&width=75&fastscale=false)
To say that F1 was more challenging in bygone times – that the cars and the racing were more interesting – has become something of a cliché. If anything can reaffirm what has begun to feel like rather a tired old sentiment, it’s Senna rowing gears and carving curves in his 1991 V12 McLaren at Adelaide.
Video: On board Senna's incredible howling V12 Adelaide pole lap
It’s an almost impossible-to-comprehend combination of odds for a driver. Razor-sharp fast-revving V12, twitch-tastic millimetrically precise handling, physics-bending downforce and… a manual? When you think about driving a modern F1 car, the notion of not having to move your hands from the wheel is just a given and the thought of actually having to, vaguely terrifying. An over-the-shoulder view of Senna dancing his sonorous MP4/6, manipulating that V12 with a twitch of a toe and a flick of the wrist, while wrestling the car through a perfect line is the ultimate reminder of what must have been one of motorsport’s greatest driving challenges – when the cars began to outpace the drivers and the controls with which they were expected to win.
&width=75)
&width=75)
&width=75)
&width=75)
Most popular from Historic
&width=75)
&width=75)
&width=75)
&width=75)
Join our motorsport community
Get closer to motorsport at Goodwood! Join the GRRC Fellowship to be first in the queue for event tickets, to attend the GRRC-only Members' Meeting and to enjoy year-round, exclusive benefits.
&width=75)
&width=75)
&width=75)