Hunt actually had a history of attacking drivers incorrectly. He absolutely vilified Riccardo Patrese for the Monza 78 crash when in fact he had no idea that the race was started incorrectly. As a commentator, he was a complete hypocrite criticizing other drivers when he himself was known as ”Hunt the Shunt" by his contemporaries. The reality is after a very lucky championship off the misfortune of Lauda, he did little/nothing after 76, very unlike Lauda. Still, nice to see a time when TV commentators and drivers were allowed to be opinionated. From the 90s, F1 got just a little worse every year until we are left with the unwatchable farce of today.
@@truantray Lauda is on the record on numerous occasions stating his total respect for the professionalism of Hunt's driving. You undermine all of your criticisms w/ this "Hunt the Shunt" silliness. It rhymes. That doesn't make it true.
@@truantrayWhilst James was a wild card in the car he had an insight from the commentary box that was a first until that point. After watching the playback shown, I have to agree that The Professor turned in too early. Agree, Eff one is unwatchable these days.
It was clearly The Facts Alain Prost was Wrong !...And Senna was right . Not to speak of Prost Was very close with the boss of f1 these days. QUOTE! " There is Only One Right Decision, AND that is My Dicision !" The BEST Formule One 80s 90s Never coming back !
Hunt is right. Murray didn't listen. Y is that fantastic? Hunt was just trying to wake Murray up to the truth of the situation and not the b.s. side the rest of the media had spun.
We also know that Walker barely even listened to _himself,_ @@dacianmortocean5774- much less, seriously consider the crucial statements of any other relevant people. 😆
@@Gambo916 That's nice to hear that he finally admits it. What doesn't change is the Political Shenanigans that followed and robbed Senna of that Title. I'm wise enough to accept that the 1990 Title would still be up for debate if history was different
I'd say its a blessing that neither of them are with us to see the utter state of the racing today. Can you imagine what they would think about DRS, V6 Hybrids etc?
@@freedomisslavery6840 What's laughable about F1 is the now sizeable following it has. The cars are awful: they're just moving sim-rigs. They have no rear brakes (probably because as the wheelbase is that of a London bus, they'd spin off if they had some), they don't rotate, they stay planted, almost all the liveries look like they've been done by teenagers, DRS has reduced passing to be just routine, the tracks are much of a muchness, the drivers have no opinion. The soul and the romance has gone. I'm glad I saw it in much better times (1986- circa 2010) when live qualifying and live races were free as well!
Where on Earth did you find this gem!? I thought I knew my 80s / 90s F1 inside out but in my life I’ve never seen this video of Hunt / Walker. What a find. 👏🏼
@@cristianocarrilloso3343 James Hunt said many things, and just because he ended up winning a title by accident doesn’t mean that everything he said is a fact. Senna was a dirty driver and just because Hunt likes him and dislikes Prost doesn’t change it. And I don’t which one of us acts like an id..t
@@KapitanPisoar1by accident 😂 man drove in the days where you got killed or burned up from a crash around a soaking wet track and managed to hold his nerve and finish to win the championship when others couldn’t do it, that’s what makes a champ
Senna was the best driver of his era and is my favourite of all time, but I think his clashes with Prost at Suzuka diminished his reputation. He was definitely in the wrong in 1990 and the year before was 50/50 at best. Yes, of course, Ballestre was manipulating things to jeopardise Senna, but that still didn’t justify what Ayrton did at the first corner in 1990.
@@RichardHartley65The facts are plain. Look at the overheads of each incident it is clear that Prost initiated and forced both conflicts. The only thing that Senna was guilty of was not backing down. Prost deliberately drove into Senna knowing full well that Senna wouldn’t back down and Belestre would rule in his favor. Prost is a typical elitist French pr**k. He is so sure of his own superiority that he is going around even to this day whining that he isn’t given enough praise. His first reaction to any issue was to run to Belestre and hide behind his mommies apron. Not to mention that he looks like an uglier version of Arnold Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter. Yes, certainly he was a very talented driver. He legitimately won 3 WDC’s but it doesn’t change the fact that is an insufferable c**t.
@@user-kz3ik7pm7o you are so right. The worst being at the end of another dull race that you knew who was going to win before the trucks left the yards, the commentators seem to have to raise their voice and start speaking quickly as if there was actually something exciting happening. Can't watch F1 anymore dull as ditchwater
I’m so glad that James changed his opinion on the 89 incident. He said at the time during race commentary that it was Senna’s fault and i always thought that he held this belief, which I found incredible as James was usually on the money with race craft. Might be insignificant to some but seeing this has made my day.
This the first time I've seen this, which is odd considering how big a fan i was during this period. James was absolutely 100% correct in his assessment of what transpired here. It was shameful what Prost and Belestre had done to Senna and yet Ayrton is often vilified for that accident. Huge respect to James Hunt, he was an incredible driver and everything he said is proven right by simply watching these clips. RIP to some of our racing heroes Ayrton, Roland, Jules and of course, James ❤
If it was not tragic to have someone like Jean-Marie Balestre as the President, it was too funny to watch. It could not have been funny being a racing driver listening & being insulted by a capricious Balestre before risking your life in a race. Had Balestre not been caught on video with his antics no one would believe it. I personally believe the deck was stacked against Senna by Balestre who surely did favour Prost most of the time. Prost was a brilliant racing driver as were many from the 70's & 80's, but I think Senna was more committed & was in it 110% to Prost's 99%. He admitted that himself. Senna for me was the very best & always will be for so many reasons. No one else was fined $100,000 a six-month suspension, had the race & championship taken for him. In my mind Senna should have had 4 championships, he was robbed. Prost retired I expect to get out of Senna's way, but Senna was unlucky because when he got into that dreadful Renault car the rules suddenly changed. But not before Prost got a 4th championship in it the year before. Something odd about that too. Senna did not run out of luck that car killed him. Over steer, understeer it is bad enough to have one, let alone both. Balance & aerodynamics issues too. They say we will never know exactly what went wrong with the car well it was not Senna's driving as was claimed by Damon Hill at the time remembering he drove for Williams. What else is he going to say? Steering column did look like it failed because Senna drove straight into the wall from the left side of the track at Imola. The car killed him. I am sure many wish he had stayed at McLaren.
@@lilianakarapas9112 I agree with absolutely everything you have said here 100%. Having watched Aryton's crash live and re-lived it many times trying to make sense of it, I have always believed that the steering column failed, he was just too good to crash any car at that corner, even a poorly handling car like that Williams. Balestre was a clown who played on Aryton's competitive nature, he did everything to wind him up and help Prost win. Many factors led to that crash and many people are to blame for the death of the greatest driver the world has ever seen. Modern F1 fans will never understand the level Ayrton was at, only the drivers know and everyone of them has rated him the greatest ever.
@@onkouth Exactly I agree. I have watched so much footage from the best seat in the house. All the docos etc. That steering wheel column broke. Not driver error. He had no longer any control & became a passenger in a missile. The chief engineer was found guilty, but nothing more came of it. I am sure it was not intentional. It was just a really the worst car & if Senna could not tame it no one could. He got it onto Pole position, so it had to be the steering wheel broke. Simple. Funny how so much evidence disappeared after the race. Not funny, seriously suspicious. It was said he may have walked away from that car if his helmet had not been penetrated. Walk away my arse. No one walks away from a collision like that. I say Balestre seemed funny but not funny because it was seriously a terrible situation for Senna. I wonder how Prost would have felt if it had been a Brazilian doing that job. It would have been race & 4th championship Senna & Prost 3. I will say it was good of Senna & showed his humanity he made up with Prost & became friends again before he died. Personally, I think when & if there is a death the race should be stopped. Senna who became so sad, cried & emotional felt I feel sure he had no choice but to race on. Wrong, the rest of that race should have been cancelled.
@@VjRj84 89 only happened because Senna thought Prost would jump out of the way for him as other drivers had. Prost was tired of it so gave him a taste of his own medicine. I respect both drivers though of course
@@josephfreda6316 no need to jump out the way, just do a wide turn. It doesnt matter, prost turned 15 meters before the normal line, let alone the normal or wide one. Try again.
Today the cars are totally controlled by computers. I understand they do not even have to change the gears, is that right? Well Senna & the others had to drive & change gears too at breakneck speeds. I do not think the modern era can be compared to the 60's 70's & 80's purely because the conditions were so different to the modern day. No one wants to see anyone killed so safety had to be changed after Senna's death. If you look at the stats, they have to look at it in the time frame Senna achieved his & the conditions he had to endure.
I used to think that Senna was the villain, But James Hunt , who is a real F1 driver, and knows what it takes to be a World Champion, has changed my mind. They don't breed 'em like James Hunt, and Senna anymore, they were a man's man
Love JH, but this is a case no matter who you are, you will form a very logical conclusion... that differs from someone else's very logical conclusion. Prost had every right to turn in during both corners. Just because someone wedges a wheel 'underneath' you, doesn't mean you must yield the corner to them. Hunt once drove Andretti literally off the race track at Zandvoort with this understanding.
