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Ayrton Senna was born on March 21 1960. He was a Brazilian Formula One motor racing driver. He died on May 1, 1994, whilst leading a race in San Marino.
Senna was born in São Paulo. As a young boy, he quickly developed an interest in racing. Encouraged by his father, he got behind the
competitions conditions contract criticism incidents kart odds rivalry victory wheel [?] of his first
competitions conditions contract criticism incidents kart odds rivalry victory wheel [?] at the age of four. He first entered
competitions conditions contract criticism incidents kart odds rivalry victory wheel [?] at the age of 13, and in 1977, he won the South American Kart Championship. Heading for Europe in 1981, he won the British Formula Ford 1600 competition.
In 1984, Senna secured a seat with the Toleman Formula One team. The next year, he joined the Lotus team. On April 21, 1985, he scored his first Grand Prix
competitions conditions contract criticism incidents kart odds rivalry victory wheel [?] , thanks to an impressive display of wet-weather driving. At the end of 1985, he finished 4th in the World Championship with 38 points. His second season was even better. He finished the season with 55 points. In 1987 he ended third, with 57 points.
In 1988, Senna joined the Mclaren team with two-time World Champion Alain Prost. The foundation for a fierce competition between Senna and Prost was laid. It resulted in a number of dramatic race
competitions conditions contract criticism incidents kart odds rivalry victory wheel [?] between the two. The pair won 15 of 16 races in 1988 with Senna coming out on top.
The following year their
competitions conditions contract criticism incidents kart odds rivalry victory wheel [?] intensified into battles on the track and a psychological war off it. This rivalry was typified by their race-long battle for victory in the 1989 German Grand Prix, which Ayrton won. Prost took the championship after Senna attempted a difficult pass and hit Prost’s car. Senna received much
competitions conditions contract criticism incidents kart odds rivalry victory wheel [?] for this later. However, it was arguably the only point on the track where Senna could pass Prost.
Senna's intentions for 1993 were not clear as he did not have a
competitions conditions contract criticism incidents kart odds rivalry victory wheel [?] with any team. Senna tested Mclaren's 1993 car and he knew that the engine would be down on power. However, his start to the 1993 season was amazing. He finished second in the opening race in South Africa. Then, he drove with great skill to win in constantly changing
competitions conditions contract criticism incidents kart odds rivalry victory wheel [?] at home in Brazil and in the rain at Donington.
The unexpected success continued with a second place at Spain and a record breaking 6th win at Monaco. Even Senna though could not sustain this challenge against unequal
competitions conditions contract criticism incidents kart odds rivalry victory wheel [?] . As the season progressed Prost proved that the Williams-Renault package was simply better technically. He took the championship. Senna concluded the season with two fine wins in Japan and Australia. However, he would never win again.
Senna was most respected for his qualifying skill, a discipline he mastered like none before. It produced a record 65 pole positions out of 161 races. This record stood for 12 years after his death, before it was beaten by Michael Schumacher.
"Magic" Senna, as he was known to his fans, also won the Monaco GP six times, a record which stands today and earned him the title "Master of Monaco".
Ayrton described in detail an odd feeling that he got during qualifying. His experience when qualifying for the 1988 Monaco GP for example he described as like being in a dream:
‘...the last qualifying session. I was already on pole, then by half a second and then one second and I just kept going. Suddenly I was nearly two seconds faster than anybody else, including my team mate with the same car. And suddenly I realised that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension. Then suddenly something just kicked me. I kind of woke up and realised that I was in a different atmosphere than you normally are. My immediate reaction was to back off, slow down. I drove slowly back to the pits and I didn't want to go out any more that day. It frightened me because I was well beyond my conscious understanding. It happens rarely but I keep these experiences very much alive inside me because it is something that is important for self-preservation.’
Gerhard Berger, a close friend, expressed a memory of what it was like qualifying with Senna:
‘I remember one weekend in Imola where I went out, I set the time. He went out, he was a bit quicker. I went out, I was quicker than him. He went out, he was quicker than me, and then it goes forwards, backwards -- ping pong -- until close to the end of the qualifying and it was the last set of tyres, and he was sitting in the racing car, me in my one, and he got out, walked over to my one and said, 'Listen, it's gonna get very dangerous now,' and I say 'So what? Let's go!'
Contrasting to Senna's intense and will to win on the track, his exploits off it were more humane: In 1992 in Belgium when Érik Comas had crashed heavily other drivers drove past at high speed. Senna could be seen jumping out of his car. Putting his own life in danger, he ran down the track to the wrecked car to reach inside and hit the electrics kill switch, to prevent a fire.
After Senna's death it was discovered that he had given millions of dollars of his personal fortune (estimated at $400 million) to children's charities. During his life he had kept this fact a secret.
In the film "The Right to Win" made in 2004, Frank Williams recalls that as good a driver as Senna was, ultimately "he was a greater man outside of the car than he was in it."
