This name uses: the first or maternal is Senna and the second or paternal family name is da Silva. Ayrton SennaBornAyrton Senna da Silva( 1960-03-21)21 March 1960, BrazilDied1 May 1994 (1994-05-01) (aged 34), ItalyWorld Championship careerBrazilianActive years–Teams,Entries162 (161 starts)3 (, )Podiums80Career points610 (614)6519First entryFirst winLast winLast entryAyrton Senna da Silva ( Brazilian Portuguese: ( ); 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian who won the in, and, and who is widely regarded as the greatest Formula One driver of all time. He while leading the whilst driving for.Senna began his motorsport career in, moved up to racing in 1981, and won the. He made his Formula One debut with - in, before moving to - the and winning six Grands Prix over the next three seasons. In, he joined Frenchman at. Between them, they won all but one of the 16 Grands Prix that year, and Senna claimed his first.
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Senna is a 2010 British documentary film that depicts the life and death of Brazilian motor-racing champion Ayrton Senna, directed by Asif Kapadia. The film was produced by StudioCanal, Working Title Films, and Midfield Films, and was distributed by the parent company of the latter two production companies, Universal Pictures. The film's narrative focuses on Senna's racing career in Formula.
Prost claimed the championship in 1989, and Senna his second and third championships in. In, the - combination began to dominate Formula One. Senna nonetheless managed to finish the as runner-up, winning five races and negotiating a move to Williams in.Senna has often been voted as the best and most influential Formula One driver of all time in various motorsport polls. He was recognised for his qualifying speed over one lap, and from until he held the record for most. He was also acclaimed for his wet weather performances, such as the, the, and the. He holds a record six victories at the, and is the fifth-most successful driver of all time in terms of. Senna courted controversy throughout his career, particularly during his.
In the Japanese Grands Prix of and, each of which decided the championship of that year, collisions between Senna and Prost determined the eventual winner. Senna began racing in Brazil at the age of 13.Senna's first kart was built by his father using a small 1- lawnmower engine. Senna started racing at and entered a competition at the age of 13. He started his first race on pole position, facing rivals who were some years older than him; despite this, he managed to lead most of the race before retiring after colliding with a rival. His father supported his son and Lucio Pascal Gascon soon managed the developing talent.Senna went on to win the South American Kart Championship in 1977. He contested the each year from 1978 to 1982, finishing runner-up in 1979 and 1980. In 1978, he was the teammate of, from whom Senna later felt was the rival he got the most satisfaction racing against also because of the lack of money and politics at that level.In 1981, Senna moved to England to begin racing, winning the and 1600 Championships that year with the team.
21-year-old Senna in his British Formula Ford 1600 single seater.Despite this, Senna initially did not believe he would continue in motorsport. At the end of that season, under pressure from his parents to take up a role in the family business, Senna announced his retirement from Formula Ford and returned to Brazil.
Before leaving England, however, Senna was offered a drive with a Formula Ford 2000 team for £10,000. Back in Brazil, he decided to take this offer and returned to live in England. As da Silva is the most common, he adopted his mother's maiden name, Senna. Senna went on to win the 1982 British and European Formula Ford 2000 championships. For that season, Senna arrived with sponsorship from Banerj and Pool.In, Senna drove in the for the team. He dominated the first half of the season until, driving a similar car for, closed the gap in the second part of the championship.
Senna won the title at the final round after a closely fought and, at times, acrimonious battle with the Briton. In November that year, Senna also triumphed at the inaugural with 's -powered.
Formula One career. Senna's from on display in the.In 1983, Senna tested for Formula One teams,. Of, of McLaren, and of Brabham made offers for testing in 1984 and presented long-term contracts that tied Senna to driving later on. During his test for Williams at the 3.149-km (1.957-mi) circuit, Senna completed 40 laps and was quicker than the other drivers, including Williams's reigning World Champion.Neither Williams nor McLaren had a vacancy for the. Both Williams boss and McLaren boss Ron Dennis noted that Senna insisted that he got to run their cars before anyone else (other than their regular drivers such as Rosberg) so that he would have the best chance of a good showing by having a fresh car.Peter Warr actually wanted to replace with Senna at Lotus, but their British-based title sponsor, , wanted a British driver. Senna, however, was determined to drive that season and certainly on his own terms.
