Video: Jo Ramirez and Gerald Donaldson discuss Senna’s 1988 Monaco Pole Lap.

Former McLaren team co-ordinator Jo Ramirez and old friend, veteran F1 journalist Gerald Donaldson, spend a lunchtime in Monaco discussing their memories of old friend Ayrton Senna, the Monaco master whose searing 1988 pole lap remains one of Formula 1’s most thrilling and indelible memories.

During qualifying Senna was two seconds a lap quicker than Prost at one stage, Senna subsequently recalled attaining a mental state in which his subconscious mind had gained control, and in which he sensed the opportunity to go even faster, but feeling vulnerable, he decided to step back:

About the experience Senna said. “Suddenly I realised that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was kind of driving by instinct, only I was in a different dimension. I was way over the limit, but still I was able to find even more. It frightened me because I realised I was well beyond my conscious understanding.”

Below is the video of Senna after he binned it whilst leading the race