Skip to content

LIGHTS ON THE FLAG: Allan McNish on working with Ayrton Senna, an F1 opportunity that came ‘too late’ and helped Audi join the grid

“I thought, ‘Well, what am I going to do?’” McNish says. “I went to Japan for a Formula Nippon test but there was something strange in the contract and I said: ‘Sorry, I can’t sign that.’ I came home and Tom Kristensen had the opportunity. Funnily enough, I spoke to Tom afterwards and he said, ‘No, that’s not in the contract,’ so they must have canceled it. That was Tom’s breakup, long before we came together at Audi and formed such a strong relationship.

“Then in IndyCar, there was a test with me and people like Lehto, Mark Blundell and Dominic Dobson. It was a very clear program, everyone with used tires, new tires, a lot of fuel, racing sessions… It’s no secret that I started faster in all dynamics, but they gave the seat to Mark, because Mark had a connection with McLaren, and The car’s engine was Mercedes.

LIGHTS ON THE FLAG: Mark Blundell on Williams, McLaren, competing in the United States and swapping the cockpit for a television studio

“There was a point there, if I’m very honest with you, where I thought, ‘What do I have to do?’ He had delivered what he could offer, but it wasn’t enough because of other parameters, which is fine, because Mark had that connection and relationship, and he used it very, very well.

“He took me to Jost Capito, who was running the Porsche Supercup championship. He said, “Come and have a race,” so I took part in the 1996 British Grand Prix support event in the VIP car. Then Porsche called me at the end of the year and said, ‘We’re looking to revamp our sports car driver lineup, would you like to get involved?’ I did it and my career took off again.”

A ticket to F1 with Toyota

It took off, and McNish established himself as a key member of Porsche’s endurance line-up until 1997, taking an emotional first victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998 alongside Frenchman Laurent Aïello and Monegasque Stéphane Ortelli.