Av. Higienópolis, 996 - Higienópolis, São Paulo - SP, 01238-910, Brazil
Colegio Rio Branco from which Ayrton Senna graduated in 1977.
Career
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1983
Towcester NN12 8TN, United Kingdom
Ayrton Senna after winning the Formula Three race 13 at Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom. Photo by Bob Thomas Sports Photography.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1984
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Ayrton Senna in the rain to second place during the Grand Prix of Monaco on the streets of the Principality of Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Photo by Mike Powell.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1984
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Ayrton Senna drives the #19 Toleman-Hart TG184 in the rain to second place during the Grand Prix of Monaco on the streets of the Principality of Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Photo by Mike Powell.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1985
Av. Alfredo César Torres, 2646-901 Alcabideche, Portugal
Ayrton Senna celebrates winning his first Grand Prix at the Portuguese Grand Prix at the Autodromo do Estoril in Estoril, Portugal. Photo by Grand Prix Photo.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1986
West Kingsdown, Longfield DA3 8NG, United Kingdom
Ayrton Senna during the Grand Prix of Great Britain, Brands Hatch. Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1987
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Ayrton Senna sits aboard the #12 Camel Team Lotus Honda Lotus 99T Honda RA166E V6 turbo during practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet Jacarepagua circuit near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo by Simon Bruty.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1987
9-5 Rue Louis Notari, 98000 Monaco, Monaco
Ayrton Senna (left) holds the trophy after his victory in the Monaco Grand Prix at the Monte Carlo circuit in Monaco. Photo by Simon Bruty/Allsport.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1988
Am Motodrom, 68766 Hockenheim, Germany
Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Gerhard Berger during the Grand Prix of Germany, Hockenheimring. Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1989
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Ayrton Senna during practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet Jacarepagua Circuit near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo by Mike King.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1989
7992 Inoucho, Suzuka, Mie 510-0295, Japan
Ayrton Senna sits aboard the #1 Honda Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/5 Honda V10 before the Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Photo by Pascal Rondeau.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1989
7992 Inoucho, Suzuka, Mie 510-0295, Japan
Ayrton Senna sits aboard the #1 Honda Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/5 Honda V10 before the Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Photo by Pascal Rondeau.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1989
Mogyoród, Hungaroring utca 10, 2146, Hungary
Ayrton Senna as he sits aboard the #1 Honda Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/5 Honda V10 during practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring Circuit, Budapest, Hungary. Photo by Pascal Rondeau.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1990
Piazza Ayrton Senna da Silva, 1, 40026 Imola BO, Italy
Ayrton Senna shares a funny joke with teammate Gerhard Berger (in car) during pre-season testing at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, San Marino. Photo by Pascal Rondeau.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1990
Mexico City, Mexico
Ayrton Senna and his Austrian teammate Gerhard Berger (right) pose with the rest of the McLaren team at the Mexican Grand Prix at the Mexico City circuit. Photo by Sutton.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1991
Mogyoród, Hungaroring utca 10, 2146, Hungary
Ayrton Senna celebrates winning the Grand Prix of Hungary at the Hungaroring Circuit, Budapest, Hungary. Photo by Pascal Rondeau.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1991
Route du Circuit 55, 4970 Stavelot, Belgium
Ayrton Senna at the Grand Prix of Belgium, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1991
Interlagos, Brazil
Ayrton Senna during the Grand Prix of Brazil, Interlagos. Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1992
Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montréal, QC H3C 6A1, Canada
Ayrton Senna at the Grand Prix of Canada, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1992
Cnr R55 &, Allandale Rd, Kyalami Estate, Midrand, 1684, South Africa
Ayrton Senna portrayed during practice for the Yellow Pages South African Grand Prix at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Kyalami, South Africa. Photo by Pascal Rondeau.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1992
Technopôle, 58470 Magny-Cours, France
Ayrton Senna at the French Grand Prix at the Magny Cours circuit, Paris. Senna retired from the race with collision damage. Photo by Pascal Rondeau.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1993
Av. Sen. Teotônio Vilela, 261 - Interlagos, São Paulo - SP, 04801-010, Brazil
Ayrton Senna at the Grand Prix of Brazil, Interlagos. Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1993
Towcester NN12 8TN, United Kingdom
Ayrton Senna at the Grand Prix of Great Britain, Silverstone Circuit. Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1993
7992 Inoucho, Suzuka, Mie 510-0295, Japan
Ayrton Senna stands on the podium with second placed Alain Prost (right) after winning the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan. Photo by Pascal Rondeau/Allsport.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1993
Interlagos, Brazil
Ayrton Senna during the Grand Prix of Brazil, Interlagos. Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1993
Donington Park, Castle Donington, Derby DE74 2RP, United Kingdom
Ayrton Senna with the trophy after winning the European Grand Prix at Donnington Park in a McLaren-Cosworth. Photo by Mike Hewitt.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1993
Adelaide, Australia
Ayrton Senna (right) and Alain Prost during the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, Australia. Photo by Jean-Marc LOUBAT/Gamma-Rapho.
