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Senna Versus Prost by Folley, Malcolm (2010) Paperback
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Formula One was at its most explosive, with thrilling races, charismatic drivers, nail-biting climaxes—and one of the most dangerous rivalries ever witnessed in sports. Two of F1's most honored champions and iconic figures drove together for McLaren for two seasons, and their acrimonious and hostile relationship extended even after one of them had left the team. Alain Prost was France's only F1 world champion, an intelligent, smooth driver with the epithet "Le Professeur," while Ayrton Senna was the mercurial kid from a privileged background in Sao Paolo who would become the most intense and ruthless racing driver the world has ever seen. As the great rivals raced to victory, their relationship deteriorated badly, culminating in Prost accusing Senna of deliberately trying to ride him off the circuit, and fearful that the Brazilian would get someone killed with his daring overtaking feats. The final, sad act of this drama happened at the San Marino Grand prix at Imola in May 1994, when Senna was killed. Insights from Martin Brundle, Damon Hill, Sir Frank Williams, Bernie Ecclestone, Derek Warrick, Johnny Herbert, Gerhard Berger, plus McLaren insiders and other F1 figures provide us with a breathtaking account of one of the all-time classic sporting rivalries.
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First published April 2, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
June 7, 2017
Inaccurate and biased. The author should have done a little more research. Michael Andretti was a world champion? In what universe?
December 18, 2012
I will declare straight away I am a Alain Prost fan, I also like to think I am quite fair on the rights and wrongs, something the recent "Senna" film does very badly on, anything that makes Senna look bad was omitted from the film, plus the two journalists most used in the film had many of their facts wrong, not opinions, but facts! If these journalists had read this book, they would've been all the better for it!
I think the book gets into the heart of the matter pretty well, the Senna/Prost rivalry wasn't the usual two drivers rising through the ranks and trading blows, instead Prost was the established star and Senna didn't just want to beat him, he wanted to destroy him, although he had battles with Piquet and more often Mansell, no matter what Nigel claims, Senna never seen them as real rivals! It can also be seen despite the many incidents between them, neither Prost or Senna said the other was a bad driver, they knew they were head and shoulders above the rest, so there was a level of respect between them albeit deeply hidden! Of course once Prost retired, Senna struggled to find the same level of motivation against Schumacher, it wasn't the same anymore! He started phoning Prost, asking advice, he even asked him to consider coming back to race! And the day before Senna was killed, he even said hello to his "Good Friend Alain" live over the radio, that raised a few eyebrows, whereas six months earlier he would have squeezed Prost off the track rather than let him pass, it's even possible they would have become friends!
I found this book well balanced, everything the film "Senna" wasn't, where the film tried to make Senna a saint, this book paints him as complex character he was, often ruthless on the track, but kind off it, (The Senna foundation charity for instance, of which Prost remains a patron of, he was also a pallbearer at Senna's funeral), while Senna could rationalise ramming another car off the track at 150mph, he would be very emotional at the scene of accident where a driver was hurt, and wanted to help! The book does a good job of pulling all the people, facts, and incidents together to one coherent whole! The last twenty minutes of the "Senna" film was incredibly moving, especially as we know the ending, but what went before is a whitewash, if you want the full story of what happened between these two greats, read this book!
I think the book gets into the heart of the matter pretty well, the Senna/Prost rivalry wasn't the usual two drivers rising through the ranks and trading blows, instead Prost was the established star and Senna didn't just want to beat him, he wanted to destroy him, although he had battles with Piquet and more often Mansell, no matter what Nigel claims, Senna never seen them as real rivals! It can also be seen despite the many incidents between them, neither Prost or Senna said the other was a bad driver, they knew they were head and shoulders above the rest, so there was a level of respect between them albeit deeply hidden! Of course once Prost retired, Senna struggled to find the same level of motivation against Schumacher, it wasn't the same anymore! He started phoning Prost, asking advice, he even asked him to consider coming back to race! And the day before Senna was killed, he even said hello to his "Good Friend Alain" live over the radio, that raised a few eyebrows, whereas six months earlier he would have squeezed Prost off the track rather than let him pass, it's even possible they would have become friends!
