Who's to believe they'll let themselves be hit again? From what we know, they'll be showing off all their assets. After all, here, a few hundred meters away, is one of their major technical centres. Let's just hope they wanted to overdo it and do something wrong. But it is very unlikely, let's not delude ourselves".
Ferrari hasn't brought anything new to Japan, except for the electronic mapping necessary for the characteristics of the circuit. The cars from Maranello shouldn't behave badly, however the maximum role they can aspire to is that of an outsider. As for the news of the day, a replacement of drivers at Larrousse-Camel. The French team declares that the young Yannick Dalmas was at home affected by a strong flu aggravated by a bad ear infection.
In his place was the Japanese Aguri Suzuki, 28 years old, local Formula 3000 champion, official driver for Nissan. Finally, news about the regular performance of the Japanese Grand Prix. In recent days it was said that the race could be canceled due to national mourning if unfortunately Emperor Hirohito were to die in the next few hours. Now there is only talk of the possible suppression of local television broadcasting. Business is business everywhere. Finally, the news is not yet official but has been practically confirmed: Brabham is back to racing. However, it will not be Bernie Ecclestone who will give new life to his old team. The English manager, in fact, sold the team to the Swiss Walter Brun, already owner of the Euro Brun team. The Swiss manager, after having tried in vain to buy Lotus, thus acquired another glorious English team. It seems that the Swiss king of machines and mechanical games in his country and in Germany spent around 30.000.000.000 lire. Together with Brabham, the Swiss manager has also hired coach Sergio Rinland. The Argentine was currently the manager of Scuderia Italia. Friday 28 October 1988, the first round is in favor of Ayrton Senna. In the first qualifying round that kicks off the Japanese Grand Prix, the Brazilian keeps all his opponents at a safe distance with a time of 1'42"157, at an average of 206.470 km/h, leaving all his closest rivals far behind: from Berger, with the Ferrari, 1.03 seconds behind, up to Prost, third in the provisional classification, with a margin of disadvantage of 1.06 seconds. Senna was very good: he immediately got out on the track and attacked as only he can do when he is in great form: a few laps and he was immediately at the top of the standings. Then the others, his adversaries, did everything to catch him, but nobody approached him, also due to the enormous traffic on the track, a series of spins, for luck without serious consequences for anyone (a few cars slightly damaged) and also of a circuit that changes minute by minute, making it difficult to use the tires perfectly. Senna does not hide his intentions to win this race and win the world championship helmet to close the discussion in the now exhausting fight with his teammate Prost. But it is Prost who is the hardest hit in the morning.
The French driver is also in trouble due to his precarious health conditions. A strange virus, which many riders caught while eating at the circuit's hotel, constipated not only the Frenchman, struggling with a very annoying stomach ache, but also Piquet and later Mansell. But it's not so much the starting line-up that counts as the race, in which the two will give all their energy to the limit. In this infernal game, the role of Berger's Ferrari, second, is quite important, but it is not thought that the Maranello car driven by the Austrian driver could seriously worry the two McLarens. There will probably be two separate races on Sunday: on one side the cars that dominated the whole season, on the other the Ferraris trying to hold off a pack of naturally aspirated single-seaters led by Mansell, Capelli and Boutsen. Michele Alboreto, on the other hand, was in difficulty, obtaining only the seventh fastest time. But it must be said that the Italian driver ran into two spins during qualifying practice. The war continues, no holds barred, on and off the track. Senna scores a point in his favor, setting the fastest time in the first qualifying round of the Japanese Grand Prix, but the environment is very tense and the answers are not only of a sporting nature. Everything and everyone is involved, from the president of FISA, Balestre, who is engaged in a very intense correspondence with his Honda counterpart, Tadashi Kume. But what is most annoying is the exploitation made of certain declarations, of some rumors, perhaps artfully spread, which risk causing unjustified explosions. Sunday 30 October 1988, in the penultimate race of the World Championship, the title challenge between Prost and Senna could be decided. The history is well known: a favorable start for the Frenchman, an overwhelming recovery of the Brazilian and lastly the successes of Prost who called everything into question. As if a secret direction had piloted the season a thriller ending. Now, however, we exaggerate, we arrive at low blows. Suspicions arise that Honda has an interest in letting one of the two contenders win, a hypothesis regularly denied by the heads of the Japanese company. It seems the story is outdated, when the ineffable Balestre comes up with a letter to the president of Honda, where he invites him not to commit impartiality.
