Ayrton Senna's Racing Champions

Ayrton Senna's Racing Champions is a racing video game developed and published by Mad Man Ninja Studios. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Samsung Zeo and PC on 1 July 2023. In previous entries, Steam was the only platform available for PC players. The game received wildly positive reviews from critics, with most praise aimed at the innovation and the new "Life Scenarios" mode.

Gameplay
Senna's Racing Champions features new car models with updated physics. The game also features an updated track list, including the revised layouts of Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Spanish Grand Prix, Yas Marina Circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Albert Park Circuit for the Australian Grand Prix, as well as adding the new Miami International Autodrome for the new Miami Grand Prix. The Algarve International Circuit, home of the Portuguese Grand Prix, along with the Shanghai International Circuit, hosting the Chinese Grand Prix, was subsequently added to the game with an update.

Formula One sprints, a new addition to the sport, are also included in the game. It features adaptive AI, which would adjust the pace of AI cars according to the performance of players to ensure players are competitive from race-to-race. The game also introduces a customisable hub mode to allow players to collect supercars, clothing and accessories. The game is also confirmed to support virtual reality for PC via Oculus Rift, or HTC Vive, virtual reality headsets. The game also features immersive broadcast options, designed after televised Formula One broadcasts, as well as interactive pit stops.

A new feature is the Life Scenarios game mode, focused on the 1991 Formula One Championship real competition and heated rivalries.

Life Scenarios
In this mode, the player wear Ayrton Senna's overalls in the 1991 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was the 45th season of FIA Formula One motor racing and the 42nd season of the Formula One World Championship. It featured the 1991 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1991 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a sixteen-race series that commenced on 10 March and ended on 3 November. Ayrton Senna won his third and last Drivers' Championship, and McLaren-Honda won their fourth consecutive Constructors' Championship. Senna won seven of the sixteen races; his main challenger for the title was Nigel Mansell, who won five races in his first season back at Williams. Senna's fierce rival Alain Prost failed to win a race with Ferrari and was fired before the end of the season due to a dispute with the team. 1991 also saw the debuts of future world champions Michael Schumacher and Mika Häkkinen, as well as the retirement of three-time champion Nelson Piquet.

After completing the mode once, and winning the World Championship, the player is able to select and play as any of the drivers in the 1991 Championship.

Grand Prix
You can play a single Grand Prix or create your own championship by selecting races from the pool and placing them in the order of your choice (may be completely different from the official calendar). For each race, you can choose additional settings for the difficulty level or the occurrence and length of the session.

The player can choose between the 1991 and 2022 calendars, drivers and constructors. This allows a more fantsy-based approach of the game.

Time Trial
The players can compete to obtain better times on the tracks of their choice from the calendar and any vehicles they choose. By default, it is possible to race against the ghosts of other players, although it is possible to disable them. The player can also fight for a place in the rankings of the best players, but you have to be online and only "clean" laps count (i.e. without getting outside the track).

After registering a time lap ranking, the player will be able to compete with the best time ever registered in the track previously selected. The available tracks are the registered in the official 1991 and 2022 calendars.

For the circuits that remain in the offical calendar, the newer and older versions remain available.

Driver Mode
This is the equivalent of the "classic" career known from the previous parts of the series. The character the player creates can sign a contract with one of the teams, thus replacing one of their drivers.

One of the key aspects of the game’s driver mode is that of car development. Just like in real life, teams periodically apply new, upgraded parts to their cars. The player’s team is no exception to this, as resource points contribute directly to research and development throughout the season. There are four distinct areas of research and development available in Driver Mode: Aerodynamics, Chassis, Powertrain, and Durability. Each one is responsible for improving a specific aspect of the car’s performance.

Each category includes several research items for you to pick and choose from, but not all of them are available right away and need to be unlocked first. For example, the engine power category under the Powertrain department has seven upgrades in total — some of which are unavailable for purchase until you complete lesser research projects.

Free Practice
Free Practice allows drivers to familiarize themselves with the track that the grand prix is taking place in. This is all about getting to grips with the characteristics of the circuit, as well as figuring out the best way to approach the different corners.

Also available in Free Practice sessions are the various practice programs, which consist of short challenges that serve as stress tests for different components of the car. For example, the tire management program requires players to keep tire wear to a minimum over the course of a lap. The race strategy program, on the other hand, is all about putting in a consistent performance over five laps, collecting data for the optimal race strategy on Sunday as you go.

Plot
Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1988, 1990, and 1991. Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and won 41 Grands Prix and 65 pole positions, with the latter being the record until 2006. He died in an accident while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, driving for the Williams team. Senna is considered by media, commentators and fans to be one of the greatest F1 drivers in the history of the sport.

Senna began his motorsport career in karting, moved up to open-wheel racing in 1981 and won the 1983 British Formula Three Championship. He made his Formula One debut with Toleman-Hart in 1984, before moving to Lotus-Renault the following year and winning six Grands Prix over the next three seasons. In 1988, he joined Frenchman Alain Prost at McLaren-Honda. Between them, they won all but one of the 16 Grands Prix that year, and Senna claimed his first World Championship. Prost claimed the championship in 1989, and Senna his second and third championships in 1990 and 1991. In 1992, the Williams-Renault combination began to dominate Formula One. Senna nonetheless managed to finish the 1993 season as runner-up, winning five races and negotiating a move to Williams in 1994.

