Senna signed forMcLaren in1988 to partnerAlain Prost; together, they won 15 of 16Grands Prix held that season—driving theHonda-poweredMP4/4—with Senna taking his maiden championship by three points after winning athen-record eight Grands Prix.[b] Theirfierce rivalry culminated in title-deciding collisions atSuzuka in1989 and1990, despite Prost's move toFerrari inthe latter, with Prost winningthe former title and Senna taking the following. Senna took seven victories, includinghis home Grand Prix in Brazil, as he secured his third title in1991. The dominantWilliams–Renault combination prevailed throughout his remaining two seasons at McLaren, with Senna achieving several race wins in each, including his record-breaking sixthMonaco Grand Prix victory in1993 on his way to again finishing runner-up to Prost in the championship. Senna negotiated a move to Williams for his1994 campaign, replacing the retired Prost to partnerDamon Hill.
Ayrton Senna was born at 2:35 BRT on 21 March 1960, in the Pro-Matre Maternity Hospital ofSantana, a neighbourhood ofSão Paulo.[6] The middle child of a wealthy Brazilian family, he was born to landowner and factory owner Milton Guirado da Silva and his wife Neide Joanna Senna da Silva; he had an older sister,Viviane, and a younger brother, Leonardo.[7][8] Senna was of Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese descent: his mother was the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, and his father was the son of a Brazilian father of PortugueseQuatrocentão descent and a Spanish mother fromTíjola,Andalusia.[9]
The house where Senna spent the first four years of his life belonged to his maternal grandfather, João Senna, located less than 100 metres (330 ft) fromCampo de Marte, where his family operated theAeronautics Material park and an airport. Senna was highly athletic—excelling ingymnastics and other sports—and developed an interest in cars and motor racing by the age of four. He had poor motor coordination and had trouble climbing stairways by the age of three; anelectroencephalogram showed no abnormalities. Senna's parents nicknamed himBeco.[10] At the age of seven, Senna first learned to drive a Jeep around his family's farm and also how to change gears without using a clutch.[11]
Senna attended the Colégio Rio Branco in the São Paulo neighbourhood ofHigienópolis and graduated in 1977 with a grade 5 in physics, alongside other grades in mathematics, chemistry, and English. He later enrolled in a college that specialised in business administration, but dropped out after three months with an average grade of 68%.[12][13][page needed]
Senna's firstgo-kart was built by his father, who operated an automotive factory, using a small 1hp lawnmower engine.[14][15] Senna started racing atInterlagos and entered his firstkart racing competition at the age of 13.[16][timestamp needed] He started his debut race onpole position, against drivers who were several years older than him; he managed to lead most of the race before retiring after colliding with an opponent. His father supported him throughout his karting career, with Lucio Pascal Gascon becoming his manager.[17][timestamp needed]
Senna won the South American Kart Championship in 1977. He contested theKarting World Championship five times from 1978 to 1982, finishing runner-up in 1979 and 1980.[18] From 1978 to 1980, he was the teammate and rival ofTerry Fullerton at DAP; their fierce rivalry saw several1–2 finishes inmajor competitions. Senna later stated that Fullerton was the rival he got the most satisfaction racing against, owing to the lack of money and politics at that level, describing it as "pure racing".[19]
At the end of that season, under pressure from his parents to take up a role in the family business, Senna announced his retirement from Formula Ford and returned to Brazil.[13][page needed][23] Before leaving England, Senna was offered a drive with a two-litre Formula Ford team—Rushen Green Racing—for£10,000.[24] Back in Brazil, he decided to take this offer and returned to live in England.[25] Asda Silva is the most commonBrazilian surname, he adopted his maternal surname,Senna.[26] For 1982, Senna arrived with sponsorship from Banerj and Pool,[13][page needed] dominating the British and European Championships, winning 15 of 17 races held at the former.[27]
Ahead of the 1984 season, Senna was linked to many Formula One teams but received very few offers he liked. He had previously declined a long-term contract fromMcLaren,[32][33] and that door was formally closed whenAlain Prost (unexpectedly fired by Renault after finishing runner-up in 1983) received the second McLaren seat.[34] He was also linked toLotus andBrabham, but both teams' title sponsors (Imperial Tobacco /John Player & Sons for Lotus andParmalat for Brabham) wanted drivers from their respective home countries, so Lotus retained Nigel Mansell and Brabham signed brothersTeo andCorrado Fabi.[35][32] In addition, Brabham's lead driver,Nelson Piquet, vetoed Senna from Brabham and arranged for the team to sign his friendRoberto Moreno as the test driver.[36][37] Consequently, Senna joinedToleman, a relatively new team, using less competitivePirelli tyres.[38][39] He was paired with VenezuelanJohnny Cecotto, a formerGrand Prix motorcycle racing world champion.[40]
In 1983, Senna tested for McLaren, Brabham,Williams, andToleman, although Williams also lacked a vacancy.[41] Both Williams bossFrank Williams and McLaren boss Ron Dennis observed that Senna insisted that he got to run their cars before anyone else (other than their regular drivers such asKeke Rosberg) so that he would have the best chance of a good showing by having a fresh car.[citation needed] During his test for Williams atDonington Park, Senna completed 40 laps and was quicker than the other drivers, including Rosberg, Williams's reigning World Champion.[41]
Senna made his debut at theBrazilian Grand Prix inRio de Janeiro, where he qualified 17th but retired when theHart 415T turbocharger failed on lap 8.[42] He scored his firstWorld Championship point when he finished sixth in his second race at theSouth African Grand Prix atKyalami with severe cramp in his neck and shoulders, and replicated that result two weeks later at theBelgian Grand Prix.[42][43] A combination of tyre issues and a fuel-pressure problem resulted in his failure to qualify for theSan Marino Grand Prix, the only time this happened during his career. Toleman decided not to run both cars during Friday qualifying atImola due to a dispute with tyre supplierPirelli (Toleman were in the process of switching from Pirelli toMichelin). Senna then suffered a fuel-pressure problem in the wet Saturday session at Tosa (the furthest point on the circuit from the pits) and did not have enough time for it to be fixed to allow him to make the grid.[44]
Senna's best result of the season came at theMonaco Grand Prix, the first wet-weather race of the season. Qualifying 13th on the grid, he made steady progress in climbing through the field, passingNiki Lauda for second on lap 19. He quickly began to cut the gap to race leaderAlain Prost. Before he could attack Prost, the race was stopped on lap 31 for safety reasons, as the rain had grown even heavier. At the time the race was stopped, Senna was catching Prost by about 4 seconds per lap (while theTyrrell-Ford ofStefan Bellof was catching both at the same rate, although he was later disqualified due to weight restrictions broken by Tyrrell).[45]
Early on his career, Senna developed a reputation for providing very specific technical details about the performance of his cars and track conditions long before the advent of telemetry. This skill led Toleman'sPat Symonds, Senna's first Formula One race engineer, to regard theDallas Grand Prix as the initial highlight of Senna's debut season, instead of Monaco. In an interview, Symonds recalled:[46]
The car was reasonably competitive there, so we expected to have a good race, but Ayrton spun early in the race. He then found his way back through the field in a quite effective way and we were looking for a pretty good finish, but then he hit the wall, damaged the rear wheel and the driveshaft and retired, which was a real shame. The real significance of that was that when he came back to the pits he told me what happened and said "I'm sure that the wall moved!" And even though I've heard every excuse every driver has ever made, I certainly hadn't heard of that one! But Ayrton being Ayrton, with his incredible belief in himself, the absolute conviction, he then talked me into going with him after the race to have a look at the place where he had crashed. And he was absolutely right, which was the amazing thing! Dallas being a street circuit, the track was surrounded by concrete blocks and what had happened – we could see it from the tyre marks – was that someone had hit at the far end of the concrete block and that made it swivel slightly, so that the leading edge of the block was standing out by a few millimetres. And he was driving with such precision that those few millimetres were the difference between hitting the wall and not hitting the wall. While I had been, at first, annoyed that we had retired from the race through a driver error, when I saw what had happened, when I saw how he had been driving, that increased my respect for the guy by quite a lot.
