At the Brazilian GP, everyone in the crowd chanted Senna’s name when Lewis Hamilton drove the iconic McLaren MP4/5B powered by Honda’s Naturally aspirated V10 engine. The roaring sound of the V10 engine was heavenly sound to many enthusiasts who still miss the iconic sound of the OG Formula 1 cars.
The car was once driven by legendary Formula 1 driver and Hamilton’s idol Ayrton Senna during the 1990 Formula 1 season. Only three drivers were able to compete with the car one is Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Gerhard Berger. The car has so much of a legacy as it was driven by two great Formula 1 world champions.
Senna's Car origins
The car first debuted in 1989, but it was developed back in the latter half of the 1987 and 1988 seasons. Before the 1989 season, all cars had turbocharged engines and 1989 was the first season where Naturally aspirated engines were made compulsory for all the teams. So, Honda built the car with a 3.5 litre V10 NA engine.
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The iconic McLaren MP4/5B is born
McLaren partnered with Honda to develop this car as the Japanese manufacturer will supply engines while the British company will build its chassis. Ferrari was also a faster car that season but it had reliability issues that Honda didn’t have so McLaren was the car to beat for many teams.
Senna with the Honda engine in his McLaren car was unstoppable as McLaren got 10 victories that season out of which six came from Senna and four from Alain Prost. Though Senna and Prost were public rivals it did only good for the McLaren team as they won their second straight constructors title.
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Senna/Honda vs Prost/Ferrari
In the 1990 season, Prost moved to Ferrari despite winning the championship in 1989 as he thought McLaren was favouring Ayrton Senna over him. He also took the designer Steve Nichols with him. McLaren brought Oatley as the car designer and they redesigned the car's front, and rear wings and new tunnels under the rear floor. Honda also tuned the engine well for Senna’s driving style.
The Legend took every advantage together with McLaren MP4/5B and new teammate Gerhard Berger he took on the fight against Alain Prost and Ferrari. The McLaren team won 6 races all of them by Senna while Prost won 5 races. Senna won the world championship by leading 5 points. The McLaren car was giving Senna outright pace equalling Ferrari’s speed and the legend with his skills turned the car into a race-winning machine.
Manual Gearbox in F1 cars
Senna’s car which Lewis Hamilton drove in Brazil had a manual gearbox, unlike Paddle shifters which are used in Modern F1 cars nowadays. Even Lewis Hamilton was very impressed with the manual gearbox and he wanted to bring back the system into Formula 1 again.
'Heel and toe' technique- Explained
The car needs a special kind of technique to drive. It is called as ‘Heel and Toe technique’ which helps in smooth down shifting and also maintains the balance and control of the car. Senna was an expert in race car driving and he mastered the art even in circuits like Monaco where the track is very narrow and a small mistake could be a disaster. Let us see how the Heel and Toe technique works in Manual gear cars.
- Step 1 Braking: When you approach the corner you should brake using the ball of your right foot.
- Step 2 Clutch: At the same time you should press the clutch pedal with the left foot.
- Step 3 Throttle: Using the outer edge of your right foot heel give rev to the throttle.
- Step 4 Gear shifting: Match your engine revs shift to lower gears and slowly release the clutch.
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