Senna pushing hard to catch Pantano

Senna said the sideways moment, which happened at the daunting Eau Rouge section, was the result of him trying to take the compression "almost flat" despite the wet conditions.

Despite his effort, which meant he improved his first sector time, Senna had to bin the laptime due to yellow flags further around the track.

"It was a very fast moment," said Senna. "It was one of the scariest experiences of my life... I don't want to repeat that!

"It was a shame about the yellows. It was very difficult to get a lap in this situation. Fortunately I had done a good time earlier, but it's a bit sad you can't get into a rhythm around here, because it's such a great track."

Thanks to his two points for pole position, Senna is now 11 points behind Pantano in the points race.

He said of his rival, who starts fourth tomorrow: "The pressure is on Giorgio, not me. If nothing bizarre happens tomorrow, like has happened a lot to me this year, we should be fine to keep chipping away at his lead this weekend. Then we will go to Monza, and it should be a real thriller."