Like many of you I'm sure, I can still remember watching the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. At the tail end of 1993 I had started taking a real interest in Formula 1 again after a few years of relative indifference, but I couldn't possibly have imagined the colossal drama and tragedy that would unfold over the course of the 1994 season:
Karl Wendlinger suffered a horrendous crash in Monaco that would leave him in a coma for several weeks and meant that he missed the rest of the season, returning in 1995 only to be replaced when he failed to perform to the required standard.
Jos Verstappen was engulfed in a fireball, when spilt fuel ignited at his pit-stop at Hockenheim (in the process creating some of the most iconic Formula 1 photographs of all time).
Jos Verstappen and some of the pitcrew suffered minor burns in the incident.
Michael Schumacher crashed at the last race in Adelaide, but managed to steer his car back onto the track to take out his only rival for the title (Damon Hill), in the process securing his first World Drivers Championship when Hill pulled into the pits, his car too damaged to continue.
At the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Michele Alboreto's wheel came off as he left the pits and it struck two Ferrari mechanics and two Lotus mechanics who needed medical treatment as a result.
Again at San Marino, JJ Lehto's car stalled on the grid and was hit by Pedro Lamy sending parts of the car into the grandstand and leaving nine people with minor injuries.
All of which pales into absolute insignificance against what happened during the rest of that afternoon's race and the qualifying session the day before. Firstly Simtek driver Roland Ratzenberger was killed on the Saturday after a high speed impact with the barriers and then on the Sunday after a restart from behind the safety car, F1 legend and the only active Formula 1 World Champion in the field, Ayrton Senna struck the wall at Tamburello and was killed when a piece of the suspension of his Williams pierced his crash helmet.
Ayrton Senna only drove in three races for the Williams F1 team
By the time of his death Ayrton Senna was a legend and a superstar all over the world, his home country observed three days of mourning such was his status and his shadow has loomed large over the sport ever since. Even Michael Schumacher's absolute dominance of Formula 1 failed to make him a 'legend' in quite the same way and to this day many, many people consider the Brazilian triple champion the best Formula 1 driver ever.
Yes, Ayrton had his dark side and he wasn't above taking things into his own hands if he felt the need, but mostly he didn't need to because he annihilated almost everyone he raced against, with only Alain Prost keeping him relatively honest through a mixture of cunning and strategy. But real legends aren't built on cunning and strategy, or indeed 'winning races by only going as fast as necessary' which Prost was famous for. Yes, it's sensible to be kind to your car if you want it to get you to the end of the race, but that wasn't Ayrton's way, he didn't just want to beat the competition, he wanted to crush them to dust.
And so it was that Senna became more than just a racing driver, he became an icon. You could well argue that his legendary status was attained
because he died on the track, but the truth was that Senna was already a legend when he died, he just wasn't like the others... he was somehow 'above' them all.
Two of Ayrton's signature pieces in the TAG Heuer Museum
It's just over 26 years since Ayrton passed away, but the TAG Heuer connection is as strong as ever; last year seeing several more 'Ayrton Senna' pieces added to an already impressive collection. Ayrton was of course famous for wearing first a two-tone ani-digi S/EL on a brown leather strap and later a 6000 Series, sadly there was never an 'Ayrton Senna' S/EL as to me that would be the ultimate tribute watch, but there have been several 'Links' and in recent time TAG Heuer have taken to using the excellent (old-style) 'Link' bracelet on Carreras and Formula 1s that bear the great driver's name.
Here then are my top five TAG Heuer Ayrton Senna watches...
#5. Link Calibre 16 (CJF2113.BA0576)
Whereas I had a pretty good idea what the top four entries were going to be here, the number five spot was a hotly contested one. I nearly went for the CAR2A1L Carrera with its black PVD case and bracelet, but somehow the oversized new Carreras don't really seem to gel with Ayrton's more refined watch choices and so in the end I plumped for this stylish looking Link.
