A Fond farewell

Many drivers aren’t seen for dust following the final race of the season, particularly when they’re about to switch teams. But Senna wasn’t like thatThe day after finishing third at Estoril, he stayed on to help Toleman conduct preliminary tests for potential replacement drivers.

“Ayrton arrived the next morning with a very mild hangover, and we had a chat in the truck:’ recalls Hart. “He said,’I want to ask you, am I doing the right thing going to Lotus?’ I told him,’Yes, you have to go with Renault and Lotus for your career. They understand it more than we do and they have backing and finance: Then he went out and ambled this car round two-tenths quicker than he had in qualifying, waving to me as he rounded the hairpin! “A few weeks later, he called and asked me to come over to Witney where Rory and I sat with him in the drawing office and he told us how difficult it was for him to leave, but he knew that the technical potential at Lotus was more than Rory and I could offer him:’