It has not much to do with bravery. You are equaly responsible for the health and life of your opponents. What you see above is a clash of generations. Stewart was racing in a time, when racing was deadly as hell and the drivers discussed before the race, where to overtake and where it's too dangerous. The champion didn't go for every gap, because such a driver wouldn't survive a full season. Back then safety came from the behaviour of the drivers. Senna and most of his opponents came from the karting scene and startet in f1 with carbon fibre monocoque. The simply forgot a bit, how dangerous their sport is and developed a different behaviour. Sadly it was Senna who first ran out of luck after more than a decade without deadly accidents. Both great drivers, Stewart and Senna, raced in two different worlds. In my opinion Stewart was right. Motorsport should still be a gentlemans sport.
Just watched this the other day and I thought Jackie Stewart tried to be clever with Senna and accused him of causing the most crashes!! Loved it when Aryton put him place!! What a driver he was, and a gentleman too which unfortunately doesn't always get you far! RIP Aryton ❤
Stewart asked him that after Senna decided to crash into Prost so he seals the title race earlier. Jackie at least didn't have to do that to take his 3rd title.
I think the most interesting bit of this interview starts at around 0:10. Senna smiles at the mention of previous drivers and champions. When Stuart mentions 'collisions', you can watch the light go from his eyes, you see his smile falter and his attitude change. It displays the character of the man in such a human way.
@@russotusso1695You suspect but you don’t know. By the way I am German and Stefan Bellof was my favorite German car racing driver. From the 80‘s Gilles Villeneuve and the 90‘s Senna were my favorites. Unfortunately all 3 heroes have lost their lives 💔💔💔😢😢😢
I love how Ayrton calls him Stewart here before coming up with a great reply. Jackie did begin to respect him more in the next few years and actually went to his funeral in Brazil and broke down when he had to pay his repects to Ayrton's mother... Legendary upload thanks. How I miss those days :-)
That is the true spirit of being a racing driver!!! Senna... always and forever!!! There will never be anyone better than Senna!!! Rest in peace... we miss you!!!
Ayrton Senna da Silva did more for F1 than any other F1 driver, inside the car. Jackie Stewart did more for F1 than any other F1 driver, outside the car. Both of these men are legends....some of you part-time fanboys should do well to remember that!
I was and I'm a big fan of Ayrton, he was the most talented of all times. F1 was never the same after he passed away, he was special because he commited so much that you could feel it watching TV. Miss you so much champion!
"I find amazing for you to make a such questions to it, cause you are very experienced driver, you know a lot about racing, and you should know that, by beeing a racing driver you are at the risk all the time" loool, he said it like Jackie was a 15 year old teenager who had seen a F1 GP only in tv xD
Let's explain it to you like this. In terms of how dangerous the sport was in their times Jackie Stewart was a World War Veteran and Senna a bar brawler. Maybe you understand the difference between the wisdom of these two drivers better now. Not even one of the true greats, neither Fangio nor Clark nor Stewart nor Lauda would tell you, he went for every gap. Not one of them. What an irony Senna ended the way he did.
One of the best MAN ever. Not only the racing driver. I live in Chechenya (Russia). Even here in Chechenya his a HERO. No one forget him. I hope i see him in heaven!
"if you no longer go for a gap that exist, you are no longer racing driver. because we are competing, we are competing to win. and the main motivation to all of us is to compete for victory. its not to come third, forth, fifth, or sixth."
@@m.jsouza2782 Jackie at least didn't have to crash into other people to win. It's good Senna raced when he raced cuz somebody would have died if he raced in 60s.
@@russotusso1695 thats true...i admire senna but jackie was a much cleaner driver...dont think senna wouldve made it in the 60s or 70s...he wouldve got into a serious accident
@@russotusso1695 You can say that to Prost too by the way he started it in 89, and if you think everybody should drive like a gentleman or don't like other styles of driving motorsport it's not for you.About the 60s many people died and they knew about the risks you have to respect more this drivers memories and the legends of this sport.
What a beautiful man. I was lucky to have met him and he was so polite and not how he has been portrayed by the media. He wasn't surrounded by bodyguards. He posed for photos, signed autographs. I still miss him.
Stewart should watch what he says. Senna sure put him back in his place. Reminds me of an incident when I hit my Elise on a racetrack. Of course when asked why I was reckless I quoted the GOAT: "If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you no longer a racing driver" - Ayrton Senna.