Senna was recognised for his qualifying speed over one lap, and from 1989 until 2006 he held the record for most pole positions. He was also acclaimed for his wet weather performances, such as the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix, and the 1993 European Grand Prix. He holds a record six victories at the Monaco Grand Prix, is the fifth-most successful driver of all time in terms of race wins and has won more races for McLaren than any other driver. Senna courted controversy throughout his career, particularly during his turbulent rivalry with Prost. In the Japanese Grands Prix of 1989 and 1990, each of which decided the championship of that year, collisions between Senna and Prost determined the eventual winner.

In 1991, Senna became the youngest ever three-time world champion, taking seven wins and increasing his pole position record to 60 from 127 events. Prost, because of the downturn in performance at Ferrari, the likes of which littered the team's history, was no longer a serious competitor. In preseason testing, Senna made public misgivings about the car's competitiveness with the new Honda V12, stating that the engine was not as powerful as the prior year's V10. Senna won the first four races in Phoenix, Brazil, Imola and Monaco as his rivals struggled to match his pace and reliability. By midseason, Nigel Mansell in the quick Adrian Newey designed Williams-Renault was able to put up a challenge later in the season, having only scored 6 points by the time Senna had 40 points.

Before the Mexican Grand Prix, Senna was injured in a jet-skiing accident near São Paulo for which he required stitches on the back of his head. During qualifying for that Grand Prix, he attempted to take the banked 180-degree Peraltada corner (Mexico City circuit's fastest corner) faster than normal, ending up spinning off the track and rolling over the car after crashing into a tyre barrier. At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Senna's car had come to a halt on the final lap, but he was not left stranded out on the circuit, as race-winner Mansell pulled over on his parade lap and allowed the Brazilian to ride on the Williams side-pod back to the pits. Senna then had an enormous accident during testing at the very fast Hockenheim circuit in Germany where his car flew 15 feet into the air after a tyre failure, and turned over several times upon coming down onto the track. The car was destroyed and Senna had to spend the night in hospital in nearby Mannheim. But he was able to compete in the German Grand Prix at the forested Hockenheim circuit soon after, but ran out of fuel mere laps before the end. At the Spanish Grand Prix, Senna and Mansell went wheel-to-wheel with only centimetres to spare, at over 320 km/h (200 mph) down the main straight, a race which the Briton eventually won.

Though Senna's consistency, the car's competitiveness, and the Williams' unreliability at the beginning of the season gave him an early advantage, Senna insisted that Honda step up their engine development program and demanded further improvements to the car before it was too late. These modifications, including modifications introduced at Hungary and variable inlet trumpets introduced at Belgium enabled him to make a late-season push, and he won three more races to secure the championship, which was settled in Japan when Mansell (who needed to win), went off at the first corner while running third and beached his Williams in the gravel trap. Senna finished second, handing the victory to teammate Gerhard Berger at the last corner as a thank-you gesture for his support over the season. Senna was planning to move to the Williams team for the 1992 season, but Honda's CEO, Nobuhiko Kawamoto, personally requested that he remain at McLaren-Honda, which Senna did out of a sense of loyalty; in addition to Alain Prost's recommendation Honda had played an important part of bringing Senna with them to McLaren.

That year, as had been the case in 1988 and 1990, Senna won the "International Racing Driver Award" granted by British magazine Autosport annually. The award was presented by Stirling Moss and Senna was interviewed on stage by Formula 1 commentator, Murray Walker. During the interview, Senna confirmed that at the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) gala dinner in Paris the day before, under the auspices of Jackie Stewart, Senna had given one of his helmets to his renowned foe, Jean-Marie Balestre, because of the sincere atmosphere that presented itself and as an insulting psychological gesture.

Trivia

 * Lewis Hamilton is one of the greatest drivers on the grid, maybe one of the most celebrated of all time. Hamilton won his seventh world champion title this season, matching Formula One legend, Michael Schumacher. Every single driver on the F1 grid was a personality they looked up to and drew influence from as they embarked on their journey in Formula One. While Schumacher was that personality for many, Lewis had a different F1 legend that inspired him to become the driver he is today. That legend is none other than the God of F1, Ayrton Senna. Talking about why he looks up to the legendary driver, Hamilton said, ” It was because of the way he raced, the colors of his helmet, the passion he talked with, and his victories. But also the way he faced alone a system that wasn’t always kind to him".
 * Senna is perhaps considered by some one of the best driver of all times. Senna won the Formula 1 drivers’ championship titles in 1988, 1990 and 1991. The Brazilian was known for his spectacular driving and propensity to take risks. Ayrton had the reputation of being one of the best drivers who managed to master the car in the most adverse weather conditions and for this skill, he was given the nickname “Rain Man”. Senna suffered a fatal accident during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix robbing the sport of a multiple world champion in the prime of his career.