Audi Formula 1 Racing Director Allan McNish has recalled the experience of working with Ayrton Senna during the early phase of his career.
The Scot has recently taken up the helm at the German marque, with which he has been associated for a number of years as a sportscar driver, and Formula E Team Principal.
McNish had originally been installed as the head of its driver development programme, but in addition, was elevated to the role amid a management shakeup after the surprise exit of Jonathan Wheatley in March.
A hugely successful driver in endurance racing, McNish was unfortunate to miss out on F1 for much of his career, save for a one-year stint with Toyota in 2002.
Early in his career, McNish tested for McLaren, first doing so in 1989, whilst still a teenager. In an interview with Motorsport.com, he spoke of that maiden outing in an F1 car with Senna around to oversee it.
“That was just before I went to the Macau Grand Prix, actually,” he said. “I never actually thought about it at the time, because I was just ‘doing things’. You know, he was World Champion Ayrton Senna, McLaren were the World Champions at the time, but you just went and did it.
“What I do remember about it was I got out of the car thinking: ‘Bloody hell, this is fast!’
“Ayrton was talking about engine friction and various other things, and that was a benchmark. It made me realise very, very quickly, that if you want to be successful in the game, you’ve got to step up at every level.
“Talent only gets you so far. There is a work ethic and a focus on detail that you have to put in. And that was as a driver, but I don’t think it is different in any other way of life.
“That was an education for me. I’ve still got the old data printout of that first test in Estoril, but it was two pieces of paper you put together and held up to the light because there weren’t data comparisons like today.
“You still had a clutch pedal, for goodness sake! And two buttons on a steering wheel. They’re dinosaurs in comparison to today’s cars.”
McNish will be hopeful of Audi’s progress continuing, after a relatively impressive debut season, at the Dutch Grand Prix next weekend, when F1 returns from its summer break.
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