Senna's test for Brabham occurred at in November 1983. Senna impressed the Brabham team and was linked to their second seat.
However, the team's main sponsor, Italian dairy company, wanted an Italian driver. Brabham's second car was eventually shared by brothers and, while Piquet convinced Ecclestone to sign his friend as the test driver.Consequently, Senna joined Toleman, a relatively new team, using less competitive tyres.Venezuelan, a former world champion, was his teammate.During 1984, Senna hired Nuno Cobra to assess his physical condition due to his concern over his low weight.Senna made his debut at the in, where he qualified 17th, but retired when the turbocharger failed on lap 8. He scored his first in his second race at the at with severe muscle spasms, and replicated that result two weeks later at the.A combination of tyre issues and a fuel-pressure problem resulted in his failure to qualify for the, the only time this happened during his career.
Toleman decided not to run both cars during Friday qualifying at due to a dispute with tyre supplier (Toleman were in the process of switching from Pirelli to ). Senna then suffered a fuel-pressure problem in the wet Saturday session at Tosa (the furthest point on the circuit from the pits) and did not have enough time for it to be fixed to allow him to make the grid. Senna's best result of the season came at the, the first wet-weather race of the season. Qualifying 13th on the grid, he made steady progress in climbing through the field, passing for second on lap 19. He quickly began to cut the gap to race leader, but before he could attack Prost, the race was stopped on lap 31 for safety reasons, as the rain had grown even heavier.
Senna won the exhibition race to celebrate the opening of the new in 1984.That season, Senna took two more podium finishes—third at the and Grands Prix—and placed 9th in the Drivers' Championship with 13 points overall. He did not take part in the after he was suspended by Toleman for being in breach of his contract by signing for for 1985 without informing the Toleman team first. Senna became the first driver Lotus had signed not personally chosen by team founder, who had died in 1982.Senna also raced in two high-profile non-Formula One races in 1984: the where, alongside and, he co-drove a to finish 8th, as well as an exhibition race to celebrate the opening of the reconfigured before the. Notably, this race involved several past and present Formula 1 drivers, including and past World Champions, and, driving identical sports cars.
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Started from pole position, but Senna took the lead in the first corner of the first lap, winning ahead of. After the race, Senna was quoted as saying, 'Now I know I can do it.' Senna was a last-minute inclusion in the Mercedes race, taking over from.Lotus (1985–1987) 1985. Senna driving the at the.Senna was partnered in his first year at by Italian driver.
At the second round of the season, the, Senna took the first pole position of his Formula 1 career. He converted it into his first victory in the race, which was held in very wet conditions, winning by over a minute from and lapping everyone up to and including 3rd placed. The race was the first 'Grand Slam' of Senna's career, as he also set the fastest lap of the race.He did not finish in the points again until coming second at the, despite taking pole three more times in the intervening period. (His determination to take pole at the had infuriated Alboreto and Niki Lauda; Senna had set a fast time early and was accused of deliberately baulking the other drivers by running more laps than necessary, a charge he rejected, though the accusations continued in when drivers accused him of running on the racing line when on his slow down lap forcing others on qualifiers to move off line and lose time). Two more podiums followed in and, before Senna added his second victory, again in wet conditions, at the in Belgium. Senna's relationship with De Angelis soured over the season, as both drivers demanded top driver status within Lotus and, after spending six years at the team, De Angelis departed for Brabham at the end of the year, convinced that Lotus were becoming focused around the Brazilian.
Senna and De Angelis finished the season 4th and 5th respectively in the driver rankings, separated by five points in the quick but unreliable. In terms of qualifying, however, Senna had begun to establish himself as the quickest in the field: his tally of seven poles that season was far more than that of any of the other drivers (Renault's qualifying engines were reported to be producing over 1,000 bhp (746 kW; 1,014 PS)). Senna driving the at the.De Angelis was replaced at Lotus by 's after Senna vetoed Derek Warwick from joining the team, saying that Lotus could not run competitive cars for two top drivers at the same time.
