Ayrton Senna: 20 years on

Today marks 20 years that we tragically lost one of the most recognisable names in Formula 1. We take a look back the career of arguably one of the most talented drivers in the history of Motor Racing and perhaps one of the most controversial characters the sport has seen, Ayrton Senna.

Having started his racing career like so many before and after him in Karting at the age of 13 in his native home of Brazil, Senna moved to England in 1981 to begin his career in single-seater racing and won both the RAC 1600 and Formula Ford 1600 championships in his first year.

It all seemed to be over too soon for the talented South American though, with parental pressure forcing his retirement before his career had really begun. However, just before his departure, he was offered the chance to drive for a Formula Ford 2000 team in 1982, providing that he could gain sponsorship to secure the drive, which he duly managed. He would win both the British and European championships in this year.

1983 saw Senna move up to the British Formula Three Championship, a stepping stone for Formula One. He won the Championship at the final round, after close battles with future F1-rival, Martin Brundle.

Team bosses in Formula 1 had begun to notice the Brazilian’s success and potential to become a future Grand Prix star, so much so that the Brazilian was offered tests for Williams, Brabham, McLaren and Toleman. He would go onto sign with the latter for 1984.

After a shaky start to the season, the Brazilian went and shocked the Formula 1 world by taking taking 2nd place at the rain-soaked Monaco Grand Prix, passing the likes of Niki Lauda. It was widely speculated that he would have gone onto win the race after Prost’s McLaren suffered brake problems. Senna went on to take two more Podiums at the Portuguese and British rounds. After signing with Lotus for 1985 and not discussing with the the Team Boss, Ayrton was suspended for the Italian round.

The following season would see him win his first Grand Prix at Estoril in Portugal and take a further two podiums at the Dutch and Italian Grand Prix’s. Senna later went onto win his second race at Spa in Belgium; he finished the season in 4th place in the Drivers’ Championship, one place ahead of team-mate Elio De Angelis.

Moving forward to 1988, which would see the 28 year-old move to McLaren team, bringing forward the legendary McLaren-Honda partnership thanks to the Brazilian’s connection with the manufacturer at Lotus. This also saw the introduction of perhaps the most famous team-mate rivalry in Formula 1 to date, with Senna being paired with then double-World Champion, Alain Prost.

After a dominant season in the MP4/4, winning 8 races throughout the course, the Brazilian won his first World Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix much to the surprise of his fans after nearly stalling the car on the grid; he was back in 15th place after Turn 1 and clawed his way through the field to overtake Prost for the lead in ever-changing conditions.

The Suzuka circuit would become one that was special to Senna, especially in deciding championships.

The 1989 Japanese Grand Prix was a key turning point in the Brazilian’s career. The title was to be decided here, and whoever won the race between Prost and Senna, would win the World Championship. On Lap 46 they both collided with each other and Senna at the final chicane and was later disqualified, handing the championship to the Frenchman despite a protest from the McLaren team, with the Sao Paulo born driver believing that he had been unfairly treated by the FIA and Jean Marie Balestre. Alain later departed for Ferrari at the end of the year.

However, 12 months later at the same circuit, it appeared to be a case of de ja vu with the World Championship again coming down to the wire. Ayrton qualified in 1st ahead of Alain but later protested to no avail that Pole Position was on the dirty side of the grid and should be changed for the race. After this, both made their intentions clear, Senna stated that if Prost left a gap into the first corner that he would attempt to pass, whilst Prost maintained the he would hold his line.

It was inevitable that an incident would occur, and so it did; the Brazilian dived up the inside at Turn 1 on the first lap and again collided with Prost, taking them both out of the race, and allowing Senna to become a double World Champion. His French counterpart later described Ayrton as a “Man without value”.

Ferrari’s fortunes took a downturn in 1991, meaning the Brazilian’s main challenger would be Briton, Nigel Mansell who was driving for Williams. Senna dominated the first half of the season, winning the first four races and going onto claim three more victories in Hungary, Belgium and Australia, totalling 7 to Mansell’s 5, although it wasn’t until the final round that Ayrton would be crowned World Champion for the third, and sadly, final time.

1992 was a year dominated by the Renault-powered Williams of Mansell, and it saw the emerging of a future World Champion in Michael Schumacher. Senna finished a lowly 4th in the Championship despite taking two victories in what was to be his final season driving a Honda-powered car.

