Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
F1 legend Ayrton Senna is one of the greatest drivers who ever lived—and he used a special technique on track that's still debated to this day. Let's see if we can figure it out.
When you're going through a high-speed corner, most professional race car drivers would tell you that you have to be smooth on the throttle to avoid spinning out. But Senna would stab wildly at the gas pedal, as many as 10 times in a couple seconds. Why?
There are a number of theories—testing tire grip, countering understeer, maintaining speed—and we've put them all to the test with our own pro driver in a 1991 Acura NSX. And we made him wear the same shoes Senna famously had on during his famous NSX hot lap at Suzuka.
As you'll see, there's something to it. Ultimately, Senna was just so good he was able to mimic the kinds of corrections that modern traction control systems will do for you today. But trying to emulate one of the best to ever do it has its risks.
#cars #cartok #f1 #senna #racing #howto #honda #acura #nsx #explained #carculture
F1 legend Ayrton Senna is one of the greatest drivers who ever lived—and he used a special technique on track that's still debated to this day. Let's see if we can figure it out.
When you're going through a high-speed corner, most professional race car drivers would tell you that you have to be smooth on the throttle to avoid spinning out. But Senna would stab wildly at the gas pedal, as many as 10 times in a couple seconds. Why?
There are a number of theories—testing tire grip, countering understeer, maintaining speed—and we've put them all to the test with our own pro driver in a 1991 Acura NSX. And we made him wear the same shoes Senna famously had on during his famous NSX hot lap at Suzuka.
As you'll see, there's something to it. Ultimately, Senna was just so good he was able to mimic the kinds of corrections that modern traction control systems will do for you today. But trying to emulate one of the best to ever do it has its risks.
#cars #cartok #f1 #senna #racing #howto #honda #acura #nsx #explained #carculture