Senna allegedly pushed for his former flatmate and fellow Brazilian to join the team as a pure number two driver, but the team's major sponsor (JPS) insisted on a British driver which led to the signing of Dumfries. Senna later admitted 'It was bad, bad.
Until then I had a good relationship with Derek.' Senna started the season well, coming second in behind the - of Nelson Piquet, and winning the by just 0.014s from Piquet's teammate Nigel Mansell in one of the closest finishes in Formula One history to find himself leading the World Championship after two races. However, poor reliability, particularly in the second half of the season, saw him drift behind the Williams pairing of Mansell and Piquet, as well as defending and eventual champion, Alain Prost. Nonetheless, Senna was once more the top qualifier with eight poles, with a further six podium finishes included another win at the, thus finishing the season fourth in the driver's standings again, with a total of 55 points.After winning the – which took place one day after Brazil was eliminated from the – Senna asked a trackside supporter for the and he drove one lap waving it. Thereafter, he repeated this ritual every time he won a race.
Senna also had a brief foray into rallying where he tried out a, a, a and a on a stretch of land closed to the public. The raced by Senna in.had a new engine deal in 1987, running the same turbocharged Honda V6 engines as Williams had used to win the previous year's Constructors' Championship, and with them came a new teammate, 34-year-old Japanese driver,.
The team guaranteed Senna contractually preferential treatment over Nakajima in the allocation of equipment. Senna started the season with mixed fortunes: a podium at the was tempered by controversy at the following at Spa-Francorchamps, where he collided with Mansell, and afterward in the pits an angered Englishman grabbed Senna by the throat and had to be restrained by Lotus mechanics. Senna then won two races in a row, which helped him take the lead in the World Championship: the ensuing (the first of his record six victories at the ) and the, his second victory in two years at the street circuit and the first ever for an F1 car. As the championship progressed however, it became evident that the Williams cars had the advantage over the rest of the field, the gap between the Honda-engined teams made most obvious at the, where Mansell and Piquet lapped the Lotuses of Senna and Nakajima who finished 3rd and 4th respectively. Senna became dissatisfied with his chances at Lotus and at it was announced that he would be joining McLaren for 1988. Senna finished the season strongly, coming second in the final two races in and, however post-race scrutineering at the final race found the brake ducts of his Lotus to be wider than permitted by the rules and he was disqualified, bringing his last and most successful season with Lotus to a sour end. Senna was classified third in the final standings, with 57 points, with six podium finishes and only one pole position.
This season marked a turning point in Senna's career as, throughout the year, he built a deep relationship with Honda, which paid big dividends, as McLaren had secured Williams's supply of Honda's V6 turbo engines for 1988. McLaren (1988–1993) 1988. Senna won his first world title in driving that season's dominant.In 1988, due to the relationship he had built up with Honda throughout the 1987 season with Lotus, and with the approval of McLaren's number-one driver and then-double world champion, Alain Prost, Senna joined the McLaren team.
The foundation for a fierce competition between Senna and Prost was laid, culminating in a number of dramatic race incidents between the two over the next five years. However, the experienced pair also quickly realized, despite their personal rivalry, they had to work together, especially in testing, to keep ahead of their main opposition from, Lotus,. The Honda RA168E engine, which powered Senna to his first world championship.One notable incident of the year was at the, where Senna outqualified Prost by 1.4 seconds and led for most of the race before crashing on lap 67. Instead of returning to the pit lane, Senna went back to his apartment and did not contact the team until he walked into the pit garage as they were packing up later that night. As the television cameras had not captured his crash, team boss did not know what had caused his DNF until then, though Prost speculated that judging from the tyre marks, it appeared as though Senna had clipped the inside barrier at Portier, which pitched him into the outside guard rail. At the, Prost made a slightly faster start than Senna, but the Brazilian dived into the first corner ahead. Prost responded and went to pass Senna at the end of the first lap.
