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Widely regarded as one of Formula 1's greatest ever drivers and a fiercely ruthless competitor, Ayrton Senna was also renowned as one of motorsport's most sensitive and empathetic characters outside the car.
In the first of our new 'The Race Presents' series, we're delighted to bring you unedited raw footage of Senna at his most reflective, looking back on the trials and tribulations of a personally challenging 1990 Formula 1 season.
In a 30-minute interview, Senna covers his personal battle to rediscover motivation after a controversial defeat to arch rival Alan Prost in the 1989 world championship, picks his personal best race of the 1990 season and reflects on dedicating his Monaco victory that year to five-time F1 champion Juan Manuel Fangio.
Senna also discusses the shock performance of the Adrian Newey-designed Leyton House March at that year’s French Grand Prix, the fellow drivers he most admires for the way they approach their racing, and covers his latest championship success with McLaren (though the controversial ending is not discussed).
But Senna is at his most insightful when discussing the dangers of racing in F1 at the time, particularly the horrific qualifying crash suffered by Lotus driver Martin Donnelly at the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix.
It becomes clear incidents such as these affected Senna deeply, made him question his very existence in motorsport, but also pushed him to dig deeper and reach ever higher in his ultimate pursuit of F1 glory.