It has the unique feature of being the only 'Senna' branded TAG Heuer to feature a dark blue dial, which is the perfect background colour for the yellow signature and the green running seconds hand.
#4. Formula 1 Quartz Watch (WAZ1014.FT8027)
I was tempted to put this one at number five, but since there were several watches vying to join this elite group I figured that whichever one won out it really ought to be at the bottom of the pile as this one was definitely getting in. This is a watch that I actually own, albeit it is currently languishing in the safe at TAG Heuer Bicester Village. No doubt by the time I finally get it back it will be out of warranty... Damn you Coronavirus!
For a long time I was unsure about those red hands and in my '
Top Ten Formula 1s' post back in July 2018 (which I must admit I had completely forgotten about) I said I liked it but I wished it had silver hands. I've got used to them now and while they are still a bit too shiny for my liking, I do like the watch a lot. The dial though is the least interesting part of the watch, which is pretty unusual. I love the silver aluminium bezel against the black PVD case and the strap is really something.
For me, the three hander is preferable over the chronograph simply because of those red stripes down the right hand side. Here the design is simple and smart, but chuck subdials into the mix and it gets a bit messy for my liking.
#3 Link Calibre 16 Chronograph (CT2115.BA0550)
I picked this one because while it is a 'Link' rather than an 'S/EL' it carries more of the old model's DNA than say the Link CJF2113 and also because I really like the black and yellow colour scheme. Aside from the fact that it seems more appropriate for a 'Senna' watch than black and red, I do think that black and red sometimes needs a bit of white to make it work - which is why I prefer the new black and yellow Carrera Heuer 02T over the old black and red one.
Admittedly the design is a bit cramped, I'm not sure putting the TAG Heuer shield on top of the Senna 'S' logo on top of Ayrton's signature was really the best move, but there we are... they've done a fair job of smoothing it out with their choice of colours which draws your eye to the yellow 'S' and away from the other two components of the design.
#2 Formula 1 Quartz (CAZ1015.BA0883)
I don't own this one, but I know a man who does (Hi Tom, hope you are keeping well) and I've had a good look at it and I really like this one. As I said above, this one has just the right amount of white on the dial to make the red and black colour scheme mesh properly and the decision to go with the Link bracelet here was inspired, it really lifts this above the majority of Formula 1 models available.
After seeing this one I had a fantasy of purchasing a Red Bull Formula 1 and a BA0883 bracelet and creating my ultimate 'TAG Heuer Formula 1'. As yet that hasn't come to pass, but maybe one day. It's quite amusing really that this one should feature so highly when it's probably one of the cheapest 'Senna' watches available, but you really wouldn't know to look at it, as I said before the bracelet lifts this one enormously and makes it look much more expensive than it really was.
#1 6000 Series Quartz (WH1114.FC6030)
During the last two years of his life, Ayrton switched from his trademark S/EL (he actually gave it away to a departing McLaren team member) to a white dial 6000 Series WH5151 with a two-tone case on a black leather strap. This limited edition was released in late 1994, but was actually in the works before his death and as such was the only 'Senna' edition TAG Heuer that was made with his personal input.
I love the 6000 Series and for me this is perhaps not only the ultimate 'Senna' watch but also the ultimate 6000 Series. That metallic grey dial is stunning and the branding is kept subtle enough not to be intrusive. Can you imagine this with a yellow 'S' on the dial, sometimes less is definitely more, maybe that's why this didn't come with a two-tone case?
Oddly this was made in three sizes, defined at the time as 'Mens', 'Boys' and 'Ladies' with each piece manufactured in a quantity of 1000. As you can imagine the 'Mens' size models are much sought after, but one lucky Calibre 11 forumite 'Albert-AMG' somehow managed to find a NOS piece complete with hangtags, etc for sale last July!
Click the link below to read his Calibre 11 post on the subject:
To view the entire Ayrton Senna collection to date, including the models he personally wore please click on the link below:
