Ayrton Senna, a Brazilian racing driver, is arguably one of the greatest F1 drivers who left an indelible mark on the sport of Formula One,
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Born | Ayrton Senna da Silva 21 March 1960 Sao Paulo, Brazil |
|---|---|
| Died | 1 May 1994 (aged 34) Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
Senna won the World Drivers’ Championship three times during his illustrious career, in 1988, 1990, and 1991. With 41 Grand Prix wins and 65 pole positions, Senna cemented his place in the history of Formula One, holding the latter record until 2006. Unfortunately, the possibility of more records would never be realised, as Senna’s untimely death during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix while driving for the Williams team shook the racing world to its core.
Senna’s journey to the top began with karting, and he quickly moved up the ranks to open-wheel racing, winning the 1983 British Formula Three Championship. He made his Formula One debut with Toleman-Hart in 1984 before joining Lotus and winning six Grand Prix in the following three seasons.
In 1988, he joined forces with Frenchman Alain Prost at McLaren-Honda, and together, they dominated the competition, winning all but one of the 16 races that season. Senna claimed his first World Championship that year, while Prost won the title in 1989. Senna won his second and third championships in 1990 and 1991, respectively.
As the Williams-Renault team began to dominate Formula One in 1992, Senna could only finish the 1993 season as runner-up for McLaren while winning five races. With the Williams team looking to dominate again the following season, Senna decided to move to Williams for the 1994 season, a season where he would meet an untimely death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit.
Remembered as one of F1’s greats, Senna’s ability to qualify quickly over one lap and his incredible wet-weather performances saw wins at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix, and the 1993 European Grand Prix, which demonstrated his skills as one of the best drivers of his generation. Senna’s six victories at the Monaco Grand Prix remain unmatched today.
While Senna was widely recognised as one of the most talented drivers in F1 history, he was also known for courting controversy, particularly during his contentious rivalry with Alain Prost. Senna and Prost collided at the Japanese Grand Prix of 1989 and 1990, ultimately determining the championship winner each year. Nevertheless, Senna’s incredible legacy and impact on Formula One cannot be denied. He remains one of the most successful drivers of all time regarding race wins and holds the record for the most wins for McLaren.
Ayrton Senna Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 1984–1994 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Toleman, Lotus, McLaren, Williams |
| Entries | 162 (161 starts) |
| Championships | 3 (1988, 1990, 1991) |
| Wins | 41 |
| Podiums | 80 |
| Career points | 610 (614)1 |
| Pole positions | 65 |
| Fastest laps | 19 |
| First entry | 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| First win | 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1993 Australian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1994 San Marino Grand Prix |
Ayrton Senna Formula One records
Senna holds/held these Formula One records:
| Record | # | Achieved |
|---|---|---|
| Most consecutive pole positions | 8 | 1988 Spanish Grand Prix – 1989 United States Grand Prix |
| Most consecutive front-row starts | 24 | 1988 German Grand Prix – 1989 Australian Grand Prix |
