Verstappen vs Hamilton the greatest fight in F1 ever? Not for Pierre Gasly!

It was a special moment, Pierre Gasly thought. In the run-up to the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, the Alpine driver had the opportunity to drive the 1984 Toleman that Ayrton Senna raced in F1. Gasly, who is wearing a special Senna helmet in honour of the Brazilian this weekend, was always a huge admirer of the three-time champion, whom he never saw in action himself.

Two years before Gasly was born in France, Senna crashed at the Imola circuit, the very track where Formula 1 will race at this weekend. "I've always admired him since I was a child," the Alpine driver said. "Obviously, in France, I grew up hearing a lot about Alain Prost, who is the most successful French F1 driver of all time. And obviously, with Alain, always came Ayrton's name and always watched a lot of documentaries."

Senna and Prost were teammates, but also rivals. They both went into dogged battle with each other; often way over the edge. According to Gasly, the huge battle Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fought in 2021 is not the greatest battle in the history of the sport; he believes that honour belongs to Prost and Senna.

"It's probably, to me, the most iconic battle in F1 history. I always admire, I will say, the style of racing [from Senna], but also the person he was, the values, the way he was caring about his community. And, you know, he’s one of the biggest champions of our sport. And I think it was important to pay tribute, especially on this year, 30 years after the incident, it was important to me to pay tribute to one of the best of all time," Gasly said.