Here’s the story. By mid-1993, 21-year-old Rubens Barrichello was in trouble. He had impressed everyone by qualifying 12th in his debut for the lowly Jordan team at the South African Grand Prix. But then came the European season. Race after race, he over-drove the car, spinning out, stalling, or crashing. At the Spanish GP, he qualified 14th but retired with an electrical fault—though the truth was he’d been pushing so hard he’d damaged the gearbox himself.
The 1993 Formula 1 season was dominated by the formidable Williams-Renault FW15C, a car so advanced it featured active suspension, traction control, and anti-lock brakes. The champion was Alain Prost, who retired at the end of the year. But the most helpful story from that season isn’t about the champion—it’s about a young, struggling driver named and an unexpected piece of advice from the legendary Ayrton Senna .
It was three-tenths faster than his best Friday time.