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Back in 2021, a heated conversation between Ayrton Senna and Eddie Irvine surfaced, which ended in a physical altercation between the two. This incident happened in 1993, which was Senna's last year in McLaren. It was all related to how rookie driver Eddie Irvine unlapped himself several times at the Japanese GP, which hampered Ayrton Senna's lead gap in the race.
The recording was revealed on the F1 On The Edge podcast in June 2021, which got many fans talking about the incident.
At the start of the 1993 F1 Japanese GP, Jordan driver Eddie Irvine started the race in eighth but quickly went up to fifth place after passing several drivers in lap one. Senna was second at the start and was chasing polesitter Alain Prost. After a while, the leaders of the race were so far ahead that they started lapping cars in fifth and fourth positions, where Irvine was running.
While Eddie Irvine was racing with Damon Hill, race leader Ayrton Senna lapped the Jordan driver. However, Irvine did not feel the McLaren driver was fast enough. Hence, he unlapped himself after a few corners. Following that, Senna once again lapped Irvine and started to pull away. At the end of the race, Irvine unlapped himself by passing the three-time world champion yet again.
This made Senna extremely angry since he lost the nearly 15-second lead he had on Alain Prost. After the race, the Brazilian driver went to Eddie Irvine's room in the paddock, where they had a heated discussion. After a few words, Senna's patience broke, and he started hitting Irvine.
As quoted by motorsportmagazine.com, the drivers said:
“I was racing. If you were going fast enough, there’s no problem.”
“You were racing?” replied Senna. “You took a very big risk to put me out of the race, is that what you want?”
Daniel Ricciardo on how Ayrton Senna was one of the most feared F1 drivers of his time
Daniel Ricciardo talked about the legendary F1 driver, Ayrton Senna, and how he was feared by many competitors. He initially shared a fond memory of watching Senna race around Adelaide in 1993 and admiring him as a hero.
"I would have the [to] say, Ayrton Senna," Ricciardo said. "He was really the first racing hero that I had. I was only young, I was five years old when he passed, but I do remember watching him race on TV and actually going to Adelaide in 93' for a race which he won."
On the other hand, Daniel Ricciardo also mentioned the Brazilian's on-track ruthlessness and how he was feared in the paddock, something that the Australian loves.
"I feel like the way he touched his nation, Brazil, and the lot of good things he did for the country, but also on the flip side, he was aggressive and ruthless on track. He was the guy that everyone feared and I love that," he added.
Ayrton Senna was one of the most celebrated and respected F1 drivers of all time. Despite winning only three World Championships, he is considered the best by many.
