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My theory is that Senna’s first kart/s must have had a binary throttle – either on or off. From my own experience emulating Senna’s throttle technique I can say that it’s extremely challenging to master to any acceptable level. The complexities of how a driver develops the way they interact with a race vehicle at such a young age is neurologically fascinating, and still a mystery. For example, Jenson Button was an impossibly smooth Cadet driver which was evident later on in his career. The basic driving model that a young driver develops tends, though not always, to be reflected throughout their career from cadet karts right through to F1. My belief is Senna started using this technique when he was very young. It also simply doesn’t make sense that Senna would develop a Turbo specific throttle technique, and then keep it subsequently in other vehicles. A 20hp rotary valve 100cc kart couldn’t be more technically different to a 1000+hp Turbo F1 car. The flaw in this theory was that Senna was stabbing the throttle when he raced karts in the late 70s, years before his time in F1. They said it was a way for Senna to spool the Turbo up so it was ready to deliver the power when required.

Mistakenly, many experts attribute Senna’s technique to his days in Turbo F1 (1984-1988). His high frequency throttle stabs flew in the face of conventional wisdom at the time, and they still do. Jackie however, was demonstrably wrong.įor reasons I can only hypothesise, to which I will in a moment, Senna’s relationship with the throttle and consequently how he understood grip appeared to be different to almost all other racing drivers. The great Jackie Stewart once stated that you shouldn’t “put your foot on the gas pedal until you’re sure that you’ll never have to take it off again”. The thing about Senna’s throttle technique is that it breaks almost all of the generally accepted rules about proper throttle technique. If Ayrton Senna’s throttle technique doesn’t give you a headache it really should, I know it has caused me endless hours of torment.