Background

Ethnicity: Ayrton Senna's mother was of an Italian origin while the racer's father was a son of a Brazilian from Sao Paulo and a Spanish woman from Tíjola, Province of Almería.

Ayrton Senna was born on March 21, 1960 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was the second child in the well-to-do family of Milton da Silva, a prosperous businessman and landowner, and Neide Senna da Silva. Senna had two siblings, Viviane, his older sister, and Leonardo, his younger brother.

Education

During the first years of his life, Ayrton Senna was raised at the house of his paternal grandfather, João Senna, located not far from Campo de Marte Airport in Sao Paulo. Physically strong with achivements in gymnastics and other sports, the boy was diagnosed with a motor-coordination problem. An electroencephalogram proved the absence of any diseases.

Senna revealed his passion for motor racing and cars at the age of four. His father, a motor racing fan, encouraged his son's interest and gave him a one-horsepower go-kart. When Senna got behind the wheel, his motor-coordination problem disappeared - he was a natural. The entire family supported Senna's interest in motoring and spent weekends together at local parks where the young man could drive his kart. Such driving privileges were used by his parents to make Senna pay more attention to his studies. Fortunately, his family was prosperous and could afford to finance his racing.

By the age of eight, Senna was driving his family Jeep around their farm. For his tenth birthday, Senna was given a 100cc kart and, inspired by European racing stars Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart, practiced on his own at the local kart track until he turned 13, the age that allowed to race karts legally in Brazil. Senna's first victorious race was held at a karting track at Interlagos, and the young rookie driver topped several karting veterans to the finish. Senna's father soon employed Lucio Pascal Gascon as his son's manager.

Ayrton Senna studied Mathematics, Chemistry and English at Colegio Rio Branco, from which he graduated in 1977 with a grade 5 in Physics. Then, the youngster became a student of business administration college but forsook the institution after three months of studies.

In the year of his graduation, Ayrton Senna won the South American Kart Championship. His further plans concerned the Europe and the World Championships at the famous Le Mans circuit in France.

Senna finished sixth in his first race at Le Mans, that was good for a rookie driver. He then was placed second in both the 1979 championship at Estoril in Portugal and the 1980 championship at Nivelles in Belgium. The next year, Senna and his then wife, Lilian, took up their residence in the United Kingdom where the sportsman planned to establish himself as a single seater in racing. He joined the Van Diemen team in the Formula Ford series and won races in the Townsend-Thoreson Formula Ford 1600 Championships and the RAC competition.

The limited opportunities for sponsorship, that led to the lack of funding, made Senna take a pause in racing. The sportsman came back to Brazil where he worked for his father's building supply business for four months. In 1982, Senna returned to racing. Co-sponsored by his father and by a Brazilian bank for one more year, he finished first in 22 races and won the British and European Formula Ford 2000 championships. In 1983, Ayrton Senna earned the title of the British Formula Three Champion and won the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix racing for Teddy Yip's Toyota-powered Theodore Racing Team.

Career

The start of Ayrton Senna's professional career as Formula One driver can be counted from 1984 when he took part in the Brazilian Grand Prix held at the Interlagos Curcuit, racing for the Toleman team. Although seen as the most promising driver in a generation of F1 competition, Senna managed only to qualify in eighth position on the starting grid at Interlagos, and failed to qualify in the next race at San Marino, Italy, largely because of a non-competitive car.

Turbo problems with the car forced him to retire before the end of the French Grand Prix, and he qualified in 13th for the Monaco Grand Prix. Senna excelled under wet conditions in Monaco on race day. The sportsman avoided a series of crashes contrary to several race leaders and, though the competition was stopped in the 31st lap because of the poor weather conditions, he had proven that his talents put him at the front of F1 series.

In 1985, the Lotus team bought out Senna's contract with Toleman and the sportsman aimed for returning as a championship contender. He won his first F1 Grand Prix in a team at the Estoril Circuit under wet conditions, and followed it with another victory at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. But Lotus could not keep up with Senna, and he moved to the McLaren team three years later.

