Ayrton Senna Homage

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Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna

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“Speed. Ayrton was synonymous with speed.”

Ayrton Senna

When debating who was the greatest driver to ever grace Formula One, it’s hard to argue against the man who won 3 world titles, 41 races and 65 pole positions. Ayrton Senna could divide opinion as a man, but unite it as a driver.

Ayrton Senna da Silva was born on March 21, 1960, into a wealthy Brazilian family where, with his brother and sister, he enjoyed a privileged upbringing. He never needed to race for money but his deep need for racing began with an infatuation for a miniature go-kart his father gave him when he was four years old. At 13 he raced a kart for the first time and immediately won. Having won the South American Karting Championship at 17, he competed in the World Karting Championship before moving to Britain to contest single seaters in 1981. He won his third race, and went on to win a Formula Ford championship.

Beyond his driving genius Senna was one of the sport’s most compelling personalities. Though slight in stature he possessed a powerful physical presence, and when he spoke, with his warm brown eyes sparkling and his voice quavering with intensity, his eloquence was spellbinding. Even the most jaded members of the Formula One fraternity were mesmerised by his passionate soliloquies and in his press conferences you could hear a pin drop as he spoke with such hypnotic effect. His command performances were captured by the media and the world at large became aware of Senna’s magnetic appeal.

Everyone marvelled at how he put so much of himself, his very soul, into everything he did, not just his driving but into life itself. Behind the wheel the depth of his commitment was there for all to see and the thrilling spectacle of Senna on an all-out qualifying lap or a relentless charge through the field evoked an uneasy combination of both admiration for his superlative skill and fear for his future.

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The São Paulo Taxi Driver Senna was born in the Pro-Matre Maternity Hospital of Santana, a neighbourhood of São Paulo city. The middle child of wealthy Brazilian landowner and factory owner Milton da Silva and his wife Neide Senna da Silva, he had an older sister, Viviane and a younger brother, Leonardo.

He was highly athletic, excelling in gymnastics and other sports, and developed an interest in cars and motor racing at the age of four. Senna also suffered from poor motor coordination and had trouble climbing stairways by the age of three. An electroencephalogram (EEG) found that Senna was not suffering from any problems.

Senna’s first kart was a small 1 HP go-kart, built by his father using a lawnmower engine. Senna started racing karts at Interlagos and entered a karting competition at the age of 13. He started his first race on pole position. Senna faced rivals who were some years older than him but managed to lead most of the race before retiring after colliding with a rival.

In 1981, Senna moved to England to begin singleseater racing, winning the RAC and TownsendThoreson Formula Ford 1600 Championships that year with the Van Diemen team. Despite this, Senna initially did not believe he would continue in motorsport. At the end of the season, under pressure from his parents to take up a role in the family business, Senna announced his retirement from Formula Ford and returned to Brazil. Before leaving England, however, Senna was offered a drive with a Formula Ford 2000 team for £10,000. Back in Brazil, he decided to take up this offer and returned to live in England. As Silva is a very common Brazilian name, he adopted his mother’s maiden name, Senna. Senna went on to win the 1982 British and European Formula Ford 2000 championships under that surname. Senna’s F1 test for Brabham occurred at Paul Ricard in November 1983 and he set lap times two seconds slower than the team’s lead driver, Nelson Piquet who allegedly gave Senna the nickname “the São Paulo taxi driver”.

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Ayrton Senna

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Monaco, 1984 R AC E

FIRST PODIUM

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Championship leader Alain Prost won the Monaco Grand Prix but it was the performance of rookie Ayrton Senna in his Toleman which grabbed all the headlines and marked him out as one to watch.

What happened next was officialdom at its worst: The Automobile Club de Monaco’s Michel Boeri, who wasn’t an official of the meeting, sought his moment of glory so took it upon himself to show the chequered flag and end the race but at no point had a decision been made as to a restart. Had the cars been left on the grid, a restart sequence could have begun and then officials - namely Ickx - could have decided what should happen. Boeri scuppered any chance of a restart and handed Prost, Senna and Bellof a trip to the podium.

The start of the race was delayed by 45 minutes because of torrential rain and so bad were the conditions that stewards ordered water to be poured into the tunnel as they feared the change from near waterlogging to a dry track could cause handling difficulties.

Prost made the best start on a day when being on pole was a massive advantage and behind him the almost inevitable accidents accounted for Renault team-mates Derek Warwick and Patrick Tambay; Tambay missed the next race weekend in Canada as a result.

There were also accusations the race had been stopped to ensure a Frenchman won. Added to the conspiracy theories was the fact that Ickx worked for Porsche and Prost’s McLaren had a Porschedesigned engine. Ickx was subsequently suspended for not consulting with stewards before making his decision.

On the ninth lap Prost was passed by Nigel Mansell’s Lotus when his McLaren was baulked by Corrado Fabi’s motionless Brabham, but six laps later Mansell lost grip on a painted line at Casino Square and the resulting impact with a barrier forced him out. “I’ve never driven before in such diabolical conditions,” Mansell said. “But at least I’ve led my first grand prix and you can be sure it won’t be my last.”

It later emerged Senna had driven with fuel soaking into his overalls. “You don’t think about pain,” he said. “It was only after the race was stopped that I realised just how painful it had been.”

Defending world champion Nelson Piquet suffered his fifth DNF in six outings after stalling on the start line and retiring with electrical problems after 14 laps.

Prost returned to the lead but found Senna, who had started 13th, was eating into his lead at a rate of almost five seconds a lap in what was reckoned to be an uncompetitive Toleman.

For Bellof there was a cruel sting in the tail as Tyrrell were disqualified at the end of the season for fuel irregularities and all the team’s results voided. He never again finished on the podium.

Rattled, Prost signalled at the end of the 29th lap to the stewards he thought conditions were bad enough for the race to be stopped but Senna was having no such problems, nor was another rookie, Stefan Bellof in a Tyrell, in third. Two laps later Prost again indicated he was unhappy and this time former F1 driver and clerk of the course Jacky Ickx agreed and at the end of the following lap the red flag was shown.

