"I will not let him pass," Prost told his engineer. "He will have to kill us both."
"I mean survival," Prost said. "We are in the same car. If we take each other out, the title goes to…" he gestured vaguely, "…Gerhard Berger. Or God forbid, a Williams."
At Silverstone, Prost complained of a "lack of grip" and finished second to Senna. At Hockenheim, Senna's engine blew while leading, and Prost won again. The points gap widened. Prost, the mathematician, knew that even with Senna winning the remaining races, he could clinch the title by finishing second. Senna, the artist, only knew that he had to win everything. 1988 f1 season
By mid-season, McLaren had won every race. The constructors' title was a foregone conclusion. But between the two drivers, a cold war had turned hot. In private, Ron Dennis, the team principal, tried to play peacemaker. "You are driving for McLaren," he said. "Not against each other." But Senna had stopped sharing setup data. Prost had stopped acknowledging him in the briefings.
What happened next is the stuff of myth. Senna drove like a man possessed. Lap after lap, he broke the track record. He unlapped himself. He unlapped himself again. By lap 27, he was in second place, directly behind Prost. "I will not let him pass," Prost told his engineer
After the race, Senna didn't speak to the press. He sat in the garage, still in his firesuit, staring at the wrecked MP4/4. Prost walked by, sipping water. "Unlucky, Ayrton," he said softly. It was not a comfort. It was a reminder.
On lap 28, approaching the same chicane, Senna did not brake. He dove down the inside, a lunge from half a car length back. Prost, seeing the move, did something uncharacteristic: he flinched. He turned in late. Senna slid past, his right front wheel barely missing Prost's left rear. It was the overtake of the decade. If we take each other out, the title
Qualifying was dry. Senna took pole. Prost lined up second. On the formation lap, Prost looked across at the red-and-white car. He knew what Senna would try. A dive. A prayer. A moment of absolute commitment that only he was willing to make.