At the 1985 Monaco Grand Prix, the French oil company Elf sponsored a crew to film the drivers and the teams as they readied themselves for the race. The result was Anatomie d’un Depart (“Anatomy of the Start”), ten mostly silent minutes set to a loopy Serge Franklin score, interspersed with the occasional squeak of a racing glove on a visor and some burbly turbos.
Among the shoelaces, hand-labeled tires, wicked ’80s mustaches, sponsor decals and tech crews in very short shorts, there’s 25-year-old Ayrton Senna, dressed in black and gold, driving his fourth race for Lotus. You can guess who started on pole.
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