Formula 1 legend, Martin Brundle has driven some of the most iconic race cars this sport has seen. According to his acknowledgment, the former F1 driver has gotten behind the wheel of 68 cars – running through all the eras of the sport, from Fangio to modern-day hybrids. But for him, Ayrton Senna’s most memorable race car remains an experience he considers his favorite.
Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, he told host, Tom Clarkson, “Favorite would be Ayrton Senna’s MP-4/4, which I drove in Sao Paulo. In his back garden basically, in terms of where he used to live, of course.”
The McLaren MP-4/4 is considered one of the most iconic race cars in the rich history of this sport. It led Ayrton Senna to his maiden F1 title in 1988. Further, Senna and his teammate, Alain Prost, won a whopping 15 out of 16 Grands Prix that year. This made the MP-4/4 statistically the most successful F1 car of all time.
The car retained that mantle for over three decades before Adrian Newey’s RB19 came into the picture. As of 2024, Red Bull’s RB19 is now statistically the most successful F1 car, with the MP-4/4 running a close second.
How Max Verstappen outshines Ayrton Senna’s 1988 season
Last year was a historic season for the Milton-Keynes-based team. Out of 22 Grands Prix on the calendar, the Bulls won a staggering 21 races. Verstappen took 19 of those wins and romped to a third consecutive world title.
The Dutchman broke many records en route to a season of utter domination. He also broke Sebastian Vettel’s streak of 9 wins in a row to become the first driver to win 10 races on the trot. What’s more, the RB19 recorded an unbelievable 95.5% win rate during the 2023 season.
Christian Horner believes the RB19 will go down as the most successful car in F1 history
“For Max to have led over a thousand laps, for him to have won 19 races, to have broken McLaren’s record from ’88, to have broken Seb’s – our own record from 2013 – the win ratios, all the… pic.twitter.com/B0Y4DIRSHV
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) November 28, 2023
Naturally, many experts believed that the team would replicate its lofty standards this year as well. The season started well enough, however, with all the turmoil that has been happening within the team off the track, the Bulls seem to have missed a beat on the track.
Ferrari beat them at the 2024 Australian GP. Two races later, McLaren debuted their first upgrade package of the 2024 season. It worked wonders on the MCL38 as Lando Norris cruised to victory against Verstappen with a seven-second lead on the Dutchman at the chequered flag. After the highs of 2023, maybe the Bulls have dropped the ball this year.
