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It was under heavy rain, with Grand Chelem humiliating the second placed and the rest of the grid

![](https://m.stacker.news/88405)
April 21, 1985. Estoril, Portugal.

EXACTLY 40 YEARS AGO

It was raining as if the world was melting.

And it was in this watery chaos that Ayrton Senna won his first F1 race — impressively, with more than 1 minute ahead of the second-place driver.

Yes, one minute.


Senna started from pole position in the black and gold Lotus 97T (the iconic John Player Special).

In the standings, he was 0.4 seconds ahead of P2, a certain Alain Prost

But it was only the second race of the season… and of his career with Lotus.

No one expected such an absurd dominance.

![](https://m.stacker.news/88406)


And that was exactly it: dominance.

Senna led every lap.

He took pole, won and even set the fastest lap.

A GRAND CHELEM IN HIS FIRST VICTORY

In the wet.

Without traction control.

With a manual gearbox.

And with his right foot heavier than the rain.

![](https://m.stacker.news/88407)


While others made mistakes and spun, he danced with the car in the water.

🟡 A Lotus engineer, Steve Hallam, said:

“Senna got into a rhythm that no one else could match. Asking him to slow down was more dangerous than letting him speed up.”

The legend of the Rain King began

![](https://m.stacker.news/88408)


And look at the podium:

🥇 A. Senna (Lotus)
🥈 M. Alboreto (Ferrari)
🥉 P. Tambay (Renault)

He would go on to win 40 more races,
take a total of 65 pole positions, and win 3 world titles.

But you never forget your first time — especially when it's in the middle of a downpour, with the world watching.

![](https://m.stacker.news/88409)


And there's more: at the beginning of that year, Senna suffered from partial facial paralysis, known as Bell's palsy (visible in interviews).

Even after recovering, the victory in Estoril had an even more special flavor.

It was the first major achievement after overcoming a real personal challenge.

![](https://m.stacker.news/88410)

![](https://m.stacker.news/88411)


🏁 40 years ago, Senna didn't just win his first F1 race.

![](https://m.stacker.news/88412)

Senna's first victory revealed to the world the birth of a genius.

🇦🇺PIA X 🇳🇱SEE

The battle at turn 1 of the Saudi Arabian GP is paying off...

Driver against driver, team boss against boss (with photos and everything) and social media like🔥

So I got the perspective of EVERYONE INVOLVED and brought it to you!

![](https://m.stacker.news/88247)


WHAT HAPPENED?

PIA (P2 on the grid) starts better than VER (pole) and they arrive together at the 1st corner. PIA on the inside.

VER is unable to make the 2nd corner and uses the run-off area

The FIA ​​punishes VER because it believes he used the outside of the track and gained an advantage

![](https://m.stacker.news/88248)


THE FIA'S DECISION⚠️

- The FIA ​​determined that PIA was side by side with VER at the apex of the first corner

- Therefore, PIA had priority for the corner, and VER should have given him space

- This means, according to the FIA's view, that VER could not use the excuse of having been thrown off the track, since he did not have priority for the corner

- The FIA ​​said that this type of infraction usually generates a 10s penalty, but that it overlooked it and gave 5s because it was a situation in turn 1 of lap 1 (when incidents are more common)

![](https://m.stacker.news/88249)



F1 VIEWPOINT🔍

1 - Piastri had a better reaction time than Verstappen — he was 0.14s faster from 0 to 100 km/h and 0.11s faster from 100 to 200 km/h, which allowed him to get ahead at Turn 1.

Verstappen, who was alongside but slightly behind, can be seen releasing the brakes, as can Piastri.

2 - At the apex of Turn 1, Verstappen released the brakes completely and tried to pass Piastri on the outside, but ran out of space on the track, as Piastri was also already on the outside edge of the corner.

Verstappen was 6 km/h faster than Piastri at this corner.

- In a deeper analysis, comparing the Q3 lap on soft tyres with the start of the race on medium tyres, even with sub-optimal tyre temperatures and the car heavier due to fuel, Verstappen was still around 4km/h faster through Turn 1 during the race than on his fast lap in qualifying.

![](https://m.stacker.news/88250)


WHAT DID MAX SAY?

Verstappen said over the radio that he was pushed out by Piastri

"He never intended to take the corner"

![](https://m.stacker.news/88251)


WHAT DID PIASTRI SAY?

More or less the same thing as his rival:

"He would never have been able to make that turn, with or without me there..."

![](https://m.stacker.news/88252)


WHAT DID RED BULL SAY?

Team principal Christian Horner said:

“We have this idea of ​​‘let them race’... but I don’t know where Max is supposed to go in that first corner.”

Horner later showed photos to reporters in an attempt to prove that Max was ahead at the apex. He also intends to take these and other images to the FIA.

![](https://m.stacker.news/88253)

![](https://m.stacker.news/88254)


WHAT DID MCLAREN SAY?

The team’s CEO, Zak Brown, saw Verstappen’s penalty as deserved:

“I definitely thought the penalty was deserved. Oscar had a better start and was clearly on the inside and, you know, you have to use the race track”

X-RAY OF THE GP FIGHT

He took advantage of Max Verstappen's penalty to undercut and secure his third victory of the year. Max, however, gave everything and made the defeat worthless, 2nd place was not enough. Leclerc brilliantly finished in 3rd place, an excellent race and another calendar given to his teammate.

![](https://m.stacker.news/88028)

Oscar Piastri wins the Saudi Arabian GP.

![](https://m.stacker.news/88016)


PUNISHED

5-second penalty for Verstappen for using the outside of the track and taking advantage

Will be paid at the pit stop. Mechanics must wait 5 seconds before working on the car

![](https://m.stacker.news/88017)


ENGINEER WARNS OF PUNISHMENT

Verstappen: "Simply lovely"

![](https://m.stacker.news/88018)

Verstappen and Piastri arrived at turn 1

The fastest strategy according to Pirelli is a one-stop strategy, starting on medium and then switching to hard

According to them, it is even faster to do two stops on medium and hard than to start on soft

In the other image, the number of tires each driver has for the race

![](https://m.stacker.news/88006)

![](https://m.stacker.news/88007)

Ideal Strategy According to Pirelli: Medium + Hard in One Stop

This is the starting grid:

![](https://m.stacker.news/88001)

Everyone doing alright over there? Ready for today’s race?

Clear differences between McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari

Tomorrow (Sunday) Formula 1 will land on Saudi soil for the highly anticipated Saudi Arabian GP, ​​held at the Jeddah street circuit. The race marks the fifth of 24 rounds on the 2025 calendar and promises to be a thrilling one.

Impressive how the McLarens are able to ride the kerbs in Turns 1 and 2, while the Red Bulls don’t even touch them. Ferrari looks solid in those corners too. In the fast section, McLaren is extremely effective as well. The differences are clear!


![](https://m.stacker.news/87923)



Max Verstappen's return to Pole Position at the Saudi Arabian GP 👌

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