The response from Tokyo was not long in coming: in summary Kume claims that it has never been thought of favoring one of the two, that the engines have always been the same. But precisely because it has been talked about so much, doubts remain. Meanwhile, on a human and personal level, various attacks on the Senna are launched. After the indiscretion about his possible retirement, someone had asked Prost many days ago, at the time of Johnson's disqualification in Seoul, what he thought about the doping problem. A subject that the French had already addressed several times. Alain did not take the opportunity to say:
"Trouble, I'll ask FISA to study controls also in Formula 1".
Now it seems that Prost wanted to covertly accuse someone, and his eyes were focused on his team mate. However, it is hoped that the race will finally give a response and that a story that risks becoming painful will end in the best way, with a good race. Certainly the two protagonists, even if they try to hide it, are at the end of their psychic forces. Senna, delaying braking, looking for all the edges of the Suzuka track, obtained the best time.
"I have only one chance, that of winning. And I will play it to the end. I don't want to get to the last race which would be very difficult for me due to psychological issues. Better close the discussion here in Japan. Of course it won't be easy because I see a very determined Prost, capable of keeping up with my pace and trying to beat me with an attacking race like he did in the last rounds in Spain and Portugal. But in any case, I'm confident in my chances and if nothing strange happens we'll fight for success right down to the last metre".
Alain Prost, who qualified behind Berger in the Ferrari, makes some excuses: chassis not perfect, engine so-so, health precarious. In truth, the car wasn't running very well and, moreover, Alain was in the throes of an unexpected stomach ache of food origin, which also affected Piquet and Mansell. At Ferrari, more than qualifying, they think about the race. Problems with petrol consumption, possibility of begin attacked by cars with naturally aspirated engines, Williams, March and Benetton very close. Berger runs fast and gets a $5,000 fine, risking having his times canceled for having continued a fast lap when the black flags were displayed due to a offtrack exit by Warwick. Since the Austrian was a recidivist, the commissioners spared him through Piccinini's intercession. Alboreto (P7) had difficulties with the set-up and hopes to improve. But he will have to contend with the usual Mansell, Capelli, Nannini and Boutsen. In crisis, but no less combative, the Japanese Satoru Nakajima, who was told a few minutes before the start of practices that his mother had died. The Japanese driver shed two tears, then went to the pits, smiled at the photo of a fan and got into his Lotus, setting the tenth fastest time. Saturday, October 29, 1988, in Suzuka, thousands and thousands of kids await orderly the great Formula 1 challenge , improvising a sort of open-air dormitory: sleeping bags, boxes, sacks, aluminum foil, blankets to combat the cold. An imposing mass of people in front of the gates of the circuit, ready to invade it to watch the highlight of the season. The head-on collision between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. There was already a battle in the last qualifying round, therefore, with the two great rivals separated by just three tenths of a second. And Prost, perhaps, could even have overtaken Senna, if, precisely on the last lap, the fastest one, he hadn't made a wrong gear at the exit of the curve that leads to the pits. The fault perhaps of the emotion, but also of the lack of concentration that can affect the drivers when the traffic on the track is very intense. In fact, the tests were disturbed by the rain and also interrupted by a couple of accidents, luckily without consequences. But the continuous stops obviously prevented the competitors from keeping their minds free from all thoughts.