@@peterf1 You cant turn if in if there is a car alongside you, he had no right turning in! And in 1989, why else would Prost be turning in dramatically early for the corner if it wasn't to drive in to Senna? Unless he was aiming to drive 4 wheels over the grass on the inside of the corner... I'm actually more of a Prost fan than Senna but Hunt is absolutely correct and these are just facts
@@RobAustinonyoutube Of course you can turn in. These are poor "F3" tactics brought to F1. This is merely "yield to me or there will be an accident" rubbish racing. It used to be either you "took" a corner, or you had the racing education to back off. Senna helped move the lower formula tendencies to force drivers to choose between an accident, or accept an inferior maneuver to succeed. It's been well documented and it's not my accusation. It's a shame as Senna was a massive talent, but he, like Michael had a tendency to resort to dirty racing.
Imagine Prost had left a cars width on the apex in both of those situations. There would have been no crash and he actually would have probably kept the position, at least for that moment. Anyway. Whether Senna was right to dive up the inside at the chicane or not makes no difference. Porst turned accross the track to hit him! He wasnt taking his normal racing line and just turning in to the corner
I've been saying the same thing since 1989. The facts are indisputable unless you are a Prost fanatic in which case is useless to try to explain. 1989 helicopter view of the incident at Suzuka clearly illustrates based on prior laps by Prost, the entry into the turn of the incident was completely different and done by Prost to avoid getting passed by Senna. Prost triumphantly jumped out his car thinking it was over but got schooled once again by Senna. Balestre took care of the rest. 1990 again, Prost clearly shuts the path for Senna to race, resulting in a high speed crash. Balestre made sure Senna was on the dirty side of the track. Well spoken Mr. Hunt. Truth prevails.
I've been saying the same thing too since 1989. I hope Prost is happy in his skin as he gets older.. None of us are here forever and we are all responsible for how we live our lives.. Balestre is long gone and I hope he turns in his grave.. Ayrton Senna is the GOAT and god bless your soul Ayrton wherever you are ...
That's all well and good except the pole had been on that side every year. Senna argued that it should be changed, but the FIA had no reason to go and make that change with 24 hours to go. Senna was 100% to blame for 1990 as was Prost for the one in 1989. You can have your favourite driver, but there's no need to be biased, it just makes you an unreliable source of information and any argument and / or debate you wish to have completely null and void. Yes, I dislike Prost and Like Senna.
@@SennaStar According to Ecclestone Prost is the GOAT. I would say he is the 2nd. I hate Schumacher but in my opinion he is the best. You are doing idolatry.
Hats off to James Hunt for making things clear. I have to say that I love whe he says "He did not!" when Walker said Senna said he crashed Alain's car. Got to love James Hunt.
@@user-sy8rw9vi2f I never agree with people who states something and ends the phrase with words like end of discussion or end of history. The truth has several biases and is not absolute for everyone depending on the perspective that each person has. If you no longer go for a gap...
@@theakyosmith Honestly, nobody cares if you agree or not. On this point there is no discussion. Senna himself said it. So, end of discussion here with you ;) BB.
These two really look like the perfect pairing. The hot headed no-bs ex racer / champion and the very reserved, diplomatic and polite veteran gentleman-commentator
I like James Hunt & he was absolutely straight to the point but he certainly changed his tune on Suzuka 1989. On the original broadcast he blamed Senna for the collision. Great chat between Murray & Hunt though, I've never seen it before.
"... the year before Prost drove into him, without any doubt at all, at the hairpin in Japan." Is Hunt mixing up chicanes with hairpins or was there another incident at the hairpin?
From memory, and I could be wrong but I think he blamed Senna for 1989 crash because Senna put himself in a vulnerable position that Prost was always going to take advantage of, and well, he did. Either way, I see it that Prost and Balestre got their just desserts in 1990!
Hunt didn't change his tune. On the Suzuka '89 broadcast he said that Prost turned into Senna, which he maintains in this interview. The Senna blame you're referring to was Hunt's comment on the Suzuka '89 broadcast that Senna was at fault for ending his own championship, as he should have known Prost would have turned in on him. Hunt never actually said Senna caused the crash.
@@technounion1892 But didn't Hunt say something to the effect that Prost 'had every right' to turn into the corner? Admittedly that was before the overhead view was shown.
nah, not me. I'm not fan of either pilot. I agree that the Suzuka chicane, Prost could have avoided the crash. We clearly see he's turning earlier than normal. But the first turn, the year after...Senna doesn't budge. They are both to blame and it's ok. Two racers of this magnitude competing against each other, of course there will be trouble at some point ^^ That's what's awesome! Agreed? ^^
@@VjRj84but that’s not what Hunt says. He says that in both instances Prost caused the collision. I disagree with this. Sure, Prost caused 89 and you could argue that “he started it” and that, in turn caused Senna to do what he did in 90. But 90 was clearly more on Senna. Therefore Prost wasn’t at fault for 90. So Hunt is wrong on that part.
@@CertifiedSlamboy he isnt saying senna didnt take him out, he is saying alain couldve done the turn on the outside(of course he wouldnt). And its true that ayrton was on the curb on the moment of impact. He is saying alain didnt avoid a crash either.
There you go. For all to see. Perfect edition. Perfect reasoning. Sincere and quite obvious conclusion. It is rare to see character in this world. A rare specimen in his side of the world indeed.
James Hunt was an enormous loss. I do wonder how a 77 year old Hunt would comment today, because there is no doubt in my mind it would be as witty, funny, and as entertaining as always. Like calling Murray Walker "an idiot" to his face on live Television, as he did right here.
I'm glad that I have eventually seen this as I didn't see this interview at the time. I have always maintained exactly what James is saying. I was a Prost fan until that chicane coming together in 89 and became all Senna after that. In 90 I thought Senna had just taken Prost out until I looked carefully at the footage and saw Senna taking to the curb. Says it all.
I respectfully disagree. It doesn’t matter if you take to the kerb. He was behind and going into a closing gap. Prost has the right to take that line and Senna should yield. He didn’t and he went onto the kerb a bit then still took Prost out.
A piece of video footage that I never knew existed vindicates my long-held view. I had always believed that Prost caused the chicane accident by turning in early, and the replays showed that. I feel honored to share the same opinion as the great James Hunt, and I wish he was around today to add spice to what are some pretty bland "expert" opinions. Thank you for posting this.
@@MrRodzillawell I also thought that but he does go well inside to the grass.. maybe too little too late but prost would have been better off going a bit wider
@@dmtc6913 Look at the pair behind Prost and Senna. Mansell realized very soon he could not possibly take such a fast corner by going completely on the inside, so he backed up a bit and turned to the left. Senna (and Prost) realized that, too, but Senna's plan was not to make a corner. And had Prost known that was not his plan, he would have gone a bit wider.
Footage of older James Hunt is rear, especially one as valuable as this one. A popular opinion arose that Senna admited going into Prost, but there is no evidence of that. You can clearly see that Prost goes into him both times, in Suzuki he even tries to avoid collision by going onto a curb....Prost was shaken and furious with Senna, and simply could think straight in those situations.
Thank you for posting. As they say “The truth always comes out in the end”. Too bad that it is always so late in coming. RIP James and Murray. You are both missed.
I've just seen this for the first time in 2024. Hunt is the only person I've heard in 34 years, from the sport or from the press, that is able to comment on Suzuka 89 and 90 with an objective analysis of the facts that goes beyond personal preference and Walker's silly attemps to polarize. Walker puts the cherry on top with his kindergarten answer at the end, visibly upset by the "idiotic press" comment. Press which to this day is more interested in polarizing people on Senna and Prost than anything else.
@@brendanbrown3100 Sir Jackie was also a great driver but , as Max Mosley once said, he's a "self certified half-wit" - opens his mouth and lets his belly rumble.
@@buckfaststradler4629 what words? - Jackie Stewart has done more for F1 than anyone else I can think of. I know Max tried to take credit for safety but it Jackie who took all the slings and arrows in the 70s when trying to get circuit owners to replace straw bales with armco barriers. You know this tho don’t you as an F1 expert?
People make way too much noise about Prost and Senna in 1989 and 1990, but barely ever talk about the TWO times Michael Schumacher deliberately crashed into Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve in a championship deciding race. James Hunt is correct this time !!
Proper commentators with passion for the sport. Prost to blame 89. Senna to blame 90. Simple as that. But good to see a real F1 discussion. Been a few years since there’s been one of those on tv
Hunt is wrong. About '89 you can argue as Senna put himself on the penalty spot at Casio triangle. In '90 he clearly and deliberately eliminated Prost in turn 1. As revenge for' 89 and on Balestre over starting from the dirty line from pole in '90. Senna has admitted this himself years later to Jacky Stewart.
@@igotmyheadstuckinapumpkin5154 Senna did not confess to Jacky Stewart that he took Prost out of the race. These were statements made by Jacky Stewart regarding Senna's alleged confession to him. Since Senna is not here today to confirm or deny Stewart's claims, it remains uncertain. Additionally, it is evident from Stewart's comments on various occasions that he never liked Senna.
James is right and the evidence is there if you listen to the BBC live race feed that Murray also blamed Prost straight away when the two McLaren's locked wheels. Murray later changed his mind...
