On April 21st, 1985, the Formula 1 grid showed up at the Autodromo do Estoril in Portugal for the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix, the second race of the season and Ayrton Senna‘s second race for Lotus.
The first race, in Brazil, was won by Alain Prost for McLaren, as he started a run that would finish with the 1985 World Drivers’ Championship, Prost’s first triumph. Senna’s first race with Lotus did not go to plan, as he abandoned the Grand Prix after 48 laps due to electrical issues in his car.
However, the race in Estoril was different for the Brazilian, who was in only his second F1 season and his first with a car that could fight for wins.
Senna grabbed the first of his 65 Pole Positions with a great lap in Qualifying, four-tenths ahead of Prost. Then, the Brazilian dominated a wet Grand Prix for his maiden Formula 1 win.
Senna’s masterful skills in the rain were easily noticeable, as he lapped the entire field except the second-place finisher, Michele Alboreto’s Ferrari.
Senna went on to win three Formula 1 championships and 41 races on his way to becoming one of the most beloved and greatest drivers in Formula 1 history.