Senna swerved to block Prost, forcing the Frenchman to nearly run into the pit wall at 290 km/h (180 mph). Prost kept his foot down and soon edged Senna into the first corner and started pulling away. Though Prost was angered by Senna's manoeuvre, the Brazilian got away with a warning from the FIA.
At the post-race team debrief, Prost voiced his anger at the move which prompted Senna to apologize to Prost for the incident. Ultimately, the pair won 15 of 16 races in the in 1988 with Senna coming out on top, winning his first Formula One world championship title by taking eight wins to Prost's seven. Prost scored more points over the season, but had to drop three-second places as only the 11 best scores counted.
Alain Prost and victor Ayrton Senna at Grand Prix Molson du Canada at in 1988.However, the biggest incident of the year happened at the at. With two laps remaining, Senna held a five-second lead over the of and, who were closing in on the (Prost had earlier retired with a badly misfiring engine). Going into the Rettifilo Chicane, Senna closed on the of (standing in for the unwell Nigel Mansell). Schlesser steered wide, attempting to give Senna room to lap him, losing then regaining control to avoid going into the sand trap, and the two collided. Went on to finish 1–2, the first in an since the death of the team's founder. This proved to be the only race McLaren did not win in 1988.During the season, Senna rewrote the record books.
His eight wins beat the old record of seven jointly held by and Prost (1984). His 13 pole positions also beat the record of nine held by Nelson Piquet (1984).1989. Senna driving the in.The following year, the rivalry between Senna and Prost intensified into numerous battles on the track and a psychological war off it.
Some controversy also arose after the French GP press conference when Ron Dennis declared that they found consistent differences between the Honda engines from Prost and Senna in thedetriment of Prost. Tension and mistrust between the two drivers increased when Senna overtook Prost at the restart of the, a move which Prost claimed violated a pre-race agreement (Senna denied the existence of any agreement, though Prost's story was backed up by John Hogan of the team's major sponsor, ). Senna took an early lead in the championship with victories in San Marino,. Senna also achieved the feat of leading every lap of those races which was not equalled until in.
Senna also managed to win in,. However, unreliability in, and, together with collisions in and, swung the title in Prost's favour.Prost took the 1989 world title after a collision with Senna at the in Japan, which Senna needed to win to remain in contention for the title. Prost had managed to leave the grid faster than Senna by removing the from his car, which was unbeknownst to Senna.
This reduction in aerodynamic downforce made Prost's car faster on the straights, but slower through corners—a clever choice to make it even harder for Senna to pass on a circuit already difficult on which to pass. On lap 46, Senna had finally come next to Prost and attempted a pass on the inside at the last chicane. Prost turned right into the upcoming corner, cutting Senna off and tangling wheels with him. The collision caused both McLarens to slide to a standstill into the escape road ahead. Prost abandoned the race at that point, whereas Senna urged marshals for a push-start, which he received, then proceeding with the race after a pit stop to replace the damaged nose on his car. He took the lead from the of and went on to claim victory, only to be disqualified following a stewards meeting after the race. Senna was disqualified for receiving a push start, cutting the chicane after the collision with Prost, and for crossing into the pit lane entry which was not part of the track.
A large fine and temporary suspension of his followed in the winter of 1989, and an irate Senna engaged in public criticism with the and its then-president, whom he blamed for his disqualification in Japan. Senna claimed that Balestre had forced the race stewards to disqualify him so his fellow Frenchman Prost could win the championship, though the stewards of the meeting denied that Balestre forced their decision, claiming that he was not present when the decision was made. Senna finished the season second with six wins and one second place.
Prost left for rivals for the following year. The raced by Senna in.In 1990, Senna took a commanding lead in the championship with six wins, two-second places, and three-thirds. With Prost gone to Ferrari, he also had a new teammate in Austrian driver Gerhard Berger. Among his victories were the opening round in, in which he diced for the lead for several laps with 's before coming out on top, and in, where he fought Benetton driver Alessandro Nannini throughout the race for the win. As the season reached its final quarter, however, Alain Prost in his Ferrari rose to the challenge with five wins, including a crucial victory in where he and teammate finished 1–2 for the Scuderia. Senna had gone out with a damaged radiator, and the gap between Senna and Prost was now reduced to 9 points with two races remaining.At the penultimate round of the championship in at Suzuka, where Senna and Prost collided the previous year, Senna took pole ahead of Prost.