The team's then defending champion, Alain Prost, welcomed at first his new and promising teammate. The subsequent relationship between Prost and Senna was far from being friendly competition and turned out to become instead one of the bitterest rivalries in motorsports. Aggressive and impulsive on the track, Ayrton Senna defeated Prost in the 1988 World Championship with eight victories to seven. Things got heated when Prost won the next year World Championship after the two McLaren cars collided during the penultimate race of the season, in Suzuka, Japan, eliminating Senna of championship struggle. That same year, Alain Prost left the McLaren team and joined Ferrari.

Senna returned the favor while coming back to Suzuka in 1990. He deliberately drove Prost's car off the track going into the first corner of the race, and won the Championship. He kept the title a year later. As to the 1992 and 1993 Championships, Senna finished fourth and second respectively, that took away McLaren's competitive edge. In 1994, Ayrton Senna signed a $20 million per-year contract with the Williams team.

That year became the pinnacle of Senna's career. Despite taking pole position in the first three races of the season, Senna failed to finish in the points. He retook pole position at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. He was leading the race in the seventh lap when his car entered a curve and hit a concrete wall, that led to his death.

Achievements

• 

  Ayrton Senna is considered one of the most eminent racing drivers who ever lived. Over the course of his short career in motorsports, Senna managed to win Formula One Champinships three times and at the time of his death hold a total of 65 pole positions. The acclaimed racer Michael Schumacher needed 12 years to surpass Senna. Such records as the most consecutive front row starts, the most consecutive wins at the same Grand Prix, the most consecutive podiums at the same Grand Prix, and the highest percentage of front row starts in a season are also to Senna's credit. He reportedly earned more than $100 million during his career, which included an annual salary of some $10 million.
  
  Ayrton Senna became and still remains a national hero in Brazil after his tragic death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. The terrible car crash, coming one day after the similar fatal accident with Austrian rookie Roland Ratzenberger during qualifying trials, led to the revision of many questions over the safety concerns in Formula One. Advanced crash barriers, redesigned tracks, higher crash safety standards, major cuts to engine power, and the reconstruction of dangerous parts of various racetracks were among the changes. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile banned electronics and other drivers' aids from F1 cars, a move that many, however, believed made the sport more dangerous.
  
  Senna was named the best driver of all times according to different sport periodicals, such as F1 Racing magazine, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, the Autosport magazine, and BBC Sport journalists. In 2000, the sportsman was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. The Right to Win documentary was made in honor of the racing driver in 2004. Another documentary, Senna, by Asif Kapadia, released six years later, was marked by the BAFTA Award. A cartoon character The Senninha (Little Senna), elaborated in 1993-1994, became a symbol of Senna as role-model for Brazilian young generation.
  
  A national hero in Brazil, Ayrton Senna has been paid tribute in many spheres worldwide, albeit far from motorsport. His personality was used in several songs and such video games as Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II and holiday PlayStation 3 bundle with Gran Turismo 6. Automobile manufacturers Ducati and MV Agusta has issued special 916 superbike and F4 750 Senna motorbike, respectively, to pay homage to the sportsman. A great number of major places and roads, in Brazil as well as in other countries, are named after Senna. It is the case of the main freeway from the international airport to Sao Paulo and a tunnel along route to the heart of the city, or a part of the Interlagos Circuit in the city. An avenue in the British town of Reading, Berkshire, where Senna lived for a while, bears his name.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Ayrton Senna's Principles of Race Driving

    (Senna's winning insights for success on the track.)

    1993

Religion

Ayrton Senna was a devout Catholic. The Bible was one of his desk books. As his sister once stated, he read it in the morning of the day of his death.

Views

A perfectionist, Ayrton Senna was extremely dedicated to his craft and considered the end result the most important thing, whether it concerned disputing a corner or choosing the team.

The racing driver was astute in the business side of his profession and always demanded and received the astronomical pays he thought his talents were worth. He had properties in Brazil, Portugal, and Monte Carlo, and flew between races in his private jet.

While alive, Senna donated, in secret, a great amount of money from his income, about $400 million, to support children from poor families. The Instituto Ayrton Senna, based on his own framework, was established by the racing driver's sister after Senna's death. It donated about $80 million to social programs which support children and teenagers in financially vulnerable families.

