The Life of Senna

by Rubython, Tom

  128. Ayrton Senna enjoyed himself with Adriane Galisteu at his two homes in Brazil: Angra, on the beach, and Tatui.

  129. The family cattle farm at Dois Lagos.

  130. His first serious girlfriend after his marriage fell apart was Marjorie Andrade, who accompanied him during some of the Lotus years.

  131. The Brazilian student was studying in Belgium. They met shortly after his marriage to Liliane ended.

  132. Senna laughs with his last love Adriane Galisteu outside the McLaren motorhome during the 1993 season. Adriane was an important presence throughout the last year of Senna’s life and accompanied him to many races around the world.

  133. Senna with Adriane in Adelaide for the Australian Grand Prix in 1993. It was a very happy time for him, with Adriane and a Williams Renault contract in his pocket.

  134. Adriane was a model, from an underprivileged background very different from Senna’s own.

  135. Senna and Adriane at an official photo shoot beside the pool at his Brazilian ranch in Tatui. They also had a beach home at Angra dos Reis.

  136. Senna had a passion for flying his helicopter and Adriane Galisteu would often accompany him on flights.

  137. Senna and Adriane at the traditional Philip Morris Marlboro party in Budapest in 1993.

  138. Ayrton Senna with his last love Adriane Galisteu, at sunset on the farm called Tatui. It was one of their favourite places. Friends were convinced they would have married after the european season in 1994.

  139. Senna checks times at Imola. Driving the new Williams, he realised he was in for a more difficult season than he had thought.

  140. Ayrton Senna is besieged by the press at the first Grand Prix of the year.

  141. Senna opted to take the number-two designation at his new team, whilst Damon Hill’s car was numbered zero, as it had been the previous season. Alain Prost had retired. Senna takes his 65th and final pole position at Imola in 1994.

  142. An instant rapport was built up between Frank Willlams and Ayrton Senna. It was as if two destinies had collided by design.

  143. Ayrton Senna and Patrick Head immediately knew there was a problem with the new Williams Renault.

  144. Ayrton Senna and Damon Hill launch the Rothmans Williams Renault package at Estoril in January 1994.

  145. Senna and Frank Williams at a press luncheon in Estoril, prior to Senna’s first outing on the track as a Williams Renault driver in January 1994. It was the second occasion that Senna had driven a Williams, following his first-ever Formula One test in 1983.

  146. Ayrton Senna explains the working of a Formula One steering wheel to the Mayor of São Paulo and his family and guests, during the 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.

  147. Ayrton Senna inherited race engineer David Brown from Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost, who had both won world championships with him. Senna found Brown as delightful as both Mansell and Prost had. The relationship was destined to be all too short-lived.

  148. Senna made it look all too easy and few knew just how bad the car was. Damon Hill, his teammate, did. He was not on the pace at all.

  149. Ayrton Senna takes the lead at the start in Brazil, negotiating the esses that bear his name.

  150. Senna was so quick at Interlagos, in the 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix, that he lapped his team-mate Damon Hill. The Brazilian, however, tried to pursue race leader Michael Schumacher more quickly than his car would allow, and he spun out of the race in the closing stages.

  151. Senna gets out of his car on the grid at the start of the Pacific Grand Prix in Aida.

  152. Senna is tipped into a spin by Mika Häkkinen’s McLaren at the start in Aida and is promptly t-boned by Nicola Larini’s Ferrari.

  153. Senna walks away from the Aida first-corner accident, pursued by an apologetic Larini.

  154. Rubens Barrichello suffers an impact at the Variante Bassa on the Friday of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. His car flipped over before coming to rest. He was extremely lucky to survive an accident which appeared far worse than Senna’s fatal smash two days later.

  155. Senna with Barrichello before the accident. Next time they met, he was lying on a hospital trolley.

  156. Also with Schumacher after Ratzenberger’s accident.

  157. With Gerhard Berger.

  158. Rubens Barrichello is taken off to hospital. Luckily nothing serious was wrong with him. But he was detained overnight for observation before returning to the track on Saturday morning prior to flying home.

  159. Roland Ratzenberger suffered a fatal crash during qualifying on Saturday 30th April 1994 at Imola.

  160. The famous picture of Ayrton Senna contemplating life in the Williams garage before the race. He had under 30 minutes to live. He managed less than seven laps of the race before he was gone.

  161. In the highly-charged aftermath of the accident, Leonardo Senna, Ayrtons younger brother, blamed everyone for his death.

  162. Alain Prost was with Frank Williams in the Williams pit garage when the accident happened.

  163. Senna leads the field behind the safety car at Imola, an episode which some people believe may have been a factor in causing his crash.

  164. A faulty steering system has also been cited as a cause of Senna’s crash. This was unlikely.

  165. Senna’s car rebounds violently from the wall at Tamburello. It was an exceptionally violent impact, bringing the car to a quick stop in a small piece of ground. The accident was so violent that the carbon-fibre chassis split. The in-car camera cut out before impact.

  166. Senna is attended by the medical team beside the car.

  167. The final seconds – Senna enters Tamburello for the last time.

  168. The shattered remains of the cockpit of Senna’s Williams Renault FW16 and the helmet, which took the force of the impact.

