Ayrton Senna

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Senna and the second or paternal family name is Silva.

For the EP by Delorean, see Ayrton Senna (EP).

Ayrton Senna
Senna at the 1988 German Grand Prix
Born	Ayrton Senna da Silva (1960-03-21)21 March 1960 São Paulo, Brazil
Died	1 May 1994(1994-05-01) (aged 34) Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Cause of death	Injuries sustained at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix
Spouse	Lilian de Vasconcelos Souza ​ ​ (m. 1981; div. 1982)​
Partners	Xuxa (1988–1990) Adriane Galisteu (1993–1994)
Relatives	Viviane Senna (sister) Bruno Senna (nephew)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Brazilian
Active years	1984–1994
Teams	Toleman, Lotus, McLaren, Williams
Engines	Hart, Renault, Honda, Ford
Entries	162 (161 starts)
Championships	3 (1988, 1990, 1991)
Wins	41
Podiums	80
Career points	610 (614)
Pole positions	65
Fastest laps	19
First entry	1984 Brazilian Grand Prix
First win	1985 Portuguese Grand Prix
Last win	1993 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry	1994 San Marino Grand Prix
Signature

Ayrton Senna da Silva (Brazilian Portuguese: [aˈiʁtõ ˈsẽnɐ dɐ ˈsiwvɐ] ; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1984 to 1994. Senna won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with McLaren, and—at the time of his death—held the record for most pole positions (65), among others; he won 41 Grands Prix across 11 seasons.

Born and raised in São Paulo, Senna began competitive kart racing aged 13 in a go-kart built by his father using a lawnmower engine. After twice finishing runner-up at the Karting World Championship, Senna progressed to Formula Ford in 1981, dominating the British and European championships in his debut seasons. He then won the 1983 British Formula Three Championship amidst a close title battle with Martin Brundle, further winning the Macau Grand Prix that year. Senna signed for Toleman in 1984, making his Formula One debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix. After scoring several podium finishes in his rookie season, Senna moved to Lotus in 1985 to replace Nigel Mansell, taking his maiden pole position and victory at the rain-affected Portuguese Grand Prix, a feat he repeated in Belgium. He remained at Lotus for his 1986 and 1987 campaigns, scoring multiple wins in each and finishing third in the latter World Drivers' Championship.

Senna signed for McLaren in 1988 to partner Alain Prost; together, they won 15 of 16 Grands Prix held that season—driving the Honda-powered MP4/4—with Senna taking his maiden championship by three points after winning a then-record eight Grands Prix. Their fierce rivalry culminated in title-deciding collisions at Suzuka in 1989 and 1990, despite Prost's move to Ferrari in the latter, with Prost winning the former title and Senna taking the following. Senna took seven victories, including his home Grand Prix in Brazil, as he secured his third title in 1991. Despite Williams dominance throughout his remaining two seasons at McLaren, Senna achieved several wins in each, including his record-breaking sixth Monaco Grand Prix victory in 1993, on his way to again finishing runner-up to Prost in the championship. Senna negotiated a move to Williams for his 1994 campaign, replacing the retired Prost to partner Damon Hill.

During the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Senna died as a result of an accident whilst leading the race, driving the Williams FW16. His state funeral was attended by an estimated three million people. Following subsequent safety reforms, he was the last fatality in the Formula One World Championship until Jules Bianchi in 2015. Senna achieved 41 wins, 65 pole positions, 19 fastest laps and 80 podiums in Formula One; he remains a legendary figure within motorsport for his raw speed and aggressive driving style, and is frequently cited as a national hero of Brazil. He was also widely acclaimed for his wet-weather performances, such as at the 1984 Monaco, 1985 Portuguese and 1993 European Grands Prix. Senna was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2000.

Early life and career

Senna at the age of 3

Senna was born at 2:35 BRT (5:35 GMT) on Monday, 21 March 1960, in the Pro-Matre Maternity Hospital of Santana, a neighbourhood of São Paulo. 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. He was left-handed. Senna's mother was the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, while his father was born to a Spanish mother (from Tíjola, Province of Almería) and a Brazilian father from São Paulo.

The house where Senna spent the first four years of his life belonged to Neide's father, João Senna. It was located on the corner of Avenida Aviador Guilherme with Avenida Gil Santos Dumont, less than 100 meters from Campo de Marte, a large area where they operated the Aeronautics Material park and an airport. Senna was highly athletic, excelling in gymnastics and other sports, and developed an interest in cars and motor racing at the age of four. As a small boy, he had poor motor coordination and had trouble climbing stairways by the age of three. An electroencephalogram (EEG) was unremarkable (i.e. showed no abnormalities). Senna's parents nicknamed him "Beco". 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.

Senna attended Colegio Rio Branco in the São Paulo neighbourhood of Higienópolis and graduated in 1977 with a grade 5 in physics along with other grades in mathematics, chemistry, and English. He later enrolled in a college that specialised in business administration but dropped out after three months. Overall, his grades amounted up to 68%.

Senna began racing go-karts at the age of 13.

Senna's first kart was built by his father using a small 1-HP lawnmower engine. Senna started racing at Interlagos and entered a karting competition at the age of 13. He started his first race on pole position, facing rivals who were some years older than him; despite this, he managed to lead most of the race before retiring after colliding with a rival. His father supported his son and Lucio Pascal Gascon soon managed the developing talent.

Senna went on to win the South American Kart Championship in 1977. He contested the Karting World Championship each year from 1978 to 1982, finishing runner-up in 1979 and 1980. In 1978, he was the teammate of Terry Fullerton, from whom Senna later felt was the rival he got the most satisfaction racing against also because of the lack of money and politics at that level.

21-year-old Senna in his British Formula Ford 1600 single seater

In 1981, Senna moved to Eaton, near Norwich in England, to begin single-seater racing, winning the RAC and Townsend Thoresen Formula Ford 1600 Championships that year with the Van Diemen team. Despite this, Senna initially did not believe he would continue in motorsport. 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. Before leaving England, Senna was offered a drive with a Formula Ford 2000 team for £10,000. Back in Brazil, he decided to take this offer and returned to live in England. As da Silva is the most common Brazilian surname, he adopted his mother's maiden name, Senna. Senna went on to win the 1982 British and European Formula Ford 2000 championships. For that season, Senna arrived with sponsorship from Banerj and Pool.

In 1983, Senna drove in the British Formula Three Championship for the West Surrey Racing team. He dominated the first half of the season until Martin Brundle, driving a similar car for Eddie Jordan Racing, closed the gap in the second part of the championship. Senna won the title at the final round after a closely fought and, at times, acrimonious battle with the Briton. In November that year, Senna also triumphed at the inaugural Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix with Teddy Yip's Toyota-powered Theodore Racing Team.

Senna was managed for most of his career by Armando Teixeira, who was assisted by Domingos Piedade.

Formula One career

Toleman (1984)

1983–1984: testing and debut season

Senna's Toleman TG184 from 1984 on display in the Donington Grand Prix Collection

In 1983, Senna tested for Formula One teams Williams, McLaren, Brabham, and Toleman. Peter Warr of Lotus, Ron Dennis of McLaren, and Bernie Ecclestone of Brabham made offers for testing in 1984 and presented long-term contracts that tied Senna to driving later on. During his test for Williams at the 3.149-km (1.957-mi) Donington Park circuit, Senna completed 40 laps and was quicker than the other drivers, including Williams's reigning World Champion Keke Rosberg. Neither Williams nor McLaren had a vacancy for the 1984 season.

Both Williams boss Frank 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 as Rosberg) so that he would have the best chance of a good showing by having a fresh car. Peter Warr actually wanted to replace Nigel Mansell with Senna at Lotus, but their British-based title sponsor, Imperial Tobacco (John Player & Sons), wanted a British driver. Senna was determined to drive that season and certainly on his own terms. Senna's test for Brabham occurred at Circuit Paul Ricard in November 1983. Senna impressed the Brabham team and was linked to their second seat. The team's main sponsor, Italian dairy company Parmalat, wanted an Italian driver. Brabham's second car was eventually shared by brothers Teo and Corrado Fabi, while Piquet convinced Ecclestone to sign his friend Roberto Moreno as the test driver. Consequently, Senna joined Toleman, a relatively new team, using less competitive Pirelli tyres. Venezuelan Johnny Cecotto, a former Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champion, was his teammate.

