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Senna was before my time, and I'm not even a F1 fan, but watching him in action is a mind-blowing display of skill.

Here's an on-board view of an on-board lap in Australia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOkvo5v5-VU

1400hp engine (in a car body weighing half-nothing), manual transmission (Senna would drive with 1 hand on the wheel a good chunk of the time), no electronic driving aids...pure driving. I've watched documentaries where he would make the car 'dance' in the rain and destroy everyone on the track.

One commentator described his cornering technique - Senna would flick the wheel in the direction of the corner before turning into the bend - allowing him to get the tightest possible racing line, so he would brake less than other drivers.

His famous heel-and-toe technique:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8By2AEsGAhU




That latter video is one of my favorites on YouTube: Senna on Suzuka in an NSX wearing loafers! His skill is truly unmatched, but to be fair, heel-and-toeing is a rather common technique in performance driving. Hell, I do so to match revs on every 3->2 downshift before a corner when driving around town, and I wouldn't call myself a skilled driver.




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