In any case, starting up front would have been only a psychological satisfaction for the Frenchman, as overtaking is not prohibitive on this circuit. But will the Japanese Grand Prix only offer the Senna-Prost duel? Probably yes for the win, the chances of success that brought Ferrari back to victory last year don't seem to be renewed. Berger kept his third position, but the gap is huge. Indeed, the Maranello car was dangerously approached both by the naturally aspirated March driven by Ivan Capelli and by the two Lotus driven by Piquet and Nakajima, powered by Honda engines. A curious fact regarding the Japanese and Brazilian racers: they obtained exactly the same time to the thousandth of a second (1'43"693), something that happens very rarely even in Formula 1. And Michele Alboreto? The Italian, again once hit by bad luck, he is only ninth. He could have done much better, perhaps approaching his German teammate, if the engine of his Ferrari hadn't stalled continuously in the last few laps. The chassis is good, however, and Michele hopes to have at least a discreet and honorable race, given that this is the penultimate chance he has to drive one of the red single-seaters from Maranello. However, Michele also appeared annoyed by this new setback and certainly not happy at having been overtaken for the umpteenth time by Berger. But let's go back to the Prost-Senna challenge. As for the Frenchman, he tries to maintain a calm and calm attitude, not to show the nervousness that evidently grips him, even he who is used to this type of sporting warfare. The Brazilian driver's face is tense. He spends the afternoon chatting with mechanics and technicians. In the morning he had made his choice, opting for the use of the reserve car, which he believed was more stable and faster. Then, during practice, he checks the car down to the smallest detail, and leaves the pits when the evening shadows have already fallen for a long time. A frugal dinner with his manager Armando Texeira. At most three or four words between the two. Then to bed, trying to hide the tension, folding the clothes well (he is scrupulous in this too) and preparing the necessary for the morning. Before entering the room, just one sentence:
"A match like any other, you can win and lose. I'm focused, determined, ready, I think I can give my best, I hope it's a good fight".
However, moments later Ayrton Senna lets himself be persuaded to wander around the casino tables to ease the tension, but forgets to check the time and returns to the hotel many hours later. Prost also observes his rituals. A conversation with Ron Dennis, the owner of McLaren, a pat on the back from top to bottom (he's smaller than him) to engineer Goto, responsible for Honda engines, and then immediately to the hotel to play cards. An endless game that has lasted since the beginning of the season with two French journalists and a photographer. He always does it before the races, perhaps a form of superstition. The Frenchman lets himself go, talks to a fellow pilot, to whom it doesn't seem right to go and tell Prost's secrets. And while Alain runs to remarry after a curt declaration ("the situation is under control"), the chatterbox blurts out everything, obviously asking for anonymity.
"Prost has a plan. He knows that Senna recognizes his ability to set up the car well. So having two available he will prepare one in the wrong way, with a particularly difficult set-up for Ayrton who has a certain type of riding and requires certain precautions. If the game works, the Brazilian will face an uphill race".
We will see. However, it is clear that the would-be champion is not well liked. These are tense hours for the Honda men too. The Japanese technicians are looking for a home success. Soichiro Honda, the eighty-five-year-old founder and owner of the Japanese brand, is also present at the tests. They say here that when there's Honda, you never win. The McLarens, however, will start from the front row. Senna recorded his twelfth pole position of the season, a new all-time record. But Prost recovered and settled alongside his teammate.
On Sunday 30 October 1988, in front of over 110.000 spectators, the first twist occurred at the start, under a leaden sky with the threat of rain. Senna remained stationary in pole position, leaving room for an easy sprint from Prost and a nice deflection from Berger who settled in second position. Nakajima also got off to a bad start, creating confusion, so much so that on the first lap the positions changed, thanks to a collision between Mansell and Warwick, the former forced to return to the pits to change the front wing and the latter forced to chase from the back. Behind the leaders (Prost, Berger and Capelli) are Alboreto (ninth in the grid), Boutsen and Nannini who missed Piquet. Senna, who started from P14, was already eighth on the first lap, sixth on the second, fourth on the fifth, having overtaken Boutsen, Alboreto and Nannini. However, his gap is strong: over 12 seconds from the very fast Prost. There was an outburst from Capelli, who came to bite the tail of the McLaren, then, with the Milanese gone off the scene, Senna arrived behind the Frenchman. In the meantime, however, a few drops of rain had fallen, making the asphalt slippery and slimy. Eight seconds recovered in two laps, in favor of the Brazilian who catches up with the Frenchman in a very short time. On lap 27 the decisive episode. In front of Prost there are De Cesaris and Gugelmin. Prost exits the last corner close to the two cars but loses momentum and Senna, who comes out of the corner like a fury, manages to pass him on the straight. Start the ride in reverse. Always minimal gaps, conditioned by the dubbing. Someone argues that Gugelmin gave a good slice of the title to his compatriot, facilitating the maneuver and hindering Prost more than allowed. But it probably would have ended the same way as in the end it starts raining again with even greater violence. Senna also makes conspicuous nods to the racing direction to interrupt the race a few laps from the end due to the wet track, forgetting the controversy he had aroused in Monte-Carlo in 1984, when under the downpour he would have expected to continue racing to catch Prost.