In 1984, Senna hired Nuno Cobra to assess his physical condition due to his concern over his low weight. Senna made his debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Rio de Janeiro, where he qualified 17th but retired when the Hart 415T turbocharger failed on lap 8. He scored his first World Championship point when he finished 6th in his second race at the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami with severe cramp in his neck and shoulders, and replicated that result two weeks later at the Belgian Grand Prix. A combination of tyre issues and a fuel-pressure problem resulted in his failure to qualify for the San Marino Grand Prix, the only time this happened during his career. Toleman decided not to run both cars during Friday qualifying at Imola due to a dispute with tyre supplier Pirelli (Toleman were in the process of switching from Pirelli to Michelin). 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. Senna's best result of the season came at the Monaco Grand Prix, the first wet-weather race of the season. Qualifying 13th on the grid, he made steady progress in climbing through the field, passing Niki Lauda for second on lap 19. He quickly began to cut the gap to race leader Alain 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 the Tyrrell-Ford of Stefan Bellof was catching both at the same rate, although he was later disqualified due to weight restrictions broken by Tyrrell).

Senna was renowned throughout his career for his capacity to provide very specific technical details about the performance of his cars and track conditions long before the advent of telemetry; this skill led Pat Symonds, Senna's first Formula One race engineer, to regard the Dallas Grand Prix in the United States as the initial highlight of Senna's debut season, instead of Monaco. In an interview, Symonds recalled:

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 the British and Portuguese Grands Prix—and placed 9th in the Drivers' Championship with 13 points overall. He did not take part in the Italian Grand Prix after he was suspended by Toleman for being in breach of his contract by entering talks with Lotus 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. Senna became the first driver Lotus had signed not personally chosen by team founder Colin Chapman, who had died in 1982. At the end of the year, Senna had developed Bell'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.

Lotus (1985–1987)

1985: first pole positions and wins

Senna driving the Lotus 97T at the 1985 European Grand Prix

Senna was partnered in his first year at Lotus-Renault by Italian driver Elio 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, the Portuguese 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 of Michele Alboreto, and lapping everyone up to and including third placed Patrick Tambay. The race was the first Grand 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, an opinion shared by race engineer Steve Hallam, who recognised Senna's "truly special" talent.

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 the Austrian Grand Prix, despite taking pole three more times in the intervening period. His determination to take pole at the Monaco 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 in Canada 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. Two more podiums followed in the Netherlands and Italy, before Senna added his second victory in wet-dry conditions, at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. 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. 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's V6 qualifying engines were reported to be producing over 1,000 bhp (746 kW; 1,014 PS).

1986: eight pole positions and eight podiums

Senna driving the Lotus 98T at the 1986 British Grand Prix

De Angelis was replaced at Lotus by Scotland's Johnny 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 Brazilian Maurício Gugelmin to join the team as a pure number two driver, but the team's major sponsor John 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." Senna started the season well, coming second in Brazil behind the Williams-Honda of fellow countryman Nelson Piquet, and winning the Spanish 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. 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 the Detroit 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.

After winning the Detroit Grand Prix from Frenchmen Prost and Jacques Laffite⁠ — which took place one day after Brazil was eliminated from the 1986 FIFA World Cup by France⁠ — Senna asked a trackside supporter for the Brazilian 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. Senna also had a brief foray into rallying when he was invited by British magazine Cars & Car Conversions to try out a Vauxhall Nova, an MG Metro 6R4, a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth and a Ford Escort on a stretch of land closed to the public.

1987: last season at Lotus

The Lotus 99T raced by Senna in 1987

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. Senna started the season with mixed fortunes: a podium at the San Marino Grand Prix was tempered by controversy at the following race 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. Senna then won two races in a row, which helped him take the lead in the World Championship: the ensuing Monaco Grand Prix (the first of his record six victories at the Principality) and the Detroit Grand Prix, his second victory in two years at the angular Michigan street circuit, and the first ever for an active suspension Formula One car.

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 the British 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 at Monza it was announced that he would be joining McLaren for 1988. 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 in Japan and Australia; 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. 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.

McLaren (1988–1993)

1988: first world championship

Senna won his first world title in 1988 driving that season's dominant McLaren 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. 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. 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 from Ferrari, Williams, Benetton, and Lotus.

The Honda RA168E engine powered Senna to his first world championship.

One notable incident of the year was at the Monaco Grand Prix, where Senna out-qualified Prost by 1.4 seconds and led for most of the race before crashing on lap 67. 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 manager Jo 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 boss Ron Dennis did not know what had caused his DNF 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 the Portuguese 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 dominant McLaren 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. During the season, Senna rewrote the record books. His eight wins beat the old record of seven jointly held by Jim Clark (1963) and Prost (1984). His 13 pole positions also beat the record of nine held by Nelson Piquet (1984).

Alain Prost and Senna at the 1988 Canadian Grand Prix. The race was won by Senna.

The biggest incident of the year happened at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. With two laps remaining, Senna held a five-second lead over the Ferraris of Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto, who were closing in on the McLaren MP4/4 (Prost had earlier retired with a badly misfiring engine). Going into the Rettifilo chicane, Senna closed on the Williams FW12 of Jean-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 an Italian Grand Prix since the death of the team's founder Enzo Ferrari. This proved to be the only race McLaren did not win in 1988.

1989: runner-up to Alain Prost

In 1989, the rivalry between Senna and Prost intensified into numerous battles on the track and a psychological war off it. 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. Tension and mistrust between the two drivers increased when Senna overtook Prost at the restart of the San 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 by John 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, and Mexico. Senna also led every lap of those races, a feat unequalled until Sebastian Vettel replicated it in 2012. Senna also managed to win in Germany, Belgium, and Spain. Unreliability in four consecutive races in Phoenix, Canada, France, and Britain, and further unreliability in Italy, together with collisions in Brazil and Portugal, swung the title in Prost's favour.

Senna driving the McLaren MP4/5 in 1989

Prost took the 1989 world title after a collision with Senna at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan, 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 the gurney flap from his car, which was unbeknownst to Senna. 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 the Benetton of Alessandro 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.

A large fine and temporary suspension of his FIA Super License followed in the winter of 1989, and an irate Senna engaged in public criticism of the FIA 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. Senna finished the season second with six wins and one second place.

Prost, who could not stand working with Senna in what he felt was a hostile environment, left McLaren for rivals Ferrari the following year. Prost had burned bridges even with Ron Dennis after a trophy-related incident in Italy.

1990: second world championship

The McLaren MP4/5B raced by Senna in 1990. With it, he won his second world championship.

In 1990, Senna took a commanding lead in the championship with six wins, two second-places, and three thirds. With Prost gone to Ferrari, he also had a new teammate in Austrian driver and friend Gerhard Berger. Among his victories were the opening round on the wide streets of Phoenix, in which he diced for the lead for several laps with Jean Alesi's Tyrrell before coming out on top, and in Germany, where he fought Benetton driver Alessandro Nannini throughout the race for the win. Senna won six races, including another Monaco win.

As the season reached its final quarter, Prost in his Ferrari rose to the challenge with five wins, including a crucial victory in Spain where he and teammate Nigel 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.

At the penultimate round of the championship in Japan, 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. After qualifying, FIA president Balestre denied Senna's request, leaving Senna to start on the dirty right side, thus favouring Prost on the left. In addition, as revealed by Formula One journalist Maurice Hamilton, 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. 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, went through the gravel trap and slammed into the tire barrier, making Senna world champion. Senna stated it was not how he wanted it but how it had to be.