I found this book well balanced, everything the film "Senna" wasn't, where the film tried to make Senna a saint, this book paints him as complex character he was, often ruthless on the track, but kind off it, (The Senna foundation charity for instance, of which Prost remains a patron of, he was also a pallbearer at Senna's funeral), while Senna could rationalise ramming another car off the track at 150mph, he would be very emotional at the scene of accident where a driver was hurt, and wanted to help! The book does a good job of pulling all the people, facts, and incidents together to one coherent whole! The last twenty minutes of the "Senna" film was incredibly moving, especially as we know the ending, but what went before is a whitewash, if you want the full story of what happened between these two greats, read this book!
February 25, 2016
2.5 stars that I'm bumping up to 3 because of the story.
Ayrton Senna has become a tragic hero in life after his death at Imola in 94. The man's sheer determination on the racetrack may be unmatched. He drove with almost a spiritual, religious determination, and winning wasn't everything, it was the only thing. Naturally, this sentiment has often left his bitter rival, Alain Prost, playing the role of villain. The interesting part of this book is that it is much more sympathetic to Prost, relying on hours of interviews with the 4x champion. Instead of the tragic hero, Senna comes across as a ruthless maniac hellbent on destroying all those who cross his path. Prost, meanwhile, comes off more likable...to a point. There's times he makes excuses for things that are still questionable, and tries to frequently come off as the innocent party. As with most things in life, the truth about Senna and Prost lies somewhere unspoken in between.
The story here is interesting, and it's a great perspective to see things from Prost's side. Great story right? 5 stars? The problem here is Folley. Desperate to be a part of the story himself, Folley feels the need to mention where he was during each event, where he conducted each interview, and what he and his interviewee had to eat and drink. If only this meticulous detail was applied to relevant facts to do with the story. John Watson never drove another race after being axed from McLaren? He did, the next year, subbing for an injured Niki Lauda (which was skipped over as well). Michael Andretti was a world champion? News to us in the Americas. The list goes on. It almost seems as if this book wasn't edited; there's numerous grammatical errors and missing words as well.
The story of Prost and Senna is unmatched, but this one left a lot to be desired.
Ayrton Senna has become a tragic hero in life after his death at Imola in 94. The man's sheer determination on the racetrack may be unmatched. He drove with almost a spiritual, religious determination, and winning wasn't everything, it was the only thing. Naturally, this sentiment has often left his bitter rival, Alain Prost, playing the role of villain. The interesting part of this book is that it is much more sympathetic to Prost, relying on hours of interviews with the 4x champion. Instead of the tragic hero, Senna comes across as a ruthless maniac hellbent on destroying all those who cross his path. Prost, meanwhile, comes off more likable...to a point. There's times he makes excuses for things that are still questionable, and tries to frequently come off as the innocent party. As with most things in life, the truth about Senna and Prost lies somewhere unspoken in between.
The story here is interesting, and it's a great perspective to see things from Prost's side. Great story right? 5 stars? The problem here is Folley. Desperate to be a part of the story himself, Folley feels the need to mention where he was during each event, where he conducted each interview, and what he and his interviewee had to eat and drink. If only this meticulous detail was applied to relevant facts to do with the story. John Watson never drove another race after being axed from McLaren? He did, the next year, subbing for an injured Niki Lauda (which was skipped over as well). Michael Andretti was a world champion? News to us in the Americas. The list goes on. It almost seems as if this book wasn't edited; there's numerous grammatical errors and missing words as well.
The story of Prost and Senna is unmatched, but this one left a lot to be desired.
July 14, 2020
I’m reducing the initial 3 stars to 1 star.
I got entangled in the Senna-Prost rivalry only because as a psychologist and former F1 fan, I thought this would be a good exercise to analyse two strong personalities since most people’s take on this matter is either biased or based on statistics alone. This book is one of the resources and I am reading this fully aware of F1 between 1984 and 1994.
I expected this book to be well balanced considering there are 2 names on the cover. If you’re going to write a book about two people, make sure you have a neutral stance to begin with.
This book should have been called Prost: Vindicated.