Race director Jackie Ickx had the race suspended instead. Other gestures, but of irrepressible joy, the Brazilian makes when he crosses the finish line, leaving behind Prost and all related problems. Third Boutsen ("I ran alone, I've never seen anyone"), fourth Berger who passed Nannini in extremis, in trouble with a bent wing after the accident with Alboreto, sixth the usually tough Patrese, Italian consolation. It was said that he would have reached the top of motoring already at the end of the 70s, when he raced in karts and landed in Milan at the court of Angelo Parilla. He did it again in England in 1982 when he won 22 races in Formula Ford. And at his Formula 1 debut with a Toleman, on March 25, 1984, in Jacarepaguà in Brazil, he was immediately hailed as the young prodigy destined to go down in history. And Senna entered the history of motor sport at 2:38 p.m., when he triumphantly passed the finish line of the Suzuka circuit, winning the Japanese Grand Prix, penultimate round of the World Championship, and the world title. After 28 pole positions, in his fourteenth victory, the eighth of the season, the Brazilian has achieved his life's goal. He beat rival-teammate Prost on the field. Senna, after Fittipaldi and Piquet, is the third Brazilian to win the title. He was born in San Paolo on March 21, 1980, so he is 28 years old. The son of an agricultural entrepreneur, married and divorced at 25, Ayrton is a closed, cold, fussy type. Few leaps and a great tension. He won the title with full merit. Senna is the fastest driver of these years and this year he was able to make better use of the queen-car, the McLaren-Honda. He also proved it in Japan, in a day that started badly and ended well, confirming the saying that fortune favors the brave. After a bad start and a furious chase, the South American caught up with Prost who was on the run. The track was slippery, with a few drops of rain falling: the ideal terrain for the wizard of the wet. Two or three laps were enough for him to recover the disadvantage, to overtake the Frenchman and get away. To those who then ask him what was the crucial moment of the championship, Senna replies in a surprising way:
"Many think that the Monte-Carlo mistake, when I hit a guardrail while in the lead, was my worst day. But no: it was just that episode, that huge mistake, that made me find the right path. I had the opportunity to reflect, in those days, and I changed a lot, as a driver and as a man. I have always been a Catholic, but on that occasion I got closer to God, I increased the intensity of my Faith, I began to believe in a different way".
A mystical pilot, therefore, a new face of the planet Senna. What to say more and more? In the face of certain declarations one must retreat in good order. But what will be the commandments to be respected in certain situations in racing? In any case, he is pleased that it wasn't just McLaren and Honda that gave Senna the strength and the opportunity to win what he defined:
"My first world title".
And Alain Prost? He fought and lost. He recognized the superiority of the opponent:
"He's faster in qualifying, I'm faster in the race. I have to admit that he is more determined when overtaking, he attacks with greater determination and timing, but he also had better opportunities. I had a gearbox that didn't work well, the pop-off valve that gave me problems, I was defeated above all because some lapped competitors kept up with me irregularly".
