Friday, April 18, 2008
Ayrton Senna da Silva (pronounced /aˈiɾtõ ˈsenɐ dɐ ˈsiwvɐ /, March 21, 1960 – May 1, 1994) was a Brazilian three-times Formula One world champion. Many aspects of Senna's talent marked him out as a remarkable driver: particularly his qualifying skill that yielded 65 pole positions in 162 races, and his wet-weather ability. But he also attracted criticism for his uncompromising race craft, a number of controversial incidents, and his bitter rivalry with Frenchman Alain Prost. He is also the last Formula 1 driver to have been killed in a race, while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in Italy. In 2000, Senna was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Early life
Racing career
Senna entered karting competition at the age of 13.
Formula One
Senna scored his first World Championship point in his second Grand Prix at Kyalami in South Africa. He repeated the same finish two weeks later at the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder.
But his performance in the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix brought him a lot of attention. He qualified 13th on the grid and made rapid progress through the soaking streets of Monte Carlo. By Lap 19, he passed second place man Niki Lauda and began to cut the gap to race leader Prost. But before he could pass Prost the race was stopped on lap 31 for safety reasons as the rain grew even heavier.
He also entered an exhibition race to celebrate the opening of the new Nürburgring. Several top F1 drivers took part in the event, driving identical Mercedes 190E 2.3-16. Senna won from Lauda and Carlos Reutemann.
1984: Toleman
At Lotus in 1985 he was partnered by Italian driver Elio de Angelis. He set his first pole position at the season opener in Brazil at the Jacarepaguá Circuit in Rio de Janeiro, but retired with an electrical problem.
At the second round, held at the Autódromo do Estoril in Estoril, Portugal on April 21, 1985, he scored his first Grand Prix victory, winning from pole position in heavy rain which even saw second-place man Prost spin off into the wall.
1985-7: Lotus
In 1988, thanks to the relationship he had built up with Honda throughout the 1987 season with Lotus, and with the approval of McLaren's number one driver and then-double world champion, Alain Prost, Senna joined the McLaren team. [4] The foundation for a fierce competition between Senna and Prost was laid, culminating in a number of dramatic race incidents between the two.
1988-93: McLaren
Senna had tried to join Williams in 1993 but was balked by Alain Prost who vetoed the move. Senna had even offered to drive for nothing such was the desire to be in the team of the early nineties, but a clause in Prosts contact meant that 1993 was out of the question. The clause in Prosts contract didn't extend to 1994 however and instead of taking on his greatest rival, Prost retired with a year on his contract left. For 1994, Senna finally signed with the Williams-Renault team. Given this was the same team that had won the previous two World Championships with vastly superior cars, Senna was a natural and presumptive pre-season title favorite, with second-year driver Damon Hill intended to play the supporting role. Pre-season testing showed the car had speed but now electronic drivers aids were banned and the car proved difficult to drive. The surprise of testing was the Benetton, it was more nimble than the Williams but had less power. The first race of the season was in Brazil, where Senna took Pole. In the race Senna took an early lead but the nimble Benetton was never far behind. After the pit stops Schumacher got lead the race after passing Senna in the pits. Second wasn't enough of a reward for the Brazilian crowd and Senna refused to settle instead opting to push for a win. Senna pushed too hard, spun the car which then stalled, the race over.
The second race was the Pacific Grand Prix at Aida where Senna again placed the car on Pole. However Senna was involved in a collision at the first corner. He was hit from behind by Mika Häkkinen and his race came to a definitive end when a Ferrari driven by Nicola Larini also crashed into his Williams. No points scored from a possible twenty made this his worst start to an F1 season.