***
ON PROST: I liked Alain Prost’s background story, his journey into F1, the experience he went through losing friends/drivers like Villeneuve and Pironi during the early 80s, and his time at McLaren with Niki Lauda as his teammate (even in that one chapter Niki set an example of how a senior driver needs to be). I also liked the bit about Alain’s first two WDCs – it was truly commendable. You can really appreciate Prost up to this point in history and in this book as well.
1988 onwards, there’s just a whole lot of excuses from both Prost and the author to support Prost’s mistakes or less than gentlemanly behaviour.
There’s a Gerhard Berger quote in this book that pretty much sums up what triggered Alain Prost’s behaviour post 1988, relating to how Prost couldn’t mentally come to terms with the fact that Senna was just quicker than him (1.8 seconds quicker…).
ON SENNA: The author did not have enough input from more relevant people in Senna’s life with Ramirez and Leberer taking on neutral roles. Brundle, Warwick, and Hill’s views were tinged with resentment nor were they close to Senna. Most of Folley’s explanations for Senna’s personality and behaviour are based on conjecture and it didn’t seem to fit the narrative.
I initially liked seeing the side of Senna people rarely talk about. Eventually though, Ayrton is reduced to a rich, spoilt kid who got into F1 very easily, and then cried a lot when things did not go his way. There were mentions of quick lap times. But the primary focus, clearly, was to portray him as emotionally unstable and immature.
There was hardly any discussion on Prost crashing into Senna in 1989, but pages and pages and multiple quotes on the 1990 incident. With no mention that the pole position at Suzuka was changed back to the left side from 1991 onwards (meaning Senna was right in complaining about it).
There is also no mention of his achievements as a driver that set him apart from everyone else (apart from quick laptimes), his struggles, how he rose to becoming 3-time WDC, his relationship with God, how he risked his own life to save Eric Comas, and there is no mention of Barrichello’s crash at all.
In truth, only two people spoke for Ayrton in this book. Gerhard Berger and Ron Dennis.
This book was released 1.5 years prior to the popular Senna documentary. I know Prost was very unhappy with the documentary for having portrayed him as the ‘villain’ (not surprising) with no mention of the relationship becoming friendlier. One can assume the Senna da Silva family was made aware of the contents of this book and liked it even less.
(*1984 Mercedes 190E inaugural race at the re-constructed Nurburgring: In this book Prost says “In the race, Senna jumped the start completely…then pushed me off the track.” Footage of this race surfaced long ago and is seen clearly that Senna did not jump the start and de Angelis hit Prost’s car.)
I got entangled in the Senna-Prost rivalry only because as a psychologist and former F1 fan, I thought this would be a good exercise to analyse two strong personalities since most people’s take on this matter is either biased or based on statistics alone. This book is one of the resources and I am reading this fully aware of F1 between 1984 and 1994.
I expected this book to be well balanced considering there are 2 names on the cover. If you’re going to write a book about two people, make sure you have a neutral stance to begin with.
This book should have been called Prost: Vindicated.
***
ON PROST: I liked Alain Prost’s background story, his journey into F1, the experience he went through losing friends/drivers like Villeneuve and Pironi during the early 80s, and his time at McLaren with Niki Lauda as his teammate (even in that one chapter Niki set an example of how a senior driver needs to be). I also liked the bit about Alain’s first two WDCs – it was truly commendable. You can really appreciate Prost up to this point in history and in this book as well.
1988 onwards, there’s just a whole lot of excuses from both Prost and the author to support Prost’s mistakes or less than gentlemanly behaviour.
There’s a Gerhard Berger quote in this book that pretty much sums up what triggered Alain Prost’s behaviour post 1988, relating to how Prost couldn’t mentally come to terms with the fact that Senna was just quicker than him (1.8 seconds quicker…).
ON SENNA: The author did not have enough input from more relevant people in Senna’s life with Ramirez and Leberer taking on neutral roles. Brundle, Warwick, and Hill’s views were tinged with resentment nor were they close to Senna. Most of Folley’s explanations for Senna’s personality and behaviour are based on conjecture and it didn’t seem to fit the narrative.
