Ayrton Senna would turn 62 today. It’s not a mourning day, but a day of celebration on his lifetime achievements.
The man himself achieved so much in a life that lasted just 34 years. Just months before his death, he obliged his sister Viviane to start a foundation in case something goes wrong, in order to give underprivileged children a chance. Shortly after his death, that dream became reality and today, 28 years past his death, it’s still alive and kicking. His magic trackside skills, his immense strive for perfection and his actions for humanity will keep him immortal.
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Born in March 21st in Sao Paulo, it didn’t take people long to realise his gifted skills. Thankfully, being part of a relatively wealthy family, he was able to kick off a racing career in karting. Having lots of success from his early days in Brazil, he decided to take the gamble, go to Europe, and strive for his dream. He went through lots of struggles, but eventually made it in 1984. Driving an uncompetitive Toleman, he almost won his fifth Grand Prix in Monaco, only if Jacky Ickx didn’t stop the race in Alain Prost’s favour. Just a year later, he won in Estoril for the black and gold Lotus, in a big team, which had a two-year absence from the top step of the podium by the time Ayrton won.
In 1988, his chance arrived, he was finally driving a championship-winning car and beat Prost for the title in his debut season for the team, giving us plenty of special moments to remember. Monaco’s qualifying session was one. In dry conditions, these things barely happen, still Ayrton beat his teammate by more than a second. His crash in the race changed his career for good. He went on to win two further titles in 1990 and 1991, in spectacular fashion. In the latter part of the 1991 season, Williams have managed to build a car that was much faster than anyone else, and that continued in 1992, by an even bigger margin. The FW14B is still considered as the most dominant car ever build in the history of the sport. Ayrton still managed to take three wins in that season.
His relationship with the McLaren team boss, Ron Dennis, deteriorated in 1993 and Ayrton completed the season signing race-by-race contracts. Whilst Williams domination continued, he took his second win on home soil, and his sixth win in the streets of Monte Carlo. Not to mention the European Grand Prix at Donington, where he lapped everyone bar Damon Hill, making the rest of the field look like amateurs. His hunger for wins, combined with Williams’ continued domination, saw him signing for the Grove-based team for 1994 onwards.
It just wasn’t meant to be. What looked like a dream team managed to build a car full of problems. That year Max Mosley, the FIA’s newly-elected President, brought a massive change of regulations with him, banning every single electronic-aid for the drivers. By then though, the cars had lots of torque and horsepower and got very nervous, making them very difficult to drive. Ayrton managed take the pole position in all three Grands Prix he contested in 1994, although he didn’t managed score a point. In Brazil, the back of the car stepped out and his engine stalled, forcing him to retire. The team brought lots of aerodynamic improvements in order to help FW16’s driveability, but with no avail. At the start of the Pacific Grand Prix, Hakkinen crashed on Senna’s car, forcing him to start the european leg of the championship 20 points behind his rival, Michael Schumacher.
The San Marino Grand Prix was overshadowed by Barrichello’s violent crash on Friday and by the tragic death of Roland Ratzenberger on Saturday’s qualifying. Ayrton was very upset and considered to skip the race. He ultimately decided to start, and tragedy striked. Entering the seventh lap of the race, Ayrton approached the Tamburello bend on sixth gear, maximum revs, on a relatively easy corner for the drivers. His steering column failed, leaving him unable to steer the car and forcing him to hit the wall at high speed. The telemetry data showed Ayrton got aware of the problem in fractions of a second and managed to push the brake pedal to the maximum. It wasn’t enough. Ayrton suffered multiple brain injuries and passed out just some hours later, in the Maggiore Hospital of Bologna.
In ten years racing Formula 1 cars, he reached a level that no other driver had reached in the history of the sport. He won three world championships and started on pole position 65 times. He contributed a lot to the sport, raising the bar of competitiveness, physical fitness and safety. His will and determination will never be forgotten.
