"My biggest error? Something that is to happen yet."
Ayrton Senna
Showing posts with label Ayrton Senna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ayrton Senna. Show all posts
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Tuesday, 18 August 2015
McLaren Wary About Spa
McClaren and Honda have warned against expecting any big performance jumps from them at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, with more grid penalties expected as they prepare to introduce a revised engine.
On the back of a morale-boosting two-car points finish in Hungary, Honda have been using the summer break to work on a new specification power unit and have placed particular emphasis on improving the internal combustion engine (ICE) via the spending of an as yet unspecified number of development 'tokens'.
Yasuhisa Arai, the Japanese manufacturer's motorsport chief, says F1's return to action at Spa will therefore be a key test of their work, but he is still expecting a challenging weekend.
"As we planned, Honda has updated our combustion characteristics to further improve our power units for Spa and the second half of the season," Arai said.
"This weekend's free practices will be important to test the pairing of the power units to the cars. The Belgian race, however, will surely be a difficult one for the team and drivers, with expected grid penalties and a long and unforgiving power circuit."
Having already exceeded their penalty-free allocation of engines for the season - which was retrospectively increased to five last month - McLaren's drivers will pick up further grid demotions any time they run fresh ICEs between now and the end of the season.
Team boss Eric Boullier insists the Woking outfit are "refreshed and determined to continue improving our form", but is also aware that high-speed Spa and Monza, the next two tracks on the calendar, are not likely to suit the MP4-30.
"Spa is a truly spectacular circuit - arguably the best on the calendar for many - but, given the unique power and downforce package required, the track won't play to our strengths," the Frenchman said.
"Therefore, of course, we must be measured in our optimism, and we will need to wait for Singapore and beyond before we can see the fruits of our labours reflected on track."
With 70 per cent of the undulating Spa circuit spent at full throttle, Fernando Alonso is expecting a "tricky" few days, but has stressed the importance of the race weekend to McLaren.
"The next few races will be important for us: we need to continue our forward momentum, and, with the addition of some tweaks to the car and power unit, we will be looking for more progress and good correlation between the simulator and our on-track performance," the Spaniard said.
"That might not necessarily appear above the surface in either Spa or Monza, but we'll keep pushing development forward at each race."
Thursday, 1 May 2014
Ayrton Senna da Silva
"If I ever happen to have an accident that eventually costs me my life, I hope it is in one go. I would not like to be in a wheelchair. I would not like to be in a hospital suffering from whatever injury it was. If I am going to live, I want to live fully. Very intensely, because I am an intense person. It would ruin my life if I had to love partially."
Ayrton Senna 1960 - 1994
Tom Rubython's The Life of Senna,
Senna Tribute - Montezemolo
Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo believes Ayrton Senna would have finished his Formula 1 career at Maranello had the Brazilian not been killed in the 1994 San Marino GP.
With the Formula 1 community preparing to mark the 20th anniversary of the three-times World Champion's death on Thursday, Montezemolo has added to the many fascinating 'what if' theories surrounding Senna by revealing that the pair had talked in the build-up to the Imola weekend about the possibility of the 34-year-old switching to Maranello in future.
After enjoying huge success over a seven-year stint at McLaren, Senna had joined reigning World Champions Williams for 1994, while Ferrari were already 15 years into their long Drivers' Championship drought. Two years later the Scuderia signed Michael Schumacher, the sport's newly-crowned double World Champion, to spearhead their return to glory, with the title finally returning to Ferrari in 2000.
"He wanted to come to Ferrari and I wanted him in the team," Montezemolo said in a tribute to Senna posted on Ferrari's website.
"When he was in Italy for the San Marino Grand Prix, we met at my home in Bologna on Wednesday 27 April. He told me he really appreciated the stand we had taken against the excessive use of electronic aids for driving, which didn't allow a driver's skill to shine through.
"We spoke for a long time and he made it clear to me that he wanted to end his career at Ferrari, having come close to joining us a few years earlier. We agreed to meet again soon, so as to look at how we could overcome his contractual obligations at the time. We were both in agreement that Ferrari would be the ideal place for him to further his career, which to date had been brilliant, even unique. Unfortunately, fate robbed all of us of Ayrton and Roland Ratzenberger over one of the saddest weekends in Formula 1 history."
Although never getting the chance to work directly with the great Brazilian, Montezemolo revealed he was a fan of both Senna the driver and the man.
"Of Senna, I remember his kindness and his simple almost shy nature, which was in complete contrast to Senna the driver, a fighter always aiming for the best," the Italian, who became Ferrari President in 1991, explained.
"I always appreciated Ayrton's style of racing. As with all great champions, he had an incredible will to win and never tired of seeking perfection, trying to improve all the time. He was extraordinary in qualifying, but also a great battler in the races, when he always fought tooth and nail."
Ferrari's 2014 driver line-up of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen are attending Thursday's Senna memorial service at Imola as the circuit holds a four-day tribute event for fans.
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