I don't think Walker did change his mind, he was a commentator and in this scenario an interviewer who needed to ask questions that would allow Hunt to provide eloquent answers.
@@samtorr3947 Murray would always stick to the post race "official" out come regardless of who or what was to blame or at fault. But this one time he correctly blamed Prost when it happen which makes interviews about the subject just a little more difficult to watch if Murray is in them. We all love Murray though, just pointing out what he once thought. 🙂
I always thought that Chris Hemsworth was an odd choice but I can see the resemblance in this video. Bale would be also Ok and he is British, doesn't need a dialect coach.
This is brilliant and thank you so, so much for posting👍👍 I remember all these years later watching this crash live and saw then that Prost had turned in way too soon. However, this was only clear on the one replay which you have provided here. This is only the second time I have ever seen this replay, the first being straight after the accident so I’m genuinely thankful for you posting it…especially after so many years have passed…bloody well done👍👍 Sundays have never been the same since, when you could sit down and enjoy watching sheer brilliance at work. Like Hunt used to say, “Tremendous stuff.” This replay was ‘somehow’ omitted from almost ever being shown again as Senna was so devisive a character. Still miss him every race day, but truly incredible memories. We are blessed so rarely with absolute brilliance, Senna being one such example along with a Mozart, Ali, Cleopatra… They will always be remembered and spoken of, long after they’ve passed… Thank you once again🙏🙏🙏🙏
Hunt is right. In 89 prost did turn in much too early and drove into senna, in 90 again. I like both, senna and prost for what they did to motorsport, but these were prosts faults.
What legends. Hunt also blamed Patrese for Petersson's accident, but the footage is so bad from that race it's difficult to decide. That said, Hunt was on the track when it happened so..
At Monza in 1978 Hunt was forced into Peterson`s car by an overly aggressive move by Patrese who had moved over from right-to-left towards Hunt by over a full F1 car`s width as the track narrowed,heading towards the first chicane after the start. Hunt was left with no space to avoid colliding with his friend Ronnie as Patrese attempted to pass them both at around 140mph,squeezing the McLaren into the Lotus. Patrese was involved in a high number of contact incidents along with very dubious,sometimes overly aggressive driving standards in his early F1 & F2 days from 1977-`79. The starter at that Italian GP in `78 was the root cause of the carnage shortly after by giving the green-light when only the first two rows of the grid were (just) stationery, everyone else behind had a rolling start which caused a great deal of bunching-up as drivers from much further back attempted to overtake those who had in some cases started on the front 3 or four rows of the grid.Not sure if the start-official was ever implicated through negligence or the like. Hunt received much criticism after his assessment of Patrese`s driving being the determining factor which led to the accident resulting in Ronnie`s death later in hospital.Everyone who had little understanding of race driving just assumed that as the Mclaren of Hunt was the car which collided with Peterson he was the man responsible and that he blamed Patrese to take the attention from himself. Hunt was the driver who ran to Peterson`s fiercely burning car and pulled Ronnie out,they were friends.Many of the other F1 drivers at that time had been on the receiving -end of Patrese`s `over-enthusiasm`, but i`m glad he later matured into a much better and highly respected driver. Hunt was correct at the time,his honesty and intellect would never have allowed himself to resort to `bull-s**t,if he had f**cked-up he would certainly have admitted it. RIP Ronnie Peterson and James hunt.
I’m the biggest Senna “fan boy” (I think the cool kids call it?) I idolise the bloke. But let’s be honest here… he took Prost out in 1990. However, I believe Prost turned into him at the Chicane in ‘89. The steering angle turning right is long before the normal turn in point to the corner. But yeah, I’d love to justify Prost taking Senna out in ‘90 because as I said, I’m openly a massive Senna fan. But that’s not how I see it. Great video, thank you for the upload!
1989 is not so clear like 1990. but Look at the onboard from Senna in 1989 he turned left when the chicane was on the right... it is obvious once you see the Senna onboard. Yes Prost turned in early but so was Senna and others too. it doesn't mean you take somebody out with that move especially because he was on the outside. It just means you want to squeeze him and make it hard for him to pass.
@@lucybarney1 this is always misquoted, I'm a Senna fan boi too, but they were never going to change pole position from the outside to the inside as Senna allegedly requested.... Pole was back then on the dirty side of the track - Senna had a point it should have been moved to the inside of the track giving the pole sitter best run into turn 1 - theres 2 stories to this, check out Aidan Millward's channel on YT, he can best explain this better than anyone else, he did a full video about it and it is very informative.
I do not agree. If you see the width of that turn , Prost had a lot of room to turn side by side with Senna. Instead, he just squeezed him, who put the wheel outside the track as a defensive maneuver. Thanks James !Hunt!
both prost and senna were incredibly cunning, but at the same time their driving styles were completely different, and that's what i love about their rivalry. even though it was way before my time, looking back on it now, it still feels like two of the greatest drivers the sport had ever seen, who despite being almost polar opposites driving wise, could still push each other to their extremes, both on and off the track. personally, i think suzuka 1989 was definitely caused by prost, but i think it's also a little bit justified by him wanting to give senna a taste of his own medicine by using his aggressive 'yield or crash' driving style against him. in the 1990 incident, i guess you could argue that it was 50-50, but if senna is completely without fault like hunt is claiming here, i don't understand why senna went off on that "if you don't go for a gap" explanation in his infamous interview with jackie stewart after the race. surely that sounds like he was trying to justify his overly aggressive antics at the start there? it doesn't really make sense to me, but oh well, i respect another opinion, and i think it's awesome that this is still being debated today, because it's such a controversial and complex incident, where a lot of the finer details have been mostly lost to time, so it's natural for different people to view it from different perspectives all these years later.
1-1 Prost turned in early in '89, but he had the perfect line in '90. In '89 Senna assumed Prost would give way which, when Prost had nothing to lose, was a bad call. In '90, with the title in his grasp, he didn't care. If Prost didn't move he was happy to take them both off. Freeze the video at 2.21, Senna's front wheel is alongside Prost's rear wheel. Prost had right of way. Where as in '89 Senna was much more alongside, so Prost should have given way
Prost didn't give away on a point of principle in 89. I am not sure if he was in the wrong but he probably should have allowed Senna through as even so he would have still won the championship. In 1990 Prost was trying to keep his winning hopes alive so might have been better waiting until later in the race to try to take the lead.
Gotta love James Hunt. Yes, James, he drove onto the kerb so as to make sure he fired Prost off the road rather than hit him from behind which (a) might only have punctured his rear tyre without necessarily taking him off and (b) would have eliminated any plausible deniability. Problem is if you go flat into that corner and you're on that kerb, you're not making the corner. Nor does it look remotely like you're trying to make the corner.
@@garyoneill8868 It also would have tipped over from bravery into stupidity to hit somebody from behind hard enough to guarantee breaking their rear suspension or rear wing. You could still break your legs fairly easily in a 1990 F1 car. Or kop a wheel in the face. The way Senna did it was a good balance between crashing in a way that was unlikely to hurt either driver, and being sure of firing Prost deep into the gravel and breaking his right rear suspension. He did it well and he did it on purpose.
I grew up with formula 1 in the 80's and 90's. Prost and Senna were amazing. Fair play to James Hunt speaking his mind. I remember on his commentary in 89 he said Senna went for a gap that wasn't there, but with the replay of the aerial shot, Prost clearly turns in way too early.
If i was the BBC in the late 80's / early 90's, I think they should have sent Hunt to interview people and rip them to shreds in one on one interviews. I think had the BBC went that route, it would have been fun to see Hunt ripping into Balestre, Prost and others in one on one interviews.
Hunt absolutely right about the 89 incident. Regarding '90, he appears to be letting his animosity for Ballestre (maybe it's justified, honestly don't know) cloud his judgement similarly to the way it clouded Ayrton's.
I just found this thanks to RUclips’s algorithm and I have said that exact thing about the famous 1990 incident since it happened and it baffled me how everyone said otherwise. It’s annoyed me for decades and finally I have a very respected person to call on to back my argument up. This is getting sent to a few people now lol! These 2 gents were fantastic, F1 will never be the same without them
James Hunt was never one to kiss a$$ or shy away from his principles. Uncharacteristically rebellious for a Brit both on and off the track. Incredibly refreshing to hear a driver, a world champion no less, speak truth to power.
But Senna later admitted, not least to Jackie Stewart, some time after the previous interview when Senna took exception to Stewart implying that he deliberately took Prost out, that he did indeed do exactly that. Hunt made himself look very silly here. Murray Walker is correct.
The chicane - Prost’s responsible- the first corner-Senna’s responsible. In each incident they had made their decision ahead of time. Two great talents but two very different racing drivers.
Interesting that James Hunt changed his opinion from when he was commentating live in ‘89. At the time he blamed Senna for the chicane crash and said he had gone for a gap that didn’t exist (per clips found on yt). Maybe later he saw some replays and changed his mind.
I don't remember Hunt saying that Senna went for a gap that didn't exist at Suzuka 1989 but if you listen to him after the final replay of the incident he states that under normal circumstances it would have been Senna's corner.
