If You No Longer Go for a Gap…
“Villeneuve was spectacular on a number of occasions. Senna - he was spectacular every single time he got in the car.”
When asked about what comes to mind when asked about Formula 1, Ayrton Senna immediately flashes through most people’s minds - so synonymous is the Brazilian driver with the pinnacle of motorsport.
A three time World Champion with forty-one Grand Prix wins, eighty podiums, sixty-five pole positions and nineteen fastest laps to his name, it’s not difficult to understand why.
Arguably the most famous person to ever come from Brazil, Senna rose from humble beginnings to compete at the highest level of motorsport in an era rife with vehement competition. His skill and ability behind the wheel was unquestionable. The opening lap of the European Grand Prix at Donington alone is testament to that.
“Ayrton was one of the fiercest, most passionate competitors the sport has ever known.”
It wasn’t just his race craft that made Senna a titan of motorsport history but his relentless rivalries with his fellow competitors too. The most famous of these is of course with Alain Prost. This came to a head most famously on two occasions, both in Japan, in 1989 and 1990. Both times, their showdowns ended with dramatic collisions that are still talked about and debated to this day.
“Their (Prost and Senna) fiery relationship defined a generation of racing and is viewed today as one of the fiercest and most intense sporting conflicts of all time.”
Away from the racetrack, Senna was known as a generous, gentle and compassionate individual who cared deeply about those he cared about, donated both his time and money to charity and sucked all the marrow out of life that was available to him. So revered was Senna back home in Brazil, that there was even talk of him becoming President of Brazil one day.
Then came Imola.
Thirty-two years ago on Sunday May 1st 1994, Ayrton Senna lost his life at the San Marino Grand Prix. The third Grand Prix of the year, it was a weekend already overshadowed by tragedy. During practice on Friday, fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello almost lost his life in a horrific crash, were it not for the quick thinking of Formula 1’s Safety and Medical Delegate, Professor Sid Watkins.
Then, during qualifying on Saturday, for the first time at a Grand Prix since Riccardo Paletti died at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix, one of Formula 1’s own, Roland Ratzenberger, was killed after a devastating crash.
In a conversation with Professor Watkins ahead of the Grand Prix, where Watkins attempted to talk Senna into hanging up his helmet, the three time World Champion was very base in his reply.
“Sid, there are certain things over which we have no control. I cannot quit, I have to go on.”
The Brazilian climbed into his Williams, lined up on the grid in Pole Position alongside Michael Schumacher, and took the race start.
Senna and Ratzenberger’s deaths fundamentally changed Formula 1 forever. Since then, drastic improvements have been made which have undoubtedly saved countless lives in the decades since - both in Formula 1 and beyond. Senna’s legacy extends far beyond that too. Lewis Hamilton refers back to Senna’s Pole Position lap from Monaco in 1990 as one of the cornerstones responsible for his love for Formula 1. Gabriel Bortoleto talks about how Senna’s impact both on the sport and his country still reverberates strongly to this day. Reminders of him are not hard to find. From the statue at Imola to the mural at Interlagos, there are tributes everywhere. Quite simply, Formula 1 wouldn’t be what it is today without Ayrton Senna.
A relentless competitor on track, an extremely kind-hearted man off track and a passionate man throughout, Ayrton Senna will be remembered for each in equal measure.
“If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver.”