I initially liked seeing the side of Senna people rarely talk about. Eventually though, Ayrton is reduced to a rich, spoilt kid who got into F1 very easily, and then cried a lot when things did not go his way. There were mentions of quick lap times. But the primary focus, clearly, was to portray him as emotionally unstable and immature.
There was hardly any discussion on Prost crashing into Senna in 1989, but pages and pages and multiple quotes on the 1990 incident. With no mention that the pole position at Suzuka was changed back to the left side from 1991 onwards (meaning Senna was right in complaining about it).
There is also no mention of his achievements as a driver that set him apart from everyone else (apart from quick laptimes), his struggles, how he rose to becoming 3-time WDC, his relationship with God, how he risked his own life to save Eric Comas, and there is no mention of Barrichello’s crash at all.
In truth, only two people spoke for Ayrton in this book. Gerhard Berger and Ron Dennis.
This book was released 1.5 years prior to the popular Senna documentary. I know Prost was very unhappy with the documentary for having portrayed him as the ‘villain’ (not surprising) with no mention of the relationship becoming friendlier. One can assume the Senna da Silva family was made aware of the contents of this book and liked it even less.
(*1984 Mercedes 190E inaugural race at the re-constructed Nurburgring: In this book Prost says “In the race, Senna jumped the start completely…then pushed me off the track.” Footage of this race surfaced long ago and is seen clearly that Senna did not jump the start and de Angelis hit Prost’s car.)
August 3, 2020
This was a fantastic read mainly because of the nature of the subject, rather than the writing. In fact I felt that the writing could have been better - with more details on the key moments, more description of the looks of people/crowd and the atmosphere, etc. I would have loved to immerse more in many interesting moments in the story.
As usual, I dragged out reading first half of the book, about which I have mixed feelings. The author did well to paint a picture of the world of F1 at the time before getting into the details of the rivalry - talking about characters, teams, circuits, champions of F1, newcomers in F1, rules and regulations, other rivalries, controversies etc. However this part did feel a little too long taking more space than the main subject. It did make me question my decision of reading this book. Further, it felt more like a collection of facts, statements, events etc. than a beautiful coherent story which would set the stage for what was to follow.
As I read through the second half of the book, I realized why I chose to read this book and just could not put it down. In fact, as I said, I would have loved for this part of the book to be way more detailed. It is such a shame that one would never know what Senna would have said about his rivalry with Prost had he been alive and interviewed as an older and much wiser man, like the author did with an old Prost. The rivalry was a classic one, similar to Lauda vs Hunt, except that this one is way more dramatic, fierce and unparalleled - a well-disciplined, calculative, wizard of a driver VS a man who knew one thing - winning each and every race he participated in. What makes this rivalry unparalleled is one man - Senna.
There were moments in the book when I felt very emotional. And the way this story ends is one of the saddest things I have read. Now I understand why so many of the modern F1 drivers worship Senna, and why Senna could be such a polarizing personality.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the sport or the topic.
As usual, I dragged out reading first half of the book, about which I have mixed feelings. The author did well to paint a picture of the world of F1 at the time before getting into the details of the rivalry - talking about characters, teams, circuits, champions of F1, newcomers in F1, rules and regulations, other rivalries, controversies etc. However this part did feel a little too long taking more space than the main subject. It did make me question my decision of reading this book. Further, it felt more like a collection of facts, statements, events etc. than a beautiful coherent story which would set the stage for what was to follow.
As I read through the second half of the book, I realized why I chose to read this book and just could not put it down. In fact, as I said, I would have loved for this part of the book to be way more detailed. It is such a shame that one would never know what Senna would have said about his rivalry with Prost had he been alive and interviewed as an older and much wiser man, like the author did with an old Prost. The rivalry was a classic one, similar to Lauda vs Hunt, except that this one is way more dramatic, fierce and unparalleled - a well-disciplined, calculative, wizard of a driver VS a man who knew one thing - winning each and every race he participated in. What makes this rivalry unparalleled is one man - Senna.
There were moments in the book when I felt very emotional. And the way this story ends is one of the saddest things I have read. Now I understand why so many of the modern F1 drivers worship Senna, and why Senna could be such a polarizing personality.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the sport or the topic.
