Samuel Reiman
The collision between McLaren teammates Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix, which ultimately ended up handing Alain Prost the World Championship, has been well documented.
What seems to have been forgotten over time is that, during qualifying for that race, Ayrton Senna took pole position by an incredible 1.730s over his French teammate at the Suzuka Circuit.
While both were multi-Championship winning drivers with complete opposite driving styles – Alain Prost with a more methodical and calculated approach than Ayrton Senna, who pushed it to the limit every lap – it is clear that on this day, Senna’s style worked best, and he was rewarded with pole position for the Sunday race.
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