Monaco 1984: A weekend of firsts for Prost and Senna

The heavens had opened over the Principality. On Sunday, June 3, 1984, Monaco was literally submerged. The rain hadn't stopped since nightfall, clouds obscured the roads encircling the Rock, and the locals knew the deluge would last all day. In these Dantean conditions, Jacky Ickx and Derek Ongaro finally gave the start, twenty minutes late, to a grid entirely fitted with rain tires.

The race had barely begun when chaos immediately gripped the peloton. Right from Sainte-Dévote, on the first lap, the two Renault Derek Warwick and Patrick Tambay collided violently: the Frenchman went to hospital with a fractured fibula caused by a suspension component that pierced the shell of his car, while his teammate limped out of his car. Nigel Mansell, on the other hand, made a blistering start and set off in pursuit ofAlain Prostwhich he was about to overtake before his impetuosity led to his downfall on lap sixteen — a slide on the Beaurivage climb, the barrier, the Lotus destroyed, and victory gone. The first of a long series of Monegasque disappointments for the Englishman.

The birth of "Magic"

While the favorites were eliminated one after another, a Toleman climbed inexorably from thirteenth on the grid. Ayrton Senna, 24, had made a bold gamble before the start: to carry only two-thirds of the fuel needed to cover the scheduled 78 laps, betting on a pit stop at the two-hour mark. He didn't need to—the race wouldn't last that long.

Lap after lap, the Brazilian left his rivals in his wake with remarkable fluidity. He overtook Niki Lauda on the outside of the 19th lap before the Rascasse corner, then passed Rene Arnoux At Mirabeau, he climbed the curb on lap 27 and closed in on Alain Prost at a pace no one else could match. On lap 30, eighteen seconds still separated the two men. The following lap, it was down to eleven. On lap 32, it was seven seconds, then three. The Frenchman, struggling with carbon brake problems that caused them to malfunction in contact with water, didn't want to risk accelerating. Ayrton Senna was going to catch him, and there was nothing he could do. It was at that precise moment that Jacky Ickx waved the red flag.

Polemic

The ensuing confusion was total. The driver from Lorette (Loire) wisely pulled over to the side, while the Brazilian continued on his way, believing he had overtaken the McLaren and won the race. When he learned that he was only second — the standings being frozen at lap 31, according to the regulations — he let his anger explode. "They stole this victory from me!" Other drivers, like René Arnoux, cried foul. Only Jacques Laffite approved of Jacky Ickx's decision. "Even if I'd had pole position, the best car in the world, and a two-minute lead, I would have given it all up. Racing in the rain is ridiculous, dangerous, and unappealing."

The Brazilian federation went so far as to question the Belgian's integrity, insinuating suspicious links with PorscheMcLaren's engine supplier, who therefore won that day. The Belgian champion defended himself with dignity: "I did my duty. It was better to stop the race one lap too early than one lap too late."

A result that wouldn't have lasted.

What Ayrton Senna's fans forget is that the Toleman was overheating, its front-right suspension had been damaged by a curb, and, most importantly, the Brazilian didn't have enough fuel to finish the race—he would have run out around lap 65 if conditions had improved. As for the fastest driver at the time of the interruption, it wasn't the Brazilian but Stefan Bellof, whose naturally aspirated Tyrrell was putting on a breathtaking display in those conditions—he too would have been a contender for victory had the race continued.

Alain Prost, winner of the day for the first time in Monaco, summed up the situation as follows: “When I saw Senna catching up to me, I didn’t want to increase my pace because of my brakes. Since he wasn’t a threat to the championship, I preferred to see him win and myself finish second rather than risk hitting the barriers. So the decision to stop the race was advantageous for me—how could I not call it wise?”

No matter the controversies. On June 3, 1984, in the rain of Monaco, the legend of "Magic" Senna was born, who scored his first podium in the category, while the Frenchman tasted victory for the first time in the Principality.

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