Following the second championship-deciding collision in two years, Prost went on record criticising Senna's actions as "disgusting", saying that he seriously considered retiring from the sport after that incident. During an interview with Eurosport at the Australian Grand Prix, Prost revealed that he had seen the Honda engine telemetry at Suzuka and that it showed that Senna had kept his foot absolutely flat through the 4th gear corner when he had hit Prost — Senna had not even taken his foot off the accelerator to change down to 4th for this corner, strongly intimating that Senna had taken Prost out on purpose. Jackie Stewart interviewed Senna at the subsequent race in Australia (where Senna won pole and led for 61 laps before gearbox trouble forced him to slide off into a tyre barrier) and brought up a number of controversial collisions in which Senna had been involved over the last few years, stating that Senna had made more contact with other cars and drivers in the last four years than all the champions before him. Feigning irritation, Senna questioned how someone like Stewart, himself a triple world champion, could ask questions like he did, knowing the pressure under which drivers raced and famously said: "Being a racing driver means you are racing with other people, and if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver."

A year later, after taking his third world championship, Senna admitted that he had deliberately crashed into Prost at the previous year's Japanese Grand Prix, and he then explained to the press his actions and motives at Suzuka that year, saying that it was a payback for 1989. He maintained that prior to qualifying fastest, he had sought and received assurances from race officials that pole position would be changed to the left, clean side of the track (where the racing line was), only to find this decision reversed after he had taken pole. Senna said that he was not going to accept what he saw as unfair decision-making by the FIA, including his 1989 disqualification and the incorrect pole position in 1990. Senna stated that no matter what happened, he would not yield the corner and that Prost taking his normal racing line would result in an accident.

1991: youngest back-to-back and three-time world champion

Senna won the 1991 season-opening United States Grand Prix with the new Honda V12-powered McLaren MP4/6.

In 1991, Senna became the youngest ever three-time world champion, taking seven wins and increasing his pole position record to 60 from 127 events. Prost, because of the downturn in performance at Ferrari, the likes of which littered the team's history, was no longer a serious competitor.

In preseason testing, Senna made public misgivings about the car's competitiveness with the new Honda V12, stating that the engine was not as powerful as the prior year's V10. Even so, Senna won the first four races in Phoenix, Brazil, Imola, and Monaco as his rivals struggled to match his pace and reliability. However, by midseason, Nigel Mansell (who only scored six points by the time Senna had 40 points) was able to put up a challenge in the Adrian Newey designed Williams-Renault.

1991 was a difficult season for Senna.

Before the Mexican Grand Prix, Senna was injured in a jet-skiing accident near São Paulo for which he required stitches on the back of his head. During qualifying for that Grand Prix, he attempted to take the banked 180-degree Peraltada corner (Mexico City circuit's fastest corner) faster than normal, ending up spinning off the track and rolling over the car after crashing into a tyre barrier.

At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Senna's car had come to a halt on the final lap, but he was not left stranded out on the circuit, as race-winner Mansell pulled over on his parade lap and allowed the Brazilian to ride on the Williams side-pod back to the pits.

Senna then had an enormous accident during testing at the very fast Hockenheim circuit in Germany where his car flew 15 feet into the air after a tyre failure, and turned over several times upon coming down onto the track. The car was destroyed and Senna had to spend the night in hospital in nearby Mannheim. While still able to compete in the German Grand Prix soon thereafter, at that event Senna ran out of fuel mere laps before the end.

At the Spanish 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.

Though Senna's consistency, the car's competitiveness, and the Williams' unreliability at the beginning of the season gave him an early advantage, Senna insisted that Honda step up their engine development program and demanded further improvements to the MP4/6 before it was too late. These modifications, including modifications introduced at Hungary and variable inlet trumpets introduced at Belgium enabled him to make a late-season push, and he won three more races to secure the championship, which was settled in Japan 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 Gerhard Berger at the last corner as a thank-you gesture for his support over the season.

Senna was planning to move to the Williams team 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.

That year, as had been the case in 1988 and 1990, Senna won the International Racing Driver Award" granted by British magazine Autosport annually. The award was presented by Stirling Moss and Senna was interviewed on stage by Formula 1 commentator Murray Walker. During the interview, Senna confirmed that at the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) gala dinner in Paris the day before, under the auspices of Jackie Stewart, Senna had given one of his helmets to his renowned foe, Jean-Marie Balestre, because of the sincere atmosphere that presented itself and as an insulting psychological gesture.

1992: unsuccessful challenge to the Williams FW14B

Senna won the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix in his McLaren MP4/7A.

In 1992, Senna's determination to win manifested itself in dismay at McLaren's inability to challenge Williams's all-conquering FW14B car. The FW14B, thanks in part to its aerodynamic-enhancing active suspension and powerful Renault V10 engine was much faster and efficient than any other car that season. McLaren's new car for the season had several shortcomings. A delay occurred in getting the new MP4/7A model running (it was McLaren's first car with a semi-automatic gearbox and it debuted in the third race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix) and in addition to lacking active suspension, the new car suffered from reliability issues and was unpredictable in fast corners, while its Honda V12 engine was no longer the most powerful on the circuit. Even so, Senna scored wins in Monaco, Hungary, and Italy that year. Senna finished fourth overall in the championship, behind the Williams duo of Mansell and Riccardo Patrese, and Benetton's Michael Schumacher.

Senna at the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix

Senna grew increasingly worried about driver safety during the season. During practice for the second race of the season in Mexico on a badly maintained and extremely bumpy circuit Senna and other drivers were heavily critical of, his car hit a bump at one of the circuit's Esses corners that caused a loss of downforce and a hard crash into a concrete retaining wall. Senna had to be extricated from the car by circuit doctors while wearing a neck brace; although he raced the next day, he had to retire from the race due to gearbox failure. During qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, French driver Érik Comas crashed heavily and Senna was the first to arrive at the scene. Senna could hear the stricken car's engine revving at max RPM, and he exited his car and ran across the track to help the Frenchman and shut off the car's screaming engine (which could have blown and started a fire at any moment), disregarding his own safety in an effort to aid a fellow driver. He later visited Comas in the hospital. His actions won universal praise from within Formula One and seemed to soften his hard-nosed image.

Senna's relationship with German rising star Michael Schumacher, who was showing exceptional form at every race was never a good one, possibly because Senna saw Schumacher as a threat to his supremacy in Formula One. At the Brazilian 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 the French 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 the German 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.

Questions about Senna's intentions for the upcoming 1993 season lingered throughout 1992, as he did not have a contract with any team by the end of that year. Ferrari had offered him a contract which Senna discussed with Niki Lauda, but decided to decline the offer. He felt the McLaren cars were becoming less competitive than in previous years, especially given Honda's decision to abandon the sport at the end of 1992 due to economic issues and McLaren's lack of active suspension relating to rival Williams.

Senna secured an IndyCar testing session with the support of compatriot and Penske driver, Emerson Fittipaldi. In December 1992, Senna visited Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Arizona, near Phoenix in the United States, in order to test a 1992 Penske PC-21 CART Indianapolis car. Unlike the more advanced Formula One cars, this IndyCar was powered by a turbo Chevrolet-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, only by using the new 1993 Penske PC-22 at his disposal during this test session. In a 2018 interview, Fittipaldi revealed that Penske boss Roger Penske was ready to enter a third car for Senna to drive at the 1993 Indianapolis 500, which is one of the most prestigious and important races in the world and a race that defending champion Mansell (who had left Formula One for CART) was competing at. When McLaren boss Ron Dennis found out it was a very serious deal he promptly banned Senna from competing at Indianapolis.

1993: final wins and last season at McLaren

Senna won the 1993 European Grand Prix in changing conditions, in what many considered one of the best drives of his career.

For 1993, attempts were made by McLaren boss Ron Dennis to secure a supply of the dominant Renault V10 engines that Williams had found great success with. But McLaren was forced to take a customer supply of Ford V8 engines, which were two specifications behind that of Ford's then factory team, Benetton. McLaren hoped to make up for the inferior horsepower with mechanical sophistication, including an effective active suspension system – although the system itself proved difficult at times, especially for new teammate Michael Andretti.