That season, Senna took two more podium finishes—third at theBritish andPortuguese Grands Prix—and placed 9th in the Drivers' Championship with 13 points overall. He did not take part in theItalian Grand Prix after he was suspended by Toleman for being in breach of his contract by entering talks withLotus for 1985 without informing the Toleman team first. Although Senna did have a £100,000 buyout clause in his contract, the team had to be informed before discussions with another team started.[47][48] Senna became the first driver Lotus had signed not personally chosen by team founderColin Chapman, who had died in 1982.[citation needed]
Senna had some health issues during the season. Concerned about his low weight, he hired Nuno Cobra to assess his physical condition.[16] By the end of the year, Senna had developedBell's palsy, possibly from a virus. One side of his face had become completely paralysed;Sid Watkins gave Senna steroids to preserve the possibility of recovery.[49]
Senna was partnered in his first year atLotus-Renault by Italian driverElio de Angelis. He had dominated testing times at Rio, although he retired with electrical issues during the race weekend. Although the Renault-powered Lotus 97T was quick and nimble, particularly on tight and bumpy circuits and perhaps had the best suspension of any car that year, the car was unreliable and Senna made a few mistakes out of inexperience. At the second round of the season, thePortuguese Grand Prix, Senna took the first pole position of his Formula 1 career. He converted it into his first victory in the race, which was held in very wet conditions, winning by over a minute from the Ferrari ofMichele Alboreto,[50] and lapping everyone up to and including third placedPatrick Tambay. The race was the firstGrand Slam of Senna's career, as he also set the fastest lap of the race. He later argued it was the best drive of his career,[51] an opinion shared by race engineerSteve Hallam, who recognised Senna's "truly special" talent.[52][53]
Senna led at the San Marino, Monaco, British and German Grands Prix but retired from all these races either from engine failure or running out of fuel, and he had a huge accident at the French Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard's fastest corner after an engine failure in the middle of the corner. He did not finish in the points again until coming second at theAustrian Grand Prix, despite taking pole three more times in the intervening period. His determination to take pole at theMonaco Grand Prix had infuriated Alboreto and Niki Lauda; Senna had set a fast time early and was accused of deliberately baulking the other drivers by running more laps than necessary, a charge he rejected, although the accusations continued inCanada when drivers accused him of running on the racing line when on his slow down lap forcing others on qualifiers to move off line and lose time.[54] Two more podiums followed inthe Netherlands andItaly, before Senna added his second victory in wet-dry conditions, at theCircuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.[55] Senna's relationship with De Angelis soured over the season, as both drivers demanded top driver status within Lotus and, after spending six years at the team, De Angelis departed for Brabham at the end of the year, convinced that Lotus were becoming focused around the Brazilian driver.[56] Senna and De Angelis finished the season 4th and 5th respectively in the driver rankings, separated by five points. In terms of qualifying, Senna had begun to establish himself as the quickest in the field; his tally of seven poles that season was far more than that of any of the other drivers. Renault'sV6 qualifying engines were reported to be producing over 1,000 bhp (746 kW; 1,014 PS).[57]
De Angelis was replaced at Lotus byScotland'sJohnny Dumfries after Senna vetoed Derek Warwick from joining the team, saying that Lotus could not run competitive cars for two top drivers at the same time. Senna allegedly pushed for his former flatmate and fellow BrazilianMaurício Gugelmin to join the team as a pure number two driver, but the team's major sponsorJohn Player & Sons (JPS) insisted on a British driver, which led to the signing of Dumfries. Senna later admitted "It was bad, bad. Until then I had a good relationship with Derek."[58] Senna started the season well, coming second inBrazil behind theWilliams-Honda of fellow countrymanNelson Piquet, and winning theSpanish Grand Prix by just 0.014s from Piquet's teammate Nigel Mansell in one of the closest finishes in Formula One history to find himself leading the World Championship after two races.[59] Although the 98T was like the 97T which came before it, a quick car with superiority on tight, bumpy circuits but plagued with poor reliability, particularly in the second half of the season it saw him drift behind the Williams pairing of Mansell and Piquet, as well as defending and eventual champion Alain Prost. Nonetheless, Senna was once more the top qualifier with eight poles, with a further six podium finishes included another win at theDetroit Grand Prix, thus finishing the season fourth in the driver's standings again, with a total of 55 points. The 1986 Formula One cars were the most powerful cars in history, with Senna's 98T producing over 1,300 bhp (969 kW; 1,318 PS) in qualifying and 850 bhp (634 kW; 862 PS) in the race.[60]
After winning theDetroit Grand Prix from Frenchmen Prost andJacques Laffite—which took place one day afterBrazil was eliminated from the1986 FIFA World Cup byFrance—Senna asked a trackside supporter for theBrazilian flag and he drove one lap waving it. Thereafter, he repeated this ritual every time he won a race. During an interview on American television, he used English curse words to express his frustration at having to go into the pits earlier than expected due to a deflating rear tire.[19] Senna also had a brief foray into rallying when he was invited by British magazineCars & Car Conversions to try out aVauxhall Nova, anMG Metro 6R4, aFord Sierra RS Cosworth and aFord Escort on a stretch of land closed to the public.[61][62]
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.[63] Senna started the season with mixed fortunes: a podium at theSan Marino Grand Prix was tempered by controversy at the followingrace 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.[64][65] Senna then won two races in a row, which helped him take the lead in the World Championship: the ensuingMonaco Grand Prix (the first of his record six victories at thePrincipality) and theDetroit Grand Prix, his second victory in two years at the angularMichigan street circuit,[66] and the first ever for anactive suspension Formula One car.[67]
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 theBritish 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 atMonza it was announced that he would be joining McLaren for 1988.[68] 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 inJapan andAustralia; 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.[69] 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.[70]
Senna won his first world title in1988 driving that season's dominantMcLaren MP4/4.
In 1988, due to the relationship he had built up with Honda throughout the 1987 season with Lotus, and with the approval of McLaren's number-one driver and then-double world champion, Alain Prost, Senna joined the McLaren team.[71] The foundation for a fierce competition between Senna and Prost was laid, culminating in a number of dramatic race incidents between the two over the next five years.[72] The experienced pair also quickly realized, despite their personal rivalry, they had to work together, especially in testing, to keep ahead of their main opposition fromFerrari, Williams,Benetton, and Lotus.
The Honda RA168E engine powered Senna to his first world championship.
One notable incident of the year was at theMonaco Grand Prix, where Senna out-qualified Prost by 1.4 seconds and led for most of the race before crashing on lap 67.[73] Instead of returning to the pit lane, Senna was so distressed by his mistake that he went back to his apartment and did not contact the team until he walked into the pit garage as they were packing up later that night. After team managerJo Ramirez called him through his Monaco apartment's cleaner hours after he had crashed, Senna was still devastated by his own mistake. As the television cameras had not captured his crash, team bossRon Dennis did not know what had caused hisDNF until then, although Prost speculated that judging from the tyre marks, it appeared as though Senna had clipped the inside barrier at Portier, which pitched him into the outside guard rail.
