The reality of working with ‘very intense’ F1 icon Ayrton Senna: ‘Ran out of helicopter and put it on pole’

During a hectic 1993 Formula 1 season, McLaren would often stand in the pitlane looking at the sky.

But not for the weather. Instead, they were looking for Ayrton Senna in a helicopter.

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During that specific campaign, McLaren became a disjointed outfit with their legendary driver locked in a brutal financial and political negotiation with team boss Ron Dennis.

While rivals Williams were dominating, Senna was demanding a staggering $1million (£745,000) per race due to his frustration that his team had switched to Ford engines.

The million-dollar contract

He agreed on an initial five-race agreement ahead of the campaign, which the Brazilian eventually extended race by race.

However, the arrangement caused chaos for the mechanics, as they never knew if their three-time championship winning driver would show up to the circuit.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT on behalf of OLBG, Hopkins recalled: ” I think all of us in the garage in 1993, we never knew whether he was actually going to turn up or not.

“There were a couple of Grands Prix that the helicopter landed moments before the car was due to go out.

“He ran out of the helicopter, put his race suit on, jumped in the car and put it on pole position. And that probably was a bit of a distraction for everybody during that year.”

He added: “Look, he wanted to win and he understood that without the team behind him, that wasn’t going to be possible. But he did that in a genuine way.

“It wasn’t like he manipulated the team to his benefit. Absolutely not. The team understood everything that he understood and everything he wanted.

“You’ve got to remember that when Ayrton was driving, it was a very different time, very different in comparison to drivers and teams today, where there’s a lot of technology that’s there to support and aid the decision making when it comes to optimizing car setup.

“Back then, that technology didn’t really exist. And if it did, it was very much in its infancy. So Ed was probably as much of an engineer as his race engineer was.

“So, he had that absolute natural talent, that no fear attitude. But his technical ability was far superior to any other driver as well.

“His understanding of the car and what the car was doing was just incredible.”

The ultimate farewell

While McLaren spent the entirety of 1993 struggling to bridge the gap to Alain Prost’s technically superior Williams car, the season finale in Adelaide provided a fairytale ending for one of the sport’s greatest partnerships.

When Senna crossed the line to take the chequered flag at the Australian Grand Prix, it wasn’t just his final victory with the Woking team, it was a seismic moment in the sport’s history.

Hopkins said: “It was McLaren’s 104th Grand Prix victory, which actually made them the most successful team. They overtook Ferrari at that Grand Prix too.

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“It was an amazing season, an amazing talent, an amazing car, and an amazing team that year. It was a fantastic year. We just struggled to beat Williams.”

It remains one of the romantic chapters in motorsport, with both parties pushing each other to uncharted heights.

It was also a beautiful story for Hopkins to work alongside one of the greatest to ever race in Formula 1, referencing him as his ‘hero’.

He recalled: “Senna certainly was an exceptional person, an exceptional driver. And I had the privilege of working at McLaren with him in 1992 and 1993, which was fantastic.

“I was a young guy and went from having Ayrton Senna posters on my bedroom wall to working with the guy, which was incredible.

“And everything you read about him and heard about him was actually absolutely true. A very motivated, very intense human being who just happened to be a racing driver.

“And he put that focus and ability with his natural driving talent and became successful with it.

“You have these people and I don’t know if you’ve come across it but sometimes when somebody walks into a room, you just know that their presence has arrived. And Ayrton certainly had that.