Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna da Silva (March 21, 1960–May 1, 1994), better known as Ayrton Senna, was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One world championship three times. He is regarded by many as the greatest driver ever. His life, character and the circumstances of his death have caused his story to approach what could arguably be termed a modern legend. His death in 1994 is still mourned by Brazilians and he remains one of the most beloved Formula One personalities.

Death

In 1994, Senna finally left the ailing McLaren team for the top team at the time, Williams-Renault. He failed to finish his first two races, despite taking pole position at both events. On May 1 1994, he took part in his third race for the team, the San Marino GP. Senna took pole position yet again, but would not finish the race.

Related Topics:
1994 - Williams-Renault - May 1

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That weekend, he was particularly upset by two events: On the Friday of the Grand Prix, during the morning session, Senna's protégé, the then newcomer Rubens Barrichello was involved in a serious accident that would keep him out of the race. Senna visited Barrichello in the hospital (he jumped the wall in the back of the facility after being barred from visitation by the doctors) and was then convinced that safety standards had to be reviewed. On Saturday, the death of driver Roland Ratzenberger in practice forced the issue and even caused Senna to consider retiring. Ironically, he spent his final morning in meetings with fellow drivers, determined by Ratzenberger's accident to take on a new responsibility to re-create a Driver's Safety group to look at safety changes in Formula One. As the most senior driver, he was asked (and accepted) the role of leader in this effort.

Related Topics:
Protégé - Rubens Barrichello - Roland Ratzenberger

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He was leading the race on Lap 7, after an early accident had caused the safety car to go out. On his second lap after the safety car retired, Senna's car left the track in the Tamburello curve and struck the concrete wall. Telemetry shows he left the track at 186 mph and managed to slow the car to 135 mph in less than two seconds but it was not enough. The FIA and Italian authorities still maintain that Senna was not killed instantly, but rather died in hospital, to where he had been rushed by helicopter, although the medics had performed an emergency tracheotomy before moving him. Many believe, however, that this was not the case, and the only reason why Senna was not declared dead on the scene is because this would have caused the race to be cancelled. The FIA dismisses that conception as an unfounded conspiracy theory.

Related Topics:
Safety car - Tracheotomy

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Professor Sidney Watkins M.D., F.R.C.S., O.B.E. a world-renowned neurosurgeon and Formula One Safety Delegate and Medical Delegate, head of the Formula One on-track medical team, who performed an on site tracheotomy on Ayrton Senna, reported:

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?He looked serene. I raised his eyelids and it was clear from his pupils that he had a massive brain injury. We lifted him from the cockpit and laid him on the ground. As we did, he sighed and, although I am totally agnostic, I felt his soul departed at that moment.?

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Senna was 34 years old. The lack of information on the cause of death led to much speculation. At first it was said that one of the car's tires had become loose on impact and had hit him on the head, which would have caused the fatal trauma. Later, some speculated that this had not been the case, but that the quick change in speed had caused Senna's head to move forward violently, causing trauma to the brain. This second theory was quickly abandoned, as images of Senna's battered helmet seemed to indicate that some sort of puncture had occurred at the top of the visor, just over his right eye. This led to the now most commonly accepted theory that one of the car's suspension bars had came loose and impacted with Senna's head.

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In 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Related Topics:
2000 - International Motorsports Hall of Fame

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In 2001, a television documentary called "Going Critical: The Death of Ayrton Senna" was screened on the UK's Channel 4 as part of an ongoing series on disastrous malfunctions. The programme considered the available data from Senna's car to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the fatal crash. The programme concluded that an unusually long safety-car period had reduced the pressures in Senna's tyres, thereby lowering the car. As the car entered the Tamburello bend, it bottomed-out and the loss of the ground effect led to a sudden reduction in downforce, and hence grip. As Senna instinctively corrected the resultant slide, the downforce and grip suddenly returned, and Senna effectively drove off the circuit. The programme came to the conclusion that if Senna's reactions had actually been slower, he might have survived the crash.

Related Topics:
2001 - Channel 4 - Ground effect - Downforce

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There are other factors - Senna did not like the position of the steering column relative to his seating position and had repeatedly asked for it to be changed. Another factor was the F1 ban on computerized active suspension aids that had propelled the Williams car to the championship the year before. Now Senna found himself in a car with his team's engineers struggling to cope and adapt to the ban. Patrick Head and Adrian Newey agreed to Senna's request to shorten the FW-16's wheelbase, but there was no time to manufacture a shortened steering shaft. The existing shaft was instead cut, shortened, and welded back together with reinforcing plates. Many surmise, based on video evidence of Senna turning the wheel left and right with no movement of the front wheels, that steering failure was the ultimate cause of the crash.

Related Topics:
Patrick Head - Adrian Newey

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The Williams team was entangled for many years in a court case with the Italian prosecutors over manslaughter charges, but they were found not guilty and no action was taken against Williams. In 2004, the case was re-opened, but closed again in 2005 when there was no new evidence.

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His death was considered by many of his Brazilian fans to be a national tragedy, and three days of national mourning were declared. Senna is buried at the Cemitério do Morumbi in his hometown of São Paulo.

Related Topics:
Cemitério do Morumbi - São Paulo

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Off the track, Senna was a deeply religious and compassionate man. After his death, his family created the Ayrton Senna Foundation, an organization with the aim of helping poor and needy young people in Brazil and the world. As a result, Senna continues to impact the world today and has become a beacon of hope to millions of his countrymen and an example of professionalism and humanity to those who remember him.

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In 2004 (when, ten years after his death, the Brazilian media revisited the entire life of Senna), a book called "Ayrton: The Hero Revealed" (original title: "Ayrton: O Herói Revelado") was published in Brazil. The book recalls several passages of Senna's career, and adds a lot of never written before information about his personal life. As the title suggests, the book "reveals" the human side of a hero.

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As well, to mark the 10th anniversary of Senna's passing, on April 21, 2004, over 10,000 people attended a charity match in a soccer stadium near Imola. The game was organized by several devoted Italian and Canadian fans of Ayrton, bringing together the 1994 World Cup winning team of Brazil to face the "Nazionale Piloti", an exhibition team comprised exclusively of top race car drivers (of which Senna was a part in 1985). Michael Schumacher, Jarno Trulli, Rubens Barrichello, Fernando Alonso and many others faced the likes of Dunga, Careca, Taffarel and many of the team that won the World Cup in the USA ten years earlier.

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That same weekend, Bernie Ecclestone revealed that he still believed that Ayrton Senna was and remained the best F1 driver he'd ever seen.

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Perhaps the unique duality of his character was most evident at the moment of his death. As track officials examined the wreckage of his racing car they found a furled, bloodsoaked Austrian flag. A victory flag that he was going to raise in honour of Austrian Roland Ratzenberger, who had died on that track the day before.

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At his memorial service one million people lined the streets to give him their salute.

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"On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit and you go for this limit and you touch this limit and you think, ok, this is the limit. As soon as you touch this limit, something happens and you realise that you can suddenly go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and your experience as well, you can fly very high." - Ayrton Senna

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