As Prost slowed on seeing the red flag, Senna shot past and euphorically claimed the victory. But the

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Ayrton Senna

rules stated the positions at the last lap completed by all drivers counted and so Prost was declared winner with Senna second and Bellof third.

Portugal, 1985 R AC E

FIRST WIN

R E P ORT

when he hit a wall, while new team-mate Nigel Mansell was hit side-on by an out-of-control Riccardo Patrese. Mansell recovered to finish fifth in the race itself despite having to start from the pit lane.

In appalling conditions, Ayrton Senna won the Portuguese Grand Prix for Lotus, his first success in Formula One and confirmation that the form he showed in the opening round in Brazil was no oneoff. His win gave Lotus its first success in three years.

In Monaco the previous year the rookie Senna had set a marker with a brilliant drive in an underpowered Toleman in terrible weather to come within seconds of beating Alain Prost. If anything, what faced the drivers at Estoril was worse with driving rain turning the circuit into what The Times described as “a skating rink�. While others fretted, Senna was unphased.

The rain started on the warm-up lap - Senna had already taken pole - and he got the all-important good start and was never threatened. Michele Alboreto brought home his Ferrari in second but was more than a minute behind and the only man on the same lap as the Lotus.

It was nevertheless enough to take him to the head of the drivers’ championship. Most others had forgettable days. Keke Rosberg stalled his Williams on the grid and although he got going he crashed on the main straight, injuring his hand which got caught in the steering wheel. Prost aquaplaned on the home straight and smashed into barriers - he was unhurt but shaken. Defending champion Niki Lauda retired with a broken piston.

Behind the leading two Patrick Tambay had one of his increasingly rare good days, growing in confidence throughout and finishing third ahead of Elio de Angelis in the second Lotus, who was slowed at the end by a slow puncture.

There was an inauspicious debut for the one-car Zakspeed team when Jonathan Palmer hit the stationary Rosberg on the grid at the start and was forced to retire two laps later with suspension problems.

Rosberg had also had an eventful Saturday practice

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Ayrton Senna

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1988 SE A S ON

FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP

R E P ORT

Lotus.

Senna led all the way at Imola, helped by Prost being slow off the line and being forced to be his shadow.

Senna was almost a minute up on Prost with 12 laps to go at Monaco, when he grazed the barriers.

Alain Prost scored more points than McLaren team-mate Ayrton Senna, but the Brazilian claimed the drivers’ title because he could count his best 11 results from the 16 rounds and, moreover, had eight wins to Prost’s seven.

It was several hours before he re-emerged from his apartment, by which time Prost had won from Berger and Alboreto.

This was the final year for cars with turbocharged engines and turbo fuel allowance was slashed to just 150 litres per race with a maximum of 2.5 bar boost.

McLaren was the only team to bother building a new chassis for this final turbo year and this, as well as lusty Honda power, meant that it ruled the roost.

Prost beat Senna in Mexico with only Berger on the same lap. In Canada it was another McLaren one-two, although this time Senna won from Prost.

Senna and Prost finished in the same order in Detroit, while Mansell retired for the sixth race in a row. In France, anxious that Senna was eroding his lead, Prost won with Senna a distant second, suffering from gearbox problems.

There was a good deal of change among the top teams, with Senna quitting Lotus for McLaren and his compatriot Nelson Piquet filling the seat that he’d vacated after leaving Lotus for Williams, something that wasn’t seen as a good move as Williams no longer had Honda engines but Judd units instead, as did Ligier and March.

So difficult were the wet conditions at Silverstone that few will recall that Senna passed the Ferraris to win. What people will recall is that Prost pulled off, saying the conditions were too dangerous. Mansell was second and Nannini third.

It was McLaren and Lotus that were to enjoy Honda power. Stefan Johansson left McLaren for Ligier, with Piercarlo Ghinzani making way by heading to Zakspeed to fill the seat left open by Martin Brundle standing down to chase success in sports cars with Jaguar. Alessandro Nannini was rewarded for strong form with Minardi by a drive at Benetton.

Senna won in Germany with Prost second. Then Senna led in Hungary, but hit traffic on the straight.

Prost dived inside him, but Senna let him slide by and regained the lead. Senna won again in Belgium, where he overcame a poor start to move into the points lead. Prost was second with Benetton’s Boutsen and Nannini third and fourth.

Brabham dropped to the sidelines, but the British team was replaced by three new teams: Dallara, Eurobrun and Rial. March, meanwhile, doubled its presence, adding Mauricio Gugelmin to its driving strength alongside Ivan Capelli.

Berger broke McLaren’s run. And to make matters better, it was a Ferrari one-two, with Alboreto half a second behind. Better still, the race was in Italy... But what of McLaren? Prost retired when second with engine failure, while Senna was leading on the penultimate lap, but struggling with fuel consumption.

Making a flying start for McLaren, Senna qualified on pole from Mansell’s Williams in Brazil, with Prost third, but had to start from the pits. Prost passed Mansell. So did Ferrari’s Berger. And no one headed Prost again. Senna reached second, but was disqualified for using the spare car when the race had been delayed rather than restarted after his car had become jammed in first gear on the grid. Thus Berger came second and Nelson Piquet third for

Then he found Williams replacement driver JeanLouis Schlesser at the chicane. They touched, sending Senna into retirement and the crowd wild.

Eddie Cheever and Derek Warwick were third and fourth for Arrows.

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Ayrton Senna

McLaren won in Portugal, Prost taking the spoils.

The race had to be restarted and Senna led the first lap then swerved at Prost when he pulled alongside as they passed the pits. Prost kept his foot in and took the lead. Senna fell back with handling problems and Ivan Capelli became Prost’s challenger.

Driving his March like never before, the Italian was the star of the race, but settled for second.

Prost won again in Spain with Senna struggling home fourth, troubled by a computer that gave confusing readings about his fuel consumption.