At thePortuguese Grand Prix, Prost made a slightly faster start than Senna who, as he would a number of times, dived into the fast first corner ahead. Prost responded and went to pass Senna at the end of the first lap. Senna swerved to block Prost, forcing the Frenchman to nearly run into the pit wall at 290 km/h (180 mph). Prost kept his foot down and soon edged Senna into the first corner and started pulling away. Prost, normally a calm individual, was angered by Senna's manoeuvre, and the Brazilian got away with a warning from the FIA. At the post-race team debrief, Prost voiced his anger at the move which prompted Senna to apologize to Prost for the incident.
Ultimately, the pair won 15 of 16 races in the dominantMcLaren MP4/4 in 1988 with Senna coming out on top, winning his first Formula One world championship title by taking eight wins to Prost's seven. Although Prost scored more points over the season, three of his second places were dropped, as only the eleven-best scores counted, meaning that Senna bested Prost by three points.[74] During the season, Senna rewrote the record books. His eight wins beat the old record of seven jointly held byJim Clark (1963) and Prost (1984). His 13 pole positions also beat the record of nine held by Nelson Piquet (1984).[citation needed]
The biggest incident of the year happened at theItalian Grand Prix atMonza[citation needed]. With two laps remaining, Senna held a five-second lead over theFerraris ofGerhard Berger andMichele Alboreto, who were closing in on theMcLaren MP4/4 (Prost had earlier retired with a badly misfiring engine). Going into the Rettifilo chicane, Senna closed on theWilliams FW12 ofJean-Louis Schlesser (standing in for the unwell Nigel Mansell). Schlesser steered wide, attempting to give Senna room to lap him, losing then regaining control to avoid going into the sand trap, and the two collided; Senna's car was beached on top of a curb and had stalled.Ferrari went on to finish 1–2, the first in anItalian Grand Prix since the death of the team's founderEnzo Ferrari. This proved to be the only race McLaren did not win in 1988.
In1989, the rivalry between Senna and Prost intensified into numerous battles on the track and a psychological war off it.[75][page needed] Some controversy also arose after the French GP press conference when Ron Dennis declared that they found consistent differences between the Honda engines from Prost and Senna, to the detriment of Prost.[76] Tension and mistrust between the two drivers increased when Senna overtook Prost at the restart of theSan Marino Grand Prix, a move which Prost claimed violated a pre-race agreement (Senna denied the existence of any agreement, although Prost's story was backed up byJohn Hogan of the team's major sponsor,Marlboro). A discussion between the two drivers and Dennis during a test session at the Pembrey circuit in Wales served to effectively confirm Senna and Prost's personal animosity to Dennis and the team.
Senna took an early lead in the championship with victories in San Marino,Monaco, andMexico. Senna also led every lap of those races, a feat unequalled untilSebastian Vettel replicated it in2012.[77] Senna also managed to win inGermany,Belgium, andSpain. Unreliability in four consecutive races inPhoenix,Canada,France, andBritain, and further unreliability inItaly, together with collisions inBrazil andPortugal, swung the title in Prost's favour.[78]
Prost took the 1989 world title after a collision with Senna at theSuzuka Circuit inJapan, the penultimate race of the season which Senna needed to win to remain in contention for the title. Prost had managed to leave the grid faster than Senna by removing thegurney flap from his car, which was unbeknownst to Senna.[79] This reduction in aerodynamic downforce made Prost's car faster on the straights, but slower through corners—a clever choice to make it even harder for Senna to pass on a circuit already difficult on which to pass. On lap 46, Senna had finally come next to Prost and attempted a pass on the inside at the tight last chicane. Prost turned right into the upcoming corner, cutting Senna off and tangling wheels with him. The collision caused both McLarens to slide to a standstill into the escape road ahead. Prost abandoned the race at that point, whereas Senna urged marshals for a push-start, which he received, then proceeding with the race after a pit stop to replace the damaged nose on his car. He took the lead from theBenetton ofAlessandro Nannini and went on to claim victory, only to be disqualified following a stewards meeting after the race. Senna was disqualified for cutting the chicane after the collision with Prost, and for crossing into the pit lane entry which was not part of the track.[80][81]
A large fine and temporary suspension of hisFIA Super License followed in the winter of 1989, and an irate Senna engaged in public criticism of theFIA and its then-president,Jean-Marie Balestre, whom he blamed for his disqualification in Japan. Senna claimed that Balestre had forced the race stewards to disqualify him so his fellow Frenchman Prost could win the championship, though the stewards of the meeting denied that Balestre forced their decision, claiming that he was not present when the decision was made.[82] Senna finished the season second with six wins and one second place.
TheMcLaren MP4/5B raced by Senna in1990. With it, he won his second world championship.
In 1990, Prost left McLaren forFerrari, burning bridges on his way out.[83] He was replaced by the AustrianGerhard Berger, who became Senna's close friend.
Senna took a commanding lead in the championship with six wins, two second-places, and three thirds. Among his victories were the opening round on the wide streets ofPhoenix, in which he diced for the lead for several laps withJean Alesi'sTyrrell before coming out on top, and inGermany, where he fought Benetton driver Alessandro Nannini throughout the race for the win. However, Prost mounted a fierce challenge and scored five wins that season, including a crucial victory inSpain where he and teammateNigel Mansell finished 1–2 for the Scuderia. Senna had gone out with a damaged radiator, and the gap between Senna and Prost was now reduced to nine points with two races left.[84]
At the penultimate round of the championship inJapan, where Senna and Prost collided the previous year, Senna took pole ahead of Prost. Before qualifying, Senna had sought assurances from the organisers to move pole position left onto the clean side of the racetrack, where the racing line was. He later claimed that this agreement was not honored, possibly due to Balestre's interference.[85] In addition, as revealed by journalist Maurice Hamilton, the FIA had warned that crossing the yellow line of the pit exit on the right to better position oneself at the first corner would not have been appropriate, further infuriating Senna.[79]
At the beginning of the race, Prost pulled ahead of Senna, who immediately tried to repass Prost at the first corner. While Prost turned in, Senna kept his foot on the accelerator and the cars collided at 270 km/h (170 mph) and went off the track. Prost was out of the race, automatically making Senna world champion.[86][87] Prost believed that Senna's actions were intentional, as (based on Honda telemetry) Senna continued speeding up as the two went into the corner.[71][88] He added that he considered retiring from the sport after the incident.[89] However, Senna initially denied that he intentionally wrecked Prost. When pundit and former championJackie Stewart confronted him about his actions and brought up his history of on-track accidents and collisions, Senna feigned outrage, replying that "if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver."[90][91][92]
One year later, Senna admitted that he intentionally wrecked Prost as payback for 1989,[93][94][95] as well as his anger over the FIA's decision to disqualify him in 1989 and its pole position ruling in 1990.[93] He said it was not how he wanted it to be, but it was how it had to be.[96] He later apologized to Stewart for his remarks in 1989, telling him that "God won't allow me to live this lie."[91]
1991: Youngest back-to-back and three-time world champion
In1991, Senna became the youngest ever three-time world champion, taking seven wins and increasing his pole position record to 60 from 127 events. 1991 was a difficult season for Senna, who publicly questioned the new Honda V12 engine's competitiveness, suggesting that it was weaker than the last year's V10.[97] Prost's Ferrari suffered a downturn in performance and was not competitive, but Nigel Mansell, now with Williams, was driving theAdrian Newey designed Williams-Renault.
