An interesting race, the San Marino GP. To some extent it was not so much about what took place on track, although there was plenty of action in yet another good GP, but more about what was happening off it.
It began in extraordinary circumstances as the circus gathered in the paddock on Thursday. Where was Senna? If you were diligent enough you could find all manner of options. He was back in Brazil. He was in mid-air. He was in Italy. What was certain was that the former World Champion was not at the circuit.
In fact, though McLaren's Head of Communications Norman Howell lamely tried to gloss over the facts when Senna finally did turn up, Ayrton had had absolutely no intention of coming to Imola. In the cold war with Ford over the thorny old subject of engine equality with Benetton, he had made up his mind to take brinkmanship to the absolute limit. "If you ever compromise once, people expect it of you," he told confidantes. That he really was going to stay home was evidenced when he went out on the town back home on Wednesday night, only getting back in the early hours of the morning. There was talk of strong drink and frivolity. These were not the actions of a man who had the intention of handling a Formula One car in the immediate future.
