The Man from Sao Paulo - Senna to Williams in 1992
- Thread starter FickleCrossroad
- Start date
I'm trying to revive this, and I still can't right now. As I sit in my chair wearing my Nacional hat and looking up at my Randy Owens "May Day" print, I can't help wanting to ramble at some random birthday kid grabbing a first legal drink and telling them about how a legend died the day he or she was born.
No clue when that will happen. The last year and a half has been a slow burning fuse that eventually set me off last week. I'm finally getting the help I need, but now I am looking at little free time in which I am not too burnt out to think creatively. The only thing for TTL I have been able to accomplish is a sketch of the '97 Honda, which still doesn't look right to me because it is too tall, particularly in the nose. The driving factor for the added height here is safety, but I do think I have gone too far vertically regardless. Today is one of nine days in an 11-day stretch that I have a 13+ hr shift+commute, and one of the days off is earmarked for chores and appointments. If I'm able to do any work, it will start in a couple Mondays, if I'm not so burnt out that I don't just spend the time on World of Tanks.
I do still have the rough skeleton of the story in my mind, though, and the '94 F1 season will end in a way which throws TTL's point scoring system into criticism, so I'm open to suggestions for what comes afterwards. Currently, I am thinking something like a 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1, with no bonuses, instead of IIRC the 25-20-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1. IMHO, 2nd being worth 80% of a win is too much, 60% far too little, while a win being worth 25 10th places is also a bit much in and of itself.
Archibald
Banned
Please do it. I was 12 when Senna died, and was thoroughly traumatized - I'd been watching F1 since the beginning of the 1993 season, and then, wham, Senna is dead. I followed F1 until 2001 when the Shumacher / Ferrari implacable machine killed any interest, winning every single race and record. Couldn't get interested again by F1 since then.
By the way, reading the author troubled posts I declare 2014 to be the most shitty year in history since, what, 1994 ? Something was definitively wrong with 2014. The year too many lives crumbled.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...-which-do-you-want-more.414990/#post-14654606
If it comes back, it'll be this summer. Here's the other ideas I've had.
If it comes back, it'll be this summer. Here's the other ideas I've had.
Tentative reboot schedule:
(Condensed rewrite of current material)
I - 1991-2 Offseason - June
II - 1992 Formula One Season - June
III - 1992 IndyCar Season - June
IV - 1992-3 Offseason - July
V - 1993 Formula One Season - July
VI - 1993 IndyCar Season - July
VII - 1993-4 Offseason - August
(Mix of rewrite and new material)
VIII - 1994 Formula One Season - August
IX - 1994 IndyCar Season - August
(All new material)
X - 1994-5 Offseason - September
XI - 1995 F1 Season - Fall 2017
XII - 1995 IndyCar Season - Fall 2017
If anyone is interested in editing, or has suggestions on how to write a season as a chapter in and of itself, please pass them along either here or on PM.
Rollout is not ambitious, because I don't know how much writing I'll be able to accomplish on workdays yet. Also, I do plan on eventually alternating this story with another, and if I can average about 10 pages a week, I'd expect an update every 3-4 weeks or so on either.
(Condensed rewrite of current material)
I - 1991-2 Offseason - June
II - 1992 Formula One Season - June
III - 1992 IndyCar Season - June
IV - 1992-3 Offseason - July
V - 1993 Formula One Season - July
VI - 1993 IndyCar Season - July
VII - 1993-4 Offseason - August
(Mix of rewrite and new material)
VIII - 1994 Formula One Season - August
IX - 1994 IndyCar Season - August
(All new material)
X - 1994-5 Offseason - September
XI - 1995 F1 Season - Fall 2017
XII - 1995 IndyCar Season - Fall 2017
If anyone is interested in editing, or has suggestions on how to write a season as a chapter in and of itself, please pass them along either here or on PM.
