In Estoril in 1993, when Ayrton learned of Alain's decision to retiring, he went to you for confirmation…
– Yes. But above all I see him the following Monday in Estoril in Cintra at one of his friends. And then he asks me: “Is it true? Alain will retire?" He doesn’t say: “The other one” or “The Frenchman” He says “Alain” “How are people reacting In France? He can’t stop like this, not now.” He was a little disoriented, he knew he was losing his bearings. I remember retorting to him: “Wait a minute, Alain has had a great career, he's stopping, it's normal. And you have Schumacher coming.” Then, he looks at me and makes a sign at shoulder height: “You don't understand, Alain and I are here, Schumacher, he is here!” And he lowers his hand fifty centimeters! It's true that he was right at the time, Schumacher wasn't yet what he would later become, but for him, he wasn't a reference. On the other hand, what I've never understood, and neither has Alain, is that as soon as he arrived in F1, Senna took Prost as his absolute reference. He didn't care about beating anyone else, the reference for him was Prost.
– Lionel Froissart
Lionel Froissart (Journalist) was both Ayrton and Alain friend, this text was retired from his (excellent) book in French → L'Icône immolée
no, you don't understand. prost was the one who suggested the team chose senna over piquet. he sealed his own fate that day and even after everything that went down, after all the ugliness and abuse from the crowds and psychological warfare and tragedy he said – no, i don't regret that decision. and mind you senna didn't just want to beat prost on track, he wanted to annihilate him as a man. and so they drove into each other and they didn't speak to each other and they hated detested abhorred each other. and they brought the absolute worst out of each other. and prost said he would've liked to hit senna, that he was repulsed by him as a man. and then prost retired and senna had no motivation left to beat the others. so he called prost and prost was bewildered. still he took the calls. why? he still doesn't know. but they talked. and senna begged prost to come back, said it wasn't the same to race without him. and prost said —ayrton, i'm not your punching bag. and senna was anxious. he was worried. he was changed. and senna confessed a secret not even his family knew about and prost never revealed it. and after years of hostility and resentment, they grew close over the phone. and they talked just before imola. and at this point senna was very worried. he wasn't himself. and then prost was in imola. and senna sent him a message over the radio – a special hello to my dear friend alain, he said. and prost was there to hear it. and prost was there when the car hit the wall. and then he was there in brazil carrying senna's casket. and then he cried for weeks. and he didn't keep any formula one memorabilia in his home, except for his and senna's helmet. and he didn't speak about it for years. and then he was asked after decades – do you regret it? and he said no. and then he said, after everything that happened, it was still a fantastic story, wasn't it?
"Twin Flames: one unique soul split into two bodies, with each half being a “twin” of the other. These twin flames are believed to have an intense, deep connection and are destined to be together. "
somebody on twitter brought up this interview but one of my favorite parts of the video is the ending where nico asks if he and lewis ever make up can prost be the mediator between them
I came to the conclusion that formula one is mostly about star crossed lovers who are also scar crossed lovers seeking mutual destruction because they would only allow themselves a gentle touch of another man if it's in the safety of a shared podium.
Something I don’t think we talk about enough is the fact that Ayrton’s last meal was with Alain. And to this day Alain is publicly selfish in admitting he was glad it was him Ayrton had lunch with before the crash, and not anyone else.