Mansell was a distant second with Nannini third.

Senna stalled in Japan and was in 14th going into the first corner. Prost found himself in the lead, but he had to contend with Capelli, who led briefly before his electrics failed. Senna then caught and passed Prost for his eighth win to claim the title. Prost was second, with Boutsen third yet again. Prost won the last race of the turbo era in Australia from Senna and Piquet.

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1989 SE A S ON

TEAM-MATE RIVALRY

R E P ORT

broken rib in an accident that demonstrated the progress teams had made in strengthening their cars’ cockpits. Prost got away better at the restart but Senna overturned a pre-race deal and snatched the lead. Senna and Prost started from the front row in Monaco and Senna led all the way to win easily from Prost, while Brundle was denied third by electrical failure that let Brabham team-mate Modena through.

The McLaren steamroller rolled on inexorably.

This time it was the turn of Alain Prost to take the world title, and join the serried ranks of three-time winners. The trouble was that he was no longer on speaking terms with Senna...

Senna dominated in Mexico, while Prost chose the wrong tyres and fell to fifth. Mansell ran second, but his gearbox failed and this promoted Patrese and Tyrrell’s Alboreto to complete the rostrum. Prost won on the streets of Phoenix as Senna’s electrics failed, leaving Prost free to beat Patrese.

The battle between Prost and Senna raged on, with the rest of the field reduced to a supporting role.

Nigel Mansell had quit Williams for Ferrari to drive alongside Berger, while Williams had got rid of its Judd engines and signed with Renault. Ferrari had another trump up its sleeve as it introduced semiautomatic gearboxes, allowing it to do away with a gear lever and letting its drivers keep both hands on the streering wheel at all times, flicking paddles on its flanks to change up and down the gearbox.

McLaren domination was broken in Canada when Boutsen scored his first win after the McLarens retired. Patrese made it a Williams one-two. Herbert failed to qualify and was dropped by Benetton, to be replaced by Emanuele Pirro. There was drama in France as Mauricio Gugelmin got it very wrong at the start and his Leyton House March took off over the pack, forcing the race to be stopped. Then, on the restart, Senna’s transmission failed and this left Prost clear to lead all the way. Mansell was second despite starting from the pits after his car was damaged at the first start.

Thierry Boutsen arrived at Williams, his place at Benetton being filled by Formula 3000 hotshot Johnny Herbert. Also on the move was Michele Alboreto, stepping down from Ferrari to join his former team, Tyrrell.

The late 1980s continued to be good for new teams, with Brabham returning after a year away, this time with Swiss financier Joachim Luhti at the helm and Martin Brundle and Stefano Modena on the driving force, and Onyx stepping up to join them with Stefan Johansson trying his luck with yet another team.

Senna failed to score at the British Grand Prix, spinning out of the lead to let Prost win again.

Mansell delighted the crowd with second, despite delays with a puncture. Senna struck back in Germany, recovering from a slower pitstop to retake the lead when Prost’s gearbox started balking.

Mansell was third.

Senna claimed pole from Patrese in Brazil, but he went off at the first corner and Patrese took an early lead, although Mansell was able to control the race as Prost hit trouble. Prost kept going to finish second, with Mauricio Gugelmin hard on his heels and Herbert right with the pair of them in one of the most impressive Formula One debuts of all time. It was even more so when Johnny’s foot and ankle injuries suffered in 1988 were taken into consideration.

Mansell was in fighting form when he tigered from 12th to win in Hungary, while Senna came second with Boutsen third. It was wet at SpaFrancorchamps, and Senna led all the way. The sun was out at Monza - well, for Prost at least, as he won from Berger and Boutsen.

Senna led at Imola, but the race was stopped when Gerhard Berger crashed at Tamburello, the Austrian suffering second-degree burns to his hands and a

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In Portugal, Berger won from Prost and Johansson.

Mansell missed his pit, reversed and was black flagged. This he ignored and then spun out with Senna, later being given a one-race ban, so he took

Ayrton Senna

no part in Spain. This left Senna to win with Berger second and Prost third. Prost and Senna clashed in Japan and settled the title race in Prost’s favour.

Senna dived up the inside into the chicane, but Prost refused to cede and they spun. Prost retired on the spot, but Senna was push-started before pitting for a new nose and still was first to the finish. But he was disqualified for receiving external assistance, giving Nannini his first win. Boutsen won again in Adelaide from Alessandro Nannini after Senna had stormed clear but ploughed into Brundle’s spray-hidden Brabham.

Alain Prost arrived in Japan with the title all but in the bag, but his McLaren team-mate, Ayrton Senna, had other plans. With a 16-point advantage, Prost did not need a win to claim his third world title. To keep his hopes alive, however, Senna did.

The Frenchman still gave it his all in qualifying to lap faster than qualifying king Senna. In the race, no one could touch them as they sped into the distance. On lap 47 out of 53, Senna made a dive up the inside into the chicane. Prost chose not to make any room for him and they collided. Prost was out, while Senna had to be pushed clear and pit for a new nose to maintain any chance of winning the race. However, he was then disqualified for having received outside assistance and Benetton’s Alessandro Nannini was handed the victory.

Prost remained champion for five days until an appeal took the matter to court, albeit for the judgment to be found in his favour.

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Donington Park, 1993 R AC E

R E P ORT

GREATEST EVER DRIVES

In 1993 the scene was set for Formula One’s biggest rivalry to continue. Alain Prost had returned to Formula One after a year out, joining Williams with the only clause he insisted on being in his contract stating that Ayrton Senna couldn’t be his team-mate.