Senna won the first four races in Phoenix, Brazil, Imola, and Monaco as his rivals struggled to match his pace and reliability. Mansell scored only six points by the time Senna had 40 points.[citation needed] At theSpanish 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.
Senna also got into several accidents and mishaps, including a jet-skiing accident before theMexican Grand Prix; a crash in qualifying at that race at the fastest corner on the track;[98] a retirement on the final lap of theBritish Grand Prix (Mansell eventually gave Senna a ride back to the pits during his victory lap); a testing accident atHockenheim that sent Senna's car 15 feet into the air and forced him to spend the night in the hospital; and a retirement at theGerman Grand Prix after running out of fuel.[citation needed]
To save the season, Senna demanded additional engine upgrades from Honda. These modifications, including modifications introduced at Hungary and variable inlet trumpets introduced at Belgium enabled him to make a late-season push. He won three more races to pull away from Mansell. Once again, Senna clinched the title inJapan 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 Berger at the last corner as a thank-you gesture for his support over the season.[99]
At the end of the season, Senna won his third consecutiveAutosport International Racing Driver Award. At that year's FISA gala dinner, he gave Balestre a helmet because of the sincere atmosphere and as an insulting psychological gesture.[100]
1992: Unsuccessful challenge to the Williams FW14B
Senna considered moving to Williams 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 in bringing Senna with them to McLaren.[101][page needed]
In 1992, Williams's all-conqueringFW14B car dominated the season.[102] It boasted aerodynamic-enhancing active suspension and a powerful Renault V10 engine, which was now more powerful than Honda's. By contrast, theMcLaren MP4/7A was beset by production delays and did not debut until round three. The team struggled to catch up to Williams' technological advantage, building a semi-automatic gearbox for the first time and trialing an active suspension system. The new car suffered from reliability issues and was unpredictable in fast corners.[103] Honda left Formula One at the end of the season.[104]
Senna at the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix
Senna won three races (Monaco,Hungary, andItaly) and finished fourth overall in the championship, behind the Williams duo of Mansell andRiccardo Patrese, and Benetton'sMichael Schumacher.[105][106] During this time, relations between Senna and Schumacher grew testy. At theBrazilian Grand Prix, Schumacher accused Senna of "playing around" while attempting to overtake Senna, who had a problem with his engine, a fact that Schumacher was apparently unaware of at the time. At theFrench Grand Prix, Schumacher collided with Senna, resulting in Senna's retirement. Senna later confronted Schumacher, who admitted responsibility for the accident. At a test session for theGerman Grand Prix, Senna and Schumacher had a confrontation in the pits, with Senna grabbing Schumacher by the collar and accusing him of endangering him by blocking him on the track.[107]
Senna grew increasingly worried about driver safety during the season. At round two inMexico, he suffered a major crash during practice and temporarily wore a neck brace before the next day's race. Various drivers, including Senna, criticized the poor condition of the circuit.[citation needed] During qualifying for theBelgian Grand Prix, French driverÉrik Comas crashed heavily and Senna was the first to arrive at the scene. Senna could hear that the stricken car's engine was revving at max RPM, and with a possible fuel leakage that could cause an explosion at any moment. Disregarding his own safety, he exited his car and ran across the track to help the Frenchman.[108] His actions were applauded and seemed to soften his hard-nosed image.[citation needed]
A free agent for1993, Senna offered to drive for Williams for free. However,Alain Prost, who still had ill will against his former teammate, had already joined the team conditional on not being paired with Senna.[109] Senna publicly accused Prost of cowardice,[110] although the racing press noted that in1986, Senna had done the same thing toDerek Warwick.[111][112] Senna declined a drive from Ferrari,[104] which eventually went to teammate Gerhard Berger. He reluctantly re-signed with McLaren on a race-by-race basis, and reportedly received a salary of $1 million per race.[113][114]
Without Honda, McLaren was left with a customer supply ofFord engines, which were two specifications behindBenetton's Ford works engines[115] and 50-80 horsepower behind Renault.[116] However, Senna was heartened by theMcLaren MP4/8,[117] which implemented technological upgrades, including an updated active suspension system.[118] Senna asked to switch to theChrysler-backedLamborghini V12 engine in midseason,[116] but Dennis stuck with Ford for the rest of the season after Ford delivered an upgrade at round 11 inHungary.[116]
Senna's victory at the1993 European Grand Prix is considered one of the best drives of his career.
Despite Williams' superiority, Senna won three of the first six races.[119] He finished second at the season opener inKyalami.[120] He won his secondBrazilian Grand Prix after Prost, who had been dominating the race, spun out in the rain; Senna's pass onDamon Hill for the lead was described as "the man at his most brilliant."[121] The next race, the European Grand Prix atDonington Park, has been described as one of the greatest races in Senna's career.[114] In fast-changing and rainy conditions—Prost's seven pit stops set a Formula One record[122]—Senna overtook four drivers on the first lap and eventually lapped all but second place.[123][124] He also won his record-breaking sixth win at round six inMonaco, breaking a tie withGraham Hill at five, after polesitter Prost was handed a ten-second stop-go penalty for jumping the start.[125]
After Monaco, Senna unexpectedly found himself on top of the drivers' standings. However, he was only five points ahead of Prost.[125] The Frenchman promptly pulled away with four straight victories.[126] Senna's season was hampered by mechanical failures inImola,Canada,Britain,Hungary, andPortugal. Prost took his fourth world championship, with Senna as runner-up.[127]
Senna won his second Brazilian Grand Prix in 1993.
In mid-October, Senna signed with Williams to replace the retiring Prost for 1994.[128] However, at the following race, theJapanese Grand Prix, Senna got into a heated argument withJordan'sEddie Irvine (a backmarker who had tried to block Senna from lapping him) and eventually tried to punch Irvine in the head.[129] He also turned down Prost's suggestion of a conciliatory gesture.[130] After deliberations, the FIA limited Senna's punishment to a six-month suspended race ban (i.e., probation) for 1994, explaining that Irvine had provoked Senna on track and Senna had a "very positive attitude" with the tribunal.[131] Senna's minimal punishment received some criticism, as the FIA had been threatening to ban Prost for four races for criticizing the FIA.[125]
Senna took his 41st and last Formula One win at theAustralian Grand Prix. It was McLaren's 104th win as a constructor, putting it ahead of Ferrari in the all-time constructor wins standings.[132] Senna surprised the Formula One community by pulling Prost onto the top step of the podium to celebrate the Frenchman's retirement.[130][133]
TheWilliams FW16 was the last Formula One car raced by Senna.
