Nowhere was Ayrton Senna’s supreme ability in a Formula 1 car more graphically demonstrated than around the streets of Monte Carlo. The Brazilian went to the 1993 Monaco Grand Prix having taken five previous victories in the event.
Senna Breaks Hill’s Monaco Record
At Monaco Senna didn’t have a smooth build up to the race. On the Thursday he crashed his McLaren, hurting a thumb in the process. He could only qualify in third position, behind the pole-sitting Williams of Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher’s Benetton. Damon Hill started from fifth while Jean Alesi performed miracles in qualifying, dragging his recalcitrant Ferrari into fifth place.
Prost kept his lead off the line, followed by Schumacher in second and Senna third. The Frenchman‘s afternoon soon began to go wrong, as he was awarded a ten second stop-go penalty for allegedly jumping the start. This allowed Schumacher into the lead, followed by Senna.
Schumacher’s lead didn’t last either, as the German dropped out of the race with a hydraulic failure. Senna gratefully accepted first position and led comfortably from Hill’s Williams. That was the order in which they finished, with Alesi having a stellar race bringing his Ferrari home third. Prost managed to salvage fourth place after his early penalty. The victory was Senna’s sixth at Monaco and beat the previous record set by Graham Hill.
Prost Responds with Victory in Canadian Grand Prix
Incredibly, Senna led the World Championship standings after Monaco, in a McLaren with a customer Ford engine. Qualifying at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve didn’t go well for him, and he started the race from eighth on the grid. At the front Prost was on pole, head of Hill, Schumacher, Patrese, Gerhard Berger, Alesi and Martin Brundle.
Hill made a better start than his team-mate and led the Grand Prix from Prost. Further back Senna was making rapid progress. On the first lap he disposed of Brundle, Schumacher, Patrese and Alesi. He found a way around Berger on lap two and moved into third place.
Prost waited a few laps before finally passing Hill for the lead. Hill’s race was compromised by a problematic pit stop, while Senna retired near the end. Victory went to Prost, with Schumacher second in the Benetton. Hill did well to finish third, ahead of Berger in fourth, Brundle fifth and Karl Wendlinger, sixth for Sauber. Prost’s win meant that the Frenchman regained the lead of the World Championship from Senna.
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