When Prost pitted for slicks on lap twenty, Senna regained the lead, although he had a worrying moment when Mark Blundell and Christian Fittipaldi - fighting between themselves - failed to notice the McLaren behind. Blundell blocked Senna before spinning off at the Esses as it began to rain again, and Fittipaldi turned in but just avoided major contact with the leader. Prost immediately pitted for wet tyres once again, and with Schumacher spinning out it appeared to be a good call. Hill also changed tyres but Senna stayed out on his slicks, further extending his lead before switching back to wets. The conditions were causing havoc in the pit lane though, as the rain soon relented and the track dried again. Once more it was Prost who changed first, and when Senna followed suit the next lap he suffered a cross-threaded wheel nut on his right rear, relegating him behind the Williams. Prost was always aiming to pit at the first sign of changing conditions, and he did so again as more rain came, but the short shower caught The Professor out and he was forced to switch back to slicks almost immediately. He then stalled in the pit lane and rejoined a lap behind Senna, who had mastered the wet track on slick tyres.

The reality of holding a race in England in early April saw the inevitable rain arrive to wash out Friday’s running, but Saturday was a sunnier affair, allowing all of the field to display the genuine pace of their cars. The rain returned for race day on Easter Sunday though, and although there was considerable interest in the race - with royalty present in the form of Princess Diana - it was a small crowd and a wet track greeted the field as they lined up on the grid.

With traction control still allowed, the cars were theoretically easier to drive in wet conditions, and so it proved off the line as Prost got away well ahead of Hill, while Schumacher focussed on defending from Senna in to turn one, allowing Wendlinger down the inside past the pair of them. Senna jinked back to the inside and beat Schumacher on the exit, before outrageously driving round the outside of Wendlinger through the Craner Curves to beat him in to the old hairpin.

Senna’s ability to find grip on the first lap was astonishing, and no sooner had he dispatched Wendlinger then he eased his car down the inside of Hill in to McLean’s for second place. Prost had made a slight gap, but Senna took three corners to erode it completely before sliding his way past under braking in to the Melbourne hairpin to take the lead, going from fifth to first in ten remarkable corners.

Wendlinger’s race didn’t make it past two miles as he and Andretti tangled exiting McLean’s, taking both out of the race and promoting the impressive Rubens Barrichello in to fourth place ahead of Jean Alesi and Schumacher.

At the front, Senna continued serenely on his way, lapping all those behind him before coming in to change to wet tyres late on but having to drive straight through the pit lane as McLaren wasn’t ready for him. In doing so he set the fastest lap of the race due to the nature of the Donington pit lane.

He finally got wet tyres back on his McLaren, allowing Hill to unlap himself, and then cruised home as the rain intensified. The little over 30,000 who had braved the conditions had seen an absolute masterclass as Senna read the conditions perfectly and embarrassed all of those around him, most notably Prost who stopped seven times to Senna’s four.

While he displayed such overtaking nous on the opening lap, Senna outlined his prowess in the wet on the second to quickly open up a lead of over four seconds by the end of lap two. The track soon began to dry out though, and the gap was beginning to

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Ayrton Senna

shrink as the drivers tried to judge the best time to switch to slick tyres. Hill was first to stop from third, forcing Senna’s hand and allowing Prost to lead from Barrichello as traffic was an issue around the relatively short lap.

1994 SE A S ON

A NEW BEGINNING

R E P ORT

Brazil, where Senna took pole. In the race Senna took an early lead but Schumacher’s Benetton was never far behind. Schumacher took the race lead for good after passing Senna in the pits. While trying for a win, he pushed too hard and spun the car coming out of Junção on lap 56, stalling it and retiring from the race.

Senna was desperate to join Williams, but the presence of Prost made it impossible - with the Frenchman having a contract clause preventing Senna from becoming his team-mate. Having called Prost a coward, he drove for McLaren on a raceby-race basis. A strong start saw him leading the championship, but a poor mid-season put him well out of contention, and Prost had long since wrapped up the title before two late wins saw Senna finish second in 1993.

The second race was the inaugural Pacific Grand Prix at Aida where Senna again placed the car on pole. However, after being beaten to the first corner by second qualifier Schumacher, he was hit from behind in the first corner by Mika Häkkinen and his race came to a definitive end when, while spinning backwards into the first corner’s gravel trap, the Ferrari driven by Nicola Larini T-boned the Williams. Both drivers retired with front suspension damage. Hill also retired with transmission problems, while Schumacher took victory again.

Ayrton Senna got the deal he wanted, signing with Williams-Renault Formula One team. Team owner Frank Williams announced that the Brazilian would team up with Damon Hill next year. It was a move widely expected after Alain Prost retired shortly after winning his fourth world title this year. Senna, a three time world champion, had been frustrated for two seasons because McLaren could not provide him with cars to match the Williams-Renaults.

It was Senna’s worst start to a Formula One season, failing to finish or score points in the first two races, despite taking pole both times. Schumacher was leading Senna in the drivers’ championship by twenty points.

1994 looked to be Senna’s year. He was driving for the ultra-competitive Williams team (usurping old rival Alain Prost in the process) but the season got off to a poor start as he spun out of the race at Brazil, and then was eliminated at the Pacific Grand Prix at Aida in a collision. The Williams FW16 proved to be a quick but poor handling car. It was designed to be raced with its electronic aids that had made the car so dominant in the previous years. Rule changes for 1994 had banned active suspension, traction control and ABS. During pre-season testing the new Williams FW16 car exhibited none of the superiority of the FW15C and FW14B cars that preceded it.

Senna expressed his discomfort with the handling of his car, stating “I have a very negative feeling about driving the car and driving it on the limit and so on ... Some of that is down to the lack of electronic change. Also, the car has its own characteristics which I’m not fully confident in yet.” Senna further added, “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.”

The first race of the season was at Interlagos in

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Ayrton Senna

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Imola, 1994 R AC E

THE BITTER END

R E P ORT

The European leg of the F1 season, starting at Imola, was traditionally considered the beginning of the yearly competition. Senna, who did not finish the two opening races of the season, declared that this was where his season would start, with fourteen races, as opposed to sixteen, in which to win the title. Williams brought modified FW16s to Imola in an attempt to improve the car’s handling.