With Prost returning after to Williams in 1993 after a sabbatical, Senna was forced to re-sign with the McLaren team as the Frenchman possessed a clause in his contract that meant he could not be team-mates with his arch rival. Now using Ford power, it wasn’t until the eve of the first Grand Prix that the Brazilian would agree to sign for the team on a race-by-race basis. He won races in Brazil and perhaps most famously in Donington after clawing his way through the pack to lead at the end of Lap 1 having dropped back to 5th after the start.

The triple-World Champion announced late in the season that he would be moving to Williams for 1994, replacing the retiring Prost. He would take his final ever victory at the last round in Australia, which became the last time that he would ever stand on the Grand Prix podium.

1994 saw extreme rule changes with the banishing of driver aids such as Active Suspension, Anti-lock brakes, Traction Control and Launch Control. Designed to increase driver involvement and demonstrate far more driver skill, there were concerns voiced over safety including one Ayrton Senna stating that it would be a season with “a lot of accidents”.

The new FW16 proved to be initially very quick but extremely difficult to drive, with Senna and Hill citing a lack of rear-end grip and unstableness. This came to light when Senna spun on Lap 56 of the first round in Brazil and stalled the engine, causing his first retirement at his home event since 1992.

His fortunes did not improve for the second round after hitting Hakkinen’s McLaren at the first corner; the Brazilian spun and was hit by the Ferrari of Larini, causing his second retirement in as many races.

Round 3 at San Marino. One of the most pivotal Grand Prix’s in Formula 1’s history. Often thought to have been ‘cursed’ among those who believe in superstition, it was one that started just as badly as it ended. Senna’s countryman, Rubens Barrichello badly crashed his Jordan during Friday qualifying, launching the car into the tyre barrier and landing upside down on top of it. He underwent track-side treatment to save his life after the young Brazilian swallowed his tongue; the only injuries resulting from the crash were a broken nose and plaster-casted arm.

Saturday Qualifying saw a far worse incident, however, with newcomer to Grand Prix’s Roland Ratzenberger suffering a front-wing failure on his final timed lap, causing the Austrian to career into the barriers at the 190 mph ‘Villeneuve curva’. The g-forces caused by the speed of the collision resulted in the rookie to suffer a basal skull fracture, and despite immediate medical attention, he was pronounced dead after being airlifted to Maggiore Hospital in Bologna.

Senna was deeply moved by this news, as FIA Doctor, Professor Sid Watkins explained: “Ayrton broke down and cried on my shoulder.” He later said to Senna about retiring from the sport: “You have been world champion three times, you are obviously the quickest driver. Give it up and let's go fishing,” But he refused, stating that he had to continue. 

May 1st. Race day. Now, I don’t need to explain the details of this race, I’m sure you all know. But after just 2 racing laps, we lost the timeless, ever-loved, talented and humble Ayrton Senna. There have been many conspiracies as to what caused the incident, loss of grip, broken steering column and so on. I’m not going to speculate what happened, because that wouldn’t be the correct thing to do.

But, the loss of Senna was deeply felt around the whole World and not just in Motorsport. That showed in his funeral, some three million people lined the streets of his hometown in Sau Paolo to mourn the passing of the triple World Champion, and his legacy is one that has lived on and will continue to do so for some considerable time.

Due to his and Ratzenberger’s deaths, Motorsport has become a lot safer and as fans, we owe a lot for that. The Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) was orignially supposed to be led by Senna and it looked as if it would fall by the wayside after Imola, but thanks to Niki Lauda and other F1 drivers, it's still going strong today and improving Formula 1 safety for the better.

Four major crashes over two weekends at Imola (Barrichello, Ratzenberger, Senna) and Monaco (Wendlinger) demonstrated that change had to be made, and although it was forced and therefore rushed in 1994, 1995 saw a new breed of safer cars with more downforce that were just as difficult to drive and just as exciting to watch.

We also need to remember the good times of how we know Ayrton; as a pure, bare-knuckle racer, no-holes-barred racer that helped shape modern Formula 1. He was charismatic, intelligent, generous and above all else, had a determination to succeed.

20 years has passed so quickly, but we will remember him fondly. Thank you Ayrton, for the battles, rivalry, hilarity and most of all, pure joy of watching you.

I will leave you with a quote from Ayrton during an interview in 1991: “Whoever you are, no matter what social position you have, rich or poor, always show great strength and determination, and always do everything with much love and deep faith in God. One day you will reach your goal.”

Thank you for reading.


Tom Brooks
Chief UK Editor