Prost doesn't talk about the 12 seconds lost in just two laps: an advantage he had at the crucial moment of the race, when it started to rain. He had retired at Silverstone under a storm, this time a few drops of water cooled all his reaction capabilities. Everyone has their own flaw and this does not mean that Prost cannot be considered one of the best drivers ever, given that he is also the one who has won the most races of all. But be warned: Senna is not the type to settle for just one world title. Ayrton Senna is Formula 1 World Champion. He won in the most difficult and spectacular way, in a Japanese Grand Prix with a handicap for him, due to a wrong start, on the day of yet another McLaren double, the sixth third place of the season by Boutsen with Benetton, and a dull performance by Ferrari. Scuderia Ferrari obtained a P4 with Berger and a P11 with Alboreto, protagonist of a clash with Nannini. A breath of hope for a different race was given by Ivan Capelli, with his March, great protagonist until lap 20, when an evil electronic control unit shut down the engine, forcing the Milanese to step aside. One wonders how the final result would have been if Capelli had been able to continue to the end with the pace with which he had begun. He pushed the Milanese so hard (overtaking Berger in the sprint on the straight) as to lead some to speculate that the tank of the March was not as full of petrol as it should have been. The fact remains, however, that Ivan even attacked Prost, giving the impression of worrying him. After the race, the tension drops suddenly. Senna cries warm tears, Prost swallows his disappointment. And the two, after having fought with all their strength, well beyond the friendly declarations of recent months, return to look at each other, if not with sympathy, at least with esteem. Long interviews, the same speeches in many languages, the Brazilian even receives compliments from Soichiro Honda, the founder of the homonymous company, who watched the race in the grandstand without anything untoward happening as even his closest collaborators feared. The old builder says, before getting on his helicopter:
"Our company has been in Formula 1 for a long time now, but seeing two cars from the Honda Marlboro McLaren team finish first and second at Suzuka was a wonderful experience for me".
And also a revenge, after the defeat suffered in 1987 by Ferrari. Ayrton Senna, after splashing himself extensively with champagne squeezing the bottle to the last drop, with Prost and Boutsen on the podium, starts the ritual confessions:
"I still can't realize I'm World Champion. It's been an incredible and terrible season. With terrifying pressure on us. I can't believe it's over. The most difficult moment of the race was certainly at the start. It was my mistake: I dropped the rpm too much and, with a very sensitive clutch, the engine had actually stopped. By pure luck I was able to start again as the wheels were still moving, at that moment I thought that was all finished: I saw myself parading from all sides, I really thought there was nothing left to do. It was the most difficult moment. I tried to cool my head, but in the first laps I was very agitated, I narrowly avoided Gugelmin who spun in front of me. Little by little I regained my pace and the car didn't have any problems".
What did he think during the chase?
"I tried to cool the hot spirits and not to think. I tried to increase my pace little by little, carefully calculating the overtakes so as not to make any more mistakes. I also took risks, there are some pilots who never look, who don't even leave the way when dubbing. They are not professionals. The only difficulty came from the conflicting information provided by my on-board computer and the signals they gave me from the pits. At one point there were two laps of difference in consumption data, and with Prost behind me I didn't know what to do. For about ten laps I looked for a sort of compromise, then, fifteen laps from the end, the two laps that had mysteriously disappeared suddenly reappeared on my computer. At this juncture I couldn't even look at the signals sent to Prost from the garage: I should have paid too much attention to the signs and this certainly wasn't the right day to deconcentrate".
No more scary moments?
"There was not a moment of peace. It was my best race ever. At one point they also gave me a wrong signal from the pits, they told me that 34 laps were missing and not 32. I thought that the on-board computer was sending incorrect data, I got scared. But luckily we had no problems with fuel consumption. I'm sure I had the best race of my life. Previously I thought my best performance was the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix, but today I think I outdid myself. Today I had a lot of problems to solve, it was a breathless race, tight from the first to the last lap. I had no consumption problems, I was able to push all the time. In the final laps I protested against the race directors because the track had become very dangerous with the rain. On other occasions they would have suspended the race immediately, yet this time it put us in a very risky situation. There was a lot of tension, yet no one took this responsibility. Instead of sending letters to Honda, Balestre would do better to take care of these things and some drivers who created situations of great danger during the lapping phases".
Then, Ayrton goes on to thank Honda and the British team:
"I want to publicly thank Honda and McLaren who have always provided both drivers with the same material of the highest quality. I didn't have any mechanical boredom today either. I think every driver wants to win a World Championship, but this season has been terrible for all the tension that was created from the first Grands Prix. It was precisely this psychological pressure that led to the Monte-Carlo mistake. That was probably the hardest moment, but it was from that day that my life changed. From that mistake I drew new strength and new power to fight for the World Championship. It was after that accident that I took the plunge in my racing and professional career. In that moment, I drew closer to God than ever before. I haven't changed my habits, but my way of seeing things. I came out of Monaco very frustrated, I reflected for a long time. I also came out of it with the help of my family and some loved ones who pointed me in a new direction for my mind. These are things I'm only saying now because doing it earlier would perhaps have been more dangerous in an environment like Formula 1. I've always been a Catholic, but my way of believing is now different".
