It is always very moving to write a book about Ayrton Senna, even 30 years after his death.
For the “oldest” of our readers, Imola 1994 remains an equally chilling subject to discuss as the Brazilian driver aroused admiration throughout the world.
And yet, we can take the exercise even further by trying to put ourselves in Senna's shoes. This is what Lionel Froissart, who has followed Formula 1 for decades and was one of the journalists close to Senna, did by making him speak in the first person in his latest book “The Immolated Icon”.
It is a poignant and moving story because, from the first line, we find ourselves transposed into the vision that Senna could have had of his career in F1 and the various events that marked him.
There is of course Imola 1994, but also, well before that, his beginnings, his rivalries, his relationships with the team bosses… and of course the danger of F1, a common thread and omnipresent theme still to this time.
The book is divided into five chapters, three of which are more important. We start with the doubts raised by the accidents of Rubens Barrichello and Roland Ratzenberger… before taking a big step back. And there is obviously a large chapter devoted to his relationship with Alain Prost. This relationship of rivalry but also of complementarity which also allowed Senna to raise the bar, day after day.
The emotion is further amplified when Senna himself describes this terrible day of May 1 which led to his death. But the final chapter, devoted to Senna's funeral, describes how the Brazilian was able to perceive all the F1 world gathering around him.
It is a story that is ultimately always poignant, often overwhelming that Lionel Froissart gives us and this difficult exercise is ultimately masterfully successful!
To order the book on the publisher's website, click here.
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