Before qualifying, Senna had sought assurances from the organisers to move pole position left onto the clean side of the racetrack. After qualifying, FIA president Balestre denied Senna's request, leaving Senna to start on the dirty right side, thus favouring Prost on the left. In addition, as revealed by F1 journalist Maurice Hamilton, the FIA had warned that crossing the yellow line of the pit exit on the right to better position oneself at the first corner would have not been appropriate, further infuriating Senna. At the beginning of the race, Prost pulled ahead of Senna, who immediately tried to repass Prost at the first corner. While Prost turned in, Senna kept his foot on the accelerator and the cars collided at 270 km/h (170 mph) and spun out of the race, making Senna world champion.Following the second championship-deciding collision in two years, interviewed Senna at the (where Senna won pole and led for 61 laps before gearbox trouble forced him to slide off into a tyre barrier) and brought up a number of controversial collisions in which Senna had been involved over the last few years, stating that Senna had made more contact with other cars and drivers in the last four years than all the champions before him. An irritated Senna questioned how someone like Stewart, himself a triple world champion, could ask questions like he did, knowing the pressure under which drivers raced and famously said: 'Being a racing driver means you are racing with other people and if you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver.'
A year later, after taking his third world championship, Senna explained to the press his actions of the previous year in Suzuka. He maintained that prior to qualifying fastest, he had sought and received assurances from race officials that pole position would be changed to the left, clean side of the track (where the racing line was), only to find this decision reversed by after he had taken pole. Senna said that he was not going to accept what he saw as unfair decision-making by Balestre, including his 1989 disqualification and the incorrect pole position in 1990.
Senna stated that no matter what happened, he would not yield the corner and that Prost taking his normal racing line would result in an accident. Prost later went on record criticising Senna's actions as 'disgusting', saying that he seriously considered retiring from the sport after that incident.
Senna won the in his.In 1992, Senna's determination to win manifested itself in dismay at McLaren's inability to challenge Williams's all-conquering car. McLaren's new car for the season had several shortcomings. A delay occurred in getting the new model running (it debuted in the third race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix) and in addition to lacking active suspension, the new car suffered from reliability issues and was unpredictable in fast corners, while its Honda V12 engine was no longer the most powerful on the circuit. During practice for the second race of the season in on a circuit Senna was heavily critical of, his car hit a bump that caused a loss of downforce and hard crash into a concrete retaining wall.
He had to be extricated from the car by circuit doctors; although he raced the next day, albeit retiring from the race due to gearbox failure. Senna scored wins in, and that year. During qualifying for the, French driver crashed heavily and Senna was the first to arrive at the scene.
He exited his car and ran across the track to help the Frenchman, disregarding his own safety in an effort to aid a fellow driver. He later visited Comas in the hospital. His actions won universal praise from within Formula One and seemed to soften his hard-nosed image.
Senna finished fourth overall in the championship, behind the Williams duo of Mansell and, and Benetton's.Senna's relationship with Schumacher had deteriorated throughout. At the, Schumacher accused Senna of 'playing around' while attempting to overtake Senna, who had a problem with his engine. At the, Schumacher collided with Senna, resulting in Senna's retirement.
Senna later confronted Schumacher, who admitted responsibility for the accident. At a test session for the, Senna and Schumacher had a confrontation in the pits, with Senna grabbing Schumacher by the collar and accusing him of endangering him by blocking him on the track.Questions about Senna's intentions for the upcoming season lingered throughout 1992, as he did not have a contract with any team by the end of that year. Ferrari had offered him a contract which Senna discussed with, but decided to decline the offer. He felt the McLaren cars were becoming less competitive than in previous years, especially given Honda's decision to abandon the sport at the end of 1992 and McLaren's lack of active suspension relating to rival Williams.Given this scenario, Senna secured an testing session with the support of compatriot and driver,. In December 1992, in fact, Senna visited in, to test a 1992 racer. Unlike the more advanced F1 cars, this IndyCar was powered by a turbo - V8, had a traditional transmission with clutch pedal and iron brakes, and was markedly heavier due to its bigger physical size in comparison to a smaller Formula One car. To familiarise himself, Senna initially ran 14 relatively slow laps before completing a further 10 laps on the same tyres and setting a best time of 49.09 seconds.
