From Cleveland in 1993. Look at this epic battle between Nigel and Emerson Fittipaldi. Watching racing like this on TV was how I really fell in love with racing. Two F1 champions with decades of experience battling wheel to wheel lap after lap. No contact, no BS. Just perfect racecraft.
Since commenter Pilote has now stirred my boyhood memories of Elkhart Lake 1993, I have to share Nigel's blisteringly fast qualifying performance at that race--at a track he'd never seen before. What a man, and what a season he had!
The Eddie Irvine video down below reminded me that at Suzuka in 1993, The Ligier of Martin Brundle had one of the prettiest sponsor liveries in F1 history. The abstracted "Gitanes" cigarette paint scheme took over the whole car and the effect was utterly beautiful while partially obscuring the brand name in keeping with the ever-tightening tobacco sponsorship laws of the early 90s. For sheer purity of form and design, you can't really beat the F1 cars from 1990-94. That was when Ferraris were still almost completely crimson red, McLarens looked like a Marlboro packet, and who can forget the first year of Rothmans sponsorship on the Williams-Renault?
As most longtime F1 fans will recall, Eddie Irvine's F1 debut at Suzuka in 1993 saw him put in a sensational drive for Jordan. Despite his youth, Irvine's experience at the Japanese track was evident, due to his stint in Japanese F3. What made this race famous, however, was what happened later after this magnificent battle:
Ayrton Senna was the race leader, but due to poor conditions and tire choice, he was unable to cleanly lap both Irvine and Hill, who were battling tooth and nail for position. Senna was therefore held up behind this battle which he had no stake in, as Prost gradually reeled him in. Ultimately Senna won the race, but he felt the need to lecture Irvine about his rash behavior. The Brazilian champion famously punched the Irishman in the face after a tense exchange of words. I never knew it until now, but the dialogue leading up to the punch was in fact caught on tape by a reporter who was present in the room! Enjoy this transcript!
Senna : What the **** do you think you were doing?
Irvine : I was racing!
Senna : You were racing? Do you know the rule that you’re supposed to let the leaders come by when you’re a back marker?
Irvine : If you were going fast enough, it was no problem.
Senna : I overtook you! And you went three times off the road in front of me, at the same place, like ****ing idiot, where there was oil. And you were throwing stones and all things in front of me for three laps. When I took you, you realised I was ahead of you. And when I came up behind Hill, because he was on slicks and in difficulties, you should have stayed behind me. You took a very big risk to put me out of the race.
Irvine : Where did I put you in any danger?
Senna : You didn’t put me in any danger?
Irvine : Did I touch you? Did I touch you once?
Senna : No, but you were that much from touching me, and I happened to be the ****ing leader. I HAPPENED TO BE THE ****ING LEADER!
Irvine : A miss is as good as a mile.
Senna : I tell you something. If you don’t behave properly in the next event, you can just rethink what you do. I can guarantee you that.
Irvine : The stewards said “No problem. Nothing was wrong.”
Senna : Yeah? You wait till Australia. You wait till Australia, when the stewards will talk to you. Then you tell me if they tell you this.
Irvine : Hey, I’m out there to do the best for me.
Senna : This is not correct. You want to do well. I understand, because I’ve been there I understand. But it’s very unprofessional. If you are a back marker, because you happen to be lapped …
Irvine : But I would have followed you if you’d overtaken Hill!
Senna : You should let the leader go by …
Irvine : I understand that fully!
Senna : … and not come by and do the things you did. You nearly hit Hill in front of me three times, because I saw, and I could of collected you and him as a result, and that’s not the way to do that.
Irvine : But I’m racing! I’m racing! You just happened to …
Senna : You’re not racing! You’re driving like a ****ing idiot. You’re not a racing driver, you’re a ****ing idiot!
Irvine: You talk, you talk. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Senna : I was in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Irvine : Yes. I was battling with Hill.
Senna : Really? Really? Just tell me one thing. Who is supposed to have the call? You, or the leader of the race who comes through to lap you?
Irvine : The leader of the race.
Senna : So what have you done?
Irvine : You, you were too slow, and I had to overtake you to try to get at Hill.
Senna : Really? How did I lap you if I was too slow?
Irvine : Rain. Because on slicks you were quicker than me, on wets you weren’t.
Senna : Really? Really? How did I come and overtake you on wets?
Irvine : Huh?
Senna : How come I overtook you on wets?
Irvine : I can’t remember that. I don’t actually remember the race.
Senna : Exactly. Because you are not competent enough to remember. That’s how it goes you know.
Irvine : Fair enough. Fair enough. That’s what you think.
Senna : You be careful guy.
Irvine : I will. I’ll watch out for you.
Senna : You’re gonna have problems not with me only, but with lots of other guys, also the FIA.
Irvine : Yeah?
Senna : You bet.
Irvine : Yeah? Good.
Senna : Yeah? It’s good to know that.
Irvine : See you out there.
Senna : It’s good to know that.
Irvine : See you out there …
Appearing to turn away Senna then turns and punches Irvine with his left hand landing on the right side of Irvine’s head. Irvine loses his balance and falls off the table. Senna is still shouting as he is hustled away.
Irvine: Insurance claim there!
Senna (leaving) retorts “You got to learn to respect where you’re going wrong!”
Thursday, November 7, 2013 at 10:56PM ;)