With Prost out of the picture, Senna joined Williams for1994.[134] He was reportedly paid a $20 million salary.[135] Although Williams remained the premier team in Formula One for several more years,[136] it was particularly affected by the FIA's 1994 ban on electronic driver aids like active suspension, anti-lock brakes, traction control, and launch control.[137][138] Senna said that he had a "very negative feeling" about theFW16.[139] He added that "it's going to be a season with lots of accidents, and I'll risk saying that we'll be lucky if something really serious doesn't happen."[140] Before round three atImola, Senna spoke with Ferrari'sLuca Cordero di Montezemolo about potentially moving to the Scuderia.[141]
Senna was particularly upset by rumors thatMichael Schumacher'sBenetton B194 was still secretly using the electronic driver aids. Following his retirement at thePacific Grand Prix, Senna stood near the first corner to watch the cars, hoping to detect evidence of cheating.[142][143] According to teammateDamon Hill, Senna claimed that he heard "unusual noises from the engine" indicative of cheating.[144]
Senna took pole at the first three races but retired from each of them. AtBrazil, Schumacher took the race lead after passing Senna in the pits. Senna pushed hard to overtake Schumacher, but spun on lap 56, forcing a retirement.[134] At the Pacific Grand Prix, Senna's race was ended by a multi-car accident at the first corner, whereMika Häkkinen hit him from behind andNicola Larini subsequently T-boned him.[142] Schumacher won both races, giving him a 20-point lead in the Drivers' Championship.[145] Senna took pole again atImola butfatally crashed during the race. Schumacher won his first Drivers' Championship and dedicated it to Senna.[146]
The1994 San Marino Grand Prix was held on theAutodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit located in Imola, Italy, between 28 April and 1 May 1994. The race was marked by a string of accidents suffered byRubens Barrichello,Roland Ratzenberger,JJ Lehto, andPedro Lamy, as well as Senna. Ratzenberger was killed by his crash in the qualifying session, and Senna brought anAustrian flag with him for the race, which he presumably intended to raise in honor of Ratzenberger.[147] Senna was heavily disturbed by the crashes. On the morning of the race, Senna spoke with the now-retiredAlain Prost about re-establishing theGrand Prix Drivers' Association to organise for driver safety. Senna confided to Prost that "I'm not optimistic at all about this race."[148]
On lap 7, Senna fatally crashed at the high-speed Tamburello corner.[19] He was airlifted toBologna'sMaggiore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 18:40 CEST (16:40 GMT).[149] The official time of death under Italian law was 14:17 CEST (12:17 GMT), the time of the crash.[150] The hospital's head of emergency medicine, Dr. Maria Teresa Fiandri, stated that Senna sustained fatalskull fractures,brain injuries, and a rupturedtemporal artery, any one of which would likely have killed him.[151][152] Senna's friend andAutosprint's picture editor Angelo Orsi took photographs of Senna being treated on track, but out of respect, they have never been made officially public.[150]
An analysis of the crash primarily focused on Senna's steering column, which broke during the crash. The night before the race, Senna asked for the steering wheel to be adjusted. There was no time to build a new steering column from scratch, so Williams welded together different parts to extend the existing steering column.[153] Following the race, six defendants—three senior Williams employees, the Formula One race director, the race organiser, and the Imola track director—were charged withmanslaughter in Italian courts.[154][153] The Williams defendants argued that the crash broke the steering column, while prosecutors argued that the column broke first and caused the crash.[155] It was also charged that the Imola Circuit was in poor condition.[156]
The defendants stood trial in 1997. Before the verdict, the prosecutor asked to drop the charges against everyone except Williams'Patrick Head andAdrian Newey, for whom he recommended suspended one-year sentences.[157][154] Head and Newey were acquitted,[157] and an appeals court upheld the acquittals in 1999.[155] However, theSupreme Court of Cassation ordered a retrial to clarify facts about the steering column breakage and other potential causes of the accident.[158] In 2005, a court found that the steering column was poorly modified and that its breakage on track caused Senna's accident.[159] Newey was acquitted, as he was not responsible for the modifications.[159] Head was found culpable, but was protected from prosecution by the statute of limitations.[155][159] He appealed anyway to clear his name, but his appeal was rejected in 2007.[159]
Senna's body was flown back to Brazil on 4 May 1994. He lay in state at the Legislative Assembly building in São Paulo. His funeral took place the following day, 5 May. It was estimated that the whole ceremony and procession was attended by more than a million people, with over 200,000 visitors paying their respects and visiting thelay in state body inside the legislative assembly building, it was the largest funeral procession in the city's history.[160][161] The Brazilian government declared three days of national mourning.
Senna was buried in theMorumbi Cemetery in São Paulo.[162] His grave bears theepitaph "Nada pode me separar do amor de Deus" (Romans 8:38–39, "Nothing can separate me from the love of God").[163]
For the next race atMonaco, the FIA decided to leave the first two grid positions empty and painted them with the colours of the Brazilian and theAustrian flags, to honour Senna and Ratzenberger.[164] Throughout the rest of the 1994 season, Senna was commemorated in various ways. Damon Hill, along with Michael Schumacher, dedicated their individual success to Senna with Hill's victory in the Spanish Grand Prix and Schumacher's world-championship victory in the Australian Grand Prix.[165][166]
A testament to the adulation he inspired among fans worldwide was the scene at the Tokyo headquarters of Honda where the McLaren cars were typically displayed after each race. Upon his death, so many floral tributes were received that they overwhelmed the large exhibit lobby. This was in spite of the fact Senna no longer drove for McLaren and that they did not use Honda engines anymore.[167] Senna had a special relationship with company founderSoichiro Honda and was beloved in Japan, where he achieved a near-mythic status.[168][169]
Senna(left) won thesaloon exhibition race to celebrate the opening of theGP-Strecke layout of theNürburgring in 1984.
Senna did not participate in many other forms of motorsport once he reached Formula One. He took part in the1984 Nürburgring Race of Champions, an exhibition race where all drivers competed in identical examples of the then-newMercedes 190E 2.3–16 with minor race modifications. The race was held on the then newly openedNürburgring Grand Prix track, before theEuropean Grand Prix. Notably, this race involved several past and present Formula One drivers, includingStirling Moss and past World ChampionsJack Brabham,Denny Hulme, andAlan Jones, driving identical touring cars.Alain Prost started from pole position. Senna, who was a last-minute inclusion in the Mercedes race taking over fromEmerson Fittipaldi, took the lead in the first corner of the first lap, winning the race ahead ofNiki Lauda andCarlos Reutemann.[174] After the race, Senna was quoted as saying: "Now I know I can do it."[175]
In December 1992, Senna partook in anIndyCar testing session withTeam Penske, mediated by compatriot and Penske driverEmerson Fittipaldi at theFirebird International Raceway inChandler, Arizona,[177] where he tested a1992Penske PC-21CART IndyCar.[178] Unlike the more advanced Formula One cars, this IndyCar was powered by a turboChevrolet-Ilmor V8, had a traditional transmission with clutch pedal and iron brakes, and was markedly heavier due to its bigger physical size in comparison to a smaller Formula One car; IndyCar teams were run with significantly smaller budgets than Formula One teams and did not have to make their own cars. To familiarise himself, Senna initially ran 14 relatively slow laps before completing a further 10 laps on the same tyres and setting a best time of 49.09 seconds. By comparison, Fittipaldi had set a best time of 49.70 seconds, which he later improved to 48.5 seconds while testing the new 1993Penske PC-22 later in the session.[179]
In a 2018 interview, Fittipaldi revealed that Team Penske ownerRoger Penske was ready to enter a third car for Senna to drive at the1993 Indianapolis 500, which is one of the most prestigious races in the world and a race that reigning Formula 1 champion Nigel Mansell was competing at. These plans were curtailed byMcLaren bossRon Dennis who banned Senna from competing atIndianapolis as theMonth of May preparations would clash with Senna's Formula 1 commitments.[180]
Senna was a devoutCatholic, once saying: "Just because I believe in God, just because I have faith in God, it doesn't mean that I'm immune. It doesn't mean that I'm immortal."[181] He often read the Bible on long flights from São Paulo to Europe.[182][183] According to his sister, Senna had sought strength from the Bible on the morning of his death: "On that final morning, he woke and opened his Bible and read a text that he would receive the greatest gift of all, which was God himself."[181]
Senna secretly donated millions of U.S. dollars to help poor children.[184] Shortly before his death, he created the framework for an organisation dedicated to Brazilian children, which later became theInstituto Ayrton Senna (IAS). The IAS has invested nearly US$80 million over a twelve-year period in social programs and actions in partnership with schools, government,NGOs, and the private sector, aimed at offering children and teenagers from low-income backgrounds the skills and opportunities they need to develop their full potential as persons, citizens, and future professionals.[185] The foundation is officially advised by Bernie Ecclestone, Alain Prost, and Gerhard Berger.
