On This Day: Senna beats Mansell by a hundredth of a second
On This Day: Senna beats Mansell by a hundredth of a second
Ayrton Senna took one of the narrowest Formula 1 victories of all time on this day 32 years ago. Driving for Lotus, Senna just held off the Williams of Nigel Mansell after a thrilling last-lap duel to take victory at the Spanish Grand Prix by 0.014 seconds.
The first Spanish Grand Prix since 1981 took place at Jerez, with Senna starting on pole with Mansell's team-mate Nelson Piquet for company on the front row.
Mansell started third, with the McLaren pair of world champion Alain Prost and Keke Rosberg behind him.
Mansell had dropped to fifth with concerns over fuel consumption, but a sudden change in approach saw the Briton jump up to second in quick time, before closing to the back to Senna - an echo of their battle in the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix.
Mansell made the move stick on lap 40, utilising a tow from the Tyrell of Martin Brundle to sweep past.
However, having stayed out for a mammoth stint, a slow puncture allowed Senna and Prost to move back past him, prompting Mansell to come for a service.
Now with fresher tyres, Mansell began eating into the advantage of the leading pair and though Prost was no match, Senna just managed to make his car wide enough to hold Mansell up at the last corner before a frantic dash to the line saw the cars pass the chequered flag side by side, with Senna fractionally ahead.
Remarkably, the finish line had been moved back 80 yards over the weekend due to safety concerns. Had it remained in its original place, Mansell would have surely won.
The 0.014-second margin of victory is the third-narrowest in F1 history, behind only Rubens Barrichello's 0.011-second United States Grand Prix win over a slowing Michael Schumacher in 2002 and a victory by 0.01 seconds for Peter Gethin at the 1971 Italian Grand Prix.
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