Recently, Top Gear put together a memorable 15 minute piece at the end of their show looking back at the life of Brazilian F1 Champion, Ayrton Senna, who would have turned 50 this year.
Many drivers in the sport today vote Senna the man to beat, and with a special appearance by 2008 Champion Lewis Hamilton, Senna’s 1988 McLaren MP4/4 took the spotlight as Lewis drove his hero’s car around Silverstone in what was surely one of the best and most memorable drives of his life.
While the car impresses with it’s place in the record books (winning 15 of 16 races), what is interesting to note were the roles American designers Steve Nichols and Peter Weismann had in pushing the development of the car with legendary F1 car designer, Gordon Murray.
According to Weismann, the car’s roots went back to an earlier collaboration with Murray while at Brabham, and with some interesting documentation, the concept for a better, lighter and smaller transaxle played a significant part in the way future F1 cars were to take shape.