In a 1994 interview following Senna's death,Frank Williams said that "If you want a summary of Ayrton Senna ... he was actually a greater man out of the car than in it."[186]
Senna married his childhood friend Lilian de Vasconcelos Souza in 1981, but she had difficulty adapting to her husband's racing life in England and they divorced in 1982. Vasconcelos later said: "I was his second passion. His first passion was racing."[187] Although Senna did not have much of an income early in his racing career, Senna insisted on supporting his wife with no help from his father out of a sense of pride.[188]
Senna's nephewBruno also became a Formula One driver, competing from 2010 to 2012. Senna praised Bruno's talent, telling people in 1993 that "If you think I'm fast, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno."[189] Bruno temporarily quit racing to please his family after Senna's death.[190] In 2012, he raced for the Williams team, which was a decision that, reportedly, had a significant emotional impact on the Senna family.[191]
From 1985 to 1988, Senna dated—and was briefly engaged to—Adriane Yamin, the daughter of a São Paulo entrepreneur. At the start of the relationship, Yamin was 15 and Senna 25. She was often chaperoned by her mother during dates.[192]
In 1988,Nelson Piquet accused Senna of beinghomosexual in an incendiary interview, in which Piquet also calledEnzo Ferrari "senile", former teammateNigel Mansell an "uneducated blockhead", and Mansell's wife "ugly".[193] Piquet retracted his comments after Senna and Mansell threatened to sue him for slander.[194] Senna shot back in a 1990 interview with the Brazilian edition ofPlayboy, declaring that he lost his virginity at 13 years of age to a prostitute arranged by his cousin, and insinuating that Piquet loathed him because he had previously slept with Piquet's future wife.[195]
Following Piquet's remarks, Senna was involved in a series of high-profile relationships, including with Brazilian singer and television starXuxa from late 1988 until 1990.[192] Senna also had an affair with American modelCarol Alt,[196] and briefly dated models Marjorie Andrade andElle Macpherson.[192][197] At the time of his death, Senna was in a relationship with Brazilian model—and, later, television personality—Adriane Galisteu.[198] Six years after Senna's death in 2000, model Edilaine de Barros filed apaternity suit against the Senna estate, butDNA testing later proved that Senna was not the father.[199]
At his death, Senna's estate was estimated at $400 million.[184] Senna owned several properties, including anorganic farm inTatuí, Brazil (where he built a go-kart track in 1991), a beach house inAngra dos Reis, Brazil, an apartment inSão Paulo, Brazil, an apartment inMonaco, an estate inSintra, on thePortuguese Riviera, and a house inAlgarve, Portugal.[200] He owned a private jet (British Aerospace 125) and a helicopter, the latter of which he piloted to travel between his various Brazilian residences.[201]
As part of his close relationship with Honda, Senna endorsed Honda sportscars, including theHonda Prelude and theHonda NSX. He helped test and fine-tune the NSX, working directly with chief NSX engineerShigeru Uehara and his team during five testing sessions at Suzuka.[202] Honda credited Senna's feedback, explaining that Senna encouraged Uehara to increase the stiffness of the chassis.[203] In return, Honda gave Senna a custom-made black NSX. He also drove two other NSX cars owned by Honda Portugal and Senna's friend Antonio Carlos de Almeida Braga.[204]
In 1993, Senna signed a lucrative agreement to import, market, and sellAudi cars in Brazil.[205] Sales began in April 1994, just a month before his untimely death. In 1999,Audi Senna was created as a joint venture of Audi with Senna Import.[206] Aside from the black NSX mentioned above, Senna's other personal car in 1994 was a silverAudi 100 S4 Avant.[207][208] Senna also endorsed theDucati 916 motorbike shortly before his death in 1994.[209]
In the early 1990s, Senna developed his own merchandise brand represented by a logo with a double S, after his full surname, "Senna da Silva".[210] This logo is meant to represent an Schicane on a racing circuit. The Senna brand was used for apparel, watches, bicycles (Carraro), motorcycles and boats.Hublot,TAG Heuer,Universal Genève, andREC Watches have created limited-edition watches to honour Senna, both during his lifetime and after his death.[211][212][213]
Senna also endorsed several video games and multimedia offerings, including 1992'sAyrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II, which featured pre-recorded advice from Senna and included Senna's personal farm circuit inTatuí as one of the possible tracks.[214] Senna also contributed several interviews to the Japan-exclusiveAyrton Senna Personal Talk: Message for the Future, a multimediacompact disc for theSega Saturn.Ayrton Senna Kart Duel, a series of kart racing games using his branding was released for thePlayStation 1 in 1996, followed by two sequels in 1997 and 1999. Senna continues to feature in video games following his death. In 2013,Gran Turismo 6 released a Senna-centered expansion pack, with some of the proceeds going to help the IAS.[215] In 2019,F1 2019 released aDLC focusing on the Senna-Prost rivalry.[216]
Senna's ownBAe-125 private jet (top) inFaro,Portugal with registration N125AS, AS standing for his initials, and passing time with a model plane (bottom)
For his 29th birthday in 1989, theBrazilian Air Force gave Senna a flight on one of their jet fighters (aDassault Mirage III), which bears commemorative livery and is now exhibited at the Aerospace Museum of Rio de Janeiro.[218] After a three-ship flyover of the type at the1990 Australian Grand Prix, Senna was given a joyride in anRAAFF-111C.[219]
Near the end of his career, Senna was almost universally recognized as the best driver in the sport. In 1990, he was namedL'Équipe International Athlete of the Year. In 1993, a poll of Formula One drivers gave Senna a near-unanimous vote as the best driver in Formula One.[220]
Following Senna's death, various polls and ranking services have rated him the best driver of all time.
