VIDEO: Senna's 'lap of the gods' at Donington

Change your timezone:
VIDEO: Senna's 'lap of the gods' at Donington
As Formula 1 pays tribute to Ayrton Senna 25 years on from his tragic passing at the San Marino Grand Prix, the time is right to look back at some the great man's finest moments in F1. This opening lap in the wet at the 1993 European Grand Prix at Donington goes down as one the greatest single tours of a circuit in the sport's long and storied history.
The general theme of the 1993 season had been followed through the weekend, with the dominant Williams cars of Alain Prost and Damon Hill qualifying on the front row.
As Prost and Hill made decent getaways, Sauber's Karl Wendlinger was sharpest off the line from fifth, jumping Senna and Michael Schumacher into third, with Schumacher then crowding out the lead McLaren into the first corner.
Schumacher, who would go on to develop his own stern reputation in the wet during his record-breaking career, was no match for Senna on this occasion as the Brazilian made his way through at turn three.
Wendlinger was similarly helpless at the Craner Curves, with Senna completely unperturbed by having to take to the wettest parts of the track to make his moves stick.
Hill was next in Senna's crosshairs, McLean's Corner the site of another breeze through for the great man.
That left only Prost, Senna's great rival and former in-house foe at McLaren.
The turbocharged Williams ought to have been unrivalled by the McLaren, but Prost's comparative rookie-like appearance in damp conditions gave Senna the advantage.
Again pulling onto more treacherous ground, Senna squirmed alongside The Professor on the approach to the Melbourne Hairpin, taking an inside line which would hand him the race lead.
The one-lap performance was matched over the following 75 tours, with Senna taking victory in wet-dry conditions from second-placed Hill and Pros completing the podium.
Senna also set the fastest lap of the race, it was the final time he would do so in a grand prix.
Related
More F1 news
Recommended by the editors
F1 Standings
F1 Standings 2026: Latest points leaders after Spanish Grand Prix drama at Madring
Spanish Grand Prix
F1 Results Today: 2026 Spanish Grand Prix positions and times at the Madring
Spanish Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton F1 title dream OVER with Spanish Grand Prix retirement at Madring
Spanish Grand Prix
Amended F1 2026 Spanish Grand Prix starting grid with all late penalties applied by the FIA

Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 Standings 2026: Latest points leaders after Spanish Grand Prix drama at Madring
- 17 minutes ago
F1 Results Today: 2026 Spanish Grand Prix positions and times at the Madring
- 31 minutes ago
Lewis Hamilton F1 title dream OVER with Spanish Grand Prix retirement at Madring
- 1 hour ago
Lewis Hamilton blasted by Sky F1 expert at Spanish Grand Prix - 'You just don't do that'
- 2 hours ago
Amended F1 2026 Spanish Grand Prix starting grid with all late penalties applied by the FIA
- 2 hours ago
McLaren F1 boss makes astonishing admission over incredible Lando Norris pole lap
- Today 12:30
Most read
F1 star returns after four-year ban lifted
- 29 august
FIA announce 30-place grid penalty for Kimi Antonelli at Italian Grand Prix
- 4 september
F1 Qualifying Results: Pierre Gasly takes staggering pole position at Italian Grand Prix
- 5 september
F1 Qualifying Results: 2026 Spanish Grand Prix positions and times at Madring
- Yesterday 17:07
F1 News Today: Lewis Hamilton rival hit with penalty as Toto Wolff blames Max Verstappen
- 6 september
Ferrari have blown it again, only Christian Horner can fix this mess and the Lewis Hamilton problem
- 7 september
Related news
Former F1 stars join Novak Djokovic in Le Mans team takeover
Sebastian Vettel Ferrari throwback highlights Lewis Hamilton failing
Lewis Hamilton spiralling towards worst F1 nightmare at Ferrari
Unreleased George Harrison song pokes fun at F1 legend reveals David Coulthard
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Lewis Hamilton
- Charles Leclerc
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Franco Colapinto
- Pierre Gasly
- Isack Hadjar
- Liam Lawson
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Carlos Sainz
- Kimi Antonelli
- George Russell
- Oliver Bearman
- Esteban Ocon
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Arvid Lindblad
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Valtteri Bottas
- Sergio Pérez
Races
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2026
-
Grand Prix of China 2026
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2026
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2026
-
Miami Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix du Canada 2026
-
Grand Prix De Monaco 2026
-
Gran Premio de Barcelona-Catalunya 2026
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2026
-
Grand Prix of Great Britain 2026
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2026
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2026
-
Dutch Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2026
-
Gran Premio de España 2026
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Bahrain 2026
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2026
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2026
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2026
-
Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2026
-
Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2026
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Editorial & corporate information
Avenue HQ
10–12 East Parade
Leeds
LS1 2BH
United Kingdom Regional correspondence
View contact page
Realtimes Network
- Authors
- Privacy and Terms
- RSS
- Contact
- Advertise
- Android
- iOS
- Publishing principles
- Corrections policy
- Ownership & funding
- F1 Tickets
- Privacy
Copyright (©) 2017 - 2026 GPFans.com
Realtimes Network