October 26, 2010
Decent account of the Senna/Prost era of Formula One in the 1980s/early 90s, and the relationship between the pair during their battles. I like the fact the author interviewed Prost, Williams, Hill, Brundle, Berger, etc from current perspectives and not exclusively with past reference material, like many journalists do...
The book does feel sided with Prost in some ways. Maybe I look at it this way as a result of reading the very biased Rubython Senna book. Then again the author makes clear his view of the Pironi/Villeneuve relationship so my perception may not be too far off the mark.
I'm quite surprised some events were not covered, particularly Senna's post Portugese Grand Prix interview in 1992 when Prost's signing with Williams was known for 1993. Senna had just discovered that Prost had a veto in his contract to prevent Senna joining him for that season and Senna went on this very entertaining rant about Prost the 'Coward'. In fact the 1993 season section felt very sparse on detail. I mean, there were moments when Senna was pushing for Ford to provide McLaren the same engine as Benetton to compete with Prost's Williams but contracts prevented it.... and a lot of other stuff.
Anyway, a very good read overall and very enjoyable for those wanting to know information on this particular era in Formula One.
The book does feel sided with Prost in some ways. Maybe I look at it this way as a result of reading the very biased Rubython Senna book. Then again the author makes clear his view of the Pironi/Villeneuve relationship so my perception may not be too far off the mark.
I'm quite surprised some events were not covered, particularly Senna's post Portugese Grand Prix interview in 1992 when Prost's signing with Williams was known for 1993. Senna had just discovered that Prost had a veto in his contract to prevent Senna joining him for that season and Senna went on this very entertaining rant about Prost the 'Coward'. In fact the 1993 season section felt very sparse on detail. I mean, there were moments when Senna was pushing for Ford to provide McLaren the same engine as Benetton to compete with Prost's Williams but contracts prevented it.... and a lot of other stuff.
Anyway, a very good read overall and very enjoyable for those wanting to know information on this particular era in Formula One.
November 20, 2021
The Prost-Senna rivalry is of an iconic status in the world of Formula one. Alain Prost is a four time world champion and to this day the only Frenchman to win the Drivers' Championship in Formula one. Ayrton Senna was a Brazilian driver famous for his intense and passionate persona and a world champion on three occasions. These two archetypal characters drove together for McLaren, in 1988 and 1989, the coveted MP4/4 and MP4/5 Honda powered cars that dominated the grid. Their rivalry spans over a decade, intensifying in the latter years culminating in Senna’s untimely death at the Imola circuit in 1994 in the San Marino Grand Prix.
My view on this book is a bit lukewarm. On the one hand, as a Formula one fan, I find any story on Prost and Senna to be fascinating. However, I found the writing to lack in details and honestly, to be a bit bland. It is clear to me that it is not written with the enthusiast in mind and I even respect that it must be so to appeal to a wider audience. At times, it delves into side stories that distract from what the book should be about. It is just a case of what it could have been. Having said all this, I do appreciate the author for interviewing key figures like Prost himself, Senna’s teammate at Williams in 94 and 96 world champion Damon Hill, colleague and close friend Jo Ramírez and others to get a first hand feel. At the end though, it comes a bit short for me.
My view on this book is a bit lukewarm. On the one hand, as a Formula one fan, I find any story on Prost and Senna to be fascinating. However, I found the writing to lack in details and honestly, to be a bit bland. It is clear to me that it is not written with the enthusiast in mind and I even respect that it must be so to appeal to a wider audience. At times, it delves into side stories that distract from what the book should be about. It is just a case of what it could have been. Having said all this, I do appreciate the author for interviewing key figures like Prost himself, Senna’s teammate at Williams in 94 and 96 world champion Damon Hill, colleague and close friend Jo Ramírez and others to get a first hand feel. At the end though, it comes a bit short for me.
May 10, 2024
I loved every minute of this book. The extra insight from racers and the people inside Formula 1 that were close to Senna at the time was really interesting.
This book did not change my views on Senna so much, you can see from racing footage and his interviews that he was always determined to win and his drive (pun intended) and motivation never wavered, however, this book did greatly change my opinion on Prost. While watching the Senna documentary I felt that things were not handled well with Senna and it didn't paint Alain Prost in a good light, however, reading his interviews shows this whole other side to Prost and Senna's relationship and I'm grateful I got to read that.
