Prost candid about relationship with Senna: 'I felt he was not well'

F1 News

Prost saw Senna lose motivation
21 January 2023 at 19:07
Last update 21 January 2023 at 21:30
  • GPblog.com

Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost had a bitter rivalry in Formula 1, but when Prost hung up his helmet at the end of 1993, the two made up. Prost believes his rival suffered from a lack of motivation after his departure.

The tension between Senna and Prost reached boiling point on several occasions. One of the later moments when this happened was when Prost went to Williams in 1993, which, with all its technical innovations at the time, was unbeatable. The Frenchman had it written into his contract that he would not get Senna as a teammate, to which the Brazilian called him a 'coward' during a press conference.

The rivals stood on the podium together for the last time after the 1993 Australian Grand Prix, which marked Prost's farewell. Senna would take over his seat at Williams in 1994, but that decision would end in one of the greatest tragedies in motorsport history. Just months later, Senna was killed after crashing from a leading position at the San Marino Grand Prix.

Prost looks back on rivalry with Senna

During that fateful weekend in Imola, Senna delivered another special radio message to his old rival, expressing how much he missed him. In an interview with L'Equipe Prost says they were in close contact in the aftermath of his retirement. "I felt he was not well. He called me often. Sometimes twice a week," the 67-year-old Frenchman says.

He continues: "He never phoned me while I was still racing. He had, without me, lost his bearings. I was probably his source of motivation. It’s hard to understand." Almost 30 years later, Prost looks back on his time with Senna with a bittersweet feeling and on what might have grown from a bitter rivalry into a friendship. "We both lived an incredibly human and psychological story. You have to stay with the beautiful memories," concludes the four-time world champion.