All wins for Ayrton Senna
All wins for Ayrton Senna
March 21st – birthday of one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all
time: Ayrton Senna. In this post we will be looking back at the career
of Senna, asking why was he so great, and rewriting some of the classic
quotes spoken by the Brazilian, who would have been 50 today. Senna
remains the most recent Grand Prix driver to die at the wheel of a
Formula One car.
Career
Early Career
Ayrton Senna da Silva was born in Sao Paulo, on March 21st, 1960. His
racing career started at the age of 13, when, like how most racing
drivers have started their careers, he started karting. In 1977 he won
the South American Kart Championship, and finished runner up in
the Karting World Championship in 1979 and 1980.
A year later, Senna moved to England where he began single-seater
racing to race Formula Ford 1600 for Ralph Firman and his Van Diemen
team. 1980 saw him win both of the series that he contested – the RAC
and Townsend-Thoreson Formula Ford 1600 Championships.
In 1981, Senna Ayrton announced his retirement due to a lack of
sponsorship funds, stating that a bad driver with money could always get
the best car but a good driver without the same was left out. He headed
home to Brazil to take up a role in the family building supplies
business.
However Senna’s passion for racing continued, and he managed to get
the funds (£10,000) from his father and a Brazilian bank to go racing
for another year. It was worthwhile too, as 1982 saw Senna win the 22
races and the British and European Formula Ford 2000 championships.
The final rung of the ladder for Senna before Formula 1, was the 1983
Formula 3 championship. Senna was up against tough competition for the
title in the shape of Brit Martin Brundle. Senna dominated the first
half of the season, but Brundle fought back later on. It came down to
the final race of the season at Thruxton. Senna took pole and the win,
meaning he was Champ! He also won the inaugural Macau Grand Prix, and
that’s when Formula 1 dreams, became a reality.
Formula 1
Ayrton tested for a plethora of teams; Williams offered him his first
test and then he received an offer to try out for the illustrious
McLaren squad but neither had a free cockpit so it was with Toleman
where the Brazilian got his big break and debuted for in 1984.
The car was slow and unremarkable but Senna soon grabbed the spotlight and his talent was clear for all to see.
Surprisingly, Senna managed to finish 6th and score his maiden F1
point at only his second Grand Prix at South Africa. It was a result he
copied at the next round at Belgium.
What made the F1 world first sit up and pause for thought was at the
Monaco Grand Prix that year; while Prost and Lauda were fighting the
title, Senna took advantage of the wet race to showcase his skills. It
was a chaotic race, the narrow streets in the wet proving to be an
incredibly tough environment but it could only disadvantage those at the
front while the ones at the back tried to use this unusual and rare
opportunity. Senna took full advantage and began to move through the
field. He was soon into a superb second place –even passing Niki- and
was catching the Frenchman Prost. He began to cut four seconds per lap
out of the race leader’s time and soon took the lead but on the very
same lap (32) the red flag was shown and the rules stated that in the
event of a red flag the positions of the previous lap would be the
recorded results.
This meant that Ayrton wound up an impressive second and had obtained
his first podium but he was privately livid at the result believing
that FIA president Balestre was favouring his country man and
title-protagonist. This would be the beginnings of a bitter and
consuming rivalry between Ayrton and Alain, it was also not the last
time Ayrton would find himself fighting against the President’s ruling
either.
Senna managed to work himself up to the bottom step of the podium at
Britain, after four retirements and a suspension from the Italian Grand
Prix for breaking his contract with Toleman by signing for Lotus, he
achieved another third place at Portugal and finished the season
thirteenth overall in the driver standings.
Senna jumped at the chance to race for a more competitive and
historical team, Lotus, for the next season and it was here that he
would really begin to establish himself as a serious threat for the
championship. Renault may have been scaling back their efforts at this
point but they still supplied Lotus with a decent turbo unit to
challenge for wins with.
However, The JPS Lotus-Renault relationship didn’t get off to the
ideal start when the season opened as the Sunday afternoon outing was
ended early due to retirement thanks to an engine electronics failure.
Ayrton Senna would claim his first pole position with relative ease
at the next race in Estoril. The conditions were soaking wet to say the
least, but the young Brazilian was leading his first Grand Prix and made
the best of the moment. On lap four he posted a time that was 10.353
seconds quicker than his teammate de Angelis. Senna would go on to lap
his fellow Lotus driver, he was also 1:02.978 seconds ahead of the
second-placed Alboreto who was the only pilot who could stay on the same
lap as Senna.