The last chapter was hard to read, naturally. Reading everyone's reactions to that weekend was heartbreaking.
I recommend this book to any racing fan who wants to learn more about one of the greatest rivalries in racing.
This book did not change my views on Senna so much, you can see from racing footage and his interviews that he was always determined to win and his drive (pun intended) and motivation never wavered, however, this book did greatly change my opinion on Prost. While watching the Senna documentary I felt that things were not handled well with Senna and it didn't paint Alain Prost in a good light, however, reading his interviews shows this whole other side to Prost and Senna's relationship and I'm grateful I got to read that.
The last chapter was hard to read, naturally. Reading everyone's reactions to that weekend was heartbreaking.
I recommend this book to any racing fan who wants to learn more about one of the greatest rivalries in racing.
January 7, 2025
I haven’t read many sports books (despite being a big fan) and I really enjoyed this. It was strengthened by the author’s experiences at the time of the events, and by interviews with key players although the obvious exclusion of contemporary perspectives of Senna did make it feel a little lopsided at times.
January 12, 2024
So interesting yet gut wrenching in hindsight. Wanted to read for a while and sad now I did it so fast
April 3, 2014
Malcolm Folley digs deep and presents to us this riveting tale of not only the famed Senna-Prost rivalry, but a chronicle of Formula 1 in the 80s and early 90s. The evolution of both the legendary drivers is wonderfully documented, while their rivalry and all the defining events of it are presented holistically through the opinions of drivers, administrators, support staff and journalists. You leave the book with the following image of both the drivers - a supremely talented Senna whose devotion and obsession with the sport had no parallels, but a individualistic lunatic with a frightening will to win at all costs; a master craftsman Prost who was less flamboyant but in supreme control of his car who knew how to strategise a win under all conditions. But what clearly stands out is the high degree of danger in the sport during that period and the ruthlessness of the team owners to achieve their goals. However, the book comes across as slightly biased towards Prost, as Senna is painted the villain in most of cases and only turns sympathetic towards him in the end. A must for all the Formula 1 fans!
December 4, 2015
Ayrton Senna.. Driver, Legend, Hero to Million's
Alain Prost... Driver, Legend, Unfairly dismissed by too many..
Cold, Calculating and driving by percentage.. The common narrative has it the Prost was a dick dastardly type out politicking and tricking the purer more innocent Senna. Not particularly accurate but a good story all the same and one backed up by many a lionising Senna book/ article/ blog. The truth is as a kid Ayrton was my hero, but as a adult I can see he was as flawed as Prost so it was a nice surprise to see this book was a well balanced account of their rivalry, and a fascinating one too. More objectively fair than any that I had read before.. On this ground I would recommend Senna Versus Prost greatly.. Like the two greats who's career it covers it is a real winner
Alain Prost... Driver, Legend, Unfairly dismissed by too many..
Cold, Calculating and driving by percentage.. The common narrative has it the Prost was a dick dastardly type out politicking and tricking the purer more innocent Senna. Not particularly accurate but a good story all the same and one backed up by many a lionising Senna book/ article/ blog. The truth is as a kid Ayrton was my hero, but as a adult I can see he was as flawed as Prost so it was a nice surprise to see this book was a well balanced account of their rivalry, and a fascinating one too. More objectively fair than any that I had read before.. On this ground I would recommend Senna Versus Prost greatly.. Like the two greats who's career it covers it is a real winner
September 18, 2012
This book get slammed a bit for favouring Proust's POV, but that is understandable, he is still here and Senna is not. I still think Senna was represented well and with empathy, although reinforced in his ruthlessness until the weeks before his final drive in a dangerous Williams car that required electronics to keep it at the peak of it's capabilities. Removing those aids and not having the time to refactor the car, that seems like the ultimate lesson. Of course things are very different today. Senna was a force and this book is another view on his legend.
May 31, 2016
I started watching Formula One the day the rivalry between Prost and Senna ended. It was illuminating to read about the intensity of their numerous clashes. Folley's account is a bit biased towards Senna: Prost could also be ruthless. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the read.
