Alain Prost “Ayrton Senna struggled with motivation in F1″[F1-Gate.com]

Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost had a bitter rivalry in Formula 1, but the two men reconciled when Prost took off his helmet at the end of 1993. Prost believes his rivals suffered from a lack of motivation after he left F1.

Tensions between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost have reached a boiling point on several occasions. One of those later moments was when Prost moved to Williams F1 in 1993.

At that time, Williams F1, which was doing its utmost in technological innovation, was invincible. Alain Prost stipulated in his contract that he would not have Senna as a teammate, which Ayrton Senna called a “coward” at a press conference.

Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna stood on the podium together for the last time at the 1993 F1 Australian Grand Prix. In 1994, Senna took over the Williams F1 seat, a decision that would end in a tragedy in motorsport history. A few months later, Senna, who was leading the San Marino Grand Prix, crashed and died.

On that fateful weekend in Imola, Ayrton Senna once again delivered a special radio message to his former rival, expressing how much he misses him.

In an interview with L’Equipe, Alain Prost said he had been in touch with Ayrton Senna since shortly after he retired.

“I knew he wasn’t well. He called me often, sometimes twice a week,” said 67-year-old Alain Prost.

“While I was still racing, he never called me. Without me, he lost his direction. I was his source of motivation. I think it’s hard to understand.”

Nearly three decades later, Alain Prost looks back bittersweetly on his days with Ayrton Senna, saying what might have been a bitter rivalry that turned into friendship.

“The two of us have lived an incredibly human and psychological story that must be preserved in beautiful memories,” concluded Alain Prost.

Category: F1 / Ayrton Senna