Rollout is not ambitious, because I don't know how much writing I'll be able to accomplish on workdays yet. Also, I do plan on eventually alternating this story with another, and if I can average about 10 pages a week, I'd expect an update every 3-4 weeks or so on either.
Archibald
Banned
Message to the author: if you need a movie to boost your imagination vis a vis of Formula One, just watch Rush https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_(2013_film)
I loved every single minute of it. If only Ron Howard could make sequels to it covering all those Formula One rivalries across the ages...
I loved every single minute of it. If only Ron Howard could make sequels to it covering all those Formula One rivalries across the ages...
Have it. Saw it in the theater opening weekend, got the Blu-ray the first week it was on sale.
Reboot Teaser Trailer 1:
LIX Australian Grand Prix - 13 November 1994
From the halfway point of the season, no fan of Formula One would have guessed that the final race would have included a four-way clash for the World Drivers' Championship. After Silverstone, there had been only two drivers remaining who could claim that if they finished, they finished on the podium. Damon Hill was slowly pulling away from Ayrton Senna. Three seasons in the making, the Lamborghini power had allowed McLaren to avenge Senna's departure after 1991, while Senna himself was struggling to make up for a 50% finishing rate. That he was able to a brace of seconds to reinforce his 50th career win that somber day in Imola had him 14 points adrift of Hill,https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/#_edn1 and only five ahead of his teammate. With two more races of the ban left on the Benettons, nobody expected Enstone to be able to recover, nor that fluke win in Monaco would be enough to propel Michael Andretti forward as it did, nor even that Ferrari would not just add a bit of consistency, but speed. Then again, few expected Hockenheim would be possible, and most of them were working in Grove.
As the teams returned to the southern hemisphere for the first time since the season opener in Sao Paulo, Senna found himself digging in against a resurgent and motivated Michael Schumacher, whom having won the previous two races, trailed Senna by only six before the finale. Also in the mix at the end, albeit by the slimmest of margins, were Andretti and Ferrari's Berger, with Benetton's Hakkinen just barely on the outside, looking in. For Senna, it was simple, all he had to do was finish second and nothing else mattered, a win would be simply padding the margin. Schumacher needed a win and someone between him and Senna, and Benetton 1-2 would secure both championships for Enstone. For Andretti and Berger, it was stark. Andretti could be champion of Senna finished 10th, Berger could not even afford that sole point, while both needed Schumacher to finish sixth or worse. Each would be the presumptive champion at various parts of the race, from the lights onwards thanks to Berger pipping Andretti for the pole by less than a tenth of a second, and of all freak occurrences, Senna and Schumacher were also beat by Hakkinen and Brundle, the only time in the season neither were on the front two rows.
With Andretti not yet mathematically eliminated, there was added interest from the USA, to which ESPN's Jack Arute was dispatched to Adelaide, who asked him at the post qualifying press-conference what his plan was, and while looking both at Hakkinen and Berger, focused on Berger and said, "The only shot Gerhard and I have is for both of us to race off into the distance, and even then it's probably not going to matter." Little did he know how wrong he was...
On raceday, Andretti's plan, albeit the obviousness of the truly desperate, was mirrored by Berger, both short-filling their tanks and choosing softer tyres, and having got off the line cleanly, were able to gain a second a lap on the trailing twenty-four. This was helped by a dynamic start by also short-filling Karl Wendlinger, who charged from eighth to third over the first lap and a half, keeping back a building scrum between the brimmed cars of Schumacher, Hakkinen, Senna, Brundle, and the Fords of Erik Comas and Michele Alboreto. It took the leaders only a dozen laps to encounter the Simteks and Tyrrells, such was their blinding pace, but when the backmarkers began to start packing up ahead of them, both darted to the pits on lap 17 giving Wendlinger the lead for a lap before he too needed fuel and fresh rubber. Berger's day would quickly crumble when electrical gremlins took the car on the twentieth tour, dropping him out of the picture but giving Ferrari plenty of airtime out front to end the year.