The head of the squad, Warr, was seen doing a dance to show his
jubilant mood. Interestingly, Senna noted that the conditions were much
worse than Monaco; perhaps this was just a general comment or was the
new race winner still convinced he should have attained his maiden win a
year earlier?
Another win would be added at Belgium, but when Elio de Angelis
tasted champagne at Imola it was clear the relationship was beginning to
deteriorate, despite the fact they had once holidayed together. Elio
was convinced that Senna was galvanizing the team around him so he would
depart for Brabham, not wanting to play second fiddle.
In 1986, Senna was leading the championship after just two races one
of which he won from Mansell by just 0.014s at Spain. Senna’s bitter
feud of Prost is often the centre of focus but on more than one occasion
these two found themselves scrapping it out. Mansell may not have been
in the same league as Senna but he did have enough bravery to try to
challenge Ayrton like he did at Detroit later in the season.
Senna managed eight poles, one more than the previous season, but
reliability wasn’t on his side and his title campaign soon began to slip
away from him. 1987 was an important year for the hopeful driver as
Lotus switched to Honda power.
Throughout the course of the season a strong relationship was built
between the two, so much so that Honda would follow Ayrton to McLaren
the next year and would help him on his way to the championship.
Once again, Senna seemed to lack momentum at the start of the year to
see him through. Out of the first three races he suffered two
retirements (one at Belgium where he collided with an unhappy Mansell
who would later catch up with him in the pits) and only one podium.
He showed his savvy round the street circuits of Monaco and Detroit
to claim two victories. Although Lotus could get him to the top of the
podium it was never often enough and there were far too many reliability
issues, so it was announced that Ayrton Senna da Silva would be racing
for McLaren in 1988.
Lotus were not only losing their star driver but was enduring a messy
breakup when their car was disqualified for having wider brake ducts
than allowed. It was not a fitting end to a partnership that had gave
Ayrton his first win.
McLaren had the formidable Honda power, it was a team that knew how
to win but it also came with Alain Prost and it was clear Senna wasn’t
interesting in making friends but solely to defeat Alain.
This became frighteningly obvious at Monaco; Senna was leading fairly
comfortably but news that Prost was starting to catch him on the tight
and twisting street course scared Ayrton into ramping up the pace. He
was pushing too hard though and almost inevitably, he crashed.
It was a mistake Ayrton would rue for the majority of his career and
one that caused him a lot of torment. Portugal was blighted by an
incident with Prost; when he tried to take the lead Senna swerved to
block him. This forced his teammate right up against the pit wall at
180mph but Prost wouldn’t relent and he kept his foot in it and was able
to cling on and take the lead. Senna was lucky to get away with only a
warning from the FIA.
At Monza, Prost knew early on he had issues with the car and would
never make the finish so he began to set a remarkable pace. Senna was
once again determined to prove he was the fastest and duly responded
even though it was a highly unusual move for Prost who was renowned for
being a clever driver more than a fast one. Alain retired as he knew he
would while Ayrton had been tricked and was running out of fuel. He
ended up tenth while the Ferrari’s romped to a 1-2 finish. He would end
the season with eight wins and take his first of three titles. He went
to a new team, took on an established champion and won in a less than
perfect season.
Senna was desperate to defend his title from his bitterest rival in
‘89; things between the two just intensified more through the year
particularly at Imola where Senna overtook Prost at the restart, a
decision which Prost claimed went against a pre-race agreement.Prost was
showing great consistency and crashes and reliability problems were
costing Ayrton once more.
At Estoril, Mansell was given the black flag for reversing in the pit
lane but he either didn’t see or chose to ignore it and carried on with
his race. Nigel engaged in a fierce on-track battle with Ayrton only
for it to end in a crash and suffice to say Senna wasn’t happy with the
outcome.
In the penultimate round at Suzuka, Ayrton had to win if he had any
hope of becoming a double world champion that year. When Senna tried to
pass the other McLaren for the lead, Alain shut the door and the pair
collided. Senna waved his arms frantically about, the marshals gave him a
push and he took to the escape route to rejoin the race. A pit for a
new nose was required and when his race resumed, Ayrton was spitting
blood. His fury spurred him on and he stole the lead from the Benetton
of Nannini.
