"He was quite dirty as a driver" - Ayrton Senna's driving style explored

F1 pundit Peter Windsor has said that three-time world champion Ayrton Senna was a dirty driver during his time in the sport.

The Brazilian, often considered one of the greatest in F1 history, was known for his total commitment to the sport and fiercely competitive nature when he was behind the wheel.

During his Live Stream on his YouTube channel, Windsor said that Senna was not averse to brake-testing his rivals:

"I always thought he was dirty as a driver. It was not impossible for him to brake test a driver who was annoying him from behind. There were a few question marks that I always felt about Ayrton, but at the same time, total commitment."

Windsor continued:

"Aryton once told Crighton Brown, his close friend and early founders of McLaren, that in order to heighten his senses on a qualifying lap, he used to hold his breath for as long as possible during the lap. I don't think it was ever possible to hold for the entire lap. But that shows the commitment Ayrton had. He wanted to heighten everything that he could such as the feel of the car, sensitivity."

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"I think Ayrton Senna was fairly linear in the way he drove" - F1 pundit

While comparing Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton's driving styles, Peter Windsor said that there was one area that the Brazilian was better at than anyone in the sport:

"I think Ayrton was fairly linear actually in the way he drove, which was very Lewis-like, but his corner entries weren’t as early as Alain Prost’s to my eye. And Ayrton always had that business of the throttle blipping where he just wanted to feel that moment to get the power on, whereas Lewis and Michael never had to do that in order to find that moment. So you may think, what made Ayrton so great? Well, what made Ayrton so great was his incredible precision."

Windsor continued about Ayrton Senna:

"For sure, Lewis, for sure Michael, for sure Nigel Mansell, for sure Alain Prost, Niki Lauda all had phenomenal judgment. But I think Ayrton possibly took that to a higher level."

Ayrton Senna's rival Alain Prost, while remembering his Brazilian teammate, added:

“We communicated so much with Ayrton the days after my retirement. I felt he was not well. He called me often. Sometimes twice a week. He never phoned me while I was still racing. He had, without me, lost his bearings. I was probably his source of motivation. It’s hard to understand we both lived an incredible human and psychological story. You have to stay on the beautiful memories.”

Senna expired when his car crashed into a concrete barrier at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, cutting short a promising career.