Senna went to Williams himself and sought to take one of their two open rides, as defending champion Nigel Mansell joined the CART Series for 1993 and longtime second driver Riccardo Patrese left to drive at Benetton alongside Michael Schumacher. Despite Senna going so far as to be willing to forfeit his annual salary just to drive one of Williams' Renaults, this too failed. Alain Prost was returning to Formula One for the first time since the penultimate race of the 1991 season (he had been fired by Ferrari prior to the end of 1991, received a massive severance package as part of a non-compete clause, and took leave for the 1992 season) and filled one of the vacant Williams seats. His contract included a caveat that he had veto power over who he would team with in the other car for 1993; since he still had ill will toward his former McLaren teammate, Prost used that veto to freeze out Senna and force him into what was now a lame-duck season at McLaren. Faced with this, during the post-race press conference of the 1992 Portuguese Grand Prix at the Estoril Circuit, an infuriated Senna called Prost a coward, leading to some commentators stating that what Prost had done was no different from Senna vetoing Derek Warwick from joining Lotus in 1986, but they did not take into account that Senna's chances of winning the championship were much higher in 1993.

When Williams fell through, Dennis persuaded Senna to stay with McLaren. Senna agreed to do so only for the first race in South Africa, where he would assess whether McLaren's equipment was competitive enough for him to put in a good season. After driving McLaren's 1993 car, the McLaren MP4/8, Senna concluded it had surprising potential, albeit with a Ford V8 engine down on power relative to Prost's Renault V10 and less so on the Benetton's factory V8. Senna thus extended his deal with McLaren on a race-by-race basis instead of a full-year contract, ending up staying for the whole of 1993 in any event. Reportedly, this engagement was on a $1 million per race basis, and, despite midseason testing with a Lamborghini V12 proving encouraging, with McLaren then signing an engine supply deal with Peugeot for the 1994 season, it all proved insufficient to continue to retain Senna past 1993.

Senna came from the back of the field to finish fourth at the 1993 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in his McLaren MP4/8.

Despite the superiority of Prost's car, after Monaco, the sixth race of the season, Senna unexpectedly led the championship from Prost in the Williams-Renault. In the opening race in South Africa, Senna finished in second place after surviving a collision with Schumacher. Senna won in changing conditions in Brazil and Donington. The latter has often been regarded as one of Senna's greatest victories, in the process setting a record for the fastest lap in an Formula One race driving through the then speed-unrestricted pit lane. In cold, wet, rainy conditions typical of England in April he was fifth at the first corner and led the race at the end of the first lap going on to lap all but second place in a race where up to seven pit stops were required by some drivers for rain or slick tyres. Senna then scored a second-place finish in Spain and a record-breaking sixth win at Monaco, breaking Graham Hill's record of five.

However, as the season progressed, Alain Prost and Damon Hill asserted the superiority of their Williams-Renault cars, while Senna suffered mechanical failures in Imola, Canada, Britain, Hungary, and Portugal. Prost took his 4th world championship, losing apparently none of the skill he was not able to use during his 1992 sabbatical. Overall, Senna finished the championship second to Prost.

Senna won the penultimate race of the season in Japan, which was marked by an incident involving Jordan's rookie Eddie Irvine, twice unlapping himself against Senna. Immediately after the race, Senna angrily stormed into the Jordan team's garage and said to the Irishman "You're driving like a fucking idiot! You're not a racing driver, you're a fucking idiot!" before punching him in the side of the head. Following that incident, the stewards gave Senna a two race suspended ban for 1994. After a discussion between Senna and the president of the FIA, Max Mosley, a compromise was reached by removing the ban, considering the exemplary attitude of Senna towards his fellow drivers. The decision created some polemic back at the time, both amongst drivers and in the press, considering that during the entirety of the 1993 season, Prost was under threat of a four-race ban for using words to criticize the president of the FIA, thus seemingly implying that punching a fellow driver in the face was viewed as a lesser transgression than criticizing the FIA.

Senna celebrating his Grand Prix win at Interlagos, Brazil 1993

The season concluded in Australia, with Senna's 41st and last Formula One career win, as well as the last win for an active-suspension Formula One car; Senna had the first victory for a car with this technology in Monaco 1987. The win in Adelaide was an emotional one due to Senna ending his successful career with McLaren and defeating his biggest rival, Prost, for the last time. Because of the Frenchman's imminent retirement from the sport, Senna surprised the Formula One community by openly welcoming Prost on the top step of the podium, which many considered a sign of pacification between the duo.

Williams (1994)

1994: final pole positions and last season

The Williams FW16 was the last Formula One car raced by Senna.

For 1994, Senna was able to finally join the Williams team after Prost retired and was reportedly paid a $20 million salary. Senna was assigned car number 2, with teammate Damon Hill running car number 0 due to Prost, who would have been assigned number 1 had he returned, retiring. With Senna's arrival, a new sponsor came as well. Rothmans International came aboard as the primary backer for Williams, with Senna being one of their first drivers in the familiar white and navy livery.

During preseason testing, the new Williams FW16 car exhibited none of the superiority of the FW15C and FW14B cars that preceded it: Rule changes for 1994 had banned active suspension, traction control, and ABS. Senna found himself in close running with the Benetton B194 of Michael Schumacher. Senna expressed his discomfort with the handling of his car, stating: "I have a very negative feeling about driving the car and driving it on the limit and so on ... Some of that is down to the lack of electronic change. Also, the car has its own characteristics which I'm not fully confident in yet." Senna further added: "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."

The first race of the season was at Interlagos in Brazil, where Senna took pole position. He took an early lead, but Schumacher's Benetton was never far behind. Schumacher took the race lead after passing Senna in the pits. While trying for a win, he pushed too hard and spun the car coming out of Junção corner on lap 56, stalling it and retiring from the race. The second race was the inaugural Pacific Grand Prix at Aida, where Senna again placed the car on the pole. After being beaten to the first corner by second-qualifier Schumacher, he was hit from behind in the first corner by Mika Häkkinen and his race came to a definitive end when, while spinning backwards into the first corner's gravel trap, the Ferrari driven by Nicola Larini T-boned the Williams. Both drivers retired with front-suspension damage. Hill also retired with transmission problems, while Schumacher took the victory again. It was Senna's worst start to a Formula One season, failing to finish or score points in the first two races, despite taking pole position both times. Schumacher was leading Senna in the Drivers' Championship by 20 points.

On the 20th anniversary of Senna's death, Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo revealed that, on 27 April 1994, he had held discussions at his home in Bologna with Senna about a future Ferrari engagement.

Season controversies and end

The 1994 season was the subject of sweeping rule changes, most notably banning the use of electronic "driver aids" such as active suspension, anti-lock brakes, traction control and launch control. From the start, suspicion of foul play mainly involving the Benetton team was said to have troubled Senna. For example, instead of returning to the pit area after his first lap retirement at the Pacific Grand Prix, Senna opted to stand near the first corner and watch the cars complete the race to see if he could detect whether any now banned traction control system was being used. He returned to the Williams pits after the race, suspicious that the Benetton car was illegal. In an interview for the 20th anniversary of Senna's death, his then-teammate Damon Hill revealed that Senna had "concluded that there was, what he regarded, as unusual noises from the engine" with "special tweak" giving Benetton an advantage.

The season ended at the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, where the first-corner chicane at the Adelaide Street Circuit was renamed the "Senna Chicane". Schumacher went on to win the driver's world championship title controversially after a collision that forced his retirement and that of his rival, and Senna's teammate, Damon Hill. At the official FIA conference after the race, the German dedicated his title to Senna.

Crash and death

Main articles: Death of Ayrton Senna and 1994 San Marino Grand Prix

The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was held on the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit located in Imola, Italy, between 28 April and 1 May 1994. Senna, who did not finish the two opening races of the season, declared that this was where his season would start, with 14 races, as opposed to 16, in which to win the title. Williams brought modified FW16s to Imola in an attempt to improve the car's handling. During the afternoon qualifying session, Senna's compatriot and protégé Rubens Barrichello was involved in a serious accident when his car became airborne at the Variante Bassa chicane and hit the tyre-wall and fence. Barrichello suffered a broken nose and arm, and withdrew from the event. Barrichello reported that Senna was the first person he saw upon regaining consciousness.

