Martin Brundle 2024 Beyond the Grid Interview
In 1984, Martin Brundle and Ayrton Senna both made their debuts in Formula 1, following a fierce rivalry for the 1983 British Formula 3 title. Despite their close competition in..
Name | Ayrton Senna |
Country | Brazil |
Height | 1.75 meter / 5 feet 9 inch |
Place of Birth | São Paulo |
Date of Birth | Mar 21st 1960 |
Date of Death | May 1st 1994 - 34 years old |
Season Entries | 11 |
Car Number | 2 |
First Race | 1984 Brazilian F1 GP |
Last Race | 1994 San Marino F1 GP |
First Pole | 1985 Portuguese F1 GP |
Last Pole | 1994 San Marino F1 GP |
First Win | 1985 Portuguese F1 GP |
Last Win | 1993 Australian F1 GP |
First Win from Pole | 1985 Portuguese F1 GP |
Last Win from Pole | 1993 Australian F1 GP |
First Hat-trick | 1985 Portuguese F1 GP |
Last Hat-trick | 1990 Italian F1 GP |
F1 Teams History | Toleman (1984) Team Lotus (1985-1987) McLaren (1988-1993) Williams (1994) |
Ayrton Senna F1 Stats | |
Drivers' Titles | 3 |
Grand Prix Entries | 162 |
Grand Prix Starts | 161 |
Total Points | 614.00 |
Avg. Points per GP | 3.79 |
Grand Prix Wins | 41 (25,3%) |
Wins from pole | 29 (17,9%) |
Pole Positions | 65 (40,1%) |
Front Row Starts | 87 (53,7%) |
Avg. GP Grid | 3.1 |
GP Podiums | 80 (49,4%) |
GP Fastest Laps | 19 (11,7%) |
GP Points Finish | 96 (59,3%) |
Avg. GP Position | 3.1 |
Hat-tricks | 7 (4,3%) |
GP Retirements | 65 (40,1%) |
GP DNF's | 50 (30,9%) |
Total GP Laps | 8.236 |
Widely regarded as the greatest driver of all time, Ayrton Senna’s name will forever live amongst the sporting greats such as Pele, Nicklaus, Tendulkar and Federer. The Brazilian may have only won three world championships, four short of the record held by Michael Schumacher, but he competed during the sports most gifted era and was the most gifted driver.
Senna's premature death in 1994, after a crash at Imola, put the whole of Brazil in a state of mourning. In a country where football rules, it was the death of a racer which brought it to a standstill. Senna was by no means perfect, a trait amongst the sport's elite. He drove on the limits, and often beyond, he argued and he fought and was a part of the sport’s most bitter rivalry with Alain Prost.
Born to a wealthy family in suburban Sao Paolo in 1960, Senna was driving custom-built go-karts from the age of four. His talent and enthusiasm were embraced and by the age of 13, he was racing competitively in junior go-karting.
After a successful period in Britain, winning junior formula championships, he signed for low key Formula One team Toleman in 1984. The first sign of his great talent came in Monaco where he started 13th but quickly rose to second before closing in on leader Alain Prost fast. Unfortunately, the race was stopped due to the adverse weather, but the name of Senna was on everyone’s lips (1984 Monaco F1 GP result).
After an impressive induction to Formula One Senna signed for Lotus, where he would spend the next three years. At the second race in Portugal, he took his first Pole Position and then his first race victory, winning by over a minute in wet weather. Several more poles followed but he had to wait until another wet race in Belgium to claim win number two. Fourth in the championship was accompanied with seven poles and two wins.
Lotus’s famed poor reliability cost the Brazilian the next season despite two wins and eight poles. Senna was beginning to establish himself as the fastest driver on the grid and in 1987 he won his first race around Monaco, the first of six, and finished third in the standings. The following year saw him leave Lotus and move to McLaren as the teammate to double world champion Alain Prost, thus sparking a rivalry that is still seen as the biggest in the history of the sport.
The 1988 McLaren was an all-conquering car and the two squabbled all season, often with underhand tactics. In Portugal, Prost attempted to pass Senna, who responded by almost driving Prost into the wall in an attempt to block him, Prost completed the move and Senna was left with a warning from the FIA. Senna won eight races that season, and with Prost winning only seven he claimed his first World Championship.
In 1989 the pair’s rivalry escalated out of control as McLaren once again had an unbeatable car. Senna led for much of the way after a superb run of victories early on in the season, but poor reliability and a return to form from Prost saw the Frenchman lead the championship in the penultimate round in Japan, the location for one of the sport’s most infamous incidents.
With Senna needing to win and trailing Prost, he dived up the inside into the famous chicane. However the Frenchman’s frustration with Senna’s behaviour that season saw him turn in on the Brazilian resulting in an inevitable crash. Senna went on to win the race but was disqualified by the FIA for cutting the chicane when returning to the track. That penalty saw Prost win his third World Championship before he moved to Ferrari for 1990.