Well, considering, that the very next year Senna would call to Stewart to apologize for lying... Yeah Jackie Stewart had hid lesson, NOT Ayrton Senna...
@@windchardger_cz1352I believe in facts like this documented video but some people believe in stories told (which may include out of context facts as well as the video that was shown during this interview that showed Mansell in Portugal 89 who was already disqualified from the race, was a latecomer and still tried overtaking Senna but for those who don't know anything, they thought it was Senna who caused the collision)
And that's why Senna is considered to be the greatest ever? Senna is an epitome of a racing driver - he put the value of racing, and the value of greatness above the value of his life. And he treated everyone on the track like he wanted to be treated. I think this is a situation where neither of the sides are wrong or right.
Instant favorite.... I love how Senna's face changes when Stewart finally asks about his constant contact; you can just noticed that it pissed Senna off. Senna's answer is just brilliant... he surely set him straight on THAT!! I think that F1 needs to let drivers fight it out more and drivers need to have more balls. F1 is much more safer now, but that is what's killing the sport. Motorsports are meant to have a certain degree of risk. I just hope they realize that soon!!
In the words of Will Ferrell " if your not first, your last". The safety changes stemming from Senna and Ratzenberger passing have no doubt saved many drivers since. RIP
Some of the things Senna saids maybe conterversal but he saids and does things in a way that makes him stand out....... not to mention a driver that will be talked about for years.... i dont think u can talk about F-1 without bringing him up at some point
I can only believe there's a bunch of kids saying that Senna wasn't good. His memory deserves lot better than that. Have ti say that when i was a kid the feeling of see Senna up on the grid, the red lights turn to green and then the start my heart was punping at least 200hbfs. That only comes with passion and Senna made me have passion for his racing style, his character and Formula1 as no one else. Thank you Senninha!
Ayrton was the most agressive driver ever(maybe Gilles is equal to him)that explains why he had much more pole positions than race wins(and because of the Lotus he drove being a beast in quali and dropping in the race)but he put himself into trouble a lot of times in the start of the races,he would have to adjust his driving style today to win championships against more consistent drivers
He was an extremely talented and fast driver, but Senna had the tendency to go for "gaps" that only existed in his mind and not on the track! He had a "take no prisoners" attitude on track, other drivers feared that yellow helmet in their rear view mirrors, not just because he was so fast, but because he was so ruthless. His "I race to win" philosophy was lacking the common sense approach of "to finish first, you have to finish first". Great driver but his ego was ever greater!
I agree. besides, Heinz Prüller wrote in his "Grand Prix Story 1994" book that Ayrton in fact was on brakes when he hit the wall, he obviously even downshifted twice. The Williams was found to be in 4th gear, Tamburello is a 6th gear corner. Ayrton was fully aware of the situation and did what he could.
Ayrton was the greatest...it took me a good few yrs to actually believe he was gone. I had a poster of him inside of my room as a kid in Brazil...grew up watching him racing on sunday mornings..
I agree. This interview pretty much antedates why Ayrton had to die so early: Ayrton never accepted that 99% is sometimes better than 100%. Probably the greatest steering-wheel-and-foot-pedal-artist of all times, he failed to appraise the risks of his profession correctly.
@martytc Contact could be avoided in 1989 because, as footage proved back in the same year, Prost's trajectory was going to finish on the grass... then that's a "champion".
If you really want to talk about a great driver who was very well know for moving people if u didn't get out his way look no further than the Intimidator Earnhardt.
At a certain point, drivers like prost or mansell had enough of ayrtons behaviour to push them of the track and to win by any costs. So payback time in Suzuka 89 and australia 92.
