Ayrton Senna's 'religious fever' nearly led former F1 driver to CLIMB out of airplane window

Ayrton Senna

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Senna's 'religious fever' led ex-F1 driver to almost CLIMB out of airplane window

Ayrton Senna's obsession for detail nearly pushed one Formula 1 driver over the edge, quite literally

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Thursday 15 June 2023 16:57

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Former Formula 1 driver David Kennedy has opened up on the "religious fever" that Ayrton Senna had for the sport, after he reminisced over a hilarious encounter with the Brazilian that nearly forced him to crawl out onto the wing of a plane.

Regardless of who you believe to be the greatest driver of all time, Senna's name will always be mentioned.

The F1 legend produced moments behind the wheel that few could dream of, let alone achieve in reality.

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Yet for Kennedy, it was Senna's eye for detail away from the sport that fascinated him – after he shared a glimpse into his meticulous nature outside of F1 during a flight that the two of them shared many years ago.

'I would have climbed out onto the wing!'

He told the Off The Ball podcast: “I remember in one particular trip we were flying out to Japan and I’d be in business class and he’d be in first class.

“So Ayrton came down and we were chatting away and I mentioned to him about a race that he lost – very, very ordinary race in Formula Ford 2000 in Brands Hatch – where a British driver called Calvin Fish had beat him.

“And I brought this up in conversation, this was early in the 12-hour flight. You cannot believe this, but for 12 hours he told me why he lost that race.

“From the tyre pressures, to the valves, the springs and he went on and on. I left the seat to go to the bathroom and thought, ‘I hope he’s gone when I get back,’ and I came back and he was still there!

“If I could have opened up that window at 32,000 feet at 600mph I would have climbed out onto the wing! He was bordering on – I’m not going to say maniacal – but a religious fever and he wouldn’t let go.

“And I said, ‘Oh, it’s just a bad day,' oh god it wasn’t just a bad day – it was the end of his world! And he continued telling me about the nuances, it was quite striking and this was the intensity he had about what he did.”