During Saturday qualifying, Austrian rookie Roland Ratzenberger was killed after the front wing of his Simtek-Ford broke entering the 310 km/h (190 mph) Villeneuve corner, sending the car into the concrete retaining wall at high speed. Senna immediately visited the accident scene and medical centre. There he was met by FIA Medical Chief Professor Sid Watkins, who suggested to a tearful Senna that he should retire from racing and take up fishing (a hobby they both shared), to which Senna replied that he could not stop racing. Senna was later called in front of the stewards for commandeering an official car and climbing the medical centre fence, and a row ensued, although Senna was not punished.

Senna spent his final morning on Sunday talking to former teammate and rival Alain Prost to discuss the re-establishment of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, a driver's union, with the aim of improving safety in Formula One. Prost had retired from the sport at the end of the 1993 season and was now a media presenter. As the most senior driver in competition, Senna offered to take the role of leader, starting from the next race in Monaco. During the drivers' briefing, concerns had been raised about the mainly promotional use of a Porsche 911 lead car for the warm-up lap, with organizers agreeing to abandon the practice.

At the start of the Grand Prix, Senna retained the lead from his chief rival Michael Schumacher, but proceedings were soon interrupted by a startline accident. JJ Lehto's Benetton-Ford stalled and was hit by the Lotus-Mugen Honda of Pedro Lamy. A wheel and debris landed in the main grandstand, injuring eight fans and a police officer. The safety car, a sporty version of the Opel Vectra medium family saloon, was deployed for several laps. The Vectra's lack of speed proved detrimental to the racers, as the slower pace allowed the tyres of the Formula One cars to cool, thus decreasing their pressure. Senna pulled alongside the Vectra and gestured to the driver, Max Angelelli, to increase his speed. On lap 6, the race resumed and Senna immediately set a quick pace, completing the third-fastest lap of the race, followed by Schumacher.

As Senna rounded the high-speed Tamburello corner on lap 7, his car left the racing line at around 307 km/h (191 mph), ran in a straight line off the track, and hit the concrete retaining wall at around 233 km/h (145 mph), after what telemetry showed to be an application of the brakes for around two seconds. The red flag was shown as a consequence of the accident.

Within two minutes of crashing, Senna was extracted from his race car by Watkins and his medical team, including intensive care anaesthetist Giovanni Gordini. The initial treatment took place by the side of the car, with Senna having a weak heartbeat and significant blood loss from his temporal artery being ruptured. At this point, Senna had already lost around 4.5 litres of blood, constituting 90% of his blood volume. Because of Senna's grave neurological condition, Watkins performed an on-site tracheotomy and requested the immediate airlifting of Senna to Bologna's Maggiore Hospital under the supervision of Gordini. Watkins later said that as soon as he saw Senna's fully dilated pupils, he knew that his brainstem was inactive and that he would not survive.

At 18:40 CEST (16:40 GMT), the head of the hospital's emergency department, Maria Teresa Fiandri, made the announcement that Senna had died, but said the official time of death under Italian law was 14:17 CEST (12:17 GMT), which is when he impacted the wall and his brain stopped functioning. The right-front wheel and suspension are believed to have been sent back into the cockpit, striking Senna on the right side of his helmet, forcing his head back against the headrest. A piece of upright attached to the wheel had partially penetrated his helmet and made a large indentation in his forehead. In addition, it appeared that a jagged piece of the upright assembly had penetrated the helmet visor just above his right eye. Senna sustained fatal skull fractures, brain injuries, and a ruptured temporal artery, a major blood vessel supplying the face and scalp. According to Fiandri, any one of these three injuries would likely have killed him.

It was later revealed that when the medical staff examined Senna's vehicle, a furled Austrian flag was discovered—he had intended to raise it in honour of Ratzenberger after the race. Photographs of Senna being treated on the track by emergency medical personnel were taken by Senna's friend and Autosprint's picture editor Angelo Orsi. Out of respect, those photographs have never been made officially public.

State funeral

Senna's resting place at the Morumbi cemetery in São Paulo, with an inscription in Portuguese that reads "Nothing can separate me from the love of God"

Senna's death was considered by many of his Brazilian fans to be a national tragedy, and the government of Brazil declared three days of national mourning.

Senna's body returned to Brazil on 4 May 1994. The Italian Air Force offered to fly the coffin back to Brazil, but the Senna family wished that it return home in a Brazilian plane. Contrary to airline policy and out of respect, Senna's coffin was allowed to be flown back to his home country in the passenger cabin of a McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 airliner operated by national airline VARIG, accompanied by his distraught younger brother, Leonardo, and close friends. The plane was escorted by fighter jets into São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport, where it was met by the São Paulo mayor Paulo Maluf and the state's governor Luiz Antônio Fleury Filho. Eight cadets from the Military Police Academy mounted guard as a fire engine carried the coffin on the 20-mile (32.2 km) journey into the city. Leading the motorcade were 17 police motorbikes, and 2,500 policemen lined the route to keep the crowds at bay. Senna's body lay in state at the Legislative Assembly building in Ibirapuera Park, and was visited by over 200,000 people.

Senna's funeral took place in São Paulo on 5 May 1994. With over half a million visitors, it was the largest funeral procession in city history. Following the lying-in-state, a 21-gun salute was fired by the 2nd Artillery Brigade. Seven Brazilian Air Force jets flew in a diamond formation as the funeral procession made its way to Morumbi Cemetery. Senna's grave bears the epitaph "Nada pode me separar do amor de Deus", translated to "Nothing can separate me from the love of God" (Romans 8:38–39).

Many prominent motor-racing figures attended Senna's state funeral, which took place on 5 May, such as team managers Ken Tyrrell, Peter Collins, Ron Dennis, and Frank Williams, and driver-manager Jackie Stewart. The pallbearers included drivers: Gerhard Berger, Michele Alboreto, Alain Prost, Thierry Boutsen, Damon Hill, Rubens Barrichello, Roberto Moreno, Derek Warwick, Maurício Gugelmin, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Johnny Herbert, Pedro Lamy, Maurizio Sandro Sala, Raul Boesel, Emerson Fittipaldi, Wilson Fittipaldi, and Christian Fittipaldi. Neither Sid Watkins nor Jo Ramírez, the McLaren team coordinator, could bear to attend because they were so grief-stricken.

Senna's family did not allow Formula One Management president Bernie Ecclestone to attend the ceremony. They were offended that the race had not been abandoned after the accident and that Ecclestone had accidentally told Senna's brother Leonardo that Senna died on track (he did not die for several more hours). Ecclestone settled for watching the funeral cortege as an ordinary spectator. However, in more recent years, Ecclestone took some steps to repair his relationship with the Senna family, such as lending aid to the Instituto Ayrton Senna. Ecclestone has occasionally stated that Senna was the best driver he ever saw.

FISA president Max Mosley attended the funeral of Ratzenberger on 7 May in Salzburg, Austria, as he could attend only one of the two ceremonies. In a press conference ten years later, Mosley said: "I went to his funeral because everyone went to Senna's. I thought it was important that somebody went to his."

Immediate reactions

For the next race at Monaco, the FIA decided to leave the first two grid positions empty and painted them with the colours of the Brazilian and the Austrian flags, to honour Senna and Ratzenberger. 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.

At Honda's Tokyo headquarters, so many floral tributes were received that they filled the large exhibition lobby, even though Honda no longer participated in Formula One. Senna had a special relationship with company founder Soichiro Honda and was beloved in Japan, where he achieved a near-mythic status.

In July 1994, the Brazil national football team dedicated their World Cup victory to Senna, and collectively held a banner with their dedication on the field after defeating Italy in the final. Senna had met various members of the squad, including Ronaldo, as well as Leonardo Araújo, three months earlier in Paris, telling them "this is our year".

Italian prosecution

Italian law requires that accidents resulting in a fatality must be investigated for any criminal culpability, with the associated scene of the accident secured and the activities that led to the fatality, suspended forthwith. Senna's death was thus the subject of criminal proceedings in Italy, which saw key Williams team members investigated and charged with manslaughter. The original trial in 1997 concluded with acquittals on the grounds that the prosecution had failed to prove its case. This prosecution culminated with verdict No. 15050 handed down by Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation on 13 April 2007, which stated: "It has been determined that the accident was caused by a steering column failure. This failure was caused by badly designed and badly executed modifications. The responsibility of this falls on Patrick Head, culpable of omitted control." Head was never arrested because the Italian statute of limitation for manslaughter is 7 years and 6 months, and the final verdict was pronounced thirteen years after the accident.