James Hunt was a ,,rockstar”, an f1 driver with personality and bravery, he was an adventurer that knew at that time the types of f1 drivers and their tricks.A guy like him talking about those incidents matters more than 10000 fans opinion. I totally agree with him about 1989 Suzuka incident when Prost, deliberately turned into the corner way earlier than the racing line was going to because he was on advantage in standing points, that situation was on his favor, and at that time crashes like that was considered as race incident.Is funny how Prost answered when he was asked if he did it intentionally, arguing about his titles, his victories and why he would have ever needed to made this maneuver… Prost had Balestre, his friend, as FISA president so he was given the title in 1989. In 1990 after Senna got the pole but in the dirty side of the track, giving 2nd place an unfair advantage, being this time on his favor any accident, he just got for the gap, Prost could have easily avoided the incident by giving Senna some space, Senna in 1990 defeated them both Prost&Balestre playing by their rules. Prost was a genius but had that persuasive attitude specific to French people/european people. Senna and Prost case I associate with Verstappen and Hamilton case in 2021
Something i have never seen anyone discuss is the fact that Prost jumped the start in 1990. He was rolling before the green light came on. He actually did this a lot.
Well I remember James's commentary during the 89 Suzuka race saying that Senna put himself in a vulnerable position and only had himself to blame for Prost turning into him because he didnt need to finish the race where Ayrton did. He doesnt reiterate that point in this clip but im sure he maintains that point though he does rightly say that Prost drove into him and caused the accident to counter Murrays point that Ayrton was the instigator of many collisions. And Prost had said he wasnt opening the door anymore so this collision was inevitable as it was the only way he could stop him. Suzuka 1990 turned things 180 degrees as it was now Senna who said he wasnt giving way. Prost knew that and then he put himself in a vulnerable postion knowing he had to finish the race and sufferered the consequences. Though as James points out, Senna didnt drive into Prost, Prost came across his bows knowing the inevitable ending. Outside political manouverings played a big part in both collisions and were a shameful episode in a great rivalry.
The red car turned in as if the mclaren wasnt even there (twice). Yes the mclaren made a risky move attempting to pass in that specific turn, but at the end of the day it was the red car that caused the crash. Simple as. Idk why there's any debate about it
Prost was trying to block Senna from coming through as he was desperate for Senna not to take the lead, he wouldn't have expected Senna to keep his foot in which even though he moved towards the kerb...he still kept his foot in all the same. Both drivers fault.
Because Senna had an obligation to give way, due to not being far enough alongside. The person who 'causes the crash' is the person who breaks the rules, not the one who turns the wheel.
Wasn't there also controversy over the starting grid being changed. Historically, the 1st pole position is on the left side of the track where Prost was positioned, even though he was in 2nd place. Essentially giving him the better start due to that being the racing line.
James was a class act. His points here are evidence-based and unbiased. He could not have settled these matters any better. At the same time, Murray Walker let escape his prejudices...
I recently bought his book, "Unless I'm very much mistaken" and watch the races from late '80s wherever I can find them. Murray Walker was legendary and James Hunt as well.
At suzuka was prost supposed to not turn for chicane? And let senna overshoot the corner and get back to track first. If the shoe was on the other foot and prost was behind and made the lunge from that far back he would be vilified for it.
What an incredible interview! James was absolutely correct, if you watch the replay, especially 1989 Prost turns in three or four car lengths too early, only reason, to cut Senna off before it's too late no matter if it does cause an accident. Prost is a dirty drive on and off the track!
I don't think Prost was a dirty driver. His driving into the turn early could be interpreted as his intention to hold the racing line and giving Senna time to react rather than turning in when Senna is already there and causing an inevitable collision.
Prost took Senna out in 89, Senna took Prost out in 90. Prost came across Senna in 90, but Senna should have yielded as he was nowhere near alongside. Prost was a dirty, political tactician though. It often gets overlooked. Once Balestre was gone he couldn't play the political game so well.
Both very intelligent guys, I’ve read both of there biographies , well worth a read. MW was a successful advertising guru and came up with many well known advertising slogans. JH was an F1 champ, an outstanding TV commentator and in addition to being an avid bird collector was a Miss. World judge + he had Sennas corner from the early days
Bullshit. In either example Senna was nowhere near pulling off the overtake. He barely has his front wheel overlapping the rear of Prosts and he wasn't going to make the corner. As usual he put himself in a position that if the driver leading takes the inside line, he'll drive into him. Prost wasn't prepared to take that crap.
This standard of discussion is so superior to what we have now
can't discuss things with liberals, transgenders, socialists or people who hate white exceptionalism
@danw5760 Great comment
The level of intellect in society has massively deteriorated.
@@freedomisslavery6840 smartphones, porn, endless sport, communist education centers called schools = a generation of utter morons
@@steveb6718 Not quite sure what any of them have to do with this video, snowflake.
This is the first time I've seen this. Total respect for Hunt's opinion.
Hunt actually had a history of attacking drivers incorrectly. He absolutely vilified Riccardo Patrese for the Monza 78 crash when in fact he had no idea that the race was started incorrectly. As a commentator, he was a complete hypocrite criticizing other drivers when he himself was known as ”Hunt the Shunt" by his contemporaries. The reality is after a very lucky championship off the misfortune of Lauda, he did little/nothing after 76, very unlike Lauda.
Still, nice to see a time when TV commentators and drivers were allowed to be opinionated. From the 90s, F1 got just a little worse every year until we are left with the unwatchable farce of today.
@@truantray Lauda is on the record on numerous occasions stating his total respect for the professionalism of Hunt's driving. You undermine all of your criticisms w/ this "Hunt the Shunt" silliness. It rhymes. That doesn't make it true.
@@truantrayWhilst James was a wild card in the car he had an insight from the commentary box that was a first until that point. After watching the playback shown, I have to agree that The Professor turned in too early.
Agree, Eff one is unwatchable these days.
@@truantray And don't start about how he thought about French drivers. Like Alain Prost ....
It was clearly The Facts Alain Prost was Wrong !...And Senna was right . Not to speak of Prost Was very close with the boss of f1 these days.
QUOTE! " There is Only One Right Decision, AND that is My Dicision !"
The BEST Formule One 80s 90s Never coming back !
Hunt telling Walker he did not listen to Senna's comment, faaaaaaantastic!
Hunt is right. Murray didn't listen. Y is that fantastic? Hunt was just trying to wake Murray up to the truth of the situation and not the b.s. side the rest of the media had spun.
We know that Murray did not like Senna
We also know that Walker barely even listened to _himself,_ @@dacianmortocean5774- much less, seriously consider the crucial statements of any other relevant people. 😆
Walker was a declared Prost fan and he'd go over the top praising him when he was untouchable in 85 & 86.
@@dacianmortocean5774booohoooo. Not everyone likes Senna. Get over it.
Hunt is 100% correct.
PROST drove in to Senna in 1989 and that's a FACT
James is spot on in asserting the video evidence is irrefutable.
Prost has since admitted he purposely turned-in early at Suzuka in '89.
R.I.P James, and R.I.P Ayrton.
@@Gambo916 That's nice to hear that he finally admits it. What doesn't change is the Political Shenanigans that followed and robbed Senna of that Title. I'm wise enough to accept that the 1990 Title would still be up for debate if history was different
Got to love James Hunt. What a shame he and Senna aren't here with us today seeing the current F1
Imagine what they would think of F1 nowadays... lol
I'd say its a blessing that neither of them are with us to see the utter state of the racing today. Can you imagine what they would think about DRS, V6 Hybrids etc?
@@freedomisslavery6840 And the penalties they dish out nowadays.
@@freedomisslavery6840 What's laughable about F1 is the now sizeable following it has. The cars are awful: they're just moving sim-rigs. They have no rear brakes (probably because as the wheelbase is that of a London bus, they'd spin off if they had some), they don't rotate, they stay planted, almost all the liveries look like they've been done by teenagers, DRS has reduced passing to be just routine, the tracks are much of a muchness, the drivers have no opinion. The soul and the romance has gone. I'm glad I saw it in much better times (1986- circa 2010) when live qualifying and live races were free as well!
@@mirial2108 You've summed it up perfectly there.
Where on Earth did you find this gem!?
I thought I knew my 80s / 90s F1 inside out but in my life I’ve never seen this video of Hunt / Walker.
What a find. 👏🏼
It’s from the 1992 preview show. It’s on RUclips.
I miss them both terribly. An absolute golden age of F1 commentary.
Both replays show that he is absolutely right!
Hunt was always right.
When it came to racing.
No he is not
Indeed! True F1 fans knows better that James Hunt is right! Some idiot here still can't take the facts.
@@cristianocarrilloso3343 James Hunt said many things, and just because he ended up winning a title by accident doesn’t mean that everything he said is a fact. Senna was a dirty driver and just because Hunt likes him and dislikes Prost doesn’t change it. And I don’t which one of us acts like an id..t
@@KapitanPisoar1by accident 😂 man drove in the days where you got killed or burned up from a crash around a soaking wet track and managed to hold his nerve and finish to win the championship when others couldn’t do it, that’s what makes a champ
James is right
No,he isnt.You just agree with him.