2018: Using theelo ranking system the data analysis siteFiveThirtyEight produced a ranking of all the F1 drivers during the period of 1950–2020. In the end Senna had the highest average elo rating among the top 30 drivers, and was named the most dominant driver in a best five-year span.[225]
2020: Formula One, sponsored byAmazon Web Services, used AWS machine learning algorithms to compare drivers' qualifying performances. The algorithm named Senna the fastest qualifier of all time.[226]
Senna is also universally appraised by his wet driving performance, frequently being considered as one of the best drivers of all time in wet race conditions; as of 2023 he still retains the highest ratio of wins in wet races started.[227][228] In April 2000, Senna was inducted into theInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame.[229] That year, the British public also voted Senna's opening lap of the 1993 European Grand Prix, the 43rd in the list of the100 Greatest Sporting Moments.[230] Several F1 drivers from different generations have public cited Senna as their idol or as one of their main inspirations in motorsport, these drivers include names such asFernando Alonso,Lewis Hamilton,Sebastian Vettel,Pierre Gasly,Charles Leclerc,Kimi Antonelli,Gabriel Bortoleto, among others.[d]
Towards the end of his career, Senna became increasingly preoccupied with the dangers of his profession. On the morning of his death, he spoke with current and former rivals and friends, includingNiki Lauda andAlain Prost, about reforming the Formula One drivers' union, theGrand Prix Drivers' Association. Senna wanted the GPDA to advocate forsafety reforms.[237]
Following the events of Imola 1994, Formula One enacted a variety of safety improvements in the subsequent years. Some immediate alterations included improved crash barriers, redesigned tracks, higher crash safety standards, and significant cuts to engine power. Other reforms included the use of computer analysis to identify a range of dangerous corners that needed to be made safer, test procedures for tyre barriers, a reduction of the speed limit in the pit lane to 80 km/h in practice and 120 km/h in races, and stricter standards for helmet design were introduced. On-track medical procedures were also revised. In 1995 the Tamburello corner and other parts of the Imola circuit were altered.[238] The tragic events that unfolded at Imola in 1994 with the deaths ofRoland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna can be understood as a turning point for Formula One driver safety, the changes in attitude and in the procedures and standards that resulted from this were profound, and its effects continues to endure to the present day.[239][240]
Senna was often quoted as using driving as a means for self-discovery and racing as a metaphor for life, saying: "The harder I push, the more I find within myself. I am always looking for the next step, a different world to go into, areas where I have not been before. It's lonely driving a Grand Prix car, but very absorbing. I have experienced new sensations, and I want more. That is my excitement, my motivation."[241]
Senna was proud of his driving ability, and responded angrily to criticism. In 2000,Autocourse noted that "Senna was the one driver who genuinely cared where he was ranked in [Autocourse's ranking of the year's] Top 10 drivers," and took being placed below his rivals as a personal slight.[242] (Senna was ranked No. 1 in 1988, 1991, and 1993.) In 1990,Autocourse dropped Senna from No. 1 to No. 2 to criticize him for wrecking Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990. Senna was so outraged that despite being given the No. 1 driver award in 1991, Senna refused to write the usually customary foreword by the year's World Champion; Honda's Head of Racing wrote the foreword instead. In 1993,Autocourse ranked Senna No. 1 even though Prost took the title that year, writing that Senna had "intense egocentricity and uniquely flawed genius" and "matchless genius in the wet".[243]
Although Senna cultivated a public image of "an inward-looking, aloof driver who is hard to get along with,"[244] Senna was close friends with McLaren teammateGerhard Berger. The two frequently played practical jokes on each other.[245] Berger summed up their relationship by saying "He taught me a lot about our sport, I taught him to laugh."[246] Senna's press officer selected Berger andEmerson Fittipaldi to lead the procession of Formula One greats at Senna's funeral.[247]
A Brazilian cultural icon, Senna remains a national hero in Brazil.[182] During his time at McLaren driving with Honda engines Senna became a fan favourite in Japan, and achieved a near-mythic status in the country. He also developed a close relationship with Honda founderSoichiro Honda, and is credited for popularizing Formula 1 in Japan.[168][169] In 2006 the Japanese public ranked Senna 22nd in Nippon TV'ssurvey of Japan's top 100 favourite persons in history.[248]
Various tracks feature Senna memorials. A statue of Senna stands in a park in Imola, near theAutodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari's Tamburello corner.Adelaide, reportedly one of Senna's favourite circuits and the track where he scored his final Formula One race win,[249] installed a plaque bearing Senna's signature and hand prints in 1995, while the chicane at the end of the pit straight on the Adelaide Street Circuit has since been renamed the Senna Chicane.[250]Monaco, where Senna triumphed a record six times, installed a plaque in Senna's honour at the Fairmont/Lowes hairpin in 2007.[251] Adelaide,Interlagos,Jerez,Hockenheim,Montreal,Snetterton,Estoril, andBuenos Aires have all renamed portions of their track after Senna.[252][253][254]
From 1995 to 2021,Williams included a small "S" logo on the front wing of all of its cars to honour Senna and support the IAS.[255][256] Following the Williams family's sale of the team to Dorilton Capital, the logo was removed. The team announced plans to open a new space fully dedicated to the Brazilian driver in the Williams museum inGrove.[256] In May 2022 McLaren announced that it would permanently feature the Senna "S" logo on their cars to celebrate the driver's contributions to the team.[257]
In July 2013, Honda released an audio-visual tribute titled "Sound of Honda – Ayrton Senna 1989". Using the telemetry and sound of Senna's Honda-poweredMcLaren MP4/5, Honda recreated Senna's record-setting lap at the1989 Japanese Grand Prix by positioning speakers and lights along theSuzuka Circuit. The lights traced Senna's real-life path and were synchronized to Senna's actual laptime.[258]
Seven-time world championLewis Hamilton idolized Senna as a boy and has conducted various tributes for Senna throughout his career. When Hamilton matched Senna's three titles in 2015,Viviane Senna presented Hamilton with anIan Berry artwork.[259] Hamilton wore Senna tribute helmets at the Brazil races in2011,2015, and2016, with the Senna family's support.[260][261][262] When Hamilton matched Senna's 65 pole positions in 2017, the Senna family presented Hamilton with a race-worn Senna helmet.[263] At the2021 São Paulo Grand Prix, Hamilton delighted the crowd by waving a Brazilian flag during his victory lap, homaging Senna's victory celebration from the1991 Brazilian Grand Prix (Senna's first-ever win in Brazil) thirty years earlier.[264] The Brazilian government granted Hamilton honorary citizenship in 2022.[265] Hamilton repeated the Brazilian flag tribute at the2024 São Paulo Grand Prix, this time driving Senna's 1990McLaren MP4/5B.[266]
Statues of Senna have been erected inBarcelona,[267]Rio de Janeiro,[268]Wałbrzych,[269][270]Estoril,[271]Interlagos,[272]Donington Park,[273] andImola—the site of his fatal crash.[274] A life-sized 160 kg (352 lbs) bronze statue of Senna is housed in theMcLaren Technology Centre inSurrey, England; it is a work by artist Paul Oz.[275] Another sculpture named "Laureatta" housed in the Ayrton Senna Institute was a present from Japanese fans to celebrate all Senna's victories in F1.[276] The Ayrton Senna monument at Imola was developed by Stefano Pierotti and completed in 1997.[277] In 2024, the Imola statue site was vandalized on two occasions during the month of December, but the statue itself was not damaged.[278]
In Brazil, a major freeway and tunnel in São Paulo and a freeway in Rio de Janeiro are named after Senna. Outside Brazil, Senna's name graces a road in Senna's favoured resort town ofQuinta do Lago, Algarve, Portugal; a street inTilehurst,Reading, England, where Senna lived during his years as a junior racer;[279] a road in the Adelaide suburb of Wingfield;[252] and a street and museum inWałbrzych, Poland.[269] Outside Earth,minor planet6543 Senna is also named after Senna.[280]
2004 marked the 10th anniversary of Senna's death. On 21 April 2004, Imola hosted a charity football match attended by over 10,000 people. The match featured members of Brazil's 1994 World Cup-winning team competing against an exhibition team of Formula One drivers. Viviane Senna presided at the kickoff. The match finished 5–5 and all profits were donated to the IAS. In addition, the bookAyrton: O Herói Revelado (Ayrton: The Hero Revealed) was published.[282]
2010 marked the year of Senna's 50th birthday. In March, Senna's favourite football team,Corinthians, played a video in Senna's memory.[283] On 25 July the BBC motoring showTop Gear paid an emotional tribute to Senna with British Formula One World Champion, Lewis Hamilton driving Senna's original MP4/4, with which he won the 1988 title.[284][285] In October,StudioCanal,Working Title Films, and Midfield Films releasedAsif Kapadia'sBAFTA-winning documentarySenna, which traces Senna's championship years at McLaren and his efforts to improve safety in the sport.[286]
2014 marked the 20th anniversary of Senna's death. Many tributes took place to commemorate his life.
