Senna Page #2

Ron Dennis was the best manager

and Alain Prost was the best driver.

We all called Prost "The Professor"

because he would do,

methodically, whatever it took

to be ahead on points.

If it meant coming fifth,

he would hold the fifth place

and collect those points

rather than fighting for a second,

third or first place finish.

And he certainly understood the politics

of the sport,

and he played that game

smarter than anyone.

You're known as

the Professor of Motor Racing

because you plan everything out

and you know where you're going.

Is that actually true?

I'm very realistic,

so I think when I'm competitive,

I know that I'm competing.

When I'm not, I know I'm not so.

Why are there no women racing drivers?

I really don't know exactly

why women are not very competitive

in motor racing, especially in Formula One.

But, you know, you are a beautiful woman,

and I know somebody at McLaren

who likes you very much,

and I can arrange it.

Alain, you know, if only someone would

teach me how to drive a car,

a racing car,

I might be able to give up this job and...

There is nothing important

I could not teach you.

Does your wife drive you home?

We're very confident that we have

the best two drivers in the world.

The two most professional drivers, as well.

If we're not consistently

in the winning circle next year,

then we certainly won't be able to

put the blame at the drivers.

It's a great opportunity for me, professional.

And as a personal point of view,

I feel very happy to work together with Alain.

The first year at McLaren

was very decisive in Ayrton's life.

He was very tense,

it was like he had the weight of the world

on his shoulders

because now he had a responsibility

to prove he really was a top driver.

Ayrton has, for the first time in his career,

the car able to be World Champion,

and he doesn't want to

let his chance go anywhere.

- That's normal and that is going to push us.

- What about you?

- What about you?

- It's a little bit different.

So, you're going to let it go?

I have a little bit more pressure than...

You put me more pressure.

I think you could see smiles,

but at the same time

some slightly strange body language,

as they realized just where they were

and what was going to unfold.

Alain, who obviously felt

he was well-nested down at McLaren,

and the young pretender coming in

and clearly threatening that position.

Both had great intellects

and both were very good racing drivers.

Beating each other

became far more challenging

than beating the rest of the field.

That day, I suddenly realized

that I was no longer driving conscious.

And I was in a different dimension, for me.

The circuit for me was a tunnel,

which I was just going, going, going.

And I realize I was well beyond

my conscious understanding.

Ayrton was multiple seconds into the lead,

had the race in hand

with only a handful of laps to go,

and he received a radio message that said,

"You are so far in the lead, slow down."

Ayrton Senna has hit the wall.

Senna in the barrier! He's out of the car...

Ayrton Senna is out of his car

and out of this race.

Ayrton Senna goes out of the lead

of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Absolutely incredible!

He never wanted to beat me.

He wanted to humiliate me.

He wanted to show the people

that he was much stronger.

Much better. And that was his weakness.

His post-accident emotion

was pure anger with himself,

and he couldn't cope with it at all.

He actually walked back to his apartment,

and it was two or three hours

before he surfaced.

I just came so close to perfection

that weekend, that I relax.

I open windows for mistakes,

and I learned that there.

And since then

my progressive comeback, because I lost

some confidence at that moment.

And progressively, I fight back,

and I got much stronger after that incident.

Somehow I got closer to God and that

has been very important for me as a man.

Monaco was the turning point

in the '88 season.

Ayrton went on an amazing run,

winning six of the next eight races.

Putting him just ahead of Prost

in the championship.

What happens now, you two?

Good fun.

We will have good fun from now on.

Fight. Maybe we fight outside the car.

I think it's gonna get

more and more exciting, the championship.

Is it possible to be equal

in the championship?

- No.

- Sh*t.

Can only be one winner.

Fifteenth race of the season.

In the small hours, Brazil is waiting

for Ayrton Senna

to win his first world title in Formula One.

His childhood dream.

The pressure was on Ayrton.

He was on pole,

he was going to be World Champion

if he won that race,

so the pressure was huge.

They are going to start,

let's go, green light.

Senna stalled!

Senna left on the grid.

Prost took the lead,

Ayrton Senna is way behind.

There is Ayrton Senna

in fourteenth place.

I thought, "The Championship is over.

"It's all over."

Senna is already up to eighth place.

He is making a fantastic recovery.

But then his favorite thing happened,

it began to rain.

Senna's now in fourth place.

Senna's coming,

he's coming, coming, coming!

Senna is getting close.

Senna's gonna challenge for the lead.

Ayrton Senna goes for it

and overtakes Prost.

Ayrton Senna has got the lead.

I started being thankful

as I was doing the last lap.

I thanked God.

I couldn't believe I was actually

going to win the Championship

with all the anxiety and tension.

I felt His presence.

I visualized, I saw God.

It was a special moment in my life.

An enormous feeling.

I have registered it in my memory,

and it remains a part of me.

Ayrton Senna of Brazil!

World Champion of 1988!

A fantastic race!

A brilliant win because

he came back from sixteenth place.

Ayrton, do you feel

like a World Champion now?

I just feel peace.

It feels like tons of weight have lifted

from my head and shoulders.

And it is hard to comprehend

what being a World Champion is.

He is an incredible person.

He is so humble,

and he raises the image of Brazil abroad.

He shares his victories with us.

I admire him so much.

He's a very brave man.

That's all I know of him.

He is our pride.

One of the few things

we can still be proud of.

I once asked Ayrton

when he would stop racing.

Mum, I'll stop

when I become World Champion.

I knew deep inside it is not true.

We all know that.

When the 1988 Championship was over

and he'd won,

it was plain to see

how he'd become a different person

because he had, in fact, found himself.

He discovered what he was about,

it was a process

which had its closure with that victory.

At Christmas things happen.

We make new friends,

like the one I will introduce now.

He was part of my 1988,

Ayrton Senna.

Isn't he cute?

I have a question.

Everyone's excited,

but no one more than me,

because it's hard to speak

now that he's my friend.

Ayrton, what do you want for Christmas?

A Christmas present?

What I really want, I can't say here.

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