  169. Senna’s steering wheel with the remains of the steering column attached.

  170. At 2:17pm, the remains of Senna’s wrecked Williams lie in the Tamburello run-off area after the race is called to a halt. The steering wheel is hanging loosely over the right side of the car and the monocoque is fractured in the region of the dash bulkhead. The non-structural cockpit cowling has been removed to allow Senna to be lifted from the car.

  171. Flavio Briatore, Mika Häkkinen and Michael Schumacher prepare to go on the podium, uncertain of the extent of Senna’s injuries but having heard the rumours.

  172. Marshals remove the destroyed Williams Renault from the scene of the accident. It would later be impounded by the Italian authorities to be used as evidence in the manslaughter trial, after Senna’s death was announced.

  173. Damon and Georgie Hill talk with Bernie Ecclestone in the Imola paddock. Initial reports of Senna’s condition were conflicting and most of the drivers did not realise how serious the accident had been until the end of the race.

  174. Monday 2nd May 1994. Flowers and a Brazilian flag are left at the spot where Senna’s car hit the wall at Tamburello.

  175. All over the world, magazines cleared their pages to report the tragedy. The world’s most famous magazine, Paris Match, put the tragedy on its cover.

  176. Ayrton Senna’s fans weep outside the Imola circuit on the morning of Monday 2nd May 1994.

  177. The funeral was the most extraordinary affair, with São Paulo virtually at a standstill for the day. It was attented by drivers past and present, including his old foe Alain Prost.

  178. Ayrton Senna’s final resting place.

  179. The death of Ayrton Senna affected the world of Formula One more than any other event in its history. Bernie Ecclestone, president of the FOM, Max Mosley, president of the FIA, and Professor Sid Watkins, the FIA’s medical supremo, moved quickly to change the can and circuits to make Formula One safer. Since then, no driver has been killed or even seriously injured in a Formula One car, as it becomes one of the safest sports in the world despite the obvious dangers of competing.

  180. A minute of silence on the Monaco grid two weeks later. From left: Mika Häkkine
n, Bertrand Gachot, Andrea de Cesaris, Martin Brundle, Mark Blundell, Michael Schumacher, Johnny Herbert, JJ Lehto, Christian Fittipaldi, Rubens Barrichello, Gianni Morbidelli, Olivier Beretta, Pierluigi Martini, Olivier Panis (behind Martini), Eric Comas, Eric Bernard, Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger, Niki Lauda.

  181. Inside the Third Appeal Court of Bologna during the appeal trial over Senna’s death, in November 1999. The prosecutor calls on the court to confirm the original requested sentences, which the judge had ignored.

  182. Peter Goodman, Williams’s British lawyer, who co-ordinated the team’s defence at the Senna trial in Italy, after Senna’s death.

  183. Adrian Newey, Patrick Head and Frank Williams were accused of culpable homicide – manslaughter – in the Italian courts following the events at Imola in 1994. Convictions were never a prospect, but the affair cost the Williams team some $4 million in legal fees.

  184. The work that Ayrton Senna started with his comic character ‘Senninha’, to bring hope to the poor children of São Paulo, continues through the Ayrton Senna Foundation.

  185. Ayrton Senna wears a T-shirt showing ‘Senninha’, little Senna, a cartoon hero who delights the children of Brazil. He spent $5 million developing the character and sent a free copy of his new comic to every schoolchild in São Paulo.

  186. Viviane at the São Paulo office from which she runs the Senna Foundation. The charity carries out a lot of work among the poor children of São Paulo.

  187. Viviane Senna visits the 1999 Brazilian GP with Gerald de Bar, manager of the Paddock Club.

  188. Frank Williams attending the unveiling of the Ayrton Senna monument at Imola.

  The earliest published photograph

  1. Ayrton Senna da Silva, the second child but eldest son of Milton da Silva and Neyde Senna. He was never meant to race cars but to run the family car-components business and cattle ranches. Eventually his father reluctantly agreed to fund his early race-car career. His son paid him back many times over.

  The young Ayrton da Silva in São Paulo

  2. Waiting to race in 1979. By then he was winning everything in the Inter category.

  3. The oldest photo of Senna, when he first developed an interest in cars. He even pedalled faster than other children.

  4. A grainy old school photo from the Colegio Rio Branco archive.

  5. 13-year-old Ayrton with his father Milton at a karting event.

  Karting: 1974 to 1982

  6. Ayrton, aged three, makes his first foray into motor racing in a home-made go-kart fitted with a secondhand lawn-mower engine.

  7. Senna drives the DAP kart with which he enjoyed great success in 1979, although the karting world championship forever eluded him.

  8. Lucio Gascon, known as Tché, was Ayrton’s karting mentor, and guided his career.

  Ayrton debuts in the Formula Ford 1600 category in 1981

  9. The young 21-year-old Ayrton Senna da Silva arrived in Britain with his young wife. In his yellow-and-black Van Diemen RF81 he won most of the races and both the RAC and Townsend Thoresen championships. In a typical scrap he leads Mexican driver Alfonso Toledano in an early round at Mallory Park.