At the third race of the season, the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Senna declared this was where his season would start, fourteen races as opposed to sixteen in which to win the title. Senna again placed the car on what would be his final Pole but the weekend had not been smooth. Roland Ratzenberger lost his life in a horrific crash during qualifying, Senna visited the scene to see for himself what had happened for which he was later chastised for commandeering a marshals car to get to the scene of the accident. Senna and the other drivers all opted to start the Grand Prix and the race set off only for a huge accident at the start line. Instead of the race being stopped a safety car was deployed and the drivers followed it for several laps. On the restart Senna immediately set a quick pace with the third quickest lap of the race, followed by Schumacher. Senna started what was to be his final lap, the car passed the start line towards Tamburello where the car appeared to not attempt to take the corner. Senna scrubbed the speed from around 195mph down to around 135mph before it hit the concrete retaining wall. The car bounced back on to the run off area and came to rest. Course officials arrived at the scene quickly but none approached the car until the medical team arrived suggesting the accident was not going to be one from which Senna would simply walk away from. For a moment Senna's head twitched but and the world thought he might be okay, however the twitch was a sign off a massive brain injury. Senna was removed from the car by Sid Watkins and his medical team and treated by the side of the car before being airlifted to Bologna hospital where Senna was later declared dead.
The suspension of the detached front right wheel had pierced his helmet, causing a fatal injury. Senna was kept alive despite his heart stopping twice but the situation was hopeless. Formula One lost its most controversial and brilliant driver. To this day, the cause of the accident has still not been fully determined.
1994: Williams
Senna was renowned for his qualifying skill, a discipline he mastered like none before to produce a record 65 pole positions from 161 races. This record stood for 12 years after his death, before it was surpassed by Michael Schumacher after taking pole position for the 2006 San Marino Grand Prix, his 236th race.
"Magic" Senna, as he was known to his fans, also won the Monaco Grand Prix six times, a record which stands today and a tribute to his skills which earned him the title "Master of Monaco".
Ayrton described in detail an odd feeling that he got during his qualifying laps. His experience when qualifying for the 1988 Monaco GP for example he described as being in a tunnel or dreamlike state:
Then suddenly something just kicked me. I kind of woke up and realised that I was in a different atmosphere than you normally are. My immediate reaction was to back off, slow down. I drove slowly back to the pits and I didn't want to go out any more that day. It frightened me because I was well beyond my conscious understanding. It happens rarely but I keep these experiences very much alive inside me because it is something that is important for self-preservation.
In that session, lap after lap he broke his own pole position time, until he felt ill at ease, backed off and returned to the pits.
During the 2004 San Marino Grand Prix ten year anniversary remembrance of Ayrton Senna in a series of interviews, Gerhard Berger, Senna's team mate at McLaren from 1990-1992 and a very close friend, expressed a memory of what it was like qualifying with Senna:
This competition could perhaps be attributed to not only Senna's determination and desire to be first (including qualifying), but Senna and Berger's close friendship and horseplay, as the two were always playing practical jokes on each other in attempt to outdo each other.
Berger is quoted as saying "He taught me a lot about our sport, I taught him to laugh".
Qualifying
In F1, wet weather racing is considered to be a great equaliser of cars; that is, the driver makes more of a difference. Speeds must be reduced and car superiority in power or grip is greatly reduced. The rain demands great driver car control, ability and driving finesse. Senna had some of his best performances in such conditions.
One of his tactics was not to change into the rain tyres at the start of the rain but to keep racing using slick tyres. Although it made racing much more difficult Senna often gained several seconds of time ahead of his competitors because most of them were driving into pitstop to change into rain tyres.
The 1984 season was Senna's first in F1. He came into a field of competitors from whose ranks 16 world championships would be reaped. Participating as a rookie in a relatively uncompetitive car, the Toleman TG184, Senna had racked up three race retirements, a 6th and a 7th place from his first 5 races.
He started the first wet race of the season, the Monaco Grand Prix in 13th place. The race was stopped for safety reasons after only 31 laps due to monsoon conditions. At the time the race was stopped, Senna was classified in 2nd place, and catching up to race leader Alain Prost, at 4 seconds per lap. Senna's performance in this race, on a track on which it is notoriously difficult to pass other competitors, should be contrasted with the events of recent races at Monaco in which passing has been the exception rather than the norm, especially in dry conditions.
In 1993, at the European GP at Donington Park, Senna drove for the McLaren team. The MP4/8, although one of the front running cars, was considered inferior to the leading Williams FW15C of Prost and Hill, and the Benetton B193 - which used a factory-supplied Ford engine - driven by Michael Schumacher and Riccardo Patrese.
Wet weather driving
Beyond his exceptional driving skills Senna was one of the sport's most compelling personalities.
Character
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