Quotations: "Winning is all that matters. Everything else is consequence."

"I don't know how to drive otherwise than risky. When I have to overtake someone, i will do it. Every pilot has his limits. Mine is a little bit above the others."

"Fear is exciting for me."

"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."

"I'm very privileged. I've always had a very good life. But everything that I've gotten out of life was obtained through dedication and a tremendous desire to achieve my goals…a great desire for victory, meaning victory in life, not as a driver. To all of you who have experienced this or are searching now, let me say that whoever you may be in your life, whether you're at the highest or most modest level, you must show great strength and determination and do everything with love and a deep belief in God. One day, you'll achieve your aim and you'll be successful."

"On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And you then go for this limit and you touch this limit, and you think, 'Okay, this is the limit.' As soon as you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high."

"Money is a strange business. People who haven't got it aim it strongly. People who have are full of troubles."

"My biggest error? Something that is to happen yet."

"These things bring you to reality as to how fragile you are; at the same moment you are doing something that nobody else is able to do. The same moment that you are seen as the best, the fastest and somebody that cannot be touched, you are enormously fragile."

"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."

Personality

As Senna's original surname, da Silva, was among the most widespread in Brazil, the racer changed it to his mother's maiden name in the early 1980s.

Ayrton Senna was a sensitive man whose aloof nature off the track and aggressive habits behind the wheel often made people think that he was cold and relentless in pursuit of victory. A remarkably instinctive driver, he drove the car as if it was an extension of his own body.

Physical Characteristics: Ayrton Senna was a southpaw.

Quotes from others about the person

• Frank Williams, founder and team principal of the Williams Formula One team: "He was an even greater man outside of the car than he was in it."
  
  Lilian de Vasconcelos Souza, Senna's first wife: "I was his second passion. His first passion was racing... There was nothing more important in the world for him, not family, not wife, nothing."
  
  Alan Henry, British Grand Prix reporter and book author: "[Senna's] self-belief was so extraordinary that it caught people off balance."

Interests

• flying planes, boating, fishing, riding Ducati motorbikes

• Sport & Clubs

  running, waterskiing, jet skiing, paddleboarding

• Athletes

  Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart

Connections

Ayrton Senna was officially married only one time, to his long-time childhood sweetheart, Lilian de Vasconcelos Souza. The marriage lasted from 1981 to 1982. Lilian once confessed that it was difficult to her to get used to her husband's racing lifestyle, full of events, as well as to his passion for racing.

From 1985 to 1988, Senna had relationship with Adriane Yamin, a daughter of a businessman. After that, the sportsman was romantically involved with a number of pretty well-known public figures, including a TV star Xuxa (Maria da Graça Xuxa Meneghel), Christine Ferracciu (the early 1990s), models Carol Alt, Marjorie Andrade, and Elle Macpherson. A Brazilian model and later TV personality, Adriane Galisteu, whom he had met a year before his death, was his last girlfriend.

Sometime after Senna's death, a former model Edilaine de Barros better known as Marcella Praddo, stated that her newly-born daughter Victoria was a result of the romance with Ayrton that they had from 1992 to 1994. The DNA test made at the beginning of the next decade didn't prove Senna's paternity.

Father:

Milton da Silva

(born between 1896 and 1956)

Mother:

Neide Senna da Silva

(born between 1896 and 1956)

Sister:

Viviane Senna

(née Senna da Silva; born June 14, 1957)

Viviane Senna is known for her entrepreneurship and charitable work.

Brother:

Leonardo Senna

(born January 29, 1966)

A businesmann Leonardo Senna is one of the founders of Audi Brasil Distribuidora de Veículos (initially Audi Senna), a joint venture responsible for import and distribution of Audi vehicles into Brazil, established in 2000. Five years later, the Senna stake in Audi Senna was purchased by Audi that made the venture a wholly owned subsidiary of the automobile manufacturer.

nephew:

Bruno Senna

(born October 15, 1983)

Bruno Senna is a son of Ayrton's sister Viviane and her husband Flávio Lalli (died in a motorcycle crash in 1996). Bruno followed in his prominent uncle's steps and became professional racing driver. Shortly after the death of Ayrton Senna, Bruno gave up motor racing for a while according to the will of his family.

