Among the races that have indelibly marked the history of Formula 1 there is certainly the European GP 1993. That day on the water-soaked canvas of Donington Park Ayrton Senna he painted his masterpiece, dominating the race and embarrassingly annihilating the two Williams-Renault of Damon Hill and Alain Prost with a McLaren-Ford certainly not comparable in terms of speed to the two Anglo-French arrows. Of that 11 April 1993 the comeback from fifth to first, under the deluge, made in the space of less than a lap and the abysmal gap trimmed to the eternal rival Prost, who reached the finish line third but doubled, remain etched in the memory.
Another curious anecdote from that special afternoon, however, is less known to the general public and takes us directly to an F1 that no longer exists. In fact, that day Senna also established the record lap of the race, which of course also remains the fastest lap ever made in a race by an F1 at Donington, given that the Circus made a stop on the splendid English track only in that season. The real peculiarity, however, lies in the way in which the Brazilian champion set the circuit record. In fact, during the 57th lap, thanks to the infinite climatic changes of that afternoon, Senna returned to the pits to replace the tires, convinced that he was ‘called’ by the team.
In reality, however, there had been a communication error and none of the McLaren mechanics were waiting for the three-time world champion in the lay-by. Impatient, the Paulista veteran pulled straight ahead, showing his disappointment at the misunderstanding with a wave of his hand. In those years, however, in Formula 1 there was no speed limit for the pit lane. The pilots, compatibly with the narrow dimensions of the pit lane, could press the accelerator at will to minimize the waste of time. The conformation of the English track, however, was particular and the entrance to the pit lane was positioned before the last corner. Entering the pits, therefore, a piece of the track was ‘cut’.
Not having stopped to carry out the parking operations, Senna crossed the finish line and set a record time trial, faster by more than one second and three tenths of the second fastest time in the race, set two laps earlier by Hill. Not having violated any point of the regulation, Senna’s strange record lap was regularly homologated by the FIA and is still credited today as the record lap of that GP.
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