Senna was the best driver of his era and is my favourite of all time, but I think his clashes with Prost at Suzuka diminished his reputation. He was definitely in the wrong in 1990 and the year before was 50/50 at best. Yes, of course, Ballestre was manipulating things to jeopardise Senna, but that still didn’t justify what Ayrton did at the first corner in 1990.
@@juventinos81 no I don't but he's right!
@@juventinos81 LOL - yes, spot on - just opinions!
@@RichardHartley65The facts are plain. Look at the overheads of each incident it is clear that Prost initiated and forced both conflicts. The only thing that Senna was guilty of was not backing down. Prost deliberately drove into Senna knowing full well that Senna wouldn’t back down and Belestre would rule in his favor. Prost is a typical elitist French pr**k. He is so sure of his own superiority that he is going around even to this day whining that he isn’t given enough praise. His first reaction to any issue was to run to Belestre and hide behind his mommies apron. Not to mention that he looks like an uglier version of Arnold Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter. Yes, certainly he was a very talented driver. He legitimately won 3 WDC’s but it doesn’t change the fact that is an insufferable c**t.
Walker and Hunt every race. We never had it so good.
RIP Murray Walker and James hunt. F1 commentary without these 2 is dead.
@@user-kz3ik7pm7o you are so right. The worst being at the end of another dull race that you knew who was going to win before the trucks left the yards, the commentators seem to have to raise their voice and start speaking quickly as if there was actually something exciting happening. Can't watch F1 anymore dull as ditchwater
I’m so glad that James changed his opinion on the 89 incident. He said at the time during race commentary that it was Senna’s fault and i always thought that he held this belief, which I found incredible as James was usually on the money with race craft. Might be insignificant to some but seeing this has made my day.
To be fair he changed his opinion on the incident during his live commentary
This the first time I've seen this, which is odd considering how big a fan i was during this period. James was absolutely 100% correct in his assessment of what transpired here. It was shameful what Prost and Belestre had done to Senna and yet Ayrton is often vilified for that accident. Huge respect to James Hunt, he was an incredible driver and everything he said is proven right by simply watching these clips. RIP to some of our racing heroes Ayrton, Roland, Jules and of course, James ❤
If it was not tragic to have someone like Jean-Marie Balestre as the President, it was too funny to watch. It could not have been funny being a racing driver listening & being insulted by a capricious Balestre before risking your life in a race. Had Balestre not been caught on video with his antics no one would believe it. I personally believe the deck was stacked against Senna by Balestre who surely did favour Prost most of the time. Prost was a brilliant racing driver as were many from the 70's & 80's, but I think Senna was more committed & was in it 110% to Prost's 99%. He admitted that himself. Senna for me was the very best & always will be for so many reasons. No one else was fined $100,000 a six-month suspension, had the race & championship taken for him. In my mind Senna should have had 4 championships, he was robbed. Prost retired I expect to get out of Senna's way, but Senna was unlucky because when he got into that dreadful Renault car the rules suddenly changed. But not before Prost got a 4th championship in it the year before. Something odd about that too. Senna did not run out of luck that car killed him. Over steer, understeer it is bad enough to have one, let alone both. Balance & aerodynamics issues too. They say we will never know exactly what went wrong with the car well it was not Senna's driving as was claimed by Damon Hill at the time remembering he drove for Williams. What else is he going to say? Steering column did look like it failed because Senna drove straight into the wall from the left side of the track at Imola. The car killed him. I am sure many wish he had stayed at McLaren.
@@lilianakarapas9112 I agree with absolutely everything you have said here 100%. Having watched Aryton's crash live and re-lived it many times trying to make sense of it, I have always believed that the steering column failed, he was just too good to crash any car at that corner, even a poorly handling car like that Williams. Balestre was a clown who played on Aryton's competitive nature, he did everything to wind him up and help Prost win. Many factors led to that crash and many people are to blame for the death of the greatest driver the world has ever seen. Modern F1 fans will never understand the level Ayrton was at, only the drivers know and everyone of them has rated him the greatest ever.
@@onkouth Exactly I agree. I have watched so much footage from the best seat in the house. All the docos etc. That steering wheel column broke. Not driver error. He had no longer any control & became a passenger in a missile. The chief engineer was found guilty, but nothing more came of it. I am sure it was not intentional. It was just a really the worst car & if Senna could not tame it no one could. He got it onto Pole position, so it had to be the steering wheel broke. Simple. Funny how so much evidence disappeared after the race. Not funny, seriously suspicious. It was said he may have walked away from that car if his helmet had not been penetrated. Walk away my arse. No one walks away from a collision like that. I say Balestre seemed funny but not funny because it was seriously a terrible situation for Senna. I wonder how Prost would have felt if it had been a Brazilian doing that job. It would have been race & 4th championship Senna & Prost 3. I will say it was good of Senna & showed his humanity he made up with Prost & became friends again before he died. Personally, I think when & if there is a death the race should be stopped. Senna who became so sad, cried & emotional felt I feel sure he had no choice but to race on. Wrong, the rest of that race should have been cancelled.
The professor who hardly ever touched a kerb when he raced managed to turn into senna 15metres before the chicane. What a mistake!
That was 1989 - the conversation is about 1990 where Senna finally admitted to taking Prost out a year later.
@@simonkevnorris 89 is where this conversation starts. 1990 only happened because of it.
@@VjRj84 89 only happened because Senna thought Prost would jump out of the way for him as other drivers had. Prost was tired of it so gave him a taste of his own medicine. I respect both drivers though of course
Exactly, because it wasn't a mistake. That's the very point.
@@josephfreda6316 no need to jump out the way, just do a wide turn. It doesnt matter, prost turned 15 meters before the normal line, let alone the normal or wide one. Try again.
Suzuka 1990 was always to end the way it did. No man was ready to give an inch
I grew up with F1 in the 80s and 90s. We didn't know how good we had it compared to what passes as our sport now...
I could not agree more. It is tragical really, and I feel that way about most motorsports now.
I miss 90s F1 😢
Today the cars are totally controlled by computers. I understand they do not even have to change the gears, is that right? Well Senna & the others had to drive & change gears too at breakneck speeds. I do not think the modern era can be compared to the 60's 70's & 80's purely because the conditions were so different to the modern day. No one wants to see anyone killed so safety had to be changed after Senna's death. If you look at the stats, they have to look at it in the time frame Senna achieved his & the conditions he had to endure.
thank you for uploading this! So little James Hunt content out there besides his commentaries.. I'm still as gutted at his loss as I was 30+ years ago
I remember being surprised at myself at the news. I was so upset about it. I had just watched Canada '93 too.
Me too. Still the best commentary team.
I used to think that Senna was the villain,
But James Hunt , who is a real F1 driver,
and knows what it takes to be a World Champion,
has changed my mind.
They don't breed 'em like James Hunt,
and Senna anymore,
they were a man's man
❤🫶
Love JH, but this is a case no matter who you are, you will form a very logical conclusion... that differs from someone else's very logical conclusion. Prost had every right to turn in during both corners. Just because someone wedges a wheel 'underneath' you, doesn't mean you must yield the corner to them. Hunt once drove Andretti literally off the race track at Zandvoort with this understanding.
@@peterf1 You cant turn if in if there is a car alongside you, he had no right turning in! And in 1989, why else would Prost be turning in dramatically early for the corner if it wasn't to drive in to Senna? Unless he was aiming to drive 4 wheels over the grass on the inside of the corner...
I'm actually more of a Prost fan than Senna but Hunt is absolutely correct and these are just facts
@@RobAustinonyoutube Of course you can turn in. These are poor "F3" tactics brought to F1. This is merely "yield to me or there will be an accident" rubbish racing. It used to be either you "took" a corner, or you had the racing education to back off. Senna helped move the lower formula tendencies to force drivers to choose between an accident, or accept an inferior maneuver to succeed. It's been well documented and it's not my accusation. It's a shame as Senna was a massive talent, but he, like Michael had a tendency to resort to dirty racing.
Imagine Prost had left a cars width on the apex in both of those situations. There would have been no crash and he actually would have probably kept the position, at least for that moment.
Anyway. Whether Senna was right to dive up the inside at the chicane or not makes no difference. Porst turned accross the track to hit him! He wasnt taking his normal racing line and just turning in to the corner
I've been saying the same thing since 1989. The facts are indisputable unless you are a Prost fanatic in which case is useless to try to explain. 1989 helicopter view of the incident at Suzuka clearly illustrates based on prior laps by Prost, the entry into the turn of the incident was completely different and done by Prost to avoid getting passed by Senna. Prost triumphantly jumped out his car thinking it was over but got schooled once again by Senna. Balestre took care of the rest. 1990 again, Prost clearly shuts the path for Senna to race, resulting in a high speed crash. Balestre made sure Senna was on the dirty side of the track. Well spoken Mr. Hunt. Truth prevails.
I've been saying the same thing too since 1989. I hope Prost is happy in his skin as he gets older..
None of us are here forever and we are all responsible for how we live our lives..
Balestre is long gone and I hope he turns in his grave..
Ayrton Senna is the GOAT and god bless your soul Ayrton wherever you are ...
That's all well and good except the pole had been on that side every year. Senna argued that it should be changed, but the FIA had no reason to go and make that change with 24 hours to go.
