It was on the Hockenheim circuit that Ayrton Senna had his first big scare involving Formula 1.
Knowing that it would be quite difficult for his Toleman to keep up with the competitive Ferrari, Renault e McLaren cars, he decided to gamble on changing the aerodynamics for the speedy German circuit.
In the qualifying sessions, the strategy worked. Ayrton Senna left set the rear end at zero to gain speed on long straight stretches, and started in 9th place, in front of important drivers like René Arnoux (Ferrari) Jacques Laffite (Ligier) and Nigel Mansell (Lotus).
Excited, he left for the race. Or was it for an adventure?
The set up did not work out during the actual race. On the fourth lap, the rear airfoil came apart and his Toleman left the ground.
“It was an experience that I would not like to repeat.”
After the shock, Ayrton Senna said: “I saw myself inside of a tunnel with no gravity, flying. Even after stopping, I didn’t know where I was. I had lost all sense of direction”.
German gp
1º
A. Prost
2º
E. de Angelis
3º
D. Warwick
4º
P. Tambay
5º
N. Piquet
6º
M. Alboreto
7º
N. Lauda
8º
T. Fabi
9º
Ayrton Senna
10º
R. Arnoux
11º
A. de Cesaris
12º
J. Laffite
13º
M. Winkelhock
14º
M. Surer
15º
T. Boutsen
16º
N. Mansell
17º
F. Hesnault
18º
E. Cheever
19º
K. Rosberg
20º
R. Patrese
21º
P. Ghinzani
22º
P. Alliot
23º
J. Gartner
24º
H. Rothengatter
25º
J. Palmer
26º
S. Johansson
44
laps
26
cars
16
Retirements
1’53”538
fastest lap
1º
Cloudy weather
podium
1º
A. Prost
2º
N. Lauda
3º
D. Warwick
–
final position (retired on lap 4)
10º
position in championship following the race
9º
starting place
0
championship points accumulated
1’55”712
best lap