Later, he took part in the Formula One races from 2010 to 2012. He raced for Rebellion Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Bruno Senna is the first sportsman who had a victorious race in every WEC class.

ex-wife:

Lilian de Vasconcelos Souza

girlfriend:

Adriane Yamin

girlfriend:

Xuxa

(born March 27, 1963)

Xuxa, née Maria da Graça Xuxa Meneghel, is a Brazilian TV personality, actress and businesswoman. Her shows have been broadcasted throughout the world. Known under the nickname Queen of Children, Xuxa has received the Latin Grammy Award for Best Children's Album twice.

girlfriend:

Carol Alt

(born December 1, 1960)

Carol Alt began her career in modelling at the end of the 1970s when she appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine. Then, she was featured on about 500 magazine covers, including Vogue, Elle, and Cosmopolitan. Since 1996, Alt has been an actress.

girlfriend:

Marjorie Andrade

Andrade has starred in such movies as H.O.T.S (1979), Open Fire (1994), and Xica da Silva (1996).

girlfriend:

Elle Macpherson

(born March 29, 1964)

Elle Macpherson started her career of a model from appearing on five covers of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in the 1980s. She is a founder, primary model, and creative director of a lingerie line Elle Macpherson Intimates, and skin care products The Body.

Actively involved in TV production, Macpherson has starred in such movies as The Mirror Has Two Faces, Batman and Robin, The Edge and South Kensington.

girlfriend:

Adriane Galisteu

(born April 18, 1973)

Galisteu has been featured in the Brazilian edition of Playboy and was a VJ for MTV Brasil.

Friend:

Gerhard Berger

(born August 27, 1959)

A former Formula One racing driver, Berger drove for the elite series for 14 seasons and finished twice 3rd overall in the championship. Ten Grands Prix, 48 podiums, 12 poles and 21 fastest laps are to his credit.

References

• Ayrton Senna: Memories and Mementoes from a Life Lived at Full Speed Christopher Hilton details and profiles the extraordinary life of the beloved Formula 1 race car driver with expertly written text, historic photographs, and interactive memorabilia.
  2018
• Ayrton Senna: A Life In Pictures A meticulous and emotionally charged journey through Senna's life via hundreds of captivating color photos that allow the reader to relive his remarkable career.
  2014
• Ayrton Senna: Portrait of a Racing Legend Published to mark the 25th anniversary of Ayrton Senna's death, it is an illustrated retrospective biography of a man who illuminated Formula 1 in a 10-season career that was almost without parallel.
  2019
• Ayrton Senna: All His Races This definitive record of Ayrton Senna's racing life provides detailed coverage of every single race in which he competed, including Formula Ford, Formula 3 and Formula 1, in addition to one-off appearances and tests in other categories, such as the World Sports Car Championship and Indy Car.
  2014
• Senna Versus Prost Featuring a rare interview with Prost, and insight from Martin Brundle, Damon Hill, Sir Frank Williams, Bernie Ecclestone, Derek Warrick, Johnny Herbert, Gerhard Berger, plus McLaren insiders and other F1 figures, Malcolm Folley provides his readers with a breathtaking account of one of the all-time classic sporting rivalries.
  2009
• The Life of Senna In this first full account of the life of Senna, the author and his collaborators examine each detail of the driving maestro's life, from his earliest days to his first race, his pole positions and his world championships, as well as his death and its aftermath.
  2004
• The Death of Ayrton Senna In this classic sports book, Richard Williams explores the complex Brazilian who was a hero in his own country and an icon to everyone who loved not just motor racing but sport itself.
  1995
• Ayrton Senna: The Whole Story In this meaty paperback, published to mark the tenth anniversary of Ayrton Senna's death, Christopher Hilton marries and updates four of his earlier titles about the legendary driver into one volume of more than 100,000 words.
  2004