| Most consecutive wins at the same Grand Prix | 5 | Monaco Grand Prix 1989–1993 |
| Most consecutive pole positions at the same Grand Prix | 7 | San Marino Grand Prix 1985–1991 |
| Highest percentage of front row starts in a season | 100% | 1989 |
Ayrton Senna Teammates
| 11 Teammates | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Cecotto | 10 | 1984 | |
| Stefan Johansson | 2 | 1984 | |
| Elio de Angelis | 16 | 1985 | |
| Johnny Dumfries | 16 | 1986 | |
| Satoru Nakajima | 16 | 1987 | |
| Alain Prost | 32 | 1988 | 1989 |
| Gerhard Berger | 48 | 1990 | 1992 |
| Michael Andretti | 13 | 1993 | |
| Mika Hakkinen | 3 | 1993 | |
| Damon Hill | 3 | 1994 |
Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Toleman Group Motorsport | Toleman TG183B | Hart 415T 1.5 L4 t | BRA Ret | RSA 6 | BEL 6 | SMR DNQ | 9th= | 13 | ||||||||||||
| 1984 | Toleman Group Motorsport | Toleman TG184 | Hart 415T 1.5 L4 t | FRA Ret | MON 2 ‡ | CAN 7 | DET Ret | DAL Ret | GBR 3 | GER Ret | AUT Ret | NED Ret | ITA | EUR Ret | POR 3 | 9th= | 13 | ||||
| 1985 | John Player Special Team Lotus | Lotus 97T | Renault EF15 1.5 V6 t | BRA Ret | POR 1 | SMR 7 † | MON Ret | CAN 16 | DET Ret | FRA Ret | GBR 10 † | GER Ret | AUT 2 | NED 3 | ITA 3 | BEL 1 | EUR 2 | RSA Ret | AUS Ret | 4th | 38 |
| 1986 | John Player Special Team Lotus | Lotus 98T | Renault EF15B 1.5 V6 t | BRA 2 | ESP 1 | SMR Ret | MON 3 | BEL 2 | CAN 5 | DET 1 | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | GER 2 | HUN 2 | AUT Ret | ITA Ret | POR 4 † | MEX 3 | AUS Ret | 4th | 55 |
| 1987 | Camel Team Lotus Honda | Lotus 99T | Honda RA166E 1.5 V6 t | BRA Ret | SMR 2 | BEL Ret | MON 1 | DET 1 | FRA 4 | GBR 3 | GER 3 | HUN 2 | AUT 5 | ITA 2 | POR 7 | ESP 5 | MEX Ret | JPN 2 | AUS DSQ | 3rd | 57 |
| 1988 | Honda Marlboro McLaren | McLaren MP4/4 | Honda RA168E 1.5 V6 t | BRA DSQ | SMR 1 | MON Ret | MEX 2 | CAN 1 | DET 1 | FRA 2 | GBR 1 | GER 1 | HUN 1 | BEL 1 | ITA 10 † | POR 6 | ESP 4 | JPN 1 | AUS 2 | 1st | 90 (94) |
| 1989 | Honda Marlboro McLaren | McLaren MP4/5 | Honda RA109E 3.5 V10 | BRA 11 | SMR 1 | MON 1 | MEX 1 | USA Ret | CAN 7 † | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | GER 1 | HUN 2 | BEL 1 | ITA Ret | POR Ret | ESP 1 | JPN DSQ | AUS Ret | 2nd | 60 |
| 1990 | Honda Marlboro McLaren | McLaren MP4/5B | Honda RA100E 3.5 V10 | USA 1 | BRA 3 | SMR Ret | MON 1 | CAN 1 | MEX 20 † | FRA 3 | GBR 3 | GER 1 | HUN 2 | BEL 1 | ITA 1 | POR 2 | ESP Ret | JPN Ret | AUS Ret | 1st | 78 |
| 1991 | Honda Marlboro McLaren | McLaren MP4/6 | Honda RA121E 3.5 V12 | USA 1 | BRA 1 | SMR 1 | MON 1 | CAN Ret | MEX 3 | FRA 3 | GBR 4 † | GER 7 † | HUN 1 | BEL 1 | ITA 2 | POR 2 | ESP 5 | JPN 2 | AUS 1 ‡ | 1st | 96 |
| 1992 | Honda Marlboro McLaren | McLaren MP4/6B | Honda RA122E 3.5 V12 | RSA 3 | MEX Ret | 4th | 50 | ||||||||||||||
| McLaren MP4/7A | Honda RA122E/B 3.5 V12 | BRA Ret | ESP 9 † | SMR 3 | MON 1 | CAN Ret | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | GER 2 | HUN 1 | BEL 5 | ITA 1 | POR 3 | JPN Ret | AUS Ret | 4th | 50 | ||||
| 1993 | Marlboro McLaren | McLaren MP4/8 | Ford HBE7 3.5 V8 | RSA 2 | BRA 1 | EUR 1 | SMR Ret | ESP 2 | MON 1 | CAN 18 † | FRA 4 | GBR 5† | 2nd | 73 | |||||||
| 1993 | Marlboro McLaren | McLaren MP4/8 | Ford HBA8 3.5 V8 | GER 4 | HUN Ret | BEL 4 | ITA Ret | POR Ret | JPN 1 | AUS 1 | 2nd | 73 | |||||||||
| 1994 | Rothmans Williams Renault | Williams FW16 | Renault RS6 3.5 V10 | BRA Ret | PAC Ret | SMR Ret | MON | ESP | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | EUR | JPN | AUS | NC | 0 |
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
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