1990 followed in the same trend as 1989, with Senna pulling away early with several wins but Prost coming back strongly in the second half of the season. Japan was the location again for the pair's next controversial incident. Senna took pole in Japan and requested Pole Position to be moved back to the clean side of the track, a standard position on all other tracks. When the FIA president declined, Senna saw this as a coalition between Prost and the French FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre. As Prost, starting second, instantly took the lead at the start of the race Senna deliberately crashed into the side of him, retiring both cars and claiming his second World Championship in the process.
In 1991, at the age of 31, Senna became the youngest ever triple world champion as he dominated the season with seven wins. This was due to be his last year with the team as he planned to move to Williams, but stayed on for the 1992 season, after a personal request from engine suppliers Honda. Senna’s loyalty may have prevented him from winning a fourth world championship as the Williams car, at the hands of Nigel Mansell, dominated the 1992 season. Senna, in response, could only muster three wins. As Prost joined Williams for 1993, Senna could no longer complete the move as the Frenchman had a clause in his contract which said Senna could not be his teammate.
Senna had offered to drive there for free and subsequently called Prost a ‘coward’. Senna stayed at McLaren and finished second after an impressive season. The Williams pair of Prost and Damon Hill dominated for much of the season. The following season Senna got his move to Williams as Prost retired. However, a young German named Michael Schumacher showed his class by unexpectedly leading the championship after two rounds. At the third, the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, the race controversially went ahead after the death of Roland Ratzenberger in qualifying despite Senna’s concerns. On race day he crashed early on at Tamburello corner, which proved to be fatal. Ayrton died aged 34 (Senna video).
The world of sport mourned a true great. The fastest and most competitive driver in the sport's history has left a lasting legacy on the sport.
His records may have gone, many of which to Schumacher, Vettel or Hamilton, but his track record is still amazing. When you sort the number of races in our all-time F1 driver rankings and compare the figures to F1 drivers with the same amount of races, you can see he clearly stands out and even doubles the results of Mika Hakkinen!
Until this day he is still idolised globally and he also will live on because of the Ayrton Senna Foundation (http://senna.globo.com). In today’s era of Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso and even Raikkonen the name of Senna still rings true.
1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 4th | 2nd | 27th |
Year | Team | Engine | GP | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Pod | Pole | Laps | FL | Avg Pts | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | Williams | Renault | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
1993 | McLaren | Ford | 16 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 861 | 1 | 4.56 | 73 |
1992 | McLaren | Honda | 16 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 698 | 1 | 3.13 | 50 |
1991 | McLaren | Honda | 16 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 934 | 2 | 6.00 | 96 |
1990 | McLaren | Honda | 16 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 895 | 2 | 4.88 | 78 |
1989 | McLaren | Honda | 16 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 781 | 3 | 3.75 | 60 |
1988 | McLaren | Honda | 16 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 13 | 988 | 3 | 5.88 | 94 |
1987 | Team Lotus | Honda | 16 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 956 | 3 | 3.56 | 57 |
1986 | Team Lotus | Renault | 16 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 739 | 0 | 3.44 | 55 |
1985 | Team Lotus | Renault | 16 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 775 | 3 | 2.38 | 38 |
1984 | Toleman | Hart | 14 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 549 | 1 | 0.93 | 13 |
1st | 41 Times |
2nd | 23 Times |
3rd | 16 Times |
4th | 7 Times |
5th | 6 Times |
6th | 3 Times |
7th | 5 Times |
9th | 1 Time |
10th | 2 Times |
11th | 1 Time |
16th | 1 Time |
18th | 1 Time |
20th | 1 Time |
DNF | 50 Times |
DSQ | 3 Times |
DNQ | 1 Time |
Year | Team | Team Mate | Best Pos | Points | Wins | Poles | Pos | Quali | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | Toleman | Johnny Cecotto | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
Stefan Johansson | 3 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
1985 | Team Lotus | Elio de Angelis | 1 | 1 | 38 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 3 |
1986 | Team Lotus | Johnny Dumfries | 1 | 5 | 55 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 0 |
1987 | Team Lotus | Satoru Nakajima | 1 | 4 | 57 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 0 |
1988 | McLaren | Alain Prost | 1 | 1 | 94 | 105 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 2 |
1989 | McLaren | Alain Prost | 1 | 1 | 60 | 81 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 2 |
1990 | McLaren | Gerhard Berger | 1 | 2 | 78 | 43 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 4 |
1991 | McLaren | Gerhard Berger | 1 | 1 | 96 | 43 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 13 | 3 |
1992 | McLaren | Gerhard Berger | 1 | 1 | 50 | 49 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 1 |
1993 | McLaren | Michael Andretti | 1 | 3 | 53 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 0 |
Mika Häkkinen | 1 | 3 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
1994 | Williams | Damon Hill | 13 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
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