SPORTSDISTINCTION  04.25

Aryton Senna

Driving Genius

By Diana Addison Lyle

Ayrton Senna would have turned 65 this year had he not been killed in Formula 1 racing in 1994. 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of his death, and this is the compelling story about the indelible mark that this gifted man left behind in the short 34 years he spent on this earth. He won three Formula 1 World Championships – and 41 Grands Prix across 11 seasons.

Ayrton Senna streaked through the sport of Formula 1 racing like a comet, a superstar whose brilliance as a driver was matched by an intense intellect and coruscating charisma that illuminated Formula 1 racing as never before. No one tried harder or pushed himself further, nor did anyone shed so much light on the extremes to which only the greatest drivers go. Intensely introspective and passionate in the extreme, Ayrton Senna endlessly sought to extend his limits, to go faster than himself, a quest that ultimately made him a martyr but did not diminish his mystique.

Born in 1960 into a wealthy Brazilian family, he enjoyed an ideal upbringing with a loving family. He never needed to race for money but his deep need for the sport began with an infatuation for a miniature go-kart his father gave him when he was four years old. As a boy, the highlights of Senna’s life were Grand Prix mornings when he awoke trembling with anticipation at the prospect of watching his Formula 1 heroes in action on television. At 13 he raced a kart for the first time and immediately won. Eight years later he went single-seater racing in Britain, where in three years, he won five championships.

He made his debut with Toleman in 1984. At Monaco (a race he would win six times), his sensational second to Alain Prost’s McLaren – in torrential rain – was confirmation of the phenomenal talent that would take the sport by storm.

Deciding that Toleman’s limited resources were inadequate for his towering ambition, Senna bought out his contract and in 1985 moved to Lotus, where in three seasons he started from pole 16 times (he eventually won a record 65) and won six races. Having reached the limits of Lotus he decided the fastest way forward would be with McLaren, where he went in 1988 and stayed for six seasons, winning 35 races and three world championships.

In 1988, Senna beat his team-mate Alain Prost eight wins to seven to take his first driving title. Thereafter, two of the greatest drivers became protagonists in one of the most infamous feuds. In 1989 Prost took the title by taking Senna out at the Suzuka chicane. In 1990, Senna extracted revenge at Suzuka’s first corner, winning his second championship by taking out Prost’s Ferrari at Suzuka’s first corner. Senna’s third title, in 1991, was straightforward as his domination as a driver became even more pronounced, as did his obsession with becoming better still. Some of his greatest performances came in his final year with McLaren, following which he moved to Williams for the ill-fated 1994 season.

“Senna is a genius. I define genius as just the right side of imbalance. He is so highly developed to the point that he’s almost over the edge. It’s a close call.”

Beyond his driving genius, Senna was one of the sport’s most compelling personalities. He had a powerful physical presence, and when he spoke, his eyes sparkled and his voice quavered with intensity. His intellect contributed to his eloquence. Even the most jaded members of the Formula 1 fraternity were captivated by the passion in his voice at press conferences. He had an hypnotic effect on audiences. His racing abilities were a derivative of genetic gifts and a razor-sharp level of intense concentration.

It was that intensity and that complete immersion into a sport that was Senna’s raison d’être – that frightened his family and the people who understood his 200% need to take his skills to the next level. It was so evident on an all-out qualifying lap or in his relentless charges. Some people commented that he drove like a man possessed. Even his rival Prost was concerned that his friend was prioritized winning over living.

Senna was a man of deep religious faith, and Prost was concerned that it might have given him a sense of invincibility in the sense that he might have thought that God was his co-pilot. Martin Brundle once commented,“Senna is a genius. I define genius as just the right side of imbalance. He is so highly developed to the point that he’s almost over the edge. It’s a close call.”

Even Senna confessed he occasionally went too far, as was the case in qualifying for the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix, where he became a passenger on a surreal ride into the unknown. Already on pole, he went faster and faster and was eventually over two seconds quicker than Prost in an identical McLaren.

“Suddenly, it frightened me,” Ayrton said, “because I realized I was well beyond my conscious understanding. I drove back slowly to the pits and did not go out anymore that day.”

Senna was becoming increasingly more concerned about the dangers in his sport. He knew he was not invincible, and neither were his rivals. He spent his final Sunday morning talking to former teammate and rival Alain Prost to discuss the re-establishment of the Grand Prix Driver’s Association, a driver’s union, with the aim of improving safety in Formula 1. Prost had retired from the sport at the end of the 1993 season and was now a media presenter. As the most senior driver in competition, Senna offered to take the role of leader, starting from the next race in Monaco. Tragically, he perished before that race.

During the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Senna was leading the race when his Williams FW16 crashed and killed him. His state funeral was attended by an estimated three million people. The world was devastated by the passing of a man who allowed them to escape the confines of their ordinary lives. Senna took them to a world of infinite possibilities and endless imaginings. Everyone who watched him was awestruck by his talents and his sublime skill.

“Suddenly, it frightened me,” Ayrton said, “because I realized I was well beyond my conscious understanding. I drove back slowly to the pits and did not go out anymore that day.”

The indelible mark that Senna’s legendary status has left on the world is an important one from a human safety point of view. Just before his death, Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger lost his life in Formula 1 racing. Senna’s crash right afterward shook up the leaders of Formula 1 enough for them to recognize that changes had to be made, and new safety measures implemented immediately. What followed were the greatest changes to Formula 1 safety regulations, and since 1994, not a single driver has lost their life to the sport. Senna was the man who made that come about. The sweeping new safety regulations included improved crash barriers, redesigned tracks, higher crash safety standards, and significant cuts to engine power. On-track medical procedures were revised, and the Tamburello corner and other parts of the Imola circuit were altered in 1995.

But that’s not his only legacy. In a 1994 interview following Senna’s death, Frank Williams said: “If you want a summary of Ayrton Senna … he was actually a greater man out of the car than in it.”

Senna secretly donated millions of U.S. dollars to help poor children. Shortly before his death, he created the framework for an organization dedicated to Brazilian children, which later became the Instituto Aryton Senna (IAS). The IAS has invested nearly US$80 million over a twelve-year period in social programs and actions in partnership with schools, government, NGOs and the private sector, aimed at offering children and teenagers from low-income backgrounds the skills and opportunities they need to develop their full potential as people, citizens, and future professionals. The foundation is officially advised by Bernie Ecclestone, Alain Prost, and Gerhard Berger.

Senna was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1993, a poll of Formula 1 drivers gave him a near-unanimous vote as the greatest driver in Formula 1.

Acknowledgments: Formula 1.com