What will Ayrton Senna do now?
"The night before the Suzuka race, I got very little sleep, just half an hour, but I think that's normal when it comes to appointments like this. Now the only thing I want is to sleep, then I'll go to Bali for a relaxing week. I think next year we will be more and more at the top, and maybe Alain and I will have more fun, we will be more relaxed".
What did you say to Alain?
"I'm sorry for him. He is the best, the most professional, he deserves great respect. I was also lucky. It was a very difficult race: the wrong start, the overtaking, the rain, I had to push to death, how many risks".
And Prost looks at him, now devoid of the nervous energy that had sustained him in recent months.
"I'm not sorry for the lost championship. It was the course of the race that frustrated me. The traffic, the gearbox that didn't work perfectly, some engine problems with the pop-off valve. I lost eight hard-earned seconds, in two laps, mainly due to some inconsiderate people who didn't step aside. And Senna overtook me taking advantage of a moment of battle. Ayrton still deserves the title, he is better in certain situations, he knows how to attack decisively. Now the world championship is his spirits are calmer, we are preparing for next year, for a new challenge. I want an immediate rematch".
There was no hope for Ferrari. This was anticipated by lackluster practice (despite Gerhard Berger's third time) and, above all, the lap times, based on fuel consumption, carried out in recent days and in the morning's warm-up. But Scuderia Ferrari had a bad day for many reasons that go beyond the modest result represented by the Austrian's P4 and Michele Alboreto's P11. Berger is very controversial:
"The chassis was perfect, perhaps the best set-up of the whole season. The engine, on the other hand, was a disaster. You can't race like this, with the nightmare of consumption. We had made some progress for Monza, the others reacted and went forward obtaining further improvements. A car with a turbo cannot be overtaken on the straight by a non-supercharged one as Capelli did with the March towards me".
The Austrian also says he is worried about the future:
"If we continue at this rate, we won't go far. You have to concentrate, pool all your resources, work above all on the engine. I, personally, am very frustrated. Difficult to concentrate in this way".
Alboreto did not have these worries. On the seventh lap, while he was in sixth position and had already been fending off Nannini's attacks for a while, he was hit by the Tuscan driver and thrown off the track. His car ended up in the sand and only the fact that it was in a dangerous area forced the marshals to put him back on track but in penultimate position, between Mansell and Warwick who had also touched.
"Sandro can't think that, being a nice guy, everything is allowed to him. He slipped into the wrong spot, where he couldn't pass, and hit me when I was clearly in front. He can't claim to be right".
The two pilots argue animatedly in parc fermé, and would have come to blows if someone hadn't intervened to divide them. The Sienese, then, after a joke, is categorical:
"I kept my helmet on because if he punched me he would hurt himself. I'm dead wrong, I apologize. But what do you want? Let's talk seriously: I tried to overtake Alboreto three or four times because my Benetton was faster. He closed the door and I didn't want to take any risks. On the seventh lap we arrived side by side in the first right-hand bend, he didn't let me pass. And then we touched. So I ruined the wing, but that didn't stop me from going fast I caught up with Berger, passed him and gained about ten seconds. I found Alboreto who was lapped and kept me behind for about ten laps, getting into the center of the bends as if he had gearbox problems. This shouldn't be happening especially among Italian drivers and in any case not among professionals. It's not sporting".
Unrest also at management level between Ferrari and Benetton: Peter Collins confronts Marco Piccinini with a threatening attitude, then limits himself to protesting. For the sporting director of Ferrari, who is at his last presence on the track in this capacity, it was not a happy ending, even if he then minimized the incident by saying that the English manager was joking. Instead, it seemed that Collins didn't really want to laugh this time. Nigel Mansell risks having to forfeit for the last test in Australia. In Japan he retired after the incident with Warwick because his Williams was unusable, but he also injured his wrist in an off-track caused by Nelson Piquet.
