Senna’s iconic McLaren MP4/4 to go to Imola, in May, 20 years after 1994

By Feb 26, 2014, 11:15 AM EST
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This year carries a large significance in Formula One lore, as 2014 marks the 20-year anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s passing in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.

But while Senna is still a revered, global presence – and still considered by many the best Grand Prix driver who ever lived – McLaren is doing its part to pay tribute to the glory days when the two were paired together, and not dwell on the tragedy that was F1’s most horrible weekend.

The McLaren MP4/4, which Senna and Alain Prost took to 15 of 16 victories during Senna’s first World Championship-winning season in 1988, will head to Imola on the weekend of May 1-4 this year. It’s, as the team described on Wednesday, “a celebration of the life and times of the great Brazilian over the weekend of May 1-4,” and “will rekindle memories of a racing legend and a track that quietly slipped from the grand prix canon almost a decade ago.”

Indeed Imola’s last Grand Prix was held in 2006. In 2004, the 10-year mark of Senna’s passing, his teammate Gerhard Berger took one of Senna’s old Lotus chassis for a tribute lap (linked here; Italian commentary). Berger, who’s Austrian, also paid tribute to the other driver lost that weekend, his countryman Roland Ratzenberger.

The MP4/4, meanwhile, will also travel to Australia’s Top Gear Festival at the Sydney Motorsport Park March 8 and 9. That marks the car’s first return to Australia since winning the 1988 Australian Grand Prix 26 years ago, and coincidentally, the last win for a turbocharged Formula One car.

The next turbocharged F1 win will occur – fittingly – in the 2014 Australian Grand Prix curtain-raiser to the new season, with new 1.6L V6 engines.

IndyCar Power Rankings: Pato O’Ward moves to the top entering Texas Motor Speedway

By Mar 29, 2023, 6:00 AM EDT
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The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17th after qualifying 14th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):

NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)