Ayrton all the way Friends, he was a kind hearted man, and as fast as ****, yes he did let his temperament get in the way sometimes, but having to fight himself aswell as everyone else just made him even better :D
Na, Jimmy Clark was better, winning a race by nearly 5mins, out qualifying the 2nd placed car at German GP by 9secs, his exploits at the Italian GP in 67, winning Indy 500, touring cars, Sports cars, Le Mans, need I go on, plus he never sacrificed his integrity to win, or would put his competitors lives in danger. Those two latter traits are not what makes someone a great racing driver.
neither did senna, when did he sacrificed his integrity? also, every1 know that senna doesnt put his competitors in danger, he let his competitors to make that decision, its a gap he goes for it, the competitor want to close that gap, its the competitor decision to put them both in danger. this means that senna put himself in danger, letting the one he is gaining choose, thats great fighting spirit and professionalism. but then again, the yellow line in train stations are for people like you. cause you need a sense of safety for everything instead of using a bit of brain, and i guess you actually read the papers for results instead of watching the full races
+Elle Senna eventually admitted publicly that he deliberately took Prost off at Suzuka in 1990. That's where his questionable driving ethics surface and that I feel along with many others leads me to question his integrity in the realms of sporting conduct, regardless what Balestre done to him. That's why compared to the likes of Clark, this type of behaviour was unthinkable in the 1960's as there was an unwritten gentlemanly conduct within F1 at this time plus the fact they would have been killed outright.
they both have different era. In Stewart's era, contact with other driver means fatality. But in Senna's, the safety has been improved significantly. And the other contributing factor was driver personality. Stewart has known for his careful driving, and Senna for his aggresivity, as did Hamilton today. It was up to the driver, to choose which way to do the race, being aggresive or being careful.
I liked his style of driving, the way he pushed it so hard. You can hear it in the corners the way he "stabs" at the throttle to find the limit of the car.
You can't argue with either of these guys. Neither are right or wrong, Stewart and Senna are legends in their own right, and have got to that status via two different approaches, but that does not make one's achievement greater or lesser than the other.
amazing interview. not your typical answer to JS's question. it clearly show's AS's blade-sharp focus on winning. after AS's death, and may God rest his good soul, F1 also died for me. It has never ever came remotely close to what it once was. And AS was the key in making F1. Aaaaahhhhh, the good old days, as a school-boy, watching F1 at the w.e. in front of the TV with my father ... sniff, sniff ... :-(
I enjoyed the way Senna's face sours as Stewart is asks his insulting question. You could almost see the wheels in Senna's mind start turning; thinking of the answer before the question was finished. Formula 1 died in 1994 when Senna hit that wall at Imola. A pure racer. One desire: to win. There has never been and there will never be anyone like him again.
Anyone who clicked on this knows Senna was the best ever. He only wanted to win. Not like the other 99% of race car drivers that just want to look good and get rich. He is pure.
Whoever posted this; thank you. Analyse this clip. Unerstand the nature of the question that is being asked. See how the question is formulated in a very elaborate, nuances and loaded manner. Loaded with critisism aimed at character.
I agree with you greatly on both accounts. Those drivers mentioned were all dominant and I have watched them all on DVD and such, but Senna drove during arguably one of the most competitive times of F1, that is what I meant. And, about the interview, we must remember English is not his first language, so things that may sound harsh may not be meant to be that way. Many of the great drivers were out there to win at all costs, that is part of what makes them great and Senna is no exception.
Ayrton legend! Ayrton best of the best ever! As he had all the skills involved, and soul, heart and courage, not always had the best car, but always was the best pilot! I do not see anyone that comes near him. Many miss the genius!
If you want a lesson in how to drive The Ring remember Jackie Stewart won the German GP in A DOWNPOUR by 4 and a half MINUTES ! in the late Sixties from Graham Hill.Jackie raced against and personally knew 57 drivers who were killed racing.He is A LEGEND!!
I can't see many standing up to jackie stewart like senna did then, you could see his face and the disappointment of seeing a question from someone so iconic, suns up senna as a racer
It is very obvious to anyone who was actually watching F1 at the time that Jackie Stewart was biased against Senna and favored Prost. It is funny how Stewart poses this question to Senna, but never asked such a question to Prost who intentionally crashed into Senna at Suzuka in 1989. In any case Senna's answer is awesome, he remains totally calm and puts Stewart in his place telling him if you do not go for a gap you are not a racer. Give me a guy like Senna over Stewart (or Prost) anytime.
I think one of the reasons people blame Stewart, is that there is no longer any significant punishment when a driver intentionally makes a dangerous move. Drivers today are required to allow others to pass; it's ridiculous. When there was more of a risk of death, or physical confrontation with the other driver for doing something really stupid, they respected each other's 'space' more. Sure, Senna too a lot of chances, but they DID take a championship away from him when he really screwed up.
i love it when he smiles right after stewart says "totaled up". he knew what was coming right after that. but he thought on his feet and handled it well.
