Pierre Gasly has found a special way to pay tribute to Ayrton Senna on the latter’s 30th death anniversary year. The Frenchman will race at Imola with a helmet that features the colors of the Brazilian flag just the way Senna did back in the day. Before that, however, he got the opportunity of a lifetime to drive Senna’s very first F1 car, the 1984 Toleman-Hart TG183B.
Sharing his experience in a video uploaded by Alpine, Gasly said, “Beautiful piece of engineering, beautiful piece of history. It’s just very pure, no electronics. Just steering, H-pattern gearbox, as simple as that, three pedals- clutch, brake, and throttle.”
Speaking after driving the car on the Silverstone track, he revealed, “I’m just speechless of the experience I just had. It was an experience I will remember for my entire life.”
Ayrton Senna made an impressive debut with Toleman back in 1984 and scored his first points with the same car in South Africa. That same year, he also registered his first podium finish by crossing the line in second in Monaco. Bagging two more podium finishes that same year, he earned a place at Lotus for the 1985 season.
The golden run continued with the new team as Senna bagged his first race win with Lotus. Driving for the English team for three years, the Brazilian registered a total of six race wins and 22 podium finishes. As he finished third in the Drivers’ Championship in 1987, McLaren came calling and forged a legendary partnership.
Toleman, meanwhile, went through multiple rebrandings and ownerships. Renault took over in 2002 and made history as Fernando Alonso bagged two consecutive world championships in 2005 and 2006.
In 2016, the French team made a comeback to the premier class before rebranding to Alpine in 2021. That explains why they own the TG183B which Pierre Gasly drove.
Pierre Gasly to honor Ayrton Senna’s legacy with a special tribute
Imola missed the F1 calendar in 2023 owing to the devastating floods in Italy. The legendary circuit, however, will make a comeback in 2024 and this season marks 30 years since the infamous crash that Ayrton Senna suffered at the Tamburello curve in 1994.
Pierre Gasly, who is a big admirer of the Brazilian, will pay tribute through a special helmet design. Senna proudly sported the colors of the Brazilian flag on his helmet in his racing days. Those colors will make a comeback at Imola this time through Gasly.
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The Frenchman revealed the iconic design through a post on Instagram and let his reverence known for the same. He has already worn the helmet while driving the three-time champion’s TG183B.