The FIA soon shot down Senna’s hopes of carrying on to fight for the
crown when he was promptly disqualified for cutting the chicane after
the collision, and for crossing into the pit lane entry. Senna was left
devastated with the FIA and its then President Balestre.
Head of McLaren Ron Dennis went on to release a statement not long
after while Ayrton held a press conference where he defiantly said “I
refuse to walk away from the fight”.
Prost took his crown and headed for Ferrari after growing tired with
the constant fighting with Ayrton. Gerhard Berger partnered Ayrton at
McLaren making it a straight swap with Prost and their teams. This new
coupling wouldn’t set the world alight in the same way but it was often
remarked that Berger taught Senna to laugh. It was a more human pairing
and probably better for McLaren’s image after the controversy of the
last two years.
Ayrton got the best possible start to his season with a victory at
Pheonix and entertained the audience with a little fight with the plucky
Alesi but Senna eventually got the job done.
Prost was once more in contention for the title and claimed his first
win for the team in red at Senna’s home Grand Prix after
the McLaren man collided with back-marker Nakajima.
In a reversal of the previous year, it was Prost who had to win at
Suzuka to stay in contention for the driver’s title. Senna qualified on
pole but had asked to start from second so he was not on the dirty
side-the request was denied by Balestre. Unsurprisingly, Prost who
started second took the lead at the start but Senna refused to take no
for an answer and stuck to the inside refusing to back off. Senna rather
aggressively held his line and predictably the McLaren ploughed into
the Ferrari at over 170 mph. It was a highly dangerous end to the
championship but it gave Senna his revenge and the title.
Ferrari was at the start of a serious downfall in performance in ‘91
and it wasn’t until mid-season when Mansell at Williams emerged as a
contender. It resulted in some exhilarating moments like at Spain where
the two cars went wheel to wheel.
Then at Britain, Mansell sportingly offered Senna a lift to the pits when Senna’s McLaren stopped.
Honda and McLaren stepped up their game late in the season to take
advantage of Williams early reliability woes. It would pay dividends
when at Suzuka Mansell had to win but he found himself in the gravel
trap.
Senna handed first to his teammate Berger as a thank you for his
friendship and support to the title. The McLaren wasn’t the beast it
once was in 1992. The Honda unit wasn’t the best and the red and white
car lacked active suspension. It was never a real threat to Williams but
he managed three wins and fourth overall behind the Williams duo
–Mansell and Patrese-and rising star Michael Schumacher.
It was unknown if McLaren would return to form for ’93 and Williams
looked like it could once again be the team to beat. When Prost signed
for Williams though he blocked Senna from trying to join and although
the Frenchman could hardly be blamed it infuriated Ayrton.
Senna carried on at McLaren but was less than thrilled with the
outcome. McLaren were forced to take a customer Ford V8 engine supply
rather than the desired Renault V10 block but although it lacked power,
McLaren had built a sophisticated machine with some potential but it was
still much inferior to the Williams. Senna signed a deal on a
race-by-race basis.
He could still get the wins though and his most dominant was at
Donington. He made an early mistake fell to fifth by the time he really
even set off but by the end of the first lap was leading and at the end
had lapped the entire grid.
He took two victories at the end of the season and he saw out the
year with style when in the penultimate round he punched Eddie Irvine
after the Irishman had unlapped himself from Senna.
Prost took his fourth title while Senna finished second overall and
this was to be his last season at McLaren. He had taken 50% of the
championships he had participated in with the outfit but he needed a
competitive drive. With Prost retiring for good as he could no longer
block Ayrton from joining him at Williams, Senna was free to make the
switch after a long wait.
The FW16 didn’t have the superiority of its predecessors however as
electronic driver aids were banned the car was acknowledged as being
tricky to handle.
Schumacher took the lead at Brazil but Senna was dogged in his
pursuit. He refused to give up but again pushed far too hard and ended
up spinning out.
At the Pacific Grand Prix, Hakkinen crashed into Ayrton making it his worst ever start to a season.
The third round was at San Marino and the weekend was plagued by
incidents. At Friday practice, Rubens Barrichello crashed heavily into
the tyres at Variante Bassa chicane and swallowed his tongue. He also
sustained a broken nose and arm.
The next day in qualifying Roland Ratzenberger was killed when the
front wing broke in his Simtek-Ford while going flat through the fast
Villeneuve left-hander bend and the car slammed into the concrete wall.