Senna immediately visited the accident scene and medical centre where he was met by FIA Medical Chief Professor Sid Watkins. Watkins said to Senna: “What else do you need to do? You have been world champion three times, you are obviously the quickest driver. Give it up and let’s go fishing.” Senna replied: “Sid, there are certain things over which we have no control. I cannot quit, I have to go on.”

On Friday, Senna placed the car on pole for a then-record 65th and final time, but he was upset by events unfolding that race weekend. Senna complained about the FW16’s handling and reported that the car’s performance was generally worse after the engineers’ latest adjustments. During the afternoon qualifying session, Senna’s compatriot and protégé Rubens Barrichello was involved in a serious accident when his Jordan became airborne at the Variante Bassa chicane and hit the tyre-wall and fence. Barrichello suffered a broken nose and arm and withdrew from the event. Barrichello reported that Senna was the first person he saw upon regaining consciousness.

There was understandably a sombre mood in the paddock on Sunday come race day, with the events of the previous day dry much at the forefront of people’s minds. Pre-race preparations complete, Ayrton Senna led the field of 25 cars – Pacific’s Paul Belmondo having declined to take the slot made free by Ratzenberger’s absence - on the parade lap, before he settled his Williams into the pole slot on the grid.

Senna led cleanly away from pole, but there was chaos behind, as Pedro Lamy’s Lotus slammed into the rear-end of JJ Lehto’s stalled Benetton, sending a wheel and debris from the Lotus over the catch fencing into a spectator’s area, injuring eight fans and a policeman. The start-finish line was covered in debris following the violent accident, yet rather than stop the race, a safety car – a concept reintroduced in 1993 – was deployed while track marshals cleared the shattered remains of the Benetton, and the Lotus.

Roland Ratzenberger, driving for the all-new Simtek team was competing in just his third Grand Prix weekend. Having failed to qualify for the season opener in Brazil, Ratzenberger was looking to make his second consecutive Grand Prix start after a solid run to 11th in Aida. Eighteen minutes into the qualifying session Ratzenberger’s car left the circuit at the Villeneuve curva. The Austrian’s Simtek hit the oncoming concrete retaining wall at a speed approaching 200mph, before coming to a rest at the apex of the Tosa corner. The 33-year-old was killed instantly. Ratzenberger was the first driver to be killed during a Formula One weekend since Ricardo Paletti twelve years earlier at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix. In the previous lap Roland went off the track, probably damaging his front wing. Suddenly the front wing support gave way and the front wing lodged itself under the Simtek making the car uncontrollable. At about 316 km/h Ratzenberger headed straight for the wall with just 7 meters separating the track to the wall. The deceleration

Five laps passed before the safety car, in this case a black saloon car, dived into the pits, releasing Senna and the remaining 23 cars on their way. At 2.17pm Ayrton Senna flashed past the pits to start lap seven of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. The blue and white Williams, its Renault engine howling, the yellow helmeted figure of Senna at the wheel, hurtled its way up to the Tamburello for what would be the seventh and ultimately final time.

Sid Watkins said: “My medical car was positioned at the beginning of the pit lane part of the track.

When Senna went past me, his car was very

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Ayrton Senna

from 301km/h was devastating sending the car into 6 360° spins before coming to a standstill in the middle of the track at the Tosa turn. The driver’s helmet was being bumped from side to side as the car was spinning with no reaction from the driver

skittish and I thought it looked a bit unstable. Then Michael Schumacher came past looking much more composed. I said to my driver, Mario Casoni, when Senna went past that there was going to be a bloody awful accident or words to that effect. Then, when the red flags came out, I knew it was Ayrton.”

Sid Watkins later said: “I saw that it was going to be a fatal head injury. Then he sighed and his body relaxed. That was the moment when I thought, and I’m not religious, that his spirit departed.”

Initial treatment took place by the side of the car, with Senna having a weak heartbeat and significant blood loss (approximately 4.5 litres). Because of Senna’s poor neurological condition, Professor Watkins performed an on-site tracheotomy and requested the immediate airlifting of Senna to Bologna’s Maggiore Hospital, where he was declared dead hours later. Watkins later said that as soon as he saw Senna’s fully dilated pupils, he knew that his brainstem was inactive and that he would not survive.

Just 12.8 seconds into the 7th lap, Senna’s car left the circuit at 190mph, slowing to 130 mph before striking the wall at the outside of the Tamburello.

His car’s right-front area took the brunt of the force, wheels and debris flying as the Williams came to a gentle rest alongside the race track, Senna motionless, his head slumped to the right.

The race was red flagged almost immediately, as marshals and the medical team, led by Sid Watkins, a close personal friend of Senna, arrived at the scene of the accident. As Watkins arrived at Tamburello, it quickly became evident that Senna had suffered a severe head injury, which the signs suggested would be fatal. It later became clear, the front-right wheel of the Williams had become trapped in between the chassis and the concrete wall in the impact, violating the cockpit space and striking Senna on the head.

This wheel had in turn driven a serrated piece of the broken front suspension arm through Senna’s famous yellow helmet in the region of his right temple, causing the fatal head injury.

It is believed that the right-front wheel and suspension was sent back into the cockpit, striking Senna on the right side of his helmet, forcing his head back against the headrest. In addition, a piece of the upright assembly, most likely a tie rod, penetrated the helmet visor, which was a new, thinner version, above his right eye. Senna sustained fatal skull fractures, brain injuries and a ruptured temporal artery.

It was later revealed that, as medical staff examined Senna, a furled Austrian flag was found in his car—a flag that he had intended to raise in honour of Ratzenberger after the race. Photographs of Ayrton Senna being treated on the track by emergency medical personnel were taken by Senna’s friend and Autosprint’s picture editor, Angelo Orsi. Out of respect, those photographs have never been made public.

Senna, unconscious, was removed from his car, stabilised via a trackside tracheotomy, as well as cardiac massage, before being airlifted by helicopter to Maggiore hospital, the same centre that had overseen the aftermath of Barrichello’s and Ratzenberger’s accidents earlier in the weekend.

