Neil Oatley provides an intriguing description of the environment surrounding the rivalry between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.
During the years 1988 and 1989, both Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna were part of McLaren, the dominant team powered by Honda. In 1988, Senna showcased his exceptional skills and secured his first championship, despite competing against Prost in the same car. Their rivalry reached its peak during this period. Neil Oatley vividly recalled an incident in Portugal during qualifying, where Prost deliberately acted in a way to frustrate the Brazilian driver.
When asked about the incident during qualifying in Portugal where Prost seemingly changed into his jeans and stood on the pit wall to intentionally annoy Senna, Neil Oatley acknowledged the brilliance of Prost's actions. He confirmed the accuracy of the story, highlighting how Prost used this tactic to deliberately provoke Senna during the session.
Neil Oatley confirmed the truth behind the incident, stating, "That's absolutely true. Yeah. I mean, he was phenomenally quick, and literally, I think, half an hour into the session, he went off to the truck, got changed into his casual clothes, and just leaned on the pit wall, looking into Senna's garage and laughed."
During the interview, Neil Oatley mentioned the increased tension within McLaren's garage in 1989, indicating that from that point onwards, the drivers, Prost and Senna, ceased speaking to each other. Oatley explained that if Prost needed information about Senna's car, he would ask someone like Steve, while if Senna wanted information, he would approach Oatley or someone else rather than directly communicating with Prost. Oatley described it as a slightly peculiar situation, but there was no noticeable animosity between the drivers.
Can we expect the McLaren duo to intensify their friendly conflicts into bitter rivalries as the competition grows more intense?