Gallery of Ayrton Senna
1994
Av. Sen. Teotônio Vilela, 261 - Interlagos, São Paulo - SP, 04801-010, Brazil
Ayrton Senna of Brazil in his Williams Renault before the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Pascal Rondeau/Allsport.
Achievements
1993
Av. Sen. Teotônio Vilela, 261 - Interlagos, São Paulo - SP, 04801-010, Brazil
Ayrton Senna at the Grand Prix of Brazil, Interlagos. Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier.
Ayrton Senna after winning the Formula Three race 13 at Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom. Photo by Bob Thomas Sports Photography.
Ayrton Senna in the rain to second place during the Grand Prix of Monaco on the streets of the Principality of Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Photo by Mike Powell.
Ayrton Senna drives the #19 Toleman-Hart TG184 in the rain to second place during the Grand Prix of Monaco on the streets of the Principality of Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Photo by Mike Powell.
Av. Alfredo César Torres, 2646-901 Alcabideche, Portugal
Ayrton Senna celebrates winning his first Grand Prix at the Portuguese Grand Prix at the Autodromo do Estoril in Estoril, Portugal. Photo by Grand Prix Photo.
Ayrton Senna sits aboard the #12 Camel Team Lotus Honda Lotus 99T Honda RA166E V6 turbo during practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet Jacarepagua circuit near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo by Simon Bruty.
Ayrton Senna during practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet Jacarepagua Circuit near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo by Mike King.
Ayrton Senna sits aboard the #1 Honda Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/5 Honda V10 before the Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Photo by Pascal Rondeau.
Ayrton Senna sits aboard the #1 Honda Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/5 Honda V10 before the Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Photo by Pascal Rondeau.
Ayrton Senna as he sits aboard the #1 Honda Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/5 Honda V10 during practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring Circuit, Budapest, Hungary. Photo by Pascal Rondeau.
Piazza Ayrton Senna da Silva, 1, 40026 Imola BO, Italy
Ayrton Senna shares a funny joke with teammate Gerhard Berger (in car) during pre-season testing at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, San Marino. Photo by Pascal Rondeau.
Ayrton Senna and his Austrian teammate Gerhard Berger (right) pose with the rest of the McLaren team at the Mexican Grand Prix at the Mexico City circuit. Photo by Sutton.
Cnr R55 &, Allandale Rd, Kyalami Estate, Midrand, 1684, South Africa
Ayrton Senna portrayed during practice for the Yellow Pages South African Grand Prix at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Kyalami, South Africa. Photo by Pascal Rondeau.
Ayrton Senna stands on the podium with second placed Alain Prost (right) after winning the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan. Photo by Pascal Rondeau/Allsport.
Av. Sen. Teotônio Vilela, 261 - Interlagos, São Paulo - SP, 04801-010, Brazil
Ayrton Senna of Brazil in his Williams Renault before the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Pascal Rondeau/Allsport.
Ayrton Senna, in full Ayrton Senna da Silva, was a Brazilian sportsman and a racing driver. First an outstanding figure in the kart racing circuit, he then achieved tremendous success in the Formula One Championships, by winning the elite series three times, thanks in large part to his ruthless and risky maneuvers on the Grand Prix circuit.
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.
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.
(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."
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.
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.