The Italian television cameras broadcast it all. It was a public death. The race was red-flagged to a halt, then restarted and Schumacher won. None of the drivers were told that Senna was dead until it was all over. A day that had started in fatigued shock had turned into a bloody nightmare.

38 minutes after Senna’s accident, the race, now run to an aggregate time, was rightly, or, wrongly in some people’s minds, restarted. Schumacher led the field – unaware of the severity of Senna’s accident – away, but it was the Brazilian’s friend Gerhard Berger who took the early advantage for Ferrari. Schumacher would ultimately take the chequered flag to secure a hollow victory, ahead of the unfortunate Nicola Larini, who came home a distant second to claim not only his first – and only – podium finish in Formula One, but his very first points as well. Hakkinen, who had briefly partnered Senna at McLaren in 1993, stood on the final step of what was a sombre podium.

At 6.40pm, two hours and twenty minutes after the San Marino Grand Prix had ended, Bologna’s chief medical officer Dr Maria Theresa Fiandri declared that Ayrton Senna had died as a result of severe head injuries sustained in his earlier accident. The official time of death would be given as 2.17pm, the moment that the Brazilian had crashed at Tamburello. Formula One’s brightest light had been extinguished.

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Ayrton Senna

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São Paulo T H E

A SAD FAREWELL

F U N E R A L

Hour after hour the young and old filed by, some leaving flowers, flags, handwritten notes and other keepsakes.

So grievous had been his injuries that, at the family’s request, the usual cosmetic preparations were abandoned and the coffin lid stayed shut. But many of those who passed by in a ceaseless flow blew kisses, or waved, or crossed themselves, or moved their lips in a silent prayer. Others could do little more than clutch each other in grief, some giving way altogether and collapsing into the arms of waiting paramedics. Most of those who came to say farewell were young, a high proportion of them – the girls, mostly – with his name inked across their foreheads, often with three stripes painted on their cheeks: yellow, green and black. Two years earlier, when the country’s youth took to the streets in protest against a corrupt president, they painted themselves with the colours of Brazil, and a black stripe was added for mourning. Outside the railings were festooned with banners, many of them bearing the same word: saudade. It is a Portuguese word that has no direct translation in English. It describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound longing for an absent something or someone that one loves. It often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing may never return.

Senna’s death was considered by many of his Brazilian fans to be a national tragedy, and the Brazilian government declared three days of national mourning. The Italian Air Force offered to fly the coffin back to Brazil, but the Senna family wished that it return home in a Brazilian plane. Contrary to airline policy and out of respect, Senna’s coffin was allowed to be flown back to his home country in the passenger cabin of a VARIG Douglas MD11 airliner, accompanied by his distraught younger brother, Leonardo, and close friends. The plane was escorted by fighter jets into São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport on Thursday 5 May 1994, where it was met by São Paulo’s mayor, Paulo Maluf, and state governor, Luís Antônio Fleury.

The coffin was carried by soldiers from the Policia da Aeronautical to a fire engine, where eight cadets from the Military Police Academy mounted guard as it carried the coffin on the 20-mile journey into the city. Leading the motorcade were seventeen police motorbikes, and 2,500 policemen lined the route to keep the crowds at bay.

An estimated three million people flocked to the streets of Senna’s hometown of São Paulo to offer him their salute. This is widely accepted as the largest recorded gathering of mourners in modern times. Over 200,000 people filed past as his body lay in state at the Legislative Assembly building in Ibirapuera Park. After the public viewing, a 21-gun salute was fired by the 2nd Artillery Brigade and seven Brazilian Air Force jets flew in a diamond formation as the funeral procession made its way to Morumbi Cemetery. Many prominent motor racing figures attended Senna’s state funeral, such as team managers Ken Tyrrell, Peter Collins, Ron Dennis, and Frank Williams, and driver Jackie Stewart.

Neither Sid Watkins nor Jo Ramírez, the McLaren team coordinator, could bear to attend because they were so grief-stricken. The famous faces of Senna’s friends and rivals and associates slipped in and out, joining members of the family in a special enclosure, some keeping a tight grip on their emotions, others unable to contain the flood of grief. But it was the ordinary people of Brazil who took the eye.

A testament to the adulation he inspired among fans worldwide was the scene at the Tokyo headquarters of Honda where the McLaren cars were typically displayed. Upon his death, so many floral tributes were received that it overwhelmed the large exhibition lobby. This despite the fact Senna no longer drove for McLaren and that McLaren in the preceding seasons did not use Honda power. Senna had a special relationship with company founder Soichiro Honda and was beloved in Japan, where he achieved a near mythic status. For the next race at Monaco, the FIA decided to leave the first two grid positions empty and painted them with the colours of the Brazilian and the Austrian flags, to honour Senna and Ratzenberger.

The epitaph on his grave marker reads, “Nada pode me separar do amor de Deus”--“Nothing can separate me from the love of God.”

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Ayrton Senna

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Becão

As his profile rose, Senna expressed concern over the widespread poverty in Brazil. After his death it was discovered that he had quietly donated millions of his personal fortune (estimated at around $400 million) to help poor children. Shortly before his death, he created the framework for an organisation dedicated to Brazilian children, which later became the Instituto Ayrton Senna (IAS).

In 1993 alone he spent $5 million developing the Senninha project, aimed at educating the children of Brazil on such fundamentals as fair play and hard work. Several more millions were spent on projects for children living in poverty. He would be quoted as saying “People have to have a chance, a basic chance at least, for education, nutrition, and medical care.

If this does not begin to happen then there is little hope for the future... Formula 1 is nothing compared to those things”.

Sid Watkins remembers, “He was a wonderful young man a gentleman with perfect manners. He was perfectly composed, highly intelligent and sensitive.

He had wonderful humility, which is not common amongst racing drivers. He had all the makings of a great man. He was so intent on helping the children of Brazil, through charity work, that he was probably destined for a political career. He could have been president of Brazil.”

He said: “The year he was killed, I had been approached by a charity to raise funds to start a medical training programme for the children in the upper part of the Amazon. I asked Ayrton and he contributed $1million without hesitation.”