The criminal charges focused on the car's steering column, which was found to have sheared off at a point where a modification had been made. The prosecution alleged that the column had failed, causing the accident, and the Williams team conceded to this failure but only as caused by the impact at the Tamburello corner. Senna had not liked the position of his Williams FW16's steering wheel relative to the seating position and had asked for the former to be changed. Head and Adrian Newey satisfied Senna's request by having the existing column cut and extended with a smaller-diameter piece of tubing, which was welded together with reinforcing plates. The modification was carried out in this manner as there was no time to manufacture a new longer steering column in time for the race.

Motorsport career outside Formula One

Senna won the saloon exhibition race to celebrate the opening of the new Nürburgring in 1984.

Senna did not participate in many other forms of motorsport once he reached Formula One. He took part in the 1984 Nürburgring Race of Champions, an exhibition race where all drivers competed in identical examples of the then-new Mercedes 190E 2.3–16 with minor race modifications. The race was held on the then newly-opened Nürburgring Grand Prix track, before the European Grand Prix. Notably, this race involved several past and present Formula One drivers, including Stirling Moss and past World Champions Jack Brabham, Denny Hulme, and Alan Jones, driving identical touring cars. Alain Prost started from pole position. Senna, who was a last-minute inclusion in the Mercedes race taking over from Emerson Fittipaldi, took the lead in the first corner of the first lap, winning the race ahead of Niki Lauda and Carlos Reutemann. After the race, Senna was quoted as saying: "Now I know I can do it."

Senna took part in the Nürburgring round of the 1984 World Sportscar Championship, driving a Porsche 956 for New-Man Joest Racing, alongside Henri Pescarolo and Stefan Johansson. He finished in 8th place but impressed the team and his co-drivers. He took part in the Masters Karting Paris Bercy event in 1993, an indoor karting competition held on a temporary circuit at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. This event is notable for being the stage for the last on-track duel between Prost and Senna.

Personal life

Religion and charitable work

Senna at home in his native Brazil

Main article: Instituto Ayrton Senna

Senna was a devout Catholic, 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." He often read the Bible on long flights from São Paulo to Europe. 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."

Senna secretly donated millions of U.S. dollars to help poor children. Shortly before his death, he created the framework for an organisation dedicated to Brazilian children, which later became the Instituto 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. 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."

Family and relationships

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." 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.

Senna's nephew Bruno 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." Bruno temporarily quit racing to please his family after Senna's death. In 2012, he raced for the Williams team, which was a decision that, reportedly, had a significant emotional impact on the Senna family and was seen by some as a signing only resulting from his surname and the money it could bring.

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. She was often chaperoned by her mother during dates.

In 1988, Nelson Piquet accused Senna of being gay in an incendiary interview, in which Piquet also called Enzo Ferrari "senile," former teammate Nigel Mansell an "uneducated blockhead," and Mansell's wife "ugly." (Piquet had a history of aggressive remarks: he also called Keke Rosberg "a turd that has no value," and was fined $950,000 in 2023 for using racial slurs to describe Lewis Hamilton.) Piquet retracted his comments after Senna and Mansell threatened to sue him for slander. Senna shot back in a 1990 interview with the Brazilian edition of Playboy, 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.

Following Piquet's remarks, Senna dated a string of models and celebrities, including Brazilian TV star Xuxa from late 1988 until 1990 and Christine Ferracciu in 1990 and 1991. Senna also had an affair with American model Carol Alt, and briefly dated models Marjorie Andrade and Elle Macpherson. At the time of his death, Senna was in a relationship with Brazilian model, and later TV personality, Adriane Galisteu. After Senna's death, model Edilaine de Barros (better known as Marcella Praddo) filed a paternity suit against Senna's estate, but in 2000, DNA testing proved that Senna was not the father.

Wealth, properties, and endorsements

At his death, Senna's estate was estimated at $400 million. Senna owned several properties, including an organic farm in Tatuí, Brazil (where he built a go-kart track in 1991), a beach house in Angra dos Reis, Brazil, an apartment in São Paulo, Brazil, an apartment in Monaco, an estate in Sintra, on the Portuguese Riviera, and a house in Algarve, Portugal. He owned a private jet (British Aerospace 125) and a helicopter, the latter of which he piloted to travel between his various Brazilian residences.

Senna's red NSX, loaned to him by Honda Portugal, on display at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed

As part of his close relationship with Honda, Senna endorsed Honda sportscars, including the Honda Prelude and the Honda NSX. He helped test and fine-tune the NSX, working directly with chief NSX engineer Shigeru Uehara and his team during five testing sessions at Suzuka. Honda credited Senna's feedback, explaining that Senna encouraged Uehara to increase the stiffness of the chassis. 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.

In 1993, Senna signed a lucrative agreement to import, market, and sell Audi cars in Brazil. 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. Aside from the black NSX mentioned above, Senna's other personal car in 1994 was a silver Audi 100 S4 Avant. Senna also endorsed the Ducati 916 motorbike shortly before his death in 1994.

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". This logo is meant to represent an S chicane on a racing circuit. The Senna brand was used for apparel, watches, bicycles (Carraro), motorcycles and boats. Hublot, TAG Heuer, and Universal Genève have created limited-edition watches to honour Senna, both during his lifetime and after his death.

Senna also endorsed several video games and multimedia offerings, including 1992's Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II, which featured pre-recorded advice from Senna and included Senna's personal farm circuit in Tatuí as one of the possible tracks. Senna also contributed several interviews to the Japan-exclusive Ayrton Senna Personal Talk: Message for the Future, a multimedia compact disc for the Sega Saturn. 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. In 2019, F1 2019 released a DLC focusing on the Senna-Prost rivalry.

Hobbies

Senna's own BAe-125 private jet (top) in Faro, Portugal with registration N125AS, AS standing for his initials, and passing time with a model plane (bottom)

Senna enjoyed a range of physical activities including running, waterskiing, jet skiing, and paddleboarding. He also had several hobbies, such as flying real and model planes and helicopters, boating, fishing, and riding Ducati motorbikes.

For his 29th birthday in 1989, the Brazilian Air Force gave Senna a flight on one of their jet fighters (a Dassault Mirage III), which bears commemorative livery and is now exhibited at the Aerospace Museum of Rio de Janeiro. After a three-ship flyover of the type at the 1990 Australian Grand Prix, Senna was given a joyride in an RAAF F-111C.

In 1992, Senna received a fine and a temporary driving ban in the United Kingdom after driving a Porsche at speeds up to 121 mph (194.7 km/h) on the M25 near London.

Racing legacy

Appraisals

Near the end of his career, Senna was almost universally recognized as the best driver in the sport. In 1993, a poll of Formula One drivers gave Senna a near-unanimous vote as the best driver in Formula One.

Following Senna's death, various polls and ranking services have rated him the best driver of all time.

• 2004: A poll on the F1 Racing magazine.
• 2009: A poll of 217 current and former Formula One drivers conducted by Autosport magazine.
• 2010: A poll of F1 drivers conducted by German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
• 2012: A poll of BBC Sport journalists.
• 2020: Formula One, sponsored by Amazon Web Services, used AWS machine learning algorithms to compare drivers' qualifying performances. The algorithm named Senna the fastest qualifier of all time.

In April 2000, Senna was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. That year, the British public also voted Senna's opening lap of the 1993 European Grand Prix, the 43rd in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.

Driver safety

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, including Niki Lauda and Alain Prost, about reforming the Formula One drivers' union, the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. Senna wanted the GPDA to advocate for safety reforms.

Following the events of Imola 1994, Formula One enacted a variety of safety improvements. These included improved crash barriers, redesigned tracks, higher crash safety standards, and significant cuts to engine power. On-track medical procedures were revised, and the Tamburello corner and other parts of the Imola circuit were altered in 1995.