With Wendlinger and Andretti out of the way, the battle between the long-runners continued to see-saw between Schumacher and Senna, thanks to Hakkinen managing to let his teammate by while holding the Brazilian behind at turn 10, masterfully timing his drift wide into the line, bunching the three up for the straight, letting Schumacher use his slipstream to rocket past on lap 28. Briefly, a gap of five seconds between the German and Senna was reached, before both of them pitted on lap 31, for sticker mediums and full tanks. Senna's out lap successfully undercut the Finn, though, and by the middle of their second stint, the two were wheel to wheel once again. 18 laps into their stints, turn 10 proved decisive in a completely different way, Senna tucking tightly behind the B194C through the apex before darting inside. The two in a drag race for third, they attempted to split the ailing Ford of Alboreto. Alboreto, seeing Senna darting to the inside, drifted ever-so-slightly, (yet enough) into Schumacher, collecting the two most of the way down the straight. While the Benetton was pancaked against the wall, skidding and sparking thanks to Alboreto, the Ford continued forward into a spin, scattering pieces of carbon fiber after caroming off the wall ahead of Schumacher.
The Safety Car couldn't have come out at a better time for Andretti, as he was in the pits being serviced, managing to exit in the pits in the lead. His teammate's stop was far longer, debris having lodged into the inlet of the blue and white number one. This forced Senna to the rear of the lead lap, but the woes continued for the man attempting to repeat for the second time in his career. A slow puncture towards the end of the safety car was missed at first by both driver and paddock, the sudden collapse halfway around the track, dashing his rise to seventh ten laps later. With fourteen remaining, he was twenty-five seconds behind ninth place, with most of the remaining cars being from the middle and sharp end of the grid during a race that attrition had already claimed all the way to twelfth. While Senna had many brilliant races over the span of his career, as a team, what the Williams duo was able to put together over the sunset of the '94 season was utterly breathtaking for the live audience around the world.
From an interview by Murray Walker for Open-Wheel Insider, May 2007 edition:
Murray Walker: "At the time, did you know that you were fighting out one of your epic series of battles with Andretti at the time? This wasn't your first hard scrap with him by that point, was it?"
Mika Hakkinen: "That was the... third time we finished next to each other that season?" pauses, nods, "Yeah, I knew the guy had something. He tried to catch me in Canada, but ran out of time with all the backmarkers. Europe, though... He latched onto fourth like a dog on a steak. If it were just either of us, him or I would've blown by Irvine, but there was no give in him. Adelaide was no different."
MW: "A little over a decade since the last time you two raced each other in F1, do you look back at the duels over those three seasons with him?"
MH: "Yes. With Senna about to leave for IndyCar, and Schumacher going to Sauber, I had great fun with him."
MW: "Was this your favorite? Or at least one of them?"
MH: "One of them. I didn't appreciate it as much as I did in '95 and '96, but seeing him on that podium, exhausted not just from the defense, but from falling one point short, I saw how hungry he was."
While Andretti remained at the lead and successfully held off Hakkinen, Senna found clear air and closed in on the ninth-place Ferrari of Martini, who in turn was also desperate to get by the Arrows of Blundell, as Brundle's McLaren had risen to third, beating Ferrari for third in the Constructors Championship, by countback to that third position. Only six tours remained when Senna dispatched Martini, but McLaren could not yet uncork the champagne after such a disastrous year, as the Lamborghini engine of the McLaren let go a lap later, gifting Ferrari third and Senna eighth, earning his fifth championship in seven seasons by a single point.
Final Standings:
Drivers: Constructors:
Senna - 132 Williams - 263
Andretti - 131 Benetton - 245
Schumacher - 123 Ferrari - 167
Hakkinen - 122 McLaren - 153
Berger - 110 Ford - 102
Hill - 79 Sauber - 89
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/#_ednref1 Canon points system will not be used in the update. New standings for F1 in 1994 will be 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1.
