EXCLUSIVE: Ayrton Senna’s Ally Remembers Crash With Alain Prost That Spilled ‘The Feud off the Track’

The 1989 F1 championship battle between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost was certainly one of the most controversial ones in the sport’s history. It was a season when McLaren was miles clear of the competition, as Senna and Prost traded blows in a title battle that went down to the wire. But it also ruined their relationship, sparking a rivalry that saw major drama in Japan.

In an exclusive interview with The SportsRush, Senna’s personal photographer and ally, Keith Sutton recalled the aftermath of that infamous crash which denied the Brazilian his second F1 world title in 1989. Sutton deemed Senna’s rivalry with Prost as “intense” and “fascinating”.

He understood that Senna was utterly passionate, but things also spilled over while fighting with Prost. “The 1989 Suzuka collision, for instance, was a defining moment where both drivers pushed their rivalry to its limits,” he recalled.

Senna and Prost were in a close battle for the Japanese GP lead throughout the 53-lap race at Suzuka. After the 40th lap, Senna caught up with his teammate and started attacking him, before their battle came to a head seven laps later at the Casio Triangle chicane.

Senna dived down the inside to make a move, but the Frenchman did not yield, resulting in both cars coming together and going off track in an anticlimactic manner. Prost’s car was immobilized, forcing him to get out, but Senna continued with the race and went on to finish first.

“Alain’s defensive move and Ayrton’s aggressive attempt to pass were part of their on-track chess match, but after the aftermath of Ayrton’s disqualification it brought the feud off the track,” Sutton recalled

The disqualification that Sutton was talking about was the highly controversial outcome of the heated moment between the two title protagonists. Senna was disqualified and also given a $100,000 and a six-month ban from Grand Prix racing. Consequently, Prost secured the 1989 world championship.

The controversy around Senna’s disqualification

FISA (now FIA) disqualified Senna classification because he returned to the racetrack at a different point from where he had exited following his collision with Prost. This also involved him cutting the chicane, which was illegal under the regulations

But the surprising part was that Senna did not gain any advantage by cutting the chicane as he lost time during his crash with Prost anyway. His move certainly ended his McLaren teammate and title rival’s race, but that wasn’t the explicit reason behind Senna’s disqualification.

FISA cited his return to a different track position and cutting the chicane as the reason, an action for which no driver had been disqualified in the preceding decade. Senna criticized this, accusing FISA of influencing the outcome of the world championship in Prost’s favor.

One of the Brazilian’s statements in a presser after the Suzuka race read, “It was clear that political and economic pressure groups manipulated behind the scenes to make Prost world champion.” This naturally irked the FISA, leading to Senna’s racing ban and fine.

Eventually, after some meetings, negotiations, and hearings between McLaren, FISA, and the World Motorsport Council, the ban on Senna was lifted and he was permitted to drive in 1990.

However, Senna’s rivalry with Prost carried on, despite the latter having left McLaren for Ferrari.

Senna’s Suzuka revenge in 1990

The Brazilian driver was once again fighting with Prost for the 1990 title and this time too, it all boiled down to the Japanese GP. In what felt like Deja Vu from the previous year, the duo crashed on the opening lap at the first corner itself.

There was also a debate about pole position being on the dirty side of the grid on the right. Since Senna was on pole with Prost in P2 on the front row but on the clean side, there was a high chance that the Frenchman would take the lead at the first corner.

Senna knew that if they both DNFed from the race in Suzuka, he would be the world champion. Sutton also recalled how the Sao Paulo-born driver admitted that he deliberately crashed with Prost to secure the world championship.

“While I understood Ayrton’s frustration with the politics in F1 at the time, I also felt it was a moment where his passion might have crossed a line,” Sutton stated about Senna’s urge to settle the scores with his arch-rival.

Nevertheless, Sutton feels that, however heated their rivalry was, Senna and Prost brought out the best in each other. No other driver pushed either of them as much as they pushed each other during that decade, from 1984 to 1993.

While the controversies arising from their rivalry are still debated today, their names are etched in F1 history as two of the greatest drivers to ever compete in the sport.