Ayrton Senna

Early Life

Ayrton Senna, the most talented and fascinating Formula One driver to ever grace the surface of the earth.

Senna was a Brazilian racing driver who is widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time.

He is also famous for his numerous outstanding achievements including winning three world championships, 41 races, and 65 pole positions during his career.

Ayrton Senna was born in São Paulo, Brazil in 1960 as the middle child of a wealthy Brazilian family. He was the son of landowner and factory owner Milton Guirado da Silva and his wife Neide Joanna Senna da Silva. Senna was born of both Italian and Spanish heritage.

As a young child, Senna spent the first four years of his life with his family living in a house that belonged to his maternal grandfather, João Senna.

While growing up, Senna’s family operated the Aeronautics Material park and an airport.

Senna had an eventful and adventurous childhood. He was highly athletic and so he spent his leisure practicing and excelling in gymnastics and other sports.

In addition to sports, Senna also developed an interest in cars and motor racing by the age of four.

By age seven, Senna was already an expert at driving. Back then, he would drive a Jeep around his family’s farm and also how to change gears without using a clutch.

Little did he know that would be the beginning of a fantastic career ahead of him.

Education

Senna attended Colegio Rio Branco in the São Paulo neighbourhood of Higienópolis and graduated in 1977 with a grade 5 in physics, alongside other grades in mathematics, chemistry, and English.

Ayrton Senna later enrolled in a college that specialised in business administration, but dropped out after three months with an average grade of 68%.

Career

Senna’s journey to greatness began at the age of four when his father gave him a miniature go-kart, igniting his passion for racing.

By the age of 13, Senna was already competing in karting championships and quickly rose through the ranks.

In 1981, Senna moved to England to race in Formula Ford, where he dominated the British and European championships.

His success continued in 1983 when he won the British Formula Three Championship and the prestigious Macau Grand Prix1.

This caught the attention of Formula One teams, and in 1984, Senna made his debut with the Toleman team at the Brazilian Grand Prix

Senna joined Lotus in 1985 and secured his first victory at the Portuguese Grand Prix. After moving to McLaren in 1988, he forged a tense partnership with Prost.

The two drivers dominated the season by winning 15 out of 16 races with Senna taking his first title. Their rivalry intensified in 1989 and 1990 as both drivers tried to get the better of each other. Senna won his second and third titles in 1990 and 1991 respectively making him the youngest ever three-time champion.

Senna lost his title to Nigel Mansell and Prost in 1992 and 1993 respectively. In an attempt to regain his dominance, Senna joined Williams in 1994. However, he had a poor start to the season as he failed to finish the first two races. He managed to qualify on pole for the third race but crashed into a concrete wall on lap seven.

Personal Life

Outside of car racing, Senna lived a fulfilled life. He was a devout Catholic that strongly believed in God.

Senna was also a generous man who loved and enjoyed donating part of his riches to charity and other good causes.

Even though Senna might not be lucky with love and family, he was married to Lilian de Vasconcelos Souza, his childhood friend in 1981 before they divorced in 1982.

After his divorce, Senna was involved in a lot of high-profile and sometimes dramatic relationships that were not successful.

Unfortunately, Senna’s racing career saw his end. He was involved in a fatal accident during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Sadly, Senna’s death led to significant safety improvements in Formula 1. Senna’s death was a huge loss to the world of motorsport, but his legacy lives on. Senna is remembered for his incredible skill, determination, and the impact he had on Formula One racing.