The 1980s and the 1990s was such a great time for the sport of Formula 1 as there were so many awesome drivers during that time and a few drivers won more than 2 World Championships and etched their places in the history books. We have already talked about two of them and now it is time to talk about the third of the greatest of that era Ayrton Senna from Brazil and he is only One of three Brazil drivers to win a World championship so he is in rare company. He was a great competitor to Alain Prost and they both traded world titles for fun and all the others had to Marvel in their greatness. Ayrton Senna won 41 Grand Prix wins. He also had 65 pole positions in his Formula 1 Career.

To be a driver in the same era as Alain Prost and still win Three Formula 1 World Championships says everything we need to know about this truly incredible driver. He was a hero in the country of Brazil which only worshiped footballers. He found a place in their hearts and more and more young boys and girls got into driving and many more have come in Formula 1. They were looking at him as their inspiration. His legacy will forever be written in golden letters especially for all the fans in Brazil and all the fans of F1 as well. Let’s take a look at the profile and Formula 1 Career of the truly great Ayrton Senna.

Ayrton Senna Profile

Ayrton Senna’s full name is Ayrton Senna De Silva and he was born on 21st March 1960 in Brazil and only after living a life for 34 years was taken away from us and the fans have not been able to recover from his shocking passing away in 1994. He was a special talent and a true role model for all the young drivers should carry themselves.

Ayrton Senna Formula 1 Career

Early Life

Ayrton Senna was born in São Paulo in Brazil. Ayrton Senna was left handed. In 1977, Ayrton Senna won the South American Kart Championship. He was the runner up in the same event in 1979 and 1980. In 1981, he won the RAC and Townsend Formula Ford 1600 titles in Norwich England. In 1982, he won the British and European Formula Ford Championship. Ayrton Senna started his Formula 3 Journey in 1983 with West Surrey Racing Team.

Debut in 1984

Ayrton Senna in 1984 tested for the Williams, McLaren, Brabham and Toleman teams. Ayrton Senna made his Formula 1 debut in the perfect dream scenario in front of his home fans in Brazil in 1984 but he was forced to retire from the race so it was a bad start to his career. He bounced back in the South African Grand Prix where he finished 6th and everyone saw the immense potential he had to become one of the all time greats in this sport. It was the Monaco Grand Prix where Ayrton Senna showed the promise he had to become an all time great. He was 13th when he started the race and he finished in second place. This was his graduation if one might say and based on the results was an A level student in class. He finished 9th in the Drivers Championship with 13 points.

The Journey with Lotus (1985-1987)

In 1985, Ayrton Senna started his journey with the Lotus Formula 1 team. In this Team he achieved his first win which was at the Portuguese Grand Prix. He started at pole and won the race. Ayrton Senna finished the 1985 season in 4th place. In 1986, Ayrton Senna was in top form for Lotus as he won a total of 8 Grand Prix. He also finished on pole 8 times. He finished 4th in the Drivers Championship with 55 points. In 1987, Ayrton Senna bettered his previous performances as he finished 3rd with 57 points.

The glory days with McLaren (1988-1993)

After being in the circuit for a good 4-5 years, he finally made the move to the big leagues of Formula 1 at that time and he joined McLaren in 1988. And from there he was on his way to become one of the very best in history. This was the time where there was intense competition between Senna and Prost and the winners were the fans of Formula 1 who got to see two drivers at the peak of their powers. Senna and Prost were In the same team in McLaren so it was a great time to be a Mclaren fan. Mclaren won 15 out of the 16 races in 1988 and it was Ayrton Senna that won his first World Championship. 1988 was the year of Mclaren as both their drivers were trying to one up each other. In 1989 the competition between Senna and Prost was at another level. Ayrton Senna won the first 3 races in 1989 which were the San Marino , Monaco and Mexico. He led all the laps in all the 3 races. Alain Prost won the 1989 World Championship. In 1990 Ayrton Senna made a comeback as he won his 2nd World Championship. He won 6 races, was second 2 times and 3rd 3 times. In 1991, Ayrton Senna became the youngest driver to win 3 Formula 1 Drivers Championships. He won 7 races in the season.

The unfortunate death

The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was held between 28th April and 1st May 1994. Before this tragic accident occurred with Ayrton Senna, at qualifying an Australian driver Roland Ratzenberger was killed. This should have been a warning sign but it was ignored. Ayrton Senna was in Lap 7 when he rounded the high speed corner. He ran in a straight line off the track and then he hit the concrete wall at a speed of 233 km/h. Ayrton Senna had passed away. This is one of those deaths that still makes everyone at Formula 1 feel something. It was bad inside as it was the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994 and it was supposed to be like any other race. However, fate had something else planned and in the middle of the race his car crashed and then the worst came true as we lost Ayrton Senna in that race and it was absolutely devastating for everyone. Hopefully he is in a better place now.

FAQ

When was Ayrton Senna born and when did he die?

Ayrton Senna was born on March 21, 1960, and died on May 1, 1994.

What was Ayrton Senna's nationality?

Ayrton Senna was Brazilian.

What teams did Ayrton Senna drive for?

Senna drove for Toleman, Lotus, McLaren, and Williams during his Formula 1 career.

How many Grand Prix races did Ayrton Senna win?

Senna won 41 Grand Prix races.

What was Ayrton Senna's most successful season?

Senna's most successful season was 1988, when he won the World Championship and 15 Grand Prix races.

What was the cause of Ayrton Senna's death?

Senna died in a crash during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.