«How am I going to beat this guy?»: Senna in the memories of his friend Berger
Senna has an indissoluble bond with the Motor Valley. Here, the memory of the driver moves back and forth in time, between the extremes of joy and sadness. So much ink has been spilled to tell his deeds, his achievements, his death, his last day. Today, however, we want to celebrate the anniversary of his birth from the point of view that seems most appropriate to us: that of friendship.
«S**t, how am I going to beat this guy?»
A question that haunted the nights of McLaren teammate Gerhard Berger, until friendship and the awareness of being alongside an exceptional talent dulled this obsession.
Strong in qualifying, consistent in every lap, fast in any condition. And with a sensitivity to his car that was extraordinary, almost as if it were an extension of his own body. Ayrton Senna was able to immediately understand the factors that needed adjustment to make his car faster. Many drivers don’t have this talent, Berger claims in The Life of Senna by Tom Rubython.
The Austrian driver portrays him as an extremely ambitious and hardworking man. Perhaps to such a degree that it made him unapproachable to many. Not for him though, as he claims to have learned a lot about the sport from Senna, but also managed to achieve the feat of teaching him something: how to laugh.
To laugh, in particular, during what he called the «James Bond years» due to the success and wealth that suddenly entered their lives, which he thought could only be seen in 007 movies. It was the late ’80s, and Senna and Berger would often spend time together, even during vacations, bouncing between Senna’s beach house in Angra, Brazil, and Berger’s boat, traveling between Sardinia and Ibiza. Only, even in James Bond movies, there is always a dramatic moment, and unfortunately, the part of the tragic hero was assigned to Ayrton, his friend bitterly notes. They had a lot in common, and their affinity had been evident from the very beginning when the two first met in Formula Three in 1983.
In this chaotic whirlwind of memories, the last one in Berger’s mind is of Senna turning toward him with his smile as the names of the drivers were announced by the speaker at the San Marino Grand Prix, followed by the roars of the fans. «It was the smile of a friend who was happy to see the support and love of the people for me.»