LIX Australian Grand Prix - 13 November 1994
From the halfway point of the season, no fan of Formula One would have guessed that the final race would have included a four-way clash for the World Drivers' Championship. After Silverstone, there had been only two drivers remaining who could claim that if they finished, they finished on the podium. Damon Hill was slowly pulling away from Ayrton Senna. Three seasons in the making, the Lamborghini power had allowed McLaren to avenge Senna's departure after 1991, while Senna himself was struggling to make up for a 50% finishing rate. That he was able to a brace of seconds to reinforce his 50th career win that somber day in Imola had him 14 points adrift of Hill,https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/#_edn1 and only five ahead of his teammate. With two more races of the ban left on the Benettons, nobody expected Enstone to be able to recover, nor that fluke win in Monaco would be enough to propel Michael Andretti forward as it did, nor even that Ferrari would not just add a bit of consistency, but speed. Then again, few expected Hockenheim would be possible, and most of them were working in Grove.
As the teams returned to the southern hemisphere for the first time since the season opener in Sao Paulo, Senna found himself digging in against a resurgent and motivated Michael Schumacher, whom having won the previous two races, trailed Senna by only six before the finale. Also in the mix at the end, albeit by the slimmest of margins, were Andretti and Ferrari's Berger, with Benetton's Hakkinen just barely on the outside, looking in. For Senna, it was simple, all he had to do was finish second and nothing else mattered, a win would be simply padding the margin. Schumacher needed a win and someone between him and Senna, and Benetton 1-2 would secure both championships for Enstone. For Andretti and Berger, it was stark. Andretti could be champion of Senna finished 10th, Berger could not even afford that sole point, while both needed Schumacher to finish sixth or worse. Each would be the presumptive champion at various parts of the race, from the lights onwards thanks to Berger pipping Andretti for the pole by less than a tenth of a second, and of all freak occurrences, Senna and Schumacher were also beat by Hakkinen and Brundle, the only time in the season neither were on the front two rows.
With Andretti not yet mathematically eliminated, there was added interest from the USA, to which ESPN's Jack Arute was dispatched to Adelaide, who asked him at the post qualifying press-conference what his plan was, and while looking both at Hakkinen and Berger, focused on Berger and said, "The only shot Gerhard and I have is for both of us to race off into the distance, and even then it's probably not going to matter." Little did he know how wrong he was...
On raceday, Andretti's plan, albeit the obviousness of the truly desperate, was mirrored by Berger, both short-filling their tanks and choosing softer tyres, and having got off the line cleanly, were able to gain a second a lap on the trailing twenty-four. This was helped by a dynamic start by also short-filling Karl Wendlinger, who charged from eighth to third over the first lap and a half, keeping back a building scrum between the brimmed cars of Schumacher, Hakkinen, Senna, Brundle, and the Fords of Erik Comas and Michele Alboreto. It took the leaders only a dozen laps to encounter the Simteks and Tyrrells, such was their blinding pace, but when the backmarkers began to start packing up ahead of them, both darted to the pits on lap 17 giving Wendlinger the lead for a lap before he too needed fuel and fresh rubber. Berger's day would quickly crumble when electrical gremlins took the car on the twentieth tour, dropping him out of the picture but giving Ferrari plenty of airtime out front to end the year.
With Wendlinger and Andretti out of the way, the battle between the long-runners continued to see-saw between Schumacher and Senna, thanks to Hakkinen managing to let his teammate by while holding the Brazilian behind at turn 10, masterfully timing his drift wide into the line, bunching the three up for the straight, letting Schumacher use his slipstream to rocket past on lap 28. Briefly, a gap of five seconds between the German and Senna was reached, before both of them pitted on lap 31, for sticker mediums and full tanks. Senna's out lap successfully undercut the Finn, though, and by the middle of their second stint, the two were wheel to wheel once again. 18 laps into their stints, turn 10 proved decisive in a completely different way, Senna tucking tightly behind the B194C through the apex before darting inside. The two in a drag race for third, they attempted to split the ailing Ford of Alboreto. Alboreto, seeing Senna darting to the inside, drifted ever-so-slightly, (yet enough) into Schumacher, collecting the two most of the way down the straight. While the Benetton was pancaked against the wall, skidding and sparking thanks to Alboreto, the Ford continued forward into a spin, scattering pieces of carbon fiber after caroming off the wall ahead of Schumacher.
