Ayrton Senna

Brazilian racing driver

Three titles and a lasting legacy

Ayrton Senna rose from Brazilian karts to three championships with McLaren, set the pole position record of his era and died leading at Imola in 1994.

Ayrton Senna was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on March 21, 1960. He began racing karts at 13 and twice finished second at the Karting World Championship before moving to Britain. He swept the Formula Ford championships there in his first seasons, then won the 1983 British Formula Three title after a close duel with Martin Brundle, along with the Macau Grand Prix.

Toleman gave him his Formula 1 debut at the 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix, and he scored podiums as a rookie. A move to Lotus for 1985 brought his first pole position and first win in the rain at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix. He won again that year in Belgium and stayed with Lotus through 1987, winning races in each season.

In 1988 he joined McLaren beside Alain Prost, and in a year when the team was almost unbeatable he won eight races and his first title. The rivalry with Prost shaped the next seasons, with collisions at Suzuka deciding the championship in 1989 for Prost and in 1990 for Senna. He won seven races and a third title in 1991, including his home race in Brazil. In 1993 he took his sixth Monaco Grand Prix victory, a record at that race.

Senna moved to Williams for 1994. At the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola he crashed while leading and was killed. His record stands at 161 starts, 41 wins, 65 pole positions, 19 fastest laps and 80 podiums over 11 seasons, with titles in 1988, 1990 and 1991. His drives in wet conditions, among them the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix and the 1993 European Grand Prix, are still widely cited. He entered the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2000.

3 world titles, 41 wins, 65 pole positions, 161 starts.

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