The 'I Was There' Event: European Grand Prix, Donington 1993

Published by Stephen Milward in Sport · Saturday 21 Feb 2026 · 2 minutes
Tags: I, Was, There, Event, European, Grand, Prix, Donington, 1993, motorsport, racing, history, Formula, 1, nostalgia, sports, event, Ayrton, Senna

The 1993 European Grand Prix at Donington Park (i) was one of the legendary races in F1 history. This is due to the extraordinary weather and the amazing talents of Ayrton Senna (ii) who produced the most magical first lap.

First, some context. I had won two tickets to the race at Donington Park, a circuit that is only an hour away from where I live. The chance to see Senna and the other drivers was too good to miss. So on a very rainy and cold morning, I set off with a friend. We arrived at 5.00am, a barmy time, dark and cold. I remember that a fish and chip van opened up at 6.00am and I bought sausage and chips. We ate the chips and held the sausage in our hands to get warm!

Ticket to the GP

The crowd built up slowly. When the time approached 2.00pm, the weather was still awful. We stood at Coppice, with a good view from Starkey's down to the Esses. Senna passed four cars on the first lap, dominated the race and won having lapped everyone but Damon Hill.

A view from Coppice

Here's some amateur footage of the day, which gives a really good idea of the conditions.

We got home, had a hot meal and fell asleep in the chair. The memory of that day has stayed fresh with me ever since, thanks to the magical Ayrton Senna. Sadly Senna died at Imola in 1994, the loss still felt deeply.

(i) Wikipedia: 1993 European Grand Prix

(ii) Wikipedia: Ayrton Senna