HONDA The Power of Dreams

On September 11, 1992, at 3 p.m. Japan time, Honda officially announced that it would be suspending its F1 activities at the end of that year. Qualifying for the Italian GP was about to begin at Monza. The Japanese press, shocked, asked Ayrton Senna of his thoughts. Speechless, the Brazilian superstar turned away from the microphones, and left with tears in his eyes.

Honda, which had achieved six consecutive constructors’ titles since its return to F1 in 1983 (1986-87: Williams, 1988-91: McLaren), released a statement explaining its reasoning, that the company had achieved its intended goals. In a later magazine interview, then president of Honda, Nobuhiko Kawamoto said, “I made the decision to quit at the end of 1991. So I wanted to win the championship in 1992, and I wanted Senna to win the title for the fourth time.” Kawamoto may have believed that eventually, someone at Honda like himself would lead the company back to F1 again.

The race began with Nigel Mansell and Senna, both on the front row, leading. On Lap 14 Riccardo Patrese overtook Senna, and began closing the 20-second gap to Mansell. On Lap 20, Mansell yielded to Patrese, as the Williams team, already with the drivers’ and constructors’ titles in hand, wanted to give the local Italian fans a present with a Patrese victory. Disaster then struck for Williams, as both of its cars developed serious problems, with Mansell retiring and Patrese rapidly losing positions.

With six laps remaining, Senna took the lead and reached the checkered flag first, for his 38th F1 victory and Honda’s final win of its second F1 era. When Senna learned of Honda’s withdrawal, he explored leaving McLaren at the end of the year and joining Williams, the most powerful team in the sport. His efforts failed, as Williams had already been in closed-door discussions for a year to recruit Alain Prost. Before the 1993 season began, Senna hinted that he might leave F1 and move to CART IndyCar racing, but decided to stay at McLaren now powered by customer-spec Ford V8 engines. Senna was in negotiations with the team for the rest of the year, and opted for a per-race, rather than the customary yearly, contract. This was a manifestation of Senna’s difficult position, as he hungered for victory.

In 1993, Senna often demonstrated his prowess in the less competitive car, and was able to torment Williams’ Prost, who drove a much faster car, throughout the season. Senna started the season determined to claim his fourth title by winning every round.

On May 1, 1994, Ayrton Senna was taken from the world as the fastest driver. In his wake, a legend remained. Senna will always be remembered the way he was, at age 34. Senna had achieved 41 wins, 65 pole positions, and 86 races that he led, from 161 starts. Of these, Honda engines powered 96 races, 32 wins, 46 pole positions, and 61 races that he led. The numbers were clear: Senna and Honda were inseparable.