Monaco GP-88: The day Senna walked home

Like many F1 drivers, Ayrton Senna had an apartment in Monte Carlo, a region where a significant part of the race takes place. In 1988, Senna was leading the race, more than 55 seconds ahead of Alain Prost, his teammate at McLaren. When everything seemed to point towards a second win for the Brazilian at the Principality, the driver made a mistake on the corner at the entrance of the tunnel and crashed against the guard-rail.

Visibly upset with the loss, with less than 12 laps remaining, Senna climbed out of the car and walked back to his apartment, not returning to the pit boxes at the end of the day. According to TV Globo journalist, Reginaldo Leme, Ayrton himself asked the reporter to pass along his statements about his retirement from the race. Reginaldo told that story to Senna TV, the three-time champion’s official YouTube channel.