By comparison, Fittipaldi had set a best time of 49.70 seconds, which he later improved to 48.5 seconds, only by using the new 1993 at his disposal during this test session. Senna won the in changing conditions, in what many considered one of the best drives of his career.For, attempts were made by McLaren boss to secure a supply of the dominant Renault V10 engines that had found great success with. When these failed, Senna went to Williams himself and sought to take one of their two open rides, as defending champion joined the for 1993 and longtime second driver left to drive at alongside Michael Schumacher. However, despite Senna going so far as to be willing to forfeit his salary just to drive one of Williams' Renaults, this too would fail.
Was returning to F1 for the first time since the penultimate race of the 1991 season (he had been fired by Ferrari prior to the end of 1991, received a massive severance package as part of a non-compete clause, and took leave for the 1992 season) and filled one of the vacant Williams seats. His contract included a caveat that he had veto power over who he would team with in the other car for 1993; since he still had ill will toward his former McLaren teammate, Prost used that veto to freeze out Senna and force him into what was now a lame duck season for the Brazilian at McLaren.
Faced with this, during a press conference at the season-opening test session at the on the, an infuriated Senna called Prost a coward, leading to some commentators stating that what Prost had done was no different from Senna vetoing Derek Warwick from joining Lotus in 1986, but they did not take into account that Senna's chances of winning the championship were much higher in 1993.By this time, McLaren was forced to take a customer supply of V8 engines, which were two specifications behind that of Ford's then factory team,. McLaren hoped to make up for the inferior horsepower with mechanical sophistication, including an effective active suspension system – though the system itself proved difficult at times, especially for new teammate. With this plan, Dennis finally persuaded Senna to stay with McLaren.
The Brazilian, however, agreed to do so only for the first race in, where he would assess whether McLaren's equipment was competitive enough for him to put in a good season. After driving McLaren's 1993 car, the, Senna concluded that the new car had a surprising potential, albeit with a Ford V8 engine down on power relative to Prost's Renault V10.
Senna thus extended his deal with McLaren on a race-by-race basis instead of a full-year contract, ending up staying for the whole of 1993 in any event. Reportedly, this engagement was on a $1 million per race basis and, despite midseason testing with a proved encouraging, with McLaren then signing an engine supply deal with for the season, it all proved insufficient to continue to retain Senna past 1993. Senna came from the back of the field to finish fourth at the at in his.In the opening race in South Africa, Senna finished in second place after surviving a collision with Schumacher. Senna won in changing conditions in.
The latter has often been regarded as one of Senna's greatest victories, in the process setting a record for the fastest lap in an F1 race driving through the then speed-unrestricted pit lane. He was fifth at the first corner and led the race at the end of the first lap going on to lap all but second place in a race where up to seven pit stops were required by some drivers for rain. Senna then scored a second-place finish in and a record-breaking sixth win at. After Monaco, the sixth race of the season, Senna unexpectedly led the championship from Prost in the Williams-Renault. As the season progressed, Alain Prost and asserted the superiority of their, while Senna suffered mechanical failures in,.
Senna won the penultimate race of the season in, which was marked by an incident involving rookie, twice unlapping himself against Senna. Immediately after the race, Senna attended at Jordan's garage and, said to the Irishman “You're driving like a.ing idiot!
You're not a racing driver, you're a.ing idiot!” before punching him in the face. Following that incident, the stewards gave to Senna a two races ban for 1994.
