F1: Top 5 Wet Races of Ayrton Senna

#4 - Portugal 1985

Ayrton Senna's first win came in soaking conditions at Estoril (Pictured, Brazil)

After nearly claiming a win in his debut F1 season, (more on that later) Senna produced a masterclass display to win his first Grand Prix in 1985. Ayrton had qualified on pole, his first of what would become a record 65 P1 starts. The weather was extremely wet and cold, the grip was at an absolute premium but Senna never put a wheel wrong in what was only his second race start for Lotus. Lotus are a team that have had some world class drivers and the likes of Jim Clark, Graham Hill, and Jochen Rindt would've stood and applauded had they been alive to witness this race. Senna was so rapid in the wet that Alboreto's Ferrari was the only other car which finished on the lead lap, and the Italian was over a minute behind by the time the chequered flag. Even as Formula 1 greats such as Alain Prost, Keke Rosberg, Gerhard Berger, and Riccardo Patrese spun off, Ayrton was never fazed.

By claiming pole, setting fastest lap and leading every lap, Senna had completed a Grand Slam, a perfect weekend, in other words.

To put into perspective how wet it was that day, Senna's fastest lap (the fastest of anybody) was 23 seconds slower than his position time. There's no doubt that this race never would've been run if it had taken place nowadays.