Senna Day – One of the greatest drivers of all time was born in Brazil, precisely in Sao Paulo, on 21 March 1960: Ayrton Senna Da Silva.
At the age of four he already knew how to drive karts, but he took part in his first race at the age of thirteen. The comfortable economic conditions of his family had allowed him to indulge this passion of his.
Debut in karting
As previously highlighted his first race took place at the age of thirteen. In 1977, however, he highlighted himself with the victory in the Pan-American championship. In 1981 he made his debut and won the Formula Ford 1600 championship.
In 1983 he took part in the British Formula 3 championship and won it. He also participated in the international F3 race in Macau in which he dominated in both heats. In that year he decided to use his maternal surname Senna instead of his paternal one Da Silva which he had used until 1982.
His entry into Formula 1
During 1983, the year of the great Formula 3 season, the first offers for testing in Formula 1 also arrived. Sir Frank made the Williams FW08C available to him for a day of testing. He also took part in the McLaren tests at Silverstone and was faster than Martin Brundle and Stefan Bellof.
But Ayrton already had contacts with Bernie Ecclestone to race with Brabham, a contract that did not come to fruition due to the sponsor Parmalat who was looking for an Italian driver.
![Ayrton Senna - Toleman 1984](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Ayrton-Senna-Toleman-1984-750x375.webp)
However, he made his debut in Formula 1 in 1984 for Alex Hawkridge's Toleman. The start of the season for the English team is not the best due to the Pirelli tyres. Despite everything, however, Senna managed to achieve two sixth places: one in the South African Grand Prix and one in the Belgian Grand Prix.
From 1985 to 1987 he was a protagonist with the Lotus team. In the first year he achieved various pole positions and podiums, including victory in the Portuguese GP at Estoril. He finished in fourth place in the world championship.
In 1986, initially, he was leading the championship, but the superiority of Williams and McLaren did not allow him to aim for the big spoils. However, that year he took home eight pole positions, as many podiums and two victories.
In his last year with Lotus, which in the meantime had acquired Honda engines, he managed to fight against Williams for most of the championship. The difference between the two teams was too high and they finished the season in third.
The rivalry with Alain Prost and the signing with McLaren
The contract with the McLaren team arrives in 1988 which is ready to provide him with a much more competitive car. His teammate is Alain Prost. The relationship between the two pilots was never idyllic. Indeed, in Suzuka, in 1990, they collided, risking something more than breaking the single-seaters.
Despite these misunderstandings, the Senna – Prost combination with McLaren worked very well. Also thanks to the talent of the two drivers, the car was sensational that year.
They brought home 15 out of 16 victories. In Monaco he took pole position with an advantage of 1.4 seconds over Prost and 2.6 over Berger! Senna said he sensed God and drove into another dimension.
1988 was also the year he won his first world championship.
The rivalry between the two drivers grew even more in 1989: it reached its peak during the Suzuka Grand Prix. Prost closed the trajectory, triggering the accident, Senna restarted from the escape route of the chicane instead of from it.
He was declared a danger to other drivers and was fined $100,000 and disqualified. The Brazilian driver felt betrayed by the Federation and declared that they had done everything to distort the championship victory. Following these statements, the FIA suspended his super license for 6 months, until Ayrton apologized to the FIA and the President in a letter.
![Australian GP 1993](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Gp-Australia-1993-750x375.webp)
Gerhard Berger's arrival at McLaren
With Prost's move to Ferrari in 1990, Austrian Gerhard Berger arrived at McLaren. With him Senna establishes a beautiful friendship that goes beyond racing and the Formula 1 Circus.
From that moment on, McLaren can count on the number one driver and a number two driver with well-defined hierarchies. In that year he became World Champion again. He purposely crashed into Prost's Ferrari at Suzuka at the first corner, winning the championship. In 1991 he became world champion for the third time.
In 1992, however, it was Williams who prevailed in the Championship. Senna finished in fourth place that year behind Mansell and Schumacher. His relationship with Michael Schumacher wasn't the best either: the two were always at the center of disagreements and controversial episodes. Senna even privately explained to the German how he should behave when the press was present.
At the end of the season Senna signed a last-minute contract with McLaren for one million dollars per Grand Prix. Although he found himself ahead of Prost at the start of the season, the relationship between the Brazilian driver and the team fell apart.
![Senna Day](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Senna-Brasile-1991-750x375.webp)
Senna leaves McLaren and signs for Williams
After losing the 1992 and 1993 world championships against Williams he decided to sign for them starting in 1994. His teammate was Damon Hill.
Due to FIA regulation changes, electronic active suspension and traction control devices were banned. The car was difficult to drive and even getting into it was not easy. Ayrton in fact said: “If I eat a sandwich I won't get into this car anymore”.
In the first two races he won two pole and as many withdrawals. The races were won by future world champion Michael Schumacher.
The tragic weekend of the Imola Grand Prix
In the San Marino Grand Prix he achieved his third pole in a row. That weekend was tragic in every way. During free practice on Friday Barrichello disintegrated his Jordan at 200 km/h, which was the prologue to the darkest weekend in Formula 1.
In the qualifying sessions on Saturday, Roland Ratzenberger continued his qualifying after a long run which had caused the anomalous inclination of the front wing. The following lap the wing comes off causing his Simtek to end up straight at 300 km/h.
The car bounces on the track with the driver's head bowed. Ratzenberger appears unconscious, however he will be declared dead after being transported off the circuit. Precisely for this episode, Senna would have raced with the Austrian colors on his arm as a sign of mourning.
On 1 May 1994 the San Marino Grand Prix began. During the restart on the seventh lap a car violently exits the Tamburello curve. It was Ayrton Senna's Williams.
The reason for the accident was identified in failure of the steering column. The severity of the impact was immediately clear, the pilot had lost three liters of blood and was rushed to the Maggiore Hospital in Bologna. Despite this, the Grand Prix continued its recovery seeing Michael Schumacher triumph with Benetton.
At 6.40 pm the primary doctor Maria Teresa Fiandri declares the death of Ayrton Senna. Thus passes away one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers.
![Senna Day](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Galvao-750x375.webp)
Famous phrases
Some of the famous phrases of the Brazilian driver:
- “There is no curve where you cannot overtake”;
- “Life is too short to have enemies”;
- “Finish seconddo only means to be the first of the defeated”;
- “If one day I had an accident that cost me my life I would want it to be immediate. I wouldn't want to spend hours suffering in hospital or spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. I want to live intensely because I am an intense person”;
- “The rich cannot live on an island surrounded by a sea of poverty. We all breathe the same air. We must give everyone a chance, at least a basic chance“.
Crediti foto: F1, Williams
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