However, after a discussion between Senna and the president of the FIA, a compromise was reached by removing the ban, considering the exemplary attitude of Senna towards his fellow drivers. The decision created some polemic back in the day, both amongst drivers and in the press, considering that during all the 1993 season, Prost was under threat of a four-race ban for using words to criticize the president of the FIA, which means that punching a fellow driver in the face was not as bad as criticizing the FIA.The season concluded in, with Senna's 41st and last F1 career win, as well as the last win for an active-suspension F1 car (ironically, 1987 had the first victory for such cars also at the hands of Senna in Monaco). The win in Adelaide was an emotional one due to Senna ending his successful career with McLaren and defeating his biggest rival, Prost, for the last time. Because of the Frenchman's imminent retirement from the sport, Senna surprised the F1 community by openly welcoming Prost on the top step of the podium, which many considered a sign of pacification between the duo. Overall, Senna finished the championship second to Prost.
Williams (1994). One of Senna's NSXs on display at the.In the late 1980s, to take advantage of the close relationship Honda had formed with Senna, the Japanese company asked him to help fine-tune the 's suspension setting during its final development stages. Test runs were conducted at various circuits, including five sessions with prototypes at the Suzuka Circuit where chief NSX engineer and his team were present to gather Senna's direct input. A statue of Ayrton Senna at the Parco delle Acque Minerali by the Tamburello corner of the in.Many safety improvements were made in the sport following Senna's and Ratzenberger's deaths and Barrichello's crash. These include improved crash barriers, redesigned tracks, higher crash safety standards (such as larger sills along the driver cockpit) and major cuts to engine power.
The Tamburello corner and other parts of the Imola circuit were altered for 1995. This was despite calls for action in 1989, after a serious high-speed crash in which Senna's friend, Gerhard Berger, suffered burns to his hand. No action took place after that crash because, following an inspection by Senna and Berger, they ended up siding with officials who had, for years, claimed that the wall could not be moved further back due to a river nearby.
Revised on-track medical procedures also saw personnel hold up curtains at crash sites, to prevent the public from viewing distressing images as had occurred on live television with Senna.In July 1994, the dedicated their victory to Senna, and collectively held a banner on the field after defeating Italy in the final. Senna had met various members of the squad, including and, three months earlier in Paris, telling them 'this is our year'. Throughout the rest of the 1994 season, Senna was commemorated in various ways.
Damon Hill, along with Michael Schumacher, dedicated their individual success to Senna with Hill's victory in the Spanish Grand Prix and Schumacher's world-championship victory in the Australian Grand Prix.A few months before his death, Senna had discussed with his sister the foundation of a charitable organization, based on a desire to contribute to those less fortunate in a more organised and effective manner. After his death, Viviane Senna set up the in his honour, which has invested nearly US$80 million over the last 12 years in social programs and actions in partnership with schools, government, and the private sector, aimed at offering children and teenagers from low-income backgrounds the skills and opportunities they need to develop their full potential as persons, citizens, and future professionals. The foundation is officially advised by, Frank Williams, Alain Prost, and Gerhard Berger.
The ('Little Senna') cartoon character, born in 1993/94, was another means by which Senna extended his role-model status in favour of Brazilian children. Senna's helmet bearing the colours of the.In his karting days, Senna's helmet consisted of a plain white background with notable features absent. Bruno Senna's helmet design is an adaptation of his uncle's (seen here parading the 1985 Lotus 97T at the ).His nephew wore a modified version of his helmet design (a yellow helmet with a green and blue stripe) during his Formula One career, but the stripes are shaped after an S rather than being straight, under the chin area it has a green stripe, and it has a blue rounded rectangle in the top area. Bruno sported a modified helmet design for the final three races of the 2011 season to honour the 20th anniversary of Ayrton winning his last world championship.At the, Rubens Barrichello incorporated part of Senna's helmet design into his own. For the, another variant of Senna's helmet was used by Lewis Hamilton and by Barrichello too. Hamilton used the design with permission from Senna's sister Viviane and the helmet was later sold in support of the IAS. At the, Hamilton again varied his helmet design (this time, the rear only given FIA restrictions on design changes in force from 2015) accompanied with a announcement stating 'Just for you, Brazil!!
A tribute to the greatest'.Outside of motor racing, Brazilian cyclist wore a helmet based on Senna's helmet colour scheme of yellow with green and blue stripes on stage 11 of the, which finished on the Imola circuit.
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