His parents gave Senna the nickname “Becão”. One of Ayrton’s cousin couldn’t pronounce his name, and she could only say Becão. It used to make Ayrton angry when he was called by this name.

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Ayrton Senna

Frank Williams notably recalls that as good a driver as Senna was, ultimately “He was an even greater man outside of the car than he was in it.”

Quoting Senna “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.”

“By being a racing driver you are under risk all the time. By being a racing driver means you are racing with other people. And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing, we are competing to win.

And the main motivation to all of us is to compete for victory, it's not to come 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th. I race to win as long as I feel it's possible. Sometimes you get it wrong?

Sure, it's impossible to get it right all the time. But I race designed to win, as long as I feel I'm doing it right.”

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Ayrton Senna

We are made of emotions, we are all looking for emotions, it's only a question of finding the way to experience them. There are many different ways of experience them all. Perhaps one different thing, only that, one particular thing that Formula One can provide you, is that you know we are always expose to danger, danger of getting hurt, danger of dying.

“I believe in the ability of focusing strongly in something, then you are able to extract even more out of it. It's been like this all my life, and it's been only a question of improving it, and learning more and more and there is almost no end. As you go through you just keep finding more and more. It's very interesting, it's fascinating.”

“Racing, competing, it's in my blood. It's part of me, it's part of my life; I have been doing it all my life and it stands out above everything else.”

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Statistics Did you know that Ayrton Senna spent 36 percent of his Formula One racing career in first place, or that he holds the record for the most wins in Monaco?

Records: - Most consecutive wins at same Grand Prix (five: Monaco, 1989 –1993) - Most wins in Monaco (six: 1987, 1989-1993) - Most consecutive pole positions (eight: 1988 Spanish Grand Prix - 1989 US Grand Prix) - Most pole positions at one circuit (eight: Imola)

Grand Prix starts: 161 (tied for 26th all-time) Teams raced for: Four (Toleman, Lotus, McLaren, Williams) World championships: Three (1988, 1990, 1991) Wins: 41 (third all-time) Win percentage: 25.46 percent Most wins in one season: Eight (1988) Most consecutive wins: Four (1988, 1991) Pole positions: 65 (second all-time) Pole position percentage: 40.37 percent Most pole positions in one season: 13 (1988, 1989) Podiums: 80 (fourth all-time) Podium percentage: 49.68 percent Most podiums in one season: 12 (1991) Fastest laps: 19 (tied for 13th all-time) Fastest lap percentage: 11.8 percent Most fastest laps in one season: Three (1985, 1987, 1988, 1989) Laps raced: 8,219 (22nd all-time) Laps led: 2,987 (second all-time) Laps led percentage: 36.34 percent First podium: 1984, Monaco Age at first podium: 24 First win: 1985, Portugal Age at first win: 25 Last win: 1993, Australia Age at last win: 33 Career hat-tricks (pole, fastest lap, win): Seven (tied sixth all-time) Career grand slams (pole, fastest lap, win, led every lap): Four (tied fourth all-time)

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Ayrton Senna

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Remembering Senna

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Nico Hulkenberg : “Ayrton was an idol to me - and I am sure to many others who tried to emulate him. The aura he had and what he was representing - his commitment and dedication to the sport - that was very unique. He brought that commitment and dedication to a new level. He was one of the greatest drivers of all time.”

Fernando Alonso: "I think Senna is a benchmark for all drivers, the best of his generation. In Spain there wasn't much F1 on TV back then as there was not the interest in the sport there is now. For me, as a kart racer, I was interested in all motorsport and ever since I was a child his name meant a lot to me."

Nico Rosberg: "Ayrton Senna - there's an icon of our sport. If you think about Formula One you think about Ayrton Senna and vice versa. He was one of only a few who have shaped our sport and his death was a huge loss and tragedy."

Eric Boullier: "Magical. I was following the Prost-Senna battle very carefully when both were driving for McLaren. It was very interesting to see someone analytical like Prost having to cope with somebody sublime like Senna. Probably Kimi (Raikkonen) comes closest to that today. He can also be sublime and magical - sometimes."

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Ayrton Senna

Kimi Raikkonen: “Senna’s death was an incredibly sad moment for the world of Formula One. I remember the day, even though I was still at school back then. And even though I don't remember much about him as a person because of my young age, I always thought that he was a great driver and a reference for many who followed on later - including me.”

Williams and Senna

19 years ago we were mourning the loss of one of the all time greats in Formula One – Ayrton Senna. Tragedy struck at Imola, 1994 when he was killed in an accident while leading the San Marino GP. Sir Frank Williams was then and still is today, the Team Principal of the Williams F1 Team. Here he reflects on the time he spent with Aytron and tells us why he will live on our FW cars forever.

“Ayrton was a great man. You could tell he had that fierce competitive spirit that every racing driver should have. But off the track, he was a calm, charming man and that’s what made him stand out. His approach was immensely professional; he was very tough minded and expected the very highest standards from everyone. He was extremely dedicated to Formula One and had a strong personality that often drove others on to achieve their goals. Ayrton found it hard to trust people initially, but when you gained that trust, you knew about it. He was a very clever man who could have been an astute businessman, possibly even achieving the highest political status in his country. His personality meant that he was able to persuade people to do things they never dreamt of doing or even to change your mind to his way. He will always be remembered for his success on track and the impact he had on many people’s lives. We have chosen to honour him in our own way, the Senna ‘S’ has been on the front nose of every Williams car made following his passing away. The tribute will remain there, along with a ‘VW’ for my late wife Virginia, as we as a team want them to be the first to cross the finish line in every race Williams take part in.”

