ALWAYS MEET YOUR HEROES...

It's 40 years since Senna arrived in F1. James Elson joins Pierre Gasly as the Alpine driver takes Ayrton's first Toleman on the track

- James Elson

The tension’s almost unbearable as a chilling breeze sweeps down the old Silverstone pitlane. Will it, won’t it? Silence descends for a second, and the atmosphere ratchets up one more notch, before being brutally shattered: an 800bhp turbo beast roars into life.

The machine in front of us is the Toleman TG183B – Ayrton Senna’s first grand prix car. We’re here to see it run today, as Sky F1 shoots a tribute film signifying 30 years since the F1 legend’s death to air over the Emilia-Romagna race weekend. It’s a precursor to the car joining a bumper Senna demonstration at this summer’s Silverstone Festival.

Fears allayed that the 1980s monster might not stir, the man sourced to get behind the wheel is nothing less than a bona fide Senna fanatic – grand prix race winner and current Alpine driver Pierre Gasly.

“I’m so stoked,” he says beforehand, clutching his special-edition Senna crash helmet. “I get the chance to drive this beautiful piece of engineering.”

The future three-time world champion, already a man to watch when he made his 1984 F1 debut, first raced the TG183B in anger at his home race in Rio de Janeiro, before scoring a first world championship point next time out in South Africa, and another at the following race in Zolder. In historic racing terms, this is a highly significant car.

Also making his grand prix bow for Tyrrell that Brazil weekend was Senna’s British F3 archrival from the previous season, Martin Brundle. More than a little au fait with slightly unwieldy turbo grand prix cars, the Le Mans winner, F1 veteran and broadcaster is on-hand – along with Sky presenter and racer Naomi Schiff – to give Gasly a few pointers, while key Toleman figures are also present: team manager Alex Hawkridge, press man Chris Witty and mechanic Barney Drew-Smythe.