Editing Ayrton Senna (section)

====1987: Last season at Lotus====
[[File:Lotus 99T front-left 2012 Autosport International.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The [[Lotus 99T]] raced by Senna in {{F1|1987}}]]

[[Team Lotus]] had a new engine deal in 1987, running the same turbocharged Honda V6 engines as Williams had used to win the previous year's Constructors' Championship, and with them came a new teammate, 34-year-old Japanese driver, [[Satoru Nakajima]], who was a test driver employed directly by Honda. The team guaranteed Senna contractually preferential treatment over Nakajima in the allocation of equipment.<ref>{{cite web |author=Fábio Seixas |title=O contrato de Senna em 1987 |url=http://fabioseixas.blogfolha.uol.com.br/2013/07/10/o-contrato-de-senna-em-1987/ |access-date=13 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206163307/https://fabioseixas.blogfolha.uol.com.br/2013/07/10/o-contrato-de-senna-em-1987/ |archive-date=6 February 2020 |work=[[Folha de S.Paulo]] |date=10 July 2013 |language=pt}}</ref> Senna started the season with mixed fortunes: a podium at the [[1987 San Marino Grand Prix|San Marino Grand Prix]] was tempered by controversy at the following [[1987 Belgian Grand Prix|race]] at Spa-Francorchamps, where he collided with Mansell, and afterward in the pits an irate Mansell grabbed Senna by the throat and had to be restrained by Lotus mechanics.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing-testy-times-for-senna-and-schumacher-1533774.html |location=London |work=The Independent |title=Motor Racing: Testy times for Senna and Schumacher |date=17 July 1992 |access-date=19 September 2017 |archive-date=2 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502095221/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing-testy-times-for-senna-and-schumacher-1533774.html |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfnp|Hilton|2004|p=432}} Senna then won two races in a row, which helped him take the lead in the World Championship: the ensuing [[1987 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco Grand Prix]] (the first of his record six victories at the [[Monaco|Principality]]) and the [[1987 Detroit Grand Prix|Detroit Grand Prix]], his second victory in two years at the angular [[Michigan]] street circuit,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Jones F.|first=Robert|title=Street Smart in Motown |magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=29 June 1987 |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1066128/2/index.htm|access-date=13 October 2012|archive-date=22 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322045806/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1066128/2/index.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the first ever for an [[active suspension]] Formula One car.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2007/05/17/banned-active-suspension |title=Banned! Active suspension |last=Collantine |first=Keith |date=17 May 2007 |publisher=F1 Fanatic |access-date=4 June 2014 |archive-date=19 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919071015/http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2007/05/17/banned-active-suspension/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

As the championship progressed, it became evident that the Williams cars had the advantage over the rest of the field, the gap between the Honda-engined teams made most obvious at the [[1987 British Grand Prix|British Grand Prix]], where Mansell and Piquet in the superior Williams cars lapped the Lotuses of Senna and Nakajima who finished 3rd and 4th respectively. Senna became dissatisfied with his chances at Lotus and at [[Autodromo Nazionale Monza|Monza]] it was announced that he would be joining McLaren for 1988.{{sfnp|Hilton|2004|p=186}} Senna was fined $15,000 for punching a corner marshal after they refused to push his stalled car in Mexico then finished the season strongly, coming second in the final two races in [[1987 Japanese Grand Prix|Japan]] and [[1987 Australian Grand Prix|Australia]]; post-race scrutineering at the final race found the brake ducts of his Lotus to be wider than permitted by the rules and he was disqualified, bringing his last and most successful season with Lotus to a sour end.{{sfnp|Hilton|2004|p=188}} Senna was classified third in the final standings, with 57 points, six podium finishes and only one pole position. This season marked a turning point in Senna's career as, throughout the year, he built a deep relationship with Honda, which paid big dividends, as McLaren had secured Williams's supply of Honda's V6 turbo engines for 1988.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/eng-honda.html |title=Engines: Honda Motor Company |publisher=grandprix.com |access-date=22 April 2014 |archive-date=3 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503051705/https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/eng-honda.html |url-status=live}}</ref>