Senna was 100% to blame for 1990 as was Prost for the one in 1989.
You can have your favourite driver, but there's no need to be biased, it just makes you an unreliable source of information and any argument and / or debate you wish to have completely null and void.
Yes, I dislike Prost and Like Senna.
@@casualxxgamerxx9662 We can agree to disagree. My opinion is the same as Hunt's on the 1990 incident. Prost is 100% to blame. Cheers.
watch?v=jVh4oKqxtJo This angle is even better than the heli footage.
@@SennaStar According to Ecclestone Prost is the GOAT. I would say he is the 2nd. I hate Schumacher but in my opinion he is the best. You are doing idolatry.
Hats off to James Hunt for making things clear. I have to say that I love whe he says "He did not!" when Walker said Senna said he crashed Alain's car.
Got to love James Hunt.
James was wrong... it happens...
Senna said 1 year after that he intentionnaly crashed Prost in 90...
End of discussion i think.
@@user-sy8rw9vi2fProst was equal to blame plus it’s racing you want these things to happen otherwise to get todays pussy f1
@@user-sy8rw9vi2f I never agree with people who states something and ends the phrase with words like end of discussion or end of history.
The truth has several biases and is not absolute for everyone depending on the perspective that each person has.
If you no longer go for a gap...
@@theakyosmith Honestly, nobody cares if you agree or not. On this point there is no discussion. Senna himself said it.
So, end of discussion here with you ;)
BB.
@@user-sy8rw9vi2f Pierre Paul, if you didn't care, you wouldn't have answered.
These two really look like the perfect pairing. The hot headed no-bs ex racer / champion and the very reserved, diplomatic and polite veteran gentleman-commentator
I love how yesterday's ruffian is today's gentleman. Hunt sounds as well spoken as anyone I've ever heard.
I like James Hunt & he was absolutely straight to the point but he certainly changed his tune on Suzuka 1989. On the original broadcast he blamed Senna for the collision.
Great chat between Murray & Hunt though, I've never seen it before.
"... the year before Prost drove into him, without any doubt at all, at the hairpin in Japan."
Is Hunt mixing up chicanes with hairpins or was there another incident at the hairpin?
From memory, and I could be wrong but I think he blamed Senna for 1989 crash because Senna put himself in a vulnerable position that Prost was always going to take advantage of, and well, he did. Either way, I see it that Prost and Balestre got their just desserts in 1990!
Hunt didn't change his tune. On the Suzuka '89 broadcast he said that Prost turned into Senna, which he maintains in this interview. The Senna blame you're referring to was Hunt's comment on the Suzuka '89 broadcast that Senna was at fault for ending his own championship, as he should have known Prost would have turned in on him. Hunt never actually said Senna caused the crash.
@@fading_trails prost took senna out a year before when he was getting overtaken by senna. Then ran to ballestre to get senna DQ.
@@technounion1892 But didn't Hunt say something to the effect that Prost 'had every right' to turn into the corner? Admittedly that was before the overhead view was shown.
You know what, I actually agree now.
nah, not me. I'm not fan of either pilot. I agree that the Suzuka chicane, Prost could have avoided the crash. We clearly see he's turning earlier than normal. But the first turn, the year after...Senna doesn't budge. They are both to blame and it's ok.
Two racers of this magnitude competing against each other, of course there will be trouble at some point ^^
That's what's awesome! Agreed? ^^
@@Mystipaoniz whats your point then? 1990 only happened because of the year before, so yeah, like hunt explained to you, prost is the bad guy in this.
@@Mystipaonizagreed!
@@VjRj84but that’s not what Hunt says.
He says that in both instances Prost caused the collision.
I disagree with this. Sure, Prost caused 89 and you could argue that “he started it” and that, in turn caused Senna to do what he did in 90.
But 90 was clearly more on Senna. Therefore Prost wasn’t at fault for 90.
So Hunt is wrong on that part.
@@CertifiedSlamboy he isnt saying senna didnt take him out, he is saying alain couldve done the turn on the outside(of course he wouldnt). And its true that ayrton was on the curb on the moment of impact. He is saying alain didnt avoid a crash either.
There you go. For all to see. Perfect edition. Perfect reasoning. Sincere and quite obvious conclusion. It is rare to see character in this world. A rare specimen in his side of the world indeed.
I never knew James Hunt changed his stance on the Suzuka title deciders. Is this interview in 1991? Wow
James Hunt was an enormous loss. I do wonder how a 77 year old Hunt would comment today, because there is no doubt in my mind it would be as witty, funny, and as entertaining as always. Like calling Murray Walker "an idiot" to his face on live Television, as he did right here.
spot on
I'm glad that I have eventually seen this as I didn't see this interview at the time. I have always maintained exactly what James is saying. I was a Prost fan until that chicane coming together in 89 and became all Senna after that. In 90 I thought Senna had just taken Prost out until I looked carefully at the footage and saw Senna taking to the curb. Says it all.
I respectfully disagree. It doesn’t matter if you take to the kerb.
He was behind and going into a closing gap.
Prost has the right to take that line and Senna should yield.
He didn’t and he went onto the kerb a bit then still took Prost out.
The only thing that we understood is that you have 0 idea about racing,racing lines,overtakes and divebombs.
Taken too soon, Ayrton had an aura inside & outside of the car.
R.I.P. you legend.
💔😭
Senna was a crash driver. Complete idiot.
and Mr Hunt around the same time unfortunately
@@johnnytopgun6414
Yes Johnny agree.
He was an EGOMANIAC. !!!
A piece of video footage that I never knew existed vindicates my long-held view. I had always believed that Prost caused the chicane accident by turning in early, and the replays showed that. I feel honored to share the same opinion as the great James Hunt, and I wish he was around today to add spice to what are some pretty bland "expert" opinions. Thank you for posting this.
i think its pretty common to believe prost caused the 89 collision, but definitely senna caused the 1990 accident
@@MrRodzillawell I also thought that but he does go well inside to the grass.. maybe too little too late but prost would have been better off going a bit wider
@@dmtc6913 Look at the pair behind Prost and Senna. Mansell realized very soon he could not possibly take such a fast corner by going completely on the inside, so he backed up a bit and turned to the left. Senna (and Prost) realized that, too, but Senna's plan was not to make a corner. And had Prost known that was not his plan, he would have gone a bit wider.
"There are evidences. It's not a question of view, there are evidences!"
Slap
Footage of older James Hunt is rear, especially one as valuable as this one. A popular opinion arose that Senna admited going into Prost, but there is no evidence of that. You can clearly see that Prost goes into him both times, in Suzuki he even tries to avoid collision by going onto a curb....Prost was shaken and furious with Senna, and simply could think straight in those situations.
Thank you for posting. As they say “The truth always comes out in the end”. Too bad that it is always so late in coming. RIP James and Murray. You are both missed.
Always loved watching him race and listening to him commentating. RIP .
I've just seen this for the first time in 2024. Hunt is the only person I've heard in 34 years, from the sport or from the press, that is able to comment on Suzuka 89 and 90 with an objective analysis of the facts that goes beyond personal preference and Walker's silly attemps to polarize. Walker puts the cherry on top with his kindergarten answer at the end, visibly upset by the "idiotic press" comment. Press which to this day is more interested in polarizing people on Senna and Prost than anything else.
Er no - I’d take Jackie Stewart’s view over Hunt’s - and I think Hunt was a great driver!
@@brendanbrown3100 Sir Jackie was also a great driver but , as Max Mosley once said, he's a "self certified half-wit" - opens his mouth and lets his belly rumble.
@@buckfaststradler4629 You’re relying on the words ofMax Mosley lol - buff said!
@@brendanbrown3100 No ! It’s Sir Jackie’s words which prove Mosleys point.
@@buckfaststradler4629 what words? - Jackie Stewart has done more for F1 than anyone else I can think of. I know Max tried to take credit for safety but it Jackie who took all the slings and arrows in the 70s when trying to get circuit owners to replace straw bales with armco barriers. You know this tho don’t you as an F1 expert?
This is the best part of F1. You can argue about these situations forever 😅
Thank you for upload. Enjoyed very much. Especially James Hunt
People make way too much noise about Prost and Senna in 1989 and 1990, but barely ever talk about the TWO times Michael Schumacher deliberately crashed into Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve in a championship deciding race. James Hunt is correct this time !!
Proper commentators with passion for the sport. Prost to blame 89. Senna to blame 90. Simple as that. But good to see a real F1 discussion. Been a few years since there’s been one of those on tv
Hunt is wrong. About '89 you can argue as Senna put himself on the penalty spot at Casio triangle. In '90 he clearly and deliberately eliminated Prost in turn 1. As revenge for' 89 and on Balestre over starting from the dirty line from pole in '90. Senna has admitted this himself years later to Jacky Stewart.
@@igotmyheadstuckinapumpkin5154 Senna did not confess to Jacky Stewart that he took Prost out of the race. These were statements made by Jacky Stewart regarding Senna's alleged confession to him. Since Senna is not here today to confirm or deny Stewart's claims, it remains uncertain. Additionally, it is evident from Stewart's comments on various occasions that he never liked Senna.