"I flew through the air and felt a lot of pain in my left wrist. It has inflated a lot, but they tell me that there are no infractions. Let's hope so".
Mansell argues with Piquet, accusing him of having acted as a hooligan:
"He deliberately threw me out. It's not behavior worthy of a driver who has been World Champion three times".
The Brazilian, who was not in top form these days, withdrew from the race due to illness. It cannot be said that Ayrton Senna, fresh Formula 1 World Champion, is not also lucky as well as good. He needed something special to stop Alain Prost from escaping. And help arrived on lap sixteen of the Japanese Grand Prix, in the form of rain. In fact, a few drops were enough to make the asphalt slippery and allow the Brazilian to recover about ten seconds on his opponent, to then go and slip him in with a textbook overtaking. Water seems to be a winning element in Senna's still short and fulminant career: the first opportunity to show off was in Monte-Carlo, under a downpour, when he finished second, arousing sensational controversy as long as the race was stopped by Jacky Ickx, race director, as he was about to catch and pass Prost. His first victory, in Portugal, a year later, during a terrible storm. And finally the consecration in Japan, in a race that seemed already lost due to the wrong start, propitiated precisely by the rain, and ended instead in a rainbow with all the colors of the iris. But to say that Ayrton Senna is just a lucky driver would be unfair. His talents were magnified by the loser himself, Prost:
"He is very fast, daring, complete, a great attacker, a meticulous preparer of his cars, he no longer has any weak points".
The Frenchman had set a trap to try and deceive his teammate. But those technical solutions that were supposed to lead the Brazilian off the road ended up complicating life for Prost himself. Also a sign of a certain maturity on the part of the new World Champion. Ayrton Senna says again, before leaving for a holiday in Bali:
"I knew I couldn't count on anyone's help, but only on my professionalism and that of the team's technicians. For this reason, I looked straight ahead. On Friday, I had two cars available. I chose the one I thought was best. And I focused on two directions : take pole position to start in front of everyone and prepare a valid set-up for the race. I succeeded".
But he risked ruining everything at the start...
"Never had anything like this happened to me. A half mistake with the gearbox and the clutch that seemed stuck. The engine has shut down. I was already thinking of being substituted, of ending up ridiculous. Instead my lucky star saved me, the engine recovered and I was able to start the run-up to Prost".
What does it mean to be Formula 1 World Champion?
"I have achieved the dream of my life. As far as I'm concerned, a boy becomes passionate about motor racing not so much because driving is fun, but to measure himself against others, win races and aim for the maximum, that is, for the world title. The rest comes later".
Is it true that this triumph has been planned for years?
"Of course I didn't know that I would become World Champion in 1988. This wasn't even the goal I set for myself when, at the age of nine, I got into a kart for the first time. It was just a game then. It was when I started winning and when I moved to Europe that I became aware of having this need to emerge, to go forward, as high as possible. If the comparison is legitimate, it is like picking up a brush and realizing that you are capable of not only scribbling but of creating something beautiful. I realized that I could paint well with the car".
And then, a total dedication. A youthful marriage that fell apart, the nights spent in the workshop with the mechanics, the most absolute concentration, leaving aside all distractions. Enough to feed unpleasant voices, suspicions about the private and personal sphere that someone has artfully tried to make bigger, with malice.
"They were the most difficult moments. But competitive activity helped me overcome them. At the same time some episodes made me reflect, become more concrete. The Monte Carlo accident, in the spring, a bad mistake, opened my eyes, it also brought me closer to God, to faith".
In any case, the twenty-eight-year-old Ayrton Senna (almost a battle name, that of his mother, of distant Neapolitan origin, chosen in 1983 by setting aside the more common paternal Da Silva, as Brazilian law allows), perhaps since Sunday he has become a boy like everyone else, he got rid of that mission he set out to accomplish. It remains to be seen whether the transformation will make him, as possible, a more human and therefore perhaps even stronger rider. In the meantime, he is already re-launching the challenge:
"It's my first world title and in two weeks in Adelaide, to close the world championship, I promise one race to the fullest".