Prost–Senna rivalry
Whilst competing together in Formula One, both drivers traded accusations of dishonourable conduct and of receiving preferential treatment from external sources.
He had a "tendency to go flat out all the time,"[8] and was renowned for his "high-revving, curb-clipping, crowd-pleasing school of automobile racing, pitching [his] cars around corners and braking hard on hairpins.
Senna charmed the crowd with risky overtakes and aggressive defense; McLaren's website writes that he "made it evident that he'd rather crash than give way.
"[14] By contrast, Prost disliked taking risks on track, especially as he grew older; he particularly hated driving in the rain, which was one of Senna's greatest strengths.
[22] Off track, Senna's ability to provide detailed technical feedback and willingness to spend long hours in the briefing room with his race engineers helped McLaren and Honda upgrade both drivers' cars.
"[24] With respect to his fellow drivers, this image was largely correct: unlike Prost, Senna distanced himself from most other racers, as he believed they were his competition.
During the 1979, Prost was offered late-season Formula One auditions at McLaren, Brabham, and Ligier, but declined them, hoping for the right opportunity to make a good first impression.
Due to competition for race seats, Senna's first clash with Prost actually came off track, as McLaren needed a second driver to partner Niki Lauda in 1984.
In 1982, Senna had previously declined an offer to become a McLaren junior driver because Ron Dennis asked for a long-term commitment.
[15] After three years in a fast but unreliable Renault, Prost rejoined McLaren right as the British team signed a works deal with Porsche-TAG.
Japanese auto manufacturer Honda began building Formula One engines in the 1983 season and developed into the competition's dominant force.
Interim team principal Patrick Head did not know of the deal and gave Nigel Mansell the same treatment as Piquet until Williams regained consciousness.
They traded wins throughout the season, but Prost established a comfortable lead after Senna suffered a spate of mechanical retirements at Phoenix, Paul Ricard, Silverstone, and Monza.
Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Goto temporarily mollified Prost by giving him the same computer chips Senna was getting; previously, the two drivers had been using different technology.
Despite Honda's suspected support for Senna, Prost enjoyed one of the most consistently dominant seasons of his career and looked set to cruise to the title.
Desperate to pass Prost to keep his championship hopes alive, Senna attempted a daring inside overtake at the slow-speed Casio chicane.
[62] Senna appealed to FISA, the sport's top regulator, noting that drivers had missed chicanes on several occasions that season without penalty.
[70] At the end of the 1990 season, Senna received some vindication when Nelson Piquet criticised the 1989 ruling at the Japanese Grand Prix pre-race drivers' briefing.
In an intense back-and-forth battle, Senna won three of the first five races, but Prost responded with three wins at a row at Mexico City, Paul Ricard, and Silverstone.
"[84] Senna admitted that he intentionally wrecked Prost after Max Mosley replaced Jean-Marie Balestre as the head of FISA in October 1991.
Despite winning three races, Senna could only manage fourth place in the 1992 standings, and champion Nigel Mansell more than doubled his points tally.
[97] Senna finished a relatively distant (by his standards) second place, driving a customer Ford-Cosworth engine with 60 fewer horsepower than Prost's Renault.
[104][105][99] Prost expected to race with Mansell in 1993,[106] but following a convoluted series of events, Williams ended up pairing him with a rookie, Damon Hill.
However, Senna was killed during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix when his Williams collided at high speed with a barrier at the Tamburello corner.
[27] (By contrast, Nelson Piquet did not attend the funeral at all, and the Senna family explicitly banned Bernie Ecclestone from participating in the ceremonies.
[143] Writer Manish Pandey explained that the creative team left out these incidents (as well as Senna's famous victory at Donington Park) because the camera footage was not dramatic enough.
Pandey conceded that "it's such a big rivalry and I think we made a mistake by not finding one tiny bit of touchpaper to light.
Kapadia explained that Senna was "coming into the European world, taking on the dominant drivers and administration that seemed to favour Alain Prost.
]"[29] On the other hand, RaceFans' Keith Collantine argued that "it is not Prost but FISA President Jean-Marie Balestre who is ultimately portrayed as the villain" in the film.
RaceFans said that while "it's hard to argue with [Jean-Marie] Balestre being cast as the villain of the piece ... the depiction of Prost, a four-times world champion, as a driver of marginal ability who relied on superior cars to win, is harsh and simplistic.