December 1, 2021
This book mostly takes place over a multi-year period. But where the story truly began was 1984. Where Niki Lauda won the championship, Alain Prost was proving himself against Lauda, and Nelson Piquet, and the new driver for Toleman, Aryton Senna. The book then ends somewhere between 1993-1994, where Prost would secure his last driver's championship for Williams a year before the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger, and Aryton Senna at Imola. The book goes over Prost's take on the situation as well as quotes drivers told the press and through other interviews. The book piques my interest when both Senna and Prost are signed for Mclaren in 1988. One of the interesting points during the Mclaren dominance was their fierce rivalry, which was made very apparent at Monaco that year. This is where Senna would get pole position 1.5 seconds quicker than Prost, which is a significant difference in F1, and Prost was 1.2 seconds faster than the next person, the Ferrari of Gerhard Berger. In the race, Senna managed to pull a huge lead of 7.5 seconds in the fifth lap but crashes out on the sixty-seventh lap of the race due to his hands slipping off the wheel. I give this book 5 stars because not only does it tell a heroic story, but also from the point of view of one of the rivals.
June 6, 2025
This is a very comprehensive review of the careers of Prost and Senna, how they overlapped and the factors that affected them. It draws from interviews conducted by the author, as well as those from other journalists at the time they were driving. It also offered a bit of an insight into the politics of F1 throughout the 80s, as well as the careers of drivers like Hunt, Lauda, Warwick and Brundle.
It did date itself slightly by repeatedly referring to 2008 as the present day. While this doesn't really have any effect on the quality of the book, I do feel it could've been done in a way that preserved its timelessness, because the story it told is one that will always be told in the motorsports world.
There were also some errors in it. As another review mentioned, rather than saying Mario Andretti was an F1 champion, the author said it was Michael Andretti instead. Furthermore, Nigel Mansell's wife, Roseanne, is consistently called "Rosanne" and it just felt a bit off to me that no one noticed this in the editing process. Especially as she's mainly mentioned because Nelson Piquet was disgustingly disrespectful to her for several years. You could've shown enough respect to spell her name right, you know.
It did date itself slightly by repeatedly referring to 2008 as the present day. While this doesn't really have any effect on the quality of the book, I do feel it could've been done in a way that preserved its timelessness, because the story it told is one that will always be told in the motorsports world.
There were also some errors in it. As another review mentioned, rather than saying Mario Andretti was an F1 champion, the author said it was Michael Andretti instead. Furthermore, Nigel Mansell's wife, Roseanne, is consistently called "Rosanne" and it just felt a bit off to me that no one noticed this in the editing process. Especially as she's mainly mentioned because Nelson Piquet was disgustingly disrespectful to her for several years. You could've shown enough respect to spell her name right, you know.
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October 26, 2019The Senna/Prost rivalry wasn't about two drivers becoming stars. Prost was already established as a brilliant driver and Senna wanted to beat him to stake his claim. Despite the many incidents between them, neither Prost or Senna said the other was a bad driver. I think they pushed each other towards brilliance, and once Prost retired, Senna struggled to find the same level of motivation against Schumacher.
I thought this book was well balanced. It portrays Senna as a complex human which he was. The book does an excellent job of presenting a coherent story about the two drivers rather than trying to earn sympathy votes for either driver.
I thought this book was well balanced. It portrays Senna as a complex human which he was. The book does an excellent job of presenting a coherent story about the two drivers rather than trying to earn sympathy votes for either driver.
May 18, 2020
Great book! Loved it!
In my opinion the most neutral take on the greatest rivalry in F1, if not in all sports.
Malcolm has done deep research and a lot of interviews to pen down this book, starting from Prost's start in F1 and ending of course in the unfortunate tragedy.
Best part for me is the way Alain Prost is portrayed in this book. Unlike in the numerous documentaries where he is considered almost a villian, this book shows all perspectives and leaves the judgement up to the reader.
What the author could have done better is to focus a little more on the '91 and '92 seasons. I thought that part was a little rushed. Still a 5 from me
In my opinion the most neutral take on the greatest rivalry in F1, if not in all sports.