@@crazyRCSCMr safety in F1 never liked a driver who is broadly praised for his unsafe moves? It's not a surprise
James is right and the evidence is there if you listen to the BBC live race feed that Murray also blamed Prost straight away when the two McLaren's locked wheels. Murray later changed his mind...
I don't think Walker did change his mind, he was a commentator and in this scenario an interviewer who needed to ask questions that would allow Hunt to provide eloquent answers.
@@samtorr3947 Murray would always stick to the post race "official" out come regardless of who or what was to blame or at fault. But this one time he correctly blamed Prost when it happen which makes interviews about the subject just a little more difficult to watch if Murray is in them. We all love Murray though, just pointing out what he once thought. 🙂
Greatest F1 commentary duo of all time.
I think Cristian Bale would be perfect for a movie on James Hunt
Interesting....
I noticed the similarity as well. And thought he would have looked a better choice than Chris Hemsworth. Was happy to see your comment.
Rush 2 about Prost/Senna rivalry, Christian Bale playing a cameo of the older James Hunt .
That would be awesome !
@@sandrinedefaux3290 and if we start the movie in 84, we might have a cameo of Brühl as well
I always thought that Chris Hemsworth was an odd choice but I can see the resemblance in this video. Bale would be also Ok and he is British, doesn't need a dialect coach.
This is brilliant and thank you so, so much for posting👍👍
I remember all these years later watching this crash live and saw then that Prost had turned in way too soon. However, this was only clear on the one replay which you have provided here. This is only the second time I have ever seen this replay, the first being straight after the accident so I’m genuinely thankful for you posting it…especially after so many years have passed…bloody well done👍👍
Sundays have never been the same since, when you could sit down and enjoy watching sheer brilliance at work. Like Hunt used to say, “Tremendous stuff.”
This replay was ‘somehow’ omitted from almost ever being shown again as Senna was so devisive a character.
Still miss him every race day, but truly incredible memories.
We are blessed so rarely with absolute brilliance, Senna being one such example along with a Mozart, Ali, Cleopatra…
They will always be remembered and spoken of, long after they’ve passed…
Thank you once again🙏🙏🙏🙏
OMG I LOVE THIS. I cannot believe this gem of an interview isnt more widely spread
Prost 100% drove into senna. Senna was robbed. James Hunt described the facts eloquently.
Thanks for this excellent video !
Never seen this before but JH highlighted a very good fact , these 2 commentators were very different but together they were the best
Brilliant thank you for this upload 🙏🏽James hunt gone way to early 😞
Wonderful commentary. I completely agree with Hunt. Prost initiated the contact on both occasions.
No he didn't. I'm a Senna fan but the great man admitted that if he couldn't get into Turn 1 in the lead then neither would Prost
This is the first time i get to realise how does James Hunt looks like in 90s
Hunt is right. In 89 prost did turn in much too early and drove into senna, in 90 again. I like both, senna and prost for what they did to motorsport, but these were prosts faults.
He's right about 1989, about 1990 not sure. Senna admitted later he was seething over injustices which resulted in a pretty wild attempt.
I used to love watching f1 when these two were commentators on bbc. Prost, senna, mansell, patresi, allesi etc greatest days of the sport imo
What legends. Hunt also blamed Patrese for Petersson's accident, but the footage is so bad from that race it's difficult to decide. That said, Hunt was on the track when it happened so..
At Monza in 1978 Hunt was forced into Peterson`s car by an overly aggressive move by Patrese who had moved over from right-to-left towards Hunt by over a full F1 car`s width as the track narrowed,heading towards the first chicane after the start. Hunt was left with no space to avoid colliding with his friend Ronnie as Patrese attempted to pass them both at around 140mph,squeezing the McLaren into the Lotus. Patrese was involved in a high number of contact incidents along with very dubious,sometimes overly aggressive driving standards in his early F1 & F2 days from 1977-`79. The starter at that Italian GP in `78 was the root cause of the carnage shortly after by giving the green-light when only the first two rows of the grid were (just) stationery, everyone else behind had a rolling start which caused a great deal of bunching-up as drivers from much further back attempted to overtake those who had in some cases started on the front 3 or four rows of the grid.Not sure if the start-official was ever implicated through negligence or the like. Hunt received much criticism after his assessment of Patrese`s driving being the determining factor which led to the accident resulting in Ronnie`s death later in hospital.Everyone who had little understanding of race driving just assumed that as the Mclaren of Hunt was the car which collided with Peterson he was the man responsible and that he blamed Patrese to take the attention from himself. Hunt was the driver who ran to Peterson`s fiercely burning car and pulled Ronnie out,they were friends.Many of the other F1 drivers at that time had been on the receiving -end of Patrese`s `over-enthusiasm`, but i`m glad he later matured into a much better and highly respected driver. Hunt was correct at the time,his honesty and intellect would never have allowed himself to resort to `bull-s**t,if he had f**cked-up he would certainly have admitted it. RIP Ronnie Peterson and James hunt.
I’m the biggest Senna “fan boy” (I think the cool kids call it?)
I idolise the bloke. But let’s be honest here… he took Prost out in 1990.
However, I believe Prost turned into him at the Chicane in ‘89. The steering angle turning right is long before the normal turn in point to the corner.
But yeah, I’d love to justify Prost taking Senna out in ‘90 because as I said, I’m openly a massive Senna fan.
But that’s not how I see it.
Great video, thank you for the upload!
1989 is not so clear like 1990. but Look at the onboard from Senna in 1989 he turned left when the chicane was on the right... it is obvious once you see the Senna onboard.
Yes Prost turned in early but so was Senna and others too. it doesn't mean you take somebody out with that move especially because he was on the outside. It just means you want to squeeze him and make it hard for him to pass.
Me too , but if I remember they changed pole position place after qualifying ,so Senna was aggrieved about that
@@vonPelger we’ll agree to disagree respectfully 🤝 😌
@@lucybarney1 this is always misquoted, I'm a Senna fan boi too, but they were never going to change pole position from the outside to the inside as Senna allegedly requested.... Pole was back then on the dirty side of the track - Senna had a point it should have been moved to the inside of the track giving the pole sitter best run into turn 1 - theres 2 stories to this, check out Aidan Millward's channel on YT, he can best explain this better than anyone else, he did a full video about it and it is very informative.
I do not agree. If you see the width of that turn , Prost had a lot of room to turn side by side with Senna. Instead, he just squeezed him, who put the wheel outside the track as a defensive maneuver.
Thanks James !Hunt!
both prost and senna were incredibly cunning, but at the same time their driving styles were completely different, and that's what i love about their rivalry. even though it was way before my time, looking back on it now, it still feels like two of the greatest drivers the sport had ever seen, who despite being almost polar opposites driving wise, could still push each other to their extremes, both on and off the track. personally, i think suzuka 1989 was definitely caused by prost, but i think it's also a little bit justified by him wanting to give senna a taste of his own medicine by using his aggressive 'yield or crash' driving style against him. in the 1990 incident, i guess you could argue that it was 50-50, but if senna is completely without fault like hunt is claiming here, i don't understand why senna went off on that "if you don't go for a gap" explanation in his infamous interview with jackie stewart after the race. surely that sounds like he was trying to justify his overly aggressive antics at the start there? it doesn't really make sense to me, but oh well, i respect another opinion, and i think it's awesome that this is still being debated today, because it's such a controversial and complex incident, where a lot of the finer details have been mostly lost to time, so it's natural for different people to view it from different perspectives all these years later.
This should be posted on all the forums. It will make a lot of idiots have a meltdown. Just look at the comments here denying it.
Hunt was not a fan of Senna prior to the first Suzuka incident so his opinion is very valuable here
1-1 Prost turned in early in '89, but he had the perfect line in '90. In '89 Senna assumed Prost would give way which, when Prost had nothing to lose, was a bad call. In '90, with the title in his grasp, he didn't care. If Prost didn't move he was happy to take them both off. Freeze the video at 2.21, Senna's front wheel is alongside Prost's rear wheel. Prost had right of way. Where as in '89 Senna was much more alongside, so Prost should have given way
Prost didn't give away on a point of principle in 89. I am not sure if he was in the wrong but he probably should have allowed Senna through as even so he would have still won the championship. In 1990 Prost was trying to keep his winning hopes alive so might have been better waiting until later in the race to try to take the lead.
Gotta love James Hunt.
Yes, James, he drove onto the kerb so as to make sure he fired Prost off the road rather than hit him from behind which (a) might only have punctured his rear tyre without necessarily taking him off and (b) would have eliminated any plausible deniability.
Problem is if you go flat into that corner and you're on that kerb, you're not making the corner. Nor does it look remotely like you're trying to make the corner.
(a) bullsh1t.
@@garyoneill8868 It also would have tipped over from bravery into stupidity to hit somebody from behind hard enough to guarantee breaking their rear suspension or rear wing. You could still break your legs fairly easily in a 1990 F1 car. Or kop a wheel in the face.
The way Senna did it was a good balance between crashing in a way that was unlikely to hurt either driver, and being sure of firing Prost deep into the gravel and breaking his right rear suspension. He did it well and he did it on purpose.