Racing persona

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."

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. (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".

Although Senna cultivated a public image of "an inward-looking, aloof driver who is hard to get along with," Senna was close friends with McLaren teammate Gerhard Berger. The two frequently played practical jokes on each other. Berger summed up their relationship by saying "He taught me a lot about our sport, I taught him to laugh." Senna's press officer selected Berger and Emerson Fittipaldi to lead the procession of Formula One greats at Senna's funeral.

Cultural legacy

A Brazilian cultural icon, Senna remains a national hero in Brazil. In addition, in 2006, the Japanese public ranked Senna 22nd in Nippon TV's survey of Japan's favourite persons in history.

Formula One memorials to Senna

Clockwise from top left: A memorial in Ibirapuera Park; the Senna S at Interlagos; Senna's statue near the Imola Circuit; Senna's statue in Wałbrzych, Poland

Various tracks feature Senna memorials. A statue of Senna stands in a park in Imola, near the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari's Tamburello corner. Adelaide, reportedly one of Senna's favourite circuits, installed a plaque bearing Senna's signature and hand prints in 1995. Monaco, where Senna triumphed a record six times, installed a plaque in Senna's honour at the Fairmont/Lowes hairpin in 2007. Adelaide, Interlagos, Jerez, Hockenheim, Montreal, Snetterton, Estoril, and Buenos Aires have all renamed portions of their track after Senna.

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. 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 in Grove.

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-powered McLaren MP4/5, Honda recreated Senna's record-setting lap at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix by positioning speakers and lights along the Suzuka Circuit. The lights traced Senna's real-life path and were synchronized to Senna's actual laptime.

Seven-time world champion Lewis 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 an Ian Berry artwork. Hamilton wore Senna tribute helmets at the Brazil races in 2011, 2015, and 2016, with the Senna family's support. When Hamilton matched Senna's 65 pole positions in 2017, the Senna family presented Hamilton with a race-worn Senna helmet. At the 2021 São Paulo Grand Prix, Hamilton delighted the crowd by waving a Brazilian flag during his victory lap, homaging Senna's victory celebration from the 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix (Senna's first-ever win in Brazil) thirty years earlier. The Brazilian government granted Hamilton honorary citizenship in 2022. Hamilton repeated the Brazilian flag tribute at the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix, this time driving Senna's 1990 McLaren MP4/5B.

Permanent memorials to Senna

Statues of Senna have been erected in Barcelona and Wałbrzych, Poland (statue).

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 of Quinta do Lago, Algarve, Portugal; a street in Tilehurst, Reading, England, where Senna lived during his years as a junior racer; a road in the Adelaide suburb of Wingfield; and a street and museum in Wałbrzych, Poland. Outside Earth, minor planet 6543 Senna is also named for Senna.

In September 2024, a property developer in collaboration with the Senna family announced plans to build the Senna Tower, a 544 m (1,785 ft) supertall residential skyscraper in Balneário Camboriú, Brazil.

Anniversary tributes

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 book Ayrton: O Herói Revelado (Ayrton: The Hero Revealed) was published.

2010 marked the year of Senna's 50th birthday. In March, Senna's favourite football team, Corinthians, played a video in Senna's memory. In July, Lewis Hamilton paid tribute to Senna by driving his title-winning McLaren MP4/4 on an episode of Top Gear. In October, StudioCanal, Working Title Films, and Midfield Films released Asif Kapadia's BAFTA-winning documentary Senna, which traces Senna's championship years at McLaren and his efforts to improve safety in the sport.

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. Senna's friend Gerhard Berger and various drivers associated with Italy and Ferrari were in attendance.
• San Marino issued a series of commemorative stamps and silver proof coins.
• During the Brazilian Carnival celebrations, the samba group Unidos da Tijuca received a prize for a Senna-themed parade.
• Senna's brithday was marked by a Google Doodle.
• Brazilian regional airline Azul Linhas Aereas named a plane after Senna and painted it in the colours of Senna's helmet.
• French company Art Mint produced a series of commemorative coins designed by a Brazilian artist.
• British artist Ian Berry unveiled a portrait of Ayrton at the Instituto Ayrton Senna, with Senna's family in attendance.

2019 marked the 25th anniversary of Senna's death. The organisers of the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix presented race winner Lewis Hamilton with a half-Austrian, half-Brazilian flag in honour of Senna and Roland Ratzenberger.

Posthumous licensing of the Senna brand

The Instituto Ayrton Senna (IAS) occasionally licenses Senna's brand for various commercial and charitable enterprises, mostly related to motorsport.

• Ducati produced three special Senna editions of the Ducati 916 superbike (1996-98) and the 1199 Panigale S Senna (2013).
• MV Agusta released two limited-edition motorbikes, the F4 750 Senna (2002) and the F4 Senna 1000 (2006). All profits were donated to the IAS.
• During the brief McLaren-Honda reunion in the 2010s, Honda and McLaren ran advertising campaigns recalling the Senna legend.
• In 2014, the IAS commissioned a commemorative Vespa that was auctioned off for charity. It was custom-painted in the colours of Senna's helmet, and its design recalled Piaggio's sponsorship gifts to Formula One polesitters.
• In 2017, McLaren Automotive produced the McLaren Senna, a 789-horsepower supercar.
• In 2017, American firm Rosland Capital produced a series of commemorative coins featuring Senna.
• In 2018, Nike and the Corinthians football team unveiled a special Senna kit to commemorate Senna's first World Championship, with the tagline #LuteAtéSerEterno [fight until you're eternal].

In popular culture

Senninha

As part of Japanese publisher Shueisha's sponsorship of McLaren, Senna collaborated with Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, on artwork for Weekly Shōnen Jump featuring McLaren-themed illustrations of Dragon Ball characters. Senna was also featured in GP Boy, a two-volume manga published in Weekly Shōnen Jump to commemorate Shueisha's sponsorship.

Senna launched the cartoon character Senninha ("Little Senna") in 1993/94 to appeal to Brazilian children. A Senninha comic book ran from 1994 to 2000.

Senna is mentioned in episode 151 of the Japanese animated series Gintama, along with two other F1 drivers, Jacques Villeneuve and Rubens Barrichello.

In 2020, Netflix announced development on a fictionalized miniseries about Senna. Gabriel Leone is set to star, with a release date of 2024.

Senna has been referenced by several songwriters:

• Portuguese rock band Os Pontos Negros have a song titled "Senna" in their 2012 Soba Lobi album
• Italian rock band The Rock Alchemist's 2012 song "Live or Die" and its accompanying 2018 music video are inspired by the life and character of Senna
• Jazz pianist Kim Pensyl (song called "Senna's Samba")
• Japanese jazz-fusion guitarist and T-square bandleader Masahiro Andoh (references in songs such as "Faces" and subsequent revisions, like "The Face")
• Chris Rea (on his song "Saudade")
• Spanish band Delorean (extended play called Ayrton Senna)
• British acid jazz band Corduroy (song called "Ayrton Senna")
• Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla (song titled "Ayrton").

Helmet design

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, 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 for Emerson Fittipaldi and Nelson Piquet.

According to Mosca, the blue and green stripes symbolised movement and aggression, while the overall yellow colour symbolised youth; the three colors were also identifiable with the flag 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). The helmet worn by Senna in the fatal race was returned to Bell in 2002 and was incinerated while family members watched.

Third-party adaptations

Bruno Senna's helmet design is an adaptation of his uncle's (seen here parading the 1985 Lotus 97T at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix).

Senna's nephew Bruno 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.

At the 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix, Rubens Barrichello incorporated part of Senna's helmet design into his own. As mentioned above, Lewis Hamilton has also worn Senna tribute helmets on several occasions.