After this terrible incident, Senna was determined to improve safety
standards and sought out his fellow drivers to recreate a Drivers’
Safety group and offered to lead the group as the most senior driver on
the grid.
Every driver agreed to take part in the race but the race was soon
under safety car conditions when there was a start line incident with JJ
Lehto’s Benetton-Ford which stalled, and Pedro Lamy crashed into him in
his Lotus-Mugen Honda at high speed.
A wheel was ripped off and landed in the grandstand, injuring 8 fans and a police officer.
After the restart Ayrton was setting a good pace. On the next lap
Senna entered the high-speed Tamburello corner but the car veered off
and left the track at high speed. The Williams hit the concrete wall at
approximately 135 mph.
Senna was removed given treatment by the side of the car before being
airlifted to Bologna hospital. It was here where the 34 year old Senna
was later declared clinically dead.
The exact cause of the incident is still unknown.
When the car was examined by track officials they found the Williams
was carrying the Austrian flag-Senna was going to raise it in honour of
Austrian Ratzenberger who had died the previous day during qualifying.
Why was Senna so great?
Senna is quite possibly the only name that can rival Schumacher for
popularity. He’s still beloved even now. His death elevated him to the
stuff of legend (and has perhaps made him more adored) but even before
that it was well known he was something special.
His special trick was his speed over one lap. His qualifying was
remarkable, he claimed 65 pole positions and it was a true reflection of
Ayrton’s desire to be the quickest thing on land. He may be one of the
greatest but with Clarke, he was certainly one of the quickest racers
ever.
He claimed 41 victories and it took Michael Schumacher years to match
his record and when he did in 2000 it resulted in emotional scenes.
He had an aurora of unbridled genius and was consumed by his passion
for the sport while showing some truly human moments. At the Belgian
Grand Prix qualifying in 1992, Comas crashed heavily and Senna leapt out
of his car to offer assistance. He later went to visit the F1 driver in
hospital.
It was an incredible moment and perhaps ironic when Senna occupied
himself with highly dangerous antics with Prost. While there is no
doubting his concern for the safety of others in crashes, he was far too
willing to put others in danger for his own ambitions. He set an
example of crashing to win the title and while he passion can be
understood, such actions must never be excused.
He was a remarkable driver who always went further than everyone
else. His death has probably heightened the sense that he was a driving
superstar but at the heart of all the fervour was a man who lived and
breathed racing, had blistering speed, could master any conditions and
had an astonishing feel for his equipment but sometimes let his heart
rule his head to the detriment of his results. If a little more care had
been taken at times with a little less urgency, his results would
surely be greater but that’s part of Ayrton’s charm; he just wanted and
had to be the quickest.
Quotes
Senna was a highly intelligent character, and that showed through in some of his quotes:
On winning
- “Of course there are moments that you wonder how long you should be
doing it because there are other aspects which are not nice, of this
lifestyle. But I just love winning.”
- “You must take the compromise to win, or else nothing. That means: you race or you do not.”
- “Winning is the most important. Everything is consequence of that.”
On coming second
- “Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose.”
- “When you are fitted in a racing car and you race to win, second or third place is not enough.”
On fear & death
- “Fear is exciting for me.”
- “I want to live fully, very intensely. I would never want to live
partially, suffering from illness or injury. If I ever happen to have an
accident that eventually costs my life, I hope it happens in one
instant.”
- “I don’t know driving in another way which isn’t risky. Each one has
to improve himself. Each driver has its limit. My limit is a little bit
further than other’s.”
- “It’s going to be a season with lots of accidents, and I’ll risk
saying that we’ll be lucky if something really serious doesn’t happen.”
On the sport
- “I was already on pole, then by half a second and then one second
and I just kept going. Suddenly I was nearly two seconds faster than
anybody else, including my team mate with the same car.”
- “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.”
- “It is important, when your technical equipment is not the best, to
believe there will always be a better race; that is a part of my
motivation.”
On women
- Women – always in trouble with them, but can`t live without them.
…and on Bruno
- “If you think I’m good, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno.”
If Bruno Senna is half as good as Ayrton suggests in the quote above,
Hispania are on for a winner! I’m sure we are all in agreement when I
say it is great to have the yellow and green helmet of a Senna back on
the grid!
One thing’s for sure: Ayrton, you will never be forgotten.
