Senna’s greatest title?
The 1991 Formula 1 contest is not as famous as the controversial seasons that preceded it, but you could make a strong case for it being Ayrton Senna’s finest championship success.
The year is often recalled as one that was decided by Senna’s quartet of victories for McLaren at the beginning of the campaign, scored while Williams struggled with unreliability. That start certainly laid the foundations for the Brazilian’s success – after four rounds Senna was 29 points ahead, with eventual main challenger Nigel Mansell 34 behind – but the battle was harder than that suggests, requiring a strong response after Mansell’s three straight wins got him within genuine striking distance.
The threat from Williams-Renault to McLaren-Honda’s domination emerged quickly. As early as round two in Brazil Mansell chased Senna hard, and set fastest lap, before dropping out due to problems with his FW14’s semi-automatic gearbox. Even then, Senna was