The Safety Car couldn't have come out at a better time for Andretti, as he was in the pits being serviced, managing to exit in the pits in the lead. His teammate's stop was far longer, debris having lodged into the inlet of the blue and white number one. This forced Senna to the rear of the lead lap, but the woes continued for the man attempting to repeat for the second time in his career. A slow puncture towards the end of the safety car was missed at first by both driver and paddock, the sudden collapse halfway around the track, dashing his rise to seventh ten laps later. With fourteen remaining, he was twenty-five seconds behind ninth place, with most of the remaining cars being from the middle and sharp end of the grid during a race that attrition had already claimed all the way to twelfth. While Senna had many brilliant races over the span of his career, as a team, what the Williams duo was able to put together over the sunset of the '94 season was utterly breathtaking for the live audience around the world.
From an interview by Murray Walker for Open-Wheel Insider, May 2007 edition:
Murray Walker: "At the time, did you know that you were fighting out one of your epic series of battles with Andretti at the time? This wasn't your first hard scrap with him by that point, was it?"
Mika Hakkinen: "That was the... third time we finished next to each other that season?" pauses, nods, "Yeah, I knew the guy had something. He tried to catch me in Canada, but ran out of time with all the backmarkers. Europe, though... He latched onto fourth like a dog on a steak. If it were just either of us, him or I would've blown by Irvine, but there was no give in him. Adelaide was no different."
MW: "A little over a decade since the last time you two raced each other in F1, do you look back at the duels over those three seasons with him?"
MH: "Yes. With Senna about to leave for IndyCar, and Schumacher going to Sauber, I had great fun with him."
MW: "Was this your favorite? Or at least one of them?"
MH: "One of them. I didn't appreciate it as much as I did in '95 and '96, but seeing him on that podium, exhausted not just from the defense, but from falling one point short, I saw how hungry he was."
While Andretti remained at the lead and successfully held off Hakkinen, Senna found clear air and closed in on the ninth-place Ferrari of Martini, who in turn was also desperate to get by the Arrows of Blundell, as Brundle's McLaren had risen to third, beating Ferrari for third in the Constructors Championship, by countback to that third position. Only six tours remained when Senna dispatched Martini, but McLaren could not yet uncork the champagne after such a disastrous year, as the Lamborghini engine of the McLaren let go a lap later, gifting Ferrari third and Senna eighth, earning his fifth championship in seven seasons by a single point.
Final Standings:
Drivers: Constructors:
Senna - 132 Williams - 263
Andretti - 131 Benetton - 245
Schumacher - 123 Ferrari - 167
Hakkinen - 122 McLaren - 153
Berger - 110 Ford - 102
Hill - 79 Sauber - 89
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/#_ednref1 Canon points system will not be used in the update. New standings for F1 in 1994 will be 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1.
For my next teaser, I have a reader's choice option: First vote: Rebooted previous material, or a long-term hint where I am going with this, to include a snippet of the ATL 2005 F1 season?
It would be interesting just how different this 2005 version would be compared to OTL
I may move it a couple years in one way or another. Been toying with the long-reaching butterflies from an expanded driver development program stateside that rivals Europe. One of the POV characters will be a Georgia man who didn't have the chance OTL who did ITTL. Considered moves: (2007 Season)
to F1-Dixon, Franchitti, Castroneves
to IndyCar-Senna (part-time), Raikkonen, Hamilton, M Schumacher, Villeneuve
Just an idea for now.