The Imola Circuit hosted a memorial ceremony and moment of silence on 1 May 2014, the anniversary.[287][288][289] Senna's friend Gerhard Berger and various drivers associated with Italy and Ferrari were in attendance.[290]
San Marino issued a series of commemorative stamps and silver proof coins.[291][292]
Brazilian regional airlineAzul Linhas Aereas named a plane after Senna and painted it in the colours of Senna's helmet.[295][296]
French company Art Mint produced a series of commemorative coins designed by a Brazilian artist.[297]
British artistIan Berry unveiled a portrait of Ayrton at the Instituto Ayrton Senna, with Senna's family in attendance.[298][299]
2019 marked the 25th anniversary of Senna's death. The organisers of the2019 Spanish Grand Prix presented race winner Lewis Hamilton with a half-Austrian, half-Brazilian flag in honour of Senna and Roland Ratzenberger.[300]
During the briefMcLaren-Honda reunion in the 2010s, Honda and McLaren ran advertising campaigns recalling the Senna legend.[302][303]
In 2014, the IAS commissioned a commemorativeVespa that was auctioned off for charity. It was custom-painted in the colours of Senna's helmet, and its design recalledPiaggio's sponsorship gifts to Formula One polesitters.[304]
In 2017, American firmRosland Capital produced a series of commemorative coins featuring Senna.[306]
In 2018,Nike and theCorinthians football team unveiled a special Senna kit to commemorate Senna's first World Championship, with the tagline #LuteAtéSerEterno ["fight until you're eternal"].[307]
As part of Japanese publisherShueisha's sponsorship of McLaren, Senna collaborated withAkira Toriyama, the creator ofDragon Ball, on artwork forWeekly Shōnen Jump featuring McLaren-themed illustrations ofDragon Ball characters. Senna was also featured inGP Boy, a two-volume manga published inWeekly Shōnen Jump to commemorate Shueisha's sponsorship, and inF1 no Senkō, also published on Jump, which recounts the1991 Formula One season from Senna's perspective.[308][309]
Senna launched the cartoon characterSenninha ("Little Senna") in 1993/94 to appeal to Brazilian children.[310] A Senninha comic book ran from 1994 to 2000, with a brief relaunch in 2008. To this day the brand and character Senninha continues to be featured in many different products sold internationally and in the Brazilian market, part of the profits are reverted to the Instituto Ayrton Senna for the developing of educational projects.
Senna's nephewBruno voiced ananimated depiction of his uncle in McLaren'sTooned cartoon series to commemorate McLaren's 50th anniversary.[311] Episode 6 of the series' second season tells a fictionalized account of Senna's career with McLaren involving a rivalry with the character Professor M (voiced byAlexander Armstrong).[312]
Senna's helmet bearing the colours of the Brazilian national flag
In his karting days, Senna's helmet consisted of a plain white background with notable features absent. He experimented with several designs to satisfy him, such as a white, yellow, and green helmet,[317] before settling on a design by Sid Mosca that included a yellow background with a green stripe surrounding the upper visor and a light metallic blue stripe surrounding the lower visor (both stripes are delineated in the other stripe's color) that was first seen in 1979. Mosca also painted helmets forEmerson Fittipaldi andNelson Piquet.
According to Mosca, the blue and green stripes symbolised movement and aggression, while the overall yellow colour symbolised youth;[16] the three colors were also identifiable with theflag of Brazil. The helmet never had significant changes, apart from sponsorship. One such change was that Senna occasionally altered the stripe from blue to black. The tone of yellow changed a number of times, while usually a rich sunburst yellow, in 1985 and 1986 in some races, he used a fluorescent neon yellow colour. In 1994, the helmet was a lighter, paler yellow to complement the blue and white of the Williams car.
Senna used a number of helmet brands throughout his career. From 1977 to 1989, he used Bell (Star from 1977 to 1982 and XFM-1 from 1983 to 1989). From 1990 to 1991, he used Honda's own Rheos brand. From 1992 to 1993, he used Shoei (X-4). For 1994, he returned to using Bell (M3 Kevlar).[318] The helmet worn by Senna in the fatal race was returned to Bell in 2002 and was incinerated while family members watched.[319]
Bruno Senna's helmet design is an adaptation of his uncle's (seen here parading the 1985 Lotus 97T at the2010 Japanese Grand Prix).
Senna's nephewBruno wore a modified version of his helmet design (a yellow helmet with a green and blue stripe) during his Formula One career. The stripes were shaped after an S rather than being straight, there was a green stripe under the chin, and there was a blue rounded rectangle near the top. Bruno sported a modified helmet design for the final three races of the 2011 season to honour the 20th anniversary of Senna's last world championship.[320]
At the1995 Brazilian Grand Prix, Rubens Barrichello incorporated part of Senna's helmet design into his own.[321] As mentioned above, Lewis Hamilton has also worn Senna tribute helmets on several occasions.
Outside of motor racing, Brazilian cyclistMurilo Fischer wore a helmet based on Senna's helmet colour scheme of yellow with green and blue stripes on stage 11 of the2015 Giro d'Italia, which finished on the Imola circuit.[322] For the2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola,Pierre Gasly wore a special helmet with Senna's colours and the Senna Sempre (Senna Forever) badging on top.[323]
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. † Driver did not finish the Grand Prix but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
^abUp until1990, not all points scored by a driver contributed to their final World Championship tally (seelist of points scoring systems for more information). Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.[332]
^In the1981 to1990 points system, each driver's best 11 results counted towards the Drivers' Championship. With all results counted, Prost scored 105 points to Senna's 94.
^Taddone, Daniel (15 December 2019)."A genealogia de Ayrton Senna" [Ayrton Senna's genealogy] (in Brazilian Portuguese).Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved20 February 2021.
^abRoebuck, Nigel (1 October 1998)."Ayrton Senna by Alain Prost".Motor Sport.Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved11 February 2024 – via ProstFan.com.
^Schuler, Oskar (September 2004)."Suzuka Special 2004 - Emails to webmaster".Alain Prost Grand Prix Homepage – Prostfan.com.Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved8 February 2024. Prost-biased review and discussion of the incident.
^Guest, Spencer (2002)."Adelaide 1993".Farzad F1 Gallery. Archived fromthe original on 25 October 2006. Retrieved8 February 2024. Adelaide Grand Prix review featuring images of Senna and Prost on the podium.
^"FIFA World Cup USA '94 – Tournament Report"(PDF).FIFA. 17 March 2003. p. 23 (document page: 22). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2011. Retrieved13 September 2010.... while the proud and delighted Brazilians were unrolling a banner on the pitch dedicating their win to the late Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna, who died in Imola in May 1994 ...'
^Williams, Richard (27 March 1995)."Spirit of Senna in the air".The Independent. London.Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved16 August 2012.
^Small, Steve (2000)."Senna, Ayrton".Grand Prix Who's Who (3rd ed.). Reading, Berkshire: Travel Publishing. pp. 522–526.ISBN978-1-902007-46-5. Retrieved14 September 2021 – via Internet Archive.
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