HONDA The Power of Dreams

In 1989, turbocharged engines were banned in Formula 1, replaced by naturally-aspirated (NA) engines. Even with this major rule change, McLaren Honda, powered by Honda’s newly-developed V10 engine, remained strong. Ferrari, with its revolutionary 7-speed paddle-shift semi-automatic transmission, and Williams, with its Renault V10 engine, were often in contention, but the title race became a direct battle between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. So fierce was the battle between the two McLaren teammates, that their words, actions, and the races attracted attention not only from the racing world but also from the world at large.

By the time of Round 15 at Suzuka, Prost was in the lead with 76 points, Senna was second with 60 points, well ahead of Mansell, who had moved to Ferrari, with 38 points. For Senna to win his second consecutive championship, he would need to win at Suzuka again, and win the final round at Adelaide. Senna, who had been in great form since qualifying, took pole position by a comfortable 1.7 second margin over Prost, and went into the race full of confidence.

At the time, there was a warm-up session in the morning of the race. Prost tried a setting that reduced downforce and increased straight line speed, and with a lap time 0.7 seconds faster than Senna’s, decided to use this setting. In the race, Prost was fast off the mark, finishing the first lap 1.4 seconds ahead. He grew the gap to 2.2 seconds after two laps, and 3.8 seconds by the end of lap five. Hopes that Senna would catch up evaporated as Prost continued to lead. Senna must have been impatient. On Lap 21 Prost made a scheduled pit stop for tires, and two laps later Senna followed suit. With 30 laps remaining, Senna began to close the gap to Prost, and by Lap 47 of the 53-lap race, the gap was less than 0.5 seconds. With just over six laps to go, Senna had momentum on his side.

On Lap 47 at the final brake-right-left-accelerate chicane, Senna saw an opportunity and dived in on Prost’s inside. Unaware of Senna’s move, Prost turned in toward the apex, causing the two McLaren Hondas to tangle and stop. The crowd was stunned. Prost promptly got out of his car and walked down a track-side path to the control tower. In contrast, Senna waved to the nearby marshals to give him a push, and managed to return to the race. On Lap 51, Senna passed Alessandro Nannini (Benetton Ford), who had taken the lead during the confusion, at the chicane and went on to take the checkered flag. The elation was short-lived, as Senna was disqualified for failing to pass through the chicane correctly after returning to the race. The McLaren camp immediately lodged a complaint, and the result in Suzuka was provisional, but a week later, after a hearing at the FIA in Paris, Senna was disqualified and Prost’s title was declared with one grand prix remaining. Two Number-1 drivers could not be on the same team, and the clash was perhaps inevitable. Considering McLaren Honda’s dominance without a rival in sight, the battle for the title between the two lead drivers ended in disaster, but was nonetheless testament to the individuality and skills of both Senna and Prost, as well as their determination to win the championship.

Prost left McLaren at the end of the season, and Senna was embroiled in the Super License debacle that resulted from the accident. At one stage it was even possible that Senna would be banned from F1 completely. The Senna vs. Prost era, and the McLaren-Honda absolute dominance, had come to an end, but heralded a new stage for Senna and Honda.