Malcolm has done deep research and a lot of interviews to pen down this book, starting from Prost's start in F1 and ending of course in the unfortunate tragedy.
Best part for me is the way Alain Prost is portrayed in this book. Unlike in the numerous documentaries where he is considered almost a villian, this book shows all perspectives and leaves the judgement up to the reader.
What the author could have done better is to focus a little more on the '91 and '92 seasons. I thought that part was a little rushed. Still a 5 from me
May 29, 2021
There were some tidbits that were repeated over and over in this book, either because of poor editing or just because the author was so proud of them. For example, I think the fact that Senna called Prost expressing concerns about safety in the sport was probably referenced like 8 times. But with that said this was a pretty enjoyable book about the rivalry between two very different drivers; Alain Prost the Professor, very calculated and precise, and Ayrton Senna, a total wild man driving with passion above all else, who drove so aggressive he was willing to, and ultimately did, die while racing.
July 16, 2024
I was fully expecting the book to fully zero-in on Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s rivalry, but it gave so much background and insight on what the landscape was like in F1 at the time, what made Alain and Ayrton—and everyone else within F1, driver or not—who they are, leading up to their time together at McLaren in 1988-1989, followed by what their life was like away from each other, and when that shared life ended in 1994 at Imola. An absolutely riveting read, Malcolm Folley’s way of weaving their stories together into a complex and heartbreaking tapestry was incredibly beautiful.
January 24, 2021
A book that balances the most prolific motor-racing rivalry to date. While the movie, Senna (2010), depicts Ayrton's perspective of the rivalry and shows Alain Prost as the villain, this book balances the rivalry well while being very defensive of Prost at times. It also contains interviews of notable drivers - Martin Brundle, Derek Warwick, Patrick Tambay, and many more; including the team principal, Ron Dennis.
May 30, 2019
A very thorough book that starts with the drivers journey to F1 and ends with their long time rivalry. Lots of great background stories by many other contemporary drivers of theirs. Found on major oops. When listing drivers who won championships with Lotus the book lists Michael Andretti instead of Mario.
March 13, 2024
o livro tem vários erros factuais, por exemplo “señor” como uma palavra da língua portuguesa.
mas, ainda assim, é uma ótima introdução a uma das mais interessantes rivalidades do esporte mundial (talvez eu seja parcial) e contém testemunhos de personagens importantíssimos (sendo o mais impactante o próprio alain prost, obviamente).
mas, ainda assim, é uma ótima introdução a uma das mais interessantes rivalidades do esporte mundial (talvez eu seja parcial) e contém testemunhos de personagens importantíssimos (sendo o mais impactante o próprio alain prost, obviamente).
July 24, 2024
This is a prime example of a story in a story in a story. You start on a racetrack but diverge to subplots with any newly mentioned driver. That being said, it works surprisingly well and so instead a straightforward description of one famous rivalry you'll get a comprehensive picture of the whole F1 era.
October 17, 2022
Am interesting read on what F1 used to be like before it all changed. The book highlights the 2 day tragedy events in Imola back in 1994. If you haven’t yet seen the SENNA documentary I highly recommend watching as this is mainly what this book is about.
February 11, 2023
The book could alternatively be titled “F1 history: 1980-1993”.
First 200 pages are enjoyable for the history buff… others might describe it as a bit deep, maybe even slow.
Last 150 are great as the Senna/Prost drama spices up.
First 200 pages are enjoyable for the history buff… others might describe it as a bit deep, maybe even slow.
Last 150 are great as the Senna/Prost drama spices up.
June 10, 2017
Great book
Excellent book that takes you back to those days. Very good book full of history and perspective. Enjoyed it intensely
Excellent book that takes you back to those days. Very good book full of history and perspective. Enjoyed it intensely
January 9, 2018
Really enjoyed this book as I remember most of the races described. The list of F1 involved people interviewed is impressive, and hearing from Prost himself is interesting
May 18, 2018
254 - 2018
December 10, 2018
Possibly the best motorsport book that I have read so far! Very intriguing and full of behind the scene details. A must read for all the motorsport fans.
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