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“Please come back, I’m not not motivated by other guys in the team”- Ayrton Senna requested rival Alain Prost to re-join McLaren as his teammate in 1993

Somin Bhattacharjee
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"Please come back, I'm not not motivated by other guys in the team"- Ayrton Senna requested rival Alain Prost to re-join McLaren as his teammate in 1993

Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost shared one of the most intense rivalries in Formula 1 history, but there was always mutual respect between them. 

During a podcast session with 2016 World Champion, Prost talked about Senna’s arrival at McLaren. He revealed how it him who asked team boss Ron Dennis to sign him, citing him as the future of F1 back then.

However, Senna’s arrival at McLaren kickstarted a fierce rivalry that had it’s share of infamous moments. It ultimately led to the Frenchman leaving the outfit for Ferrari in 1990. In spite of their rivalry, Prost insisted that his relationship with Senna got better over time.

Rosberg asked if the two had to apologize to each other in order to mend the tensions between them, to which Prost said yes.

“Yes,” he replied. “Because he told me many many things, that were not correct or whatever. but i understood, he has done it to beat me.”

In 1993, Prost joined Williams after spending two seasons in Italy and a year’s hiatus. After the season finale in Australia that year, Prost revealed how Senna called him and asked him to rejoin McLaren the next year.

Also read: “Maybe it requires one of us to do the first step of saying sorry”- Nico Rosberg is open to reigniting his friendship with Lewis Hamilton

Without Prost at McLaren, Ayrton Senna lacked the motivation to win

Senna’s biggest motivation factor at McLaren was his desire to outperform his legendary teammate. According to Prost, he lost that desire after his departure, even though he continued to perform at a top level.

“I was his goal, I didn’t know that,” he continued. “If the people don’t show you or explain to you. Then you see, ‘Oh we have done that’. Okay it was very strange sometimes but at the end I was also very proud. Whole of his career, he was pointing at me.”

“When he called me two days after Australia in 1993,” Prost added. “Because I already had an offer from McLaren with the Peugeot engine. He said, ‘Oh please come back you know, I’m not motivated to other guys, I’m only motivated about yourself, and i lost my goal and i lost my motivation.'”

Prost was taken aback but also proud that his former rival thought so highly of him. However, Prost didn’t rejoin the Surrey based outfit and instead retired from F1 on a high winning the 1993 World Championship.

Also read: “Michael Schumacher is very strong, has an extraordinary natural speed”– Ayrton Senna thought one day his foe from Benetton could become his friend

About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Formula 1 Editor Somin Bhattacharjee fell for the sport as well as Fernando Alonso on the same day — during the Spaniard’s thrilling victory at the German GP in 2010. Over the years, the passion magnified manyfold, and metamorphosed into a writing career in 2021. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. He has penned over 2,700 articles for TheSportsRush, presenting a diverse range — news reports, opinions, and exclusives. A true Tiffosi, Somin never gives up on a chance to defend the Ferrari boys as a fan. As a sports writer though, he remains objective to the core and relishes opportunities to follow and engage in dissecting the action during races. That’s where the real thrill lies for him. Beyond the racetrack, Somin plays different sports including soccer. He enjoys exploring other sporting events and proudly supports Spanish soccer club Real Madrid.

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