Ayrton Senna: The Greatest F1 Driver Of All Time

Ayrton Senna. The Man. The Myth. The Legend. The driver who achieved feats that many thought no driver would be able to achieve.  

Childhood

 Senna was born on March 21, 1960 into a wealthy family, where he and his siblings enjoyed a privileged childhood. From a young age he had a keen interest for motorsport. He started racing and immediately showed his talent. He quickly gained experience and showed his passion for speed. At 13 he raced a kart for the first time and  won. In 1981, he started competing in Europe, winning the English Formula 1600 Championship and achieving a record of 12 wins in 20 races. During this time, Ayrton changed his surname Silva, to his mother's maiden name, Senna. He did this because Silva was a common name in Brazil. In 1983, he won the British Formula 3 Championship, with 13 wins in 21 races, 9 of them in a row. He also won the iconic and difficult Macau Grand Prix. Nothing could stop Senna.

"Winning Is All That Matters, Everything Else Is Consequence" - Ayrton Senna

Entry Into Formula One                                                                

Ayrton Senna entered F1 in 1984  through Toleman, after gaining the attention of multiple F1 teams. In his third Grand Prix he won his first point.  Despite qualifying 13th during the Monaco Grand Prix, he fought his way through to finish a stunning 6th! He did this on the narrow and hard streets of Monte-Carlo!! On the 19th track, he overtook Niki Lauda, enabling him to threaten the race leader, Alain Prost. However,  it rained too much and the race was paused due to safety reasons. Senna had passed Prost, but the victory wasn't computed because in those days, the considered position was of the previous lap. In the same year, Senna won 2 more podiums. Senna had proved to everybody that he was one of the best.  

Moving To Lotus

Ayrton began the 1985 season with the renowned Lotus team, and the team's expectations were high. The first year with the Lotus team was a rollercoaster. The car wasn't very reliable, causing  Senna to retire from many sessions. But still, his performance was superb. Senna was quickly nicknamed the "King of Pole Position" because of his impressive time in practice and qualifying. He finished the 1985 season in fourth place. In 1986, Lotus chose a new teammate for Senna, Johnny Dumfries. The season started well for Senna, who got second place in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Realizing the limitation of his car, Senna embraced to take advantage of his rivals: postpone the change of tires. He went on to lead the championship for the first time in his career, beating Nigel Mansell's Williams by 0.014 of a second. The technical problems in Senna's Lotus continued, disrupting Senna's performance and causing him to finish fourth in the standings again. 1987 begins with the promise of better days. Lotus got a new sponsor and the possibilities for Senna was wider. With the possibility of finishing in second place in the standings, Senna tried his hardest and achieved second place. However, the Lotus did not pass the measurements and Senna ended up in third place. Senna was furious and decided to move teams again.

The Peak Of Senna's Career: Moving To Mclaren

In 1988, Senna went to McLaren for the championship, next to Alain Prost, with whom Senna developed an unfriendly but legendary rivalry. That year, the pair won 15 out of 16 races! The same year, Senna reached the top step of the podium, and won his first Drivers World Championship.  In 1989, Prost took the title by taking Senna out at the Suzuka chicane. In 1990, Senna obtained revenge, winning his second championship by taking out Prost's Ferrari at Suzuka's first corner. Senna showed absolute dominance in the 1991 season, and secured the championship. Senna did only have a rivalry with Prost, he had a intense rivalry with a lot of other drivers, such as Eddie Irvine, Damon Hill, Nigel Mansell, Michael Schumacher and Gerhard Berger. Senna also caught attention with his performance in the rain, everybody though that Senna loved racing in the rain. But Senna later stated that like any driver, he hated the rain. In 1992, the Williams team engine was superior, with a new technical innovation. Technical problems made Senna's McLaren less competitive and he came close to moving to Formula Indy. Senna wanted to move to Williams but as long as Prost was part of the Williams team, the move would be impossible. After finishing second in the opening race at South Africa, Senna won the Brazilian and European Grand Prix. Despite this, Senna finished the season in second. Senna wanted to be part of the Williams team so much that he offered to drive for them without payment. The proposal of that idea was vetoed by the Williams team because Prost's contract had a clause that prevented the team from hiring Senna. 

When Prost noticed Ayrton's hiring he decided to depart from the best team, with the best engine. Senna was the sport's favorite. 

 Image Thanks To Google

The Beginning Of The End 

The pre-season showed that the Williams was fast but difficult to drive. Senna stated that the car was unstable and clumsy. The start of the season was not the best. And the third race of the season, was ill-fated...

During the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Senna climbed in his car for the last time. He entered the Tamburello Bend and lost control due to a broken steering rod. The car crashed into a concrete barrier and rebounded back into the gravel. The telemetry showed that Senna, after realizing that he was headed for the barriers, managed to slow the car down from 300 km/h to 200 km/h. The whole world held its breath, waiting for any moment of confirmation that Senna was alive. He did move, but the movement worsened his brain damage. The autopsy report showed that Senna died because of debris had pierced his helmet, causing multiple fractures at the base of his skull. The medics who arrived on the scene instantly knew that his chances of survival were zero and that Senna was gone, perhaps to meet the God he believed in so sincerely. What makes the crash even more controversial is that during qualifying the day before, Roland Ratzenberger had died in a horrific crash. Senna wanted the race weekend to be stopped but the race officials didn't listen. When news that Senna died came out, the world was left heartbroken, many heartfelt F1 fans didn't want to watch F1 anymore. It was a day of mourning, not just for F1 fans, but for the whole world.  Among the several drivers escorting the coffin was Alain Prost.  Frank Williams was also there, and stated, "Ayrton was no ordinary person. He was actually a greater man out of the car than in it."

Senna: The Greatest F1 Driver Of All Time

Beyond his genius on track, Senna had a fascinating personality. He was very close to God, before the race that he died, he had read the Bible. His fast aggressive style on track and during a race day, completely changed off-track. Many critics including Prost stated that Senna cared more about winning than living. When Senna revealed he had discovered religion, Prost and others stated that  he was a dangerous madman who thought God was his co-pilot. "Senna is a genius," Martin Brundle said. "I define genius as just the right side of imbalance. He is so highly developed to the point that he's almost over the edge. It's a close call." Even Senna confessed that he occasionally went too far,  like in qualifying for the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix, where he pushed the boundaries and drove faster and faster into the unknown. Already on pole, he went faster and faster and was eventually over two seconds quicker than Prost in an identical McLaren. "Suddenly, it frightened me," Ayrton said, "because I realized I was well beyond my conscious understanding. I drove back slowly to the pits and did not go out anymore that day." 

The people of Brazil especially loved Senna, not for his skills on track, but for his character of track.  Senna was proud to be a Brazilian and wanted to do more for his country. He always knew that a better future was through better education, and  he started  the Instituto Ayrton Senna, which helps thousands of children and youth throughout Brazil. He happily gave to charity, and helped the Brazilian nation a lot.

Senna died physically, but he lives on in our hearts, and his legacy will inspire millions for centuries to come.