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Senna’s Legacy Many safety improvements were made in the sport following Senna's and Ratzenberger's deaths. These include improved crash barriers, redesigned tracks, higher crash safety standards (such as larger sills along the driver cockpit) and major cuts to engine power. The Tamburello corner and other parts of the Imola circuit were altered for 1995. This was despite calls for action in 1989, after a serious highspeed crash that saw Senna's friend, Gerhard Berger, suffering burns to his hand. No action took place after that crash because, following an inspection by Senna and Berger, they ended up siding with officials

“You know thousands of people walking around, happy, alive, uninjured would be dead if it weren’t for what was done. And all of that started with Ayrton’s accident. That to me, when I sit down in my rocking chair in another few years, is the thing that really matters.”

A few months before his death, Senna had discussed with his sister the foundation of a charitable organization, based on a desire to contribute to those less fortunate in a more organised and effective manner. After his death, Viviane Senna set up the IAS in his honor, which has invested nearly US$80 million over the last twelve years in social programs and actions in partnership with schools, government, NGOs, and the private sector aimed at offering children and teenagers from low-income

“Senna had discussed with his sister the foundation of a charitable organization, based on a desire to contribute to those less fortunate” who had, for years, claimed that the wall could not be moved further back due to a river nearby. In July 1994, the Brazil national football team dedicated their 1994 World Cup victory to Ayrton Senna, and collectively held a banner on the field after defeating Italy in the final. Senna had met various members of the squad, including Leonardo, three months earlier in Paris, telling them “this is our year”.

Throughout the rest of the 1994 season, Senna was commemorated in various ways. Damon Hill along with Michael Schumacher both dedicated their individual success to Senna

backgrounds the skills and opportunities they need to develop their full potential as persons, citizens and future professionals.

In his home country of Brazil, the main freeway from the international airport to São Paulo and a tunnel along route to the heart of the city is named in his honour. Also, one of the most important freeways of Rio de Janeiro is named after Senna (“Avenida Ayrton Senna”). The main road in Senna’s Portuguese resort at Quinta do Lago, Algarve, was also dedicated to him, due to the fact that his villa there was very near (but not on) this road. A portion of the Interlagos circuit in São Paulo is named the

As Mosely said, “That (Imola weekend) was the catalyst for change on the roads that has literally, without question, saved tens of thousands of lives.

“It is the truth. Without that catalyst, we would never have gone to Brussels. We would never have the Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme), the crash testing, we wouldn’t have got the legislation through the European Commission that has upped the standards of safety.

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a part of the latter in 1985. Michael Schumacher, Jarno Trulli, Rubens Barrichello, Fernando Alonso and many others faced the likes of Dunga, Careca, Taffarel and several of the team that won the World Cup in the United States ten years earlier. The match finished 5–5 and the money was donated to the IAS. Viviane Senna, the president of the Institute, was also involved in the kick-off of this match.

In April 2000 Senna was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

In 2004, a book called Ayrton: The Hero Revealed (original title: Ayrton: O Herói Revelado) was published in Brazil for the tenth anniversary of his passing. Senna remains a national hero in Brazil and his grave attracts more visitors than the graves of John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley

Between 1996 and 1998, to pay tribute to Senna, the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati produced special Senna editions of their 916 superbike. Ducati was at the time owned by Claudio Castiglioni, a personal friend of Senna who was an avid Ducati lover. In 2002, the MV Agusta F4 750 Senna motorbike was created, again by Castiglioni, now president of MV Agusta. The production was

“The greatest Formula One driver who ever lived” limited to 300 bikes, and all profits from sales went to the Ayrton Senna Foundation. In 2013, Ducati again dedicated a variant of their top of the range sportbike to Senna, this time a 1199 Panigale S Senna.

The former Formula One grand prix circuit in Adelaide, Australia, renamed its first chicane the “Senna Chicane” in honour of his memory.

This track—which remains the site of Senna’s last Formula One win—is still used for local V8 Supercars racing after the move of the F1 grand prix to Melbourne. There is also a street named after him in the Adelaide suburb of Wingfield. The Adelaide street circuit was said to be a favourite of Senna’s, and he was reportedly unhappy about the upcoming shift of venue from Adelaide to Melbourne in 1996.

Other motorsports circuits have similarly named sections of their track after Ayrton Senna, such as the Circuito de Jerez in Spain and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada.

combined.

In addition, to mark the tenth anniversary of Senna’s death, on 21 April 2004, over 10,000 people attended a charity match in a football stadium near Imola.

The game was organised by several devoted Italian and Canadian fans of Senna, bringing the 1994 FIFA World Cup winning team of Brazil (who dedicated their 1994 FIFA World Cup win to Senna) to face the “Nazionale Piloti”, an exhibition team composed exclusively of top race car drivers. Senna had been

In 2009, a poll of 217 current and former Formula

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Ayrton Senna

“Senna Esses Chicane” in his honor. In the English town of Reading, Berkshire, where Senna lived for a short period of time, Ayrton Senna’s name has been given to an avenue in the suburb of Tilehurst.

One drivers conducted by the British magazine Autosport named Senna as “the greatest Formula One driver who ever lived”.

A StudioCanal, Working Title Films and Midfield Films documentary film Senna was released in 2010 to great critical acclaim.

Since Senna’s death, every Williams F1 car has carried a Senna ‘S’ somewhere on its livery in his honour and to symbolise the team’s ongoing support of the IAS. A revised logo was featured in 2014 for the 20th anniversary of Senna’s death.

Tributes were also made at the Imola circuit to mark the 20th anniversary of Senna’s death. On 1 May 2014, thousands of fans from around the world gathered at the Tamburello corner, at the exact scene where Senna suffered his fatal crash 20 years earlier, to hold a minute’s silence. Various current and ex F1

drivers were in attendance including: Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen; Ferrari Academy driver Jules Bianchi; Senna’s close friend and McLaren teammate, Gerhard Berger; and the Italians Jarno Trulli, Ivan Capelli, Pierluigi Martini, Andrea de Cesaris and Emanuele Pirro. Flowers and other cherishable items were also placed around the statue of Senna, situated directly adjacent to the Tamburello corner.

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Ayrton Senna

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Ayrton Senna

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For Educational Purposes Only