Outside of motor racing, Brazilian cyclist Murilo Fischer wore a helmet based on Senna's helmet colour scheme of yellow with green and blue stripes on stage 11 of the 2015 Giro d'Italia, which finished on the Imola circuit. For the 2020 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.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season	Series	Team	Position
1977	South American Championship		1st
1978	FIA World Championship — Kart	DAP	6th
1979	FIA World Championship — Kart	DAP	2nd
1980	FIA World Championship — Kart	DAP	2nd
1981	FIA World Championship — Formula K	DAP	4th
1982	FIA World Championship — Formula K	DAP	14th
Sources:

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1981	Formula Ford 1600	Van Diemen	20	12	3	10	18	218	1st
1982	British Formula Ford 2000	Rushen Green	18	16	7	17	18	378	1st
	European Formula Ford 2000		8	6	6	7	6	138	1st
1983	British Formula Three	West Surrey Racing	20	12	15	12	14	132	1st
	European Formula Three		1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Macau Grand Prix	West Surrey Racing w/ Theodore Racing	1	1	1	0	1	N/A	1st
1984	Formula One	Toleman Motorsport	14	0	0	1	3	13	9th
	World Sportscar Championship	New-Man Joest Racing	1	0	0	0	0	3	82nd
1985	Formula One	John Player Special Team Lotus	16	2	7	3	6	38	4th
1986	Formula One	John Player Special Team Lotus	16	2	8	0	8	55	4th
1987	Formula One	Camel Team Lotus Honda	16	2	1	3	8	57	3rd
1988	Formula One	Honda Marlboro McLaren	16	8	13	3	11	90	1st
1989	Formula One	Honda Marlboro McLaren	16	6	13	3	7	60	2nd
1990	Formula One	Honda Marlboro McLaren	16	6	10	2	11	78	1st
1991	Formula One	Honda Marlboro McLaren	16	7	8	2	12	96	1st
1992	Formula One	Honda Marlboro McLaren	16	3	1	1	7	50	4th
1993	Formula One	Marlboro McLaren	16	5	1	1	7	73	2nd
1994	Formula One	Rothmans Williams Renault	3	0	3	0	0	0	NC
Source:

Complete British Formula 3 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Pts
1983	West Surrey Racing	Toyota	SIL 1	THR 1	SIL 1	DON 1	THR 1	SIL 1	THR 1	BRH 1	SIL 1	SIL Ret	CAD DNS	SNE Ret	SIL 1	DON 2	OUL Ret	SIL 1	OUL Ret	THR Ret	SIL 2	THR 1	1st	132
Sources:

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

Year	Team	Chassis/Engine	Qualifying	Race1	Race2	Overall ranking	Ref
1983	West Surrey Racing	Ralt・Toyota	1st	1	1	1st

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Pts
1984	Toleman Group Motorsport	Toleman TG183B	Hart 415T 1.5 L4 t	BRA Ret	RSA 6	BEL 6	SMR DNQ													9th	13
		Toleman TG184						FRA Ret	MON 2‡	CAN 7	DET Ret	DAL Ret	GBR 3	GER Ret	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA	EUR Ret	POR 3
1985	John Player Special Team Lotus	Lotus 97T	Renault EF15 1.5 V6 t	BRA Ret	POR 1	SMR 7†	MON Ret	CAN 16	DET Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 10†	GER Ret	AUT 2	NED 3	ITA 3	BEL 1	EUR 2	RSA Ret	AUS Ret	4th	38
1986	John Player Special Team Lotus	Lotus 98T	Renault EF15B 1.5 V6 t	BRA 2	ESP 1	SMR Ret	MON 3	BEL 2	CAN 5	DET 1	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 2	HUN 2	AUT Ret	ITA Ret	POR 4†	MEX 3	AUS Ret	4th	55
1987	Camel Team Lotus Honda	Lotus 99T	Honda RA166E 1.5 V6 t	BRA Ret	SMR 2	BEL Ret	MON 1	DET 1	FRA 4	GBR 3	GER 3	HUN 2	AUT 5	ITA 2	POR 7	ESP 5	MEX Ret	JPN 2	AUS DSQ	3rd	57
1988	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/4	Honda RA168E 1.5 V6 t	BRA DSQ	SMR 1	MON Ret	MEX 2	CAN 1	DET 1	FRA 2	GBR 1	GER 1	HUN 1	BEL 1	ITA 10†	POR 6	ESP 4	JPN 1	AUS 2	1st	90 (94)
1989	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/5	Honda RA109E 3.5 V10	BRA 11	SMR 1	MON 1	MEX 1	USA Ret	CAN 7†	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 1	HUN 2	BEL 1	ITA Ret	POR Ret	ESP 1	JPN DSQ	AUS Ret	2nd	60
1990	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/5B	Honda RA100E 3.5 V10	USA 1	BRA 3	SMR Ret	MON 1	CAN 1	MEX 20†	FRA 3	GBR 3	GER 1	HUN 2	BEL 1	ITA 1	POR 2	ESP Ret	JPN Ret	AUS Ret	1st	78
1991	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/6	Honda RA121E 3.5 V12	USA 1	BRA 1	SMR 1	MON 1	CAN Ret	MEX 3	FRA 3	GBR 4†	GER 7†	HUN 1	BEL 1	ITA 2	POR 2	ESP 5	JPN 2	AUS 1‡	1st	96
1992	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/6B	Honda RA122E 3.5 V12	RSA 3	MEX Ret															4th	50
		McLaren MP4/7A	Honda RA122E/B 3.5 V12			BRA Ret	ESP 9†	SMR 3	MON 1	CAN Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 2	HUN 1	BEL 5	ITA 1	POR 3	JPN Ret	AUS Ret
1993	Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/8	Ford HBE7 3.5 V8	RSA 2	BRA 1	EUR 1	SMR Ret	ESP 2	MON 1	CAN 18†	FRA 4	GBR 5†								2nd	73
			Ford HBA8 3.5 V8										GER 4	HUN Ret	BEL 4	ITA Ret	POR Ret	JPN 1	AUS 1
1994	Rothmans Williams Renault	Williams FW16	Renault RS6 3.5 V10	BRA Ret	PAC Ret	SMR Ret	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	JPN	AUS	NC	0
Sources:

^‡ 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.

Complete World Sportscar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Pos.	Pts
1984	New-Man Joest Racing	C1	Porsche 956	Porsche Type-935 2.6 F6t	MNZ	SIL	LMS	NÜR 8	BRH	MOS	SPA	IMO	FUJ	KYA	SAN	82nd	3
Sources:

Formula One records

Senna holds the following Formula One driver records:

Record		Achieved	Ref
Most consecutive pole positions	8	1988 Spanish Grand Prix – 1989 United States Grand Prix
Most consecutive front row starts	24	1988 German Grand Prix – 1989 Australian Grand Prix
Most consecutive wins at the same Grand Prix	5	Monaco Grand Prix (1989–1993)
Most consecutive pole positions at the same Grand Prix	7	San Marino Grand Prix (1985–1991)
Highest percentage of front row starts in a season	100%	1989

Sources

• Collings, Timothy; Edworthy, Sarah (2002). The Formula One Years: A Season-by-Season Account of the World's Premier Motor Racing Championship from 1950 to the Present Day. Carlton Books.
• Hilton, Christopher (2004). Ayrton Senna: The Whole Story. Haynes.
• Hilton, Christopher (2005). Grand Prix century. Haynes.
• Hughes, Mark; Arron, Simon (2003). The Complete Book of Formula One. Motorbooks International.
• Jones, Bruce, ed. (1999). 50 Years of the Formula One World Championship. Carlton.
• Ménard, Pierre; Vassal, Jacques (2003). Alain Prost: The Science of Racing. Formula 1 Legends Series. Chronosports Editeur. ISBN 2-84707-062-1.
• Rubython, Tom (2004). The Life of Senna.
• Rubython, Tom (2005). The Life of Senna: The Biography of Ayrton Senna. BusinessF1 Books. ISBN 9780954685737.

External links

• Official website (in English and Portuguese)
• A Tribute to Life Network – Home of European fans
• Ayrton Senna Legacy Matters
• Ayrton Senna career summary at DriverDB.com
• Ayrton Senna driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Ayrton Senna at IMDb
• Instituto Ayrton Senna
• Formula One's Hall of Fame driver profile
• BBC Sport: Formula 1's Greatest Drivers
• Senna Documentary with Reviews and Discussion
• Imolayrton