@@philwoodward5069 right ok, you know better than an F1 world champion
@@ant2312 Not necessarily. Hunt may not have believed what he says in this clip. He liked to be controversial.
I remember this chat. 1992 season preview on Sportsnight ❤
I grew up with formula 1 in the 80's and 90's. Prost and Senna were amazing. Fair play to James Hunt speaking his mind. I remember on his commentary in 89 he said Senna went for a gap that wasn't there, but with the replay of the aerial shot, Prost clearly turns in way too early.
Ive heard that the telemtry showed Senna was flat on the throttle at point of impact . Does n't sound like avoidance to me.
If i was the BBC in the late 80's / early 90's, I think they should have sent Hunt to interview people and rip them to shreds in one on one interviews. I think had the BBC went that route, it would have been fun to see Hunt ripping into Balestre, Prost and others in one on one interviews.
Do you have the full-length interview of this one?
Just rewatched the SENNA documentary for probably the fourth time yesterday, and it’s pretty clear that Prost starts turning much earlier than normal.
Hunt absolutely right about the 89 incident. Regarding '90, he appears to be letting his animosity for Ballestre (maybe it's justified, honestly don't know) cloud his judgement similarly to the way it clouded Ayrton's.
Well at least James Hunt didn't find a way to blame Ricardo Patrese for this one...
Absolutely right.
I just found this thanks to RUclips’s algorithm and I have said that exact thing about the famous 1990 incident since it happened and it baffled me how everyone said otherwise. It’s annoyed me for decades and finally I have a very respected person to call on to back my argument up. This is getting sent to a few people now lol! These 2 gents were fantastic, F1 will never be the same without them
James Hunt was never one to kiss a$$ or shy away from his principles. Uncharacteristically rebellious for a Brit both on and off the track. Incredibly refreshing to hear a driver, a world champion no less, speak truth to power.
But Senna later admitted, not least to Jackie Stewart, some time after the previous interview when Senna took exception to Stewart implying that he deliberately took Prost out, that he did indeed do exactly that. Hunt made himself look very silly here. Murray Walker is correct.
@ViN-kr3ri yes Senna admitted it. Senna admitted it, he took Prost out in another interview
The chicane - Prost’s responsible- the first corner-Senna’s responsible. In each incident they had made their decision ahead of time. Two great talents but two very different racing drivers.
Where did you find this clip? And is there a full clip ?
Interesting that James Hunt changed his opinion from when he was commentating live in ‘89. At the time he blamed Senna for the chicane crash and said he had gone for a gap that didn’t exist (per clips found on yt). Maybe later he saw some replays and changed his mind.
I don't remember Hunt saying that Senna went for a gap that didn't exist at Suzuka 1989 but if you listen to him after the final replay of the incident he states that under normal circumstances it would have been Senna's corner.
Can kinda see his point. Prost was no angel, but senna knew what he was doing here
There is no point, there is a fact, and James told how it went.
in 1989 its very clear that its alain at fault, but id argue in 1990 it was senna's
100% agree with James Hunt on this, Prost could have easily avoided going into Senna, but he chose not to.
James Hunt was a ,,rockstar”, an f1 driver with personality and bravery, he was an adventurer that knew at that time the types of f1 drivers and their tricks.A guy like him talking about those incidents matters more than 10000 fans opinion.
I totally agree with him about 1989 Suzuka incident when Prost, deliberately turned into the corner way earlier than the racing line was going to because he was on advantage in standing points, that situation was on his favor, and at that time crashes like that was considered as race incident.Is funny how Prost answered when he was asked if he did it intentionally, arguing about his titles, his victories and why he would have ever needed to made this maneuver…
Prost had Balestre, his friend, as FISA president so he was given the title in 1989.
In 1990 after Senna got the pole but in the dirty side of the track, giving 2nd place an unfair advantage, being this time on his favor any accident, he just got for the gap, Prost could have easily avoided the incident by giving Senna some space, Senna in 1990 defeated them both Prost&Balestre playing by their rules.
Prost was a genius but had that persuasive attitude specific to French people/european people.
Senna and Prost case I associate with Verstappen and Hamilton case in 2021
This must have been one of the times Murray spoke about when he wanted to punch Hunt in the face.
Thank you James. Direct, fearless, and to the point as always... Prost and Balestre both such POS'
I agree. Thank you for cutting through the BS
Something i have never seen anyone discuss is the fact that Prost jumped the start in 1990. He was rolling before the green light came on. He actually did this a lot.
Prost jumped the start at Suzuka 1989
Just love how tough James Hunt was. Just wow!!!!
Yes he was teak tough. Anyone that drove in the 1970's was really taking his life in his hands.
Well I remember James's commentary during the 89 Suzuka race saying that Senna put himself in a vulnerable position and only had himself to blame for Prost turning into him because he didnt need to finish the race where Ayrton did. He doesnt reiterate that point in this clip but im sure he maintains that point though he does rightly say that Prost drove into him and caused the accident to counter Murrays point that Ayrton was the instigator of many collisions. And Prost had said he wasnt opening the door anymore so this collision was inevitable as it was the only way he could stop him.
Suzuka 1990 turned things 180 degrees as it was now Senna who said he wasnt giving way. Prost knew that and then he put himself in a vulnerable postion knowing he had to finish the race and sufferered the consequences. Though as James points out, Senna didnt drive into Prost, Prost came across his bows knowing the inevitable ending. Outside political manouverings played a big part in both collisions and were a shameful episode in a great rivalry.
The red car turned in as if the mclaren wasnt even there (twice). Yes the mclaren made a risky move attempting to pass in that specific turn, but at the end of the day it was the red car that caused the crash. Simple as. Idk why there's any debate about it
Prost was trying to block Senna from coming through as he was desperate for Senna not to take the lead, he wouldn't have expected Senna to keep his foot in which even though he moved towards the kerb...he still kept his foot in all the same. Both drivers fault.
Because Senna had an obligation to give way, due to not being far enough alongside. The person who 'causes the crash' is the person who breaks the rules, not the one who turns the wheel.
Wasn't there also controversy over the starting grid being changed. Historically, the 1st pole position is on the left side of the track where Prost was positioned, even though he was in 2nd place. Essentially giving him the better start due to that being the racing line.
These two men did just as much for the sport we love than the battles on track in them days,oh how I wish we had the same level on competition today
James was a class act. His points here are evidence-based and unbiased. He could not have settled these matters any better. At the same time, Murray Walker let escape his prejudices...
Walker was an anti Senna.
@@theakyosmith He wasn't, he was very Pro-Prost
No he fucking wasn’t, he was a drunk moron who lucked his way to a championship and got illusions of grandeur.
I miss Murray Walker
The Godfather of F1.
I recently bought his book, "Unless I'm very much mistaken" and watch the races from late '80s wherever I can find them.
Murray Walker was legendary and James Hunt as well.
@@AlanMcB where did you get this vid from?
Two legends.wish interviews where this forthright to day.no BS and to the point.
gone into this since my last post,in some detail.Hunt was spot on,good man James-sadly missed.-RIP.
At suzuka was prost supposed to not turn for chicane? And let senna overshoot the corner and get back to track first. If the shoe was on the other foot and prost was behind and made the lunge from that far back he would be vilified for it.
Why the discussion? Why don't you just say I dislike Senna Murray
What an incredible interview! James was absolutely correct, if you watch the replay, especially 1989 Prost turns in three or four car lengths too early, only reason, to cut Senna off before it's too late no matter if it does cause an accident. Prost is a dirty drive on and off the track!
I don't think Prost was a dirty driver. His driving into the turn early could be interpreted as his intention to hold the racing line and giving Senna time to react rather than turning in when Senna is already there and causing an inevitable collision.
Of all the races I've seen in my life, the one Hunt and Senna are having up there would blow them all away.
I've said this all along. Senna wasn't just battling with his competitors, he was being unfairly treated by Ballestre. Disgraceful 😡
Yeah, pole positiion on the dirty side of the track in 89 and 90. Pure politics from Prost and Balestre.
@@HarrySedgelake-xy8ej it was always on that side of the track prior to that
Prost took Senna out in 89, Senna took Prost out in 90. Prost came across Senna in 90, but Senna should have yielded as he was nowhere near alongside. Prost was a dirty, political tactician though. It often gets overlooked. Once Balestre was gone he couldn't play the political game so well.
Man, do I ever miss James Hunt! He was his own man, not beholden to anyone else. R.I.P. Oh Great One.
Both very intelligent guys, I’ve read both of there biographies , well worth a read. MW was a successful advertising guru and came up with many well known advertising slogans. JH was an F1 champ, an outstanding TV commentator and in addition to being an avid bird collector was a Miss. World judge + he had Sennas corner from the early days
Prost was dirty 😂
Bullshit. In either example Senna was nowhere near pulling off the overtake. He barely has his front wheel overlapping the rear of Prosts and he wasn't going to make the corner. As usual he put himself in a position that if the driver leading takes the inside line, he'll drive into him. Prost wasn't prepared to take that crap.
Hunt's sharp tongue is just a joy to listen! Even someone as graceful as Murray Walker is taken aback by Hunt's analysis.
This man left us way too soon. Miss you James 😢