According to a survey carried out among French people, Ayrton Senna is the 2nd best driver in the history of F1

It is quite rare for major media and major polling institutes to take up the Formula 1 to carry out large-scale surveys. A few days before the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna, legendary Brazilian driver who was killed in the middle of a race at Imola in 1994, Winamax and RTL have in fact commissioned a survey from the Odoxa institute around the following theme: the French and Ayrton Senna, 30 years after the Imola drama.

Over two days and online, the polling institute spoke to a sample of 1005 people representative of the French population and aged at least 18, among whom there were 298 Formula 1 fans. The main lesson, is that the French place the Brazilian second among the best F1 drivers in history, far behind Michael Schumacher (32%), but ahead of its long-standing French rival, Alain Prost (16%), and ahead of the record holder for victories in F1 Lewis Hamilton (4th, 12).

Ayrton Senna in the top 3 of the best in history among F1 fans

Formula 1 fans also place him on the podium of the best drivers in the history of Formula 1, but in 3rd place (15%) behind the most successful Michaël Schumacher (1st, 32%) and Lewis Hamilton (2nd). th, 17%), with F1 fans probably valuing the number of titles more than the general public.

Another interesting lesson is that we discover that the French have an image of Ayrton Senna closely linked to that of Alain Prost. 76% of F1 fans consider his rivalry with the Professor as the greatest rivalry in the discipline and 69% as one of the greatest rivalries in the history of sport, notably putting the current rivalry between Lewis into the background. Hamilton and Max Verstappen or the older opposition between Jacques Villeneuve and Michaël Schumacher.

Prost-Senna, the biggest rivalry in F1 history according to the French

Rivals within the team McLaren then declared enemies at the departure of Alain Prost at Ferrai in 1990, “Magic” Senna and “Professor” Alain Prost have even visibly registered their Dantesque opposition beyond Formula 1 since 69% of F1 fans judge that he This is one of the greatest rivalries in the history of sport, ranking them among the legendary oppositions Anquetil/Poulidor, CR7/Messi, Sampras/Agassi, Johnson/Jordan, or even Ali/Frazier…

Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, a legendary rivalry. © DPPI

His tragic accident which occurred in Imola on May 1, 1994 remains in French minds. 79% of our compatriots still remember the death of Ayrton Senna, 30 years after his death. Among the 8 out of 10 French people who have the tragedy in mind, 55% remember the accident and 24% have heard about it. In detail, it is interesting to observe the major impact of this event among those aged 50 and over: 78% of French people in this age group remember the accident.

And they have strongly disseminated this memory to the younger generations: 39% of those under 35 have heard of this event retrospectively. For 9 out of 1 Formula 10 fans, this event increased the safety of F1 drivers. Note that the thirty years of the death of Ayrton Senna but also of Roland Ratzenberger, which occurred on April 30, 1994 also in Imola, will be the subject of a tribute paid on Wednesday on the Enzo e Dino circuit Ferrari.

ALSO READ > The Autohebdo Collector “Semper Senna” is available!