São Paulo (Brasil), 1960 – Bolonia (Italia), 1994

By Pablo Alabarces

At the age of four, Ayrton Senna, a boy from São Paulo, received a go-kart as a gift, sparking a passion for automobiles that only grew stronger. He didn’t just love driving them; he also enjoyed taking them apart and repairing them. He competed in his first race at the age of thirteen, and his first victory came in 1977 at the Pan-American Kart Championship. In 1979 and 1980, he participated in the respective World Karting Championships. Whether racing karts in Brazil or competing in the Formula Ford 1600 and Formula 2000 in Europe, Ayrton consistently collected championships. These successes paved the way for his entry into Formula 1, where he quickly became a global idol. He won the World Championship in Formula 1 in 1988, 1990, and 1991 with the McLaren-Honda team. Senna is remembered for his legendary rivalry with French driver Alain Prost, particularly during their time together at McLaren.

Ayrton was widely regarded as the driver most capable of matching or surpassing the record of five world titles set by Argentine driver Juan Manuel Fangio—who himself expressed the hope that Senna would achieve this feat, as the two Latin American drivers shared mutual admiration and affection.

Tragically, the Brazilian racer suffered a fatal accident on the track. On May 1, 1994, during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Senna lost control on the seventh lap at the Tamburello curve, crashing into the retaining wall. He passed away a few hours later in a hospital in Bologna. His funeral in São Paulo was attended by a large crowd, and three months later, Brazil’s national soccer team dedicated their World Cup victory in the United States to the racing legend. In total, Senna competed in 162 Formula 1 races, winning 41 of them and finishing on the podium 80 times.