The greatest lap in F1 history
On April 11, 1993, at Donington Park, Ayrton Senna delivered a first lap that has since become the stuff of legend.
As the five red lights went out, the field launched into a mist of spray.
Senna searched for an opening but was squeezed by Michael Schumacher, allowing Karl Wendlinger to claim fourth.
But before a quarter of the lap had passed, Senna struck back, sweeping past Schumacher, then Wendlinger through the Craner Curves. He closed rapidly on Damon Hill and surged by at the fast right-hander of Coppice.
Only his greatest rival remained.
Senna hunted down Alain Prost and seized the lead at the Melbourne Hairpin, completing the opening lap in front, to the astonishment of all who watched.
What followed was chaos. Rain came and went, forcing constant tire gambles. Schumacher spun while briefly leading; Senna stopped four times, Prost a remarkable seven, as drivers searched desperately for grip on the treacherous surface.
Yet in the shifting conditions, Senna was untouchable. By the finish, he had lapped all but one car and crossed the line over a minute clear of Hill.
At the post-race press conference, when asked how he had produced such a drive, Senna replied with characteristic candor: “It was easy… thanks to traction control.”
That opening lap is still widely regarded as the greatest in Formula One history.
A little over a year later, Ayrton Senna was gone.
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