  10. Ralph Firman, Van Diemen’s founder, provided cars for his first two seasons of car racing. Ralph Firman was Senna’s team boss and mentor throughout his first year of car racing.

  11. Liliane Vasconcelos Souza became Mrs Liliane da Silva in 1981. The marriage lasted just a year.

  12. Ayrton waits to race with his loyal mechanic Malcolm Pullen. Liliane watches. She was bored all year.

  13. Ayrton with his mother Neyde and brother Leonardo Senna

  Ayrton’s first car victory ever

  14. He celebrates his first victory with Van Diemen team-mate Alfonso Toledano on 15th March 1981. It was the first of 13 wins in 1981.

  15. He waits on the wet Brands Hatch grid before the start of the first race he won.

  Formula Ford 2000 in 1982 with the Rushen Green Racing team

  16. Ayrton Senna takes his Van Diemen round Devil’s Elbow at Mallory Park.

  17. On this occasion, on 3rd May, he could only make second on the grid but still sprinted off to win the race. It was the story of the season and no one could get close to him as he dominated the series.

  A season of great success in Ford 2000 in 1982

  18. Ayrton Senna da Silva’s mentor in 1982 was Dennis Rushen, team principal of Rushen Green Racing. He charged the young Brazilian £30,000 for a season’s racing in what was effectively the works Van Diemen team. Rushen and Senna remained close friends until the end of the driver’s life. The season was a wrap-up for both the team and the young driver.

  A Brazilian also conquers Europe in 1982

  19. At the Jyllandsring in Denmark, Ayrton Senna wrapped up the 1982 Formula Ford 2000 Euroseries title driving the Van Diemen RF81 for Rushen Green. Team owner Robin Green (left) and Dennis Rushen celebrate with Senna.

  20. Keith Sutton and Ayrton Senna afterwards.

  Race, pole position and championship victory on 22nd August 1982 in Denmark

  21. Ayrton Senna took the race and the trophy on that memorable weekend. He had dominated almost every round featuring the best Europe had to offer.

  19th June 1983, 21 years ago

  22. Ayrton Senna had a memorable 19th June in 1983 at Cadwell Park when he totalled his Ralt Toyota against the banking and came to rest in the straw bales. Senna was going for pole position but ended up having to sit out the race.

  23. The story of the season, as Senna leads Martin Brundle into Copse Corner at the 1983 British Formula Three Grand Prix support race. But Brundle kept coming second and then got his hands on a more powerful engine.

  Dick Bennetts of West Surrey Racing, friend and mentor, in 1983

  24. Despite blandishments from Eddie Jordan and the offer of funding from Ron Dennis’s McLaren team and Alex Hawkridge from Toleman, Senna chose Dick Bennetts and did his own thing, as he said: : “I decided he was the best team and he was the best guy to be with. I was right in my choice.”

  Winning the prestigious Macao Grand Prix at the end of 1983

  25. Still driving for Dick Bennetts, Senna was entered in Macao by Teddy Yip’s Theodore team in Marlboro colours. As usual he won convincingly, against the best F3 drivers in the world.

  A summer of two halves

  26. Martin Brundle reversed Senna’s run of success in the summer of 1983 after a series of accidents for the young Brazilian. This one was on 12th June at Silverstone.

  The Brazilian connection

  27. Leonardo da Silva was a frequent visitor to the pit garage of West Surrey Racing in 1983. He listens in on a debrief between his brother and Dick Bennetts.

  Senna and Brundle

  28. Senna and Martin Brundle, who was racing with Eddie Jordan’s F3 team, were in a class of their own in the 1983 British Formula Three championship. Jordan wangled Brundle a faster works Novamotor engine. Then Senna found out.

  On top of his chief rival at Oulton Park

  29. Ayrton Senna ended up on top of Martin Brundle’s car and neither driver finished the race.

  Martin Brundle in 1983

  30. Senna and Brundle were first and second.

  Golden memories for Dick Bennetts

  31. Dick Bennetts today with the 1983 Formula Three Macao Grand Prix trophy.

  It was arguably the best season of Formula Three ever in 1983

  32. Senna beats Brundle and Allan Berg to the top step of the podium at the Silverstone Prestige Formula Three race. Brundle and Senna occupied the podium for the vast majority of the year.

  Tuesday 19th July 1983, Senna’s first test in an F1 car

  33. Senna tests a Formula One car for the first time.

  34. Senna examines the Williams FW08C FordV8

  35. Frank Williams makes detailed notes of Senna’s handling analysis. Surprisingly Williams made little attempt to sign him up to a drive. It was a mistake.

  Four F1 tests at the end of 1983

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p; 36. Senna impressed when he first drove the Williams at Donington in July 1983, and then tried the Toleman TG183 Hart at Silverstone in autumn 1983. Finally he had a go in the McLaren, then the Brabham at Paul Ricard in France. He slipped through the top teams’ fingers.

  37. Bernie Ecclestone and Gordon Murray oversee the secret test in a Brabham BMW at the Paul Ricard circuit in 1983.

  38. Senna discusses the Williams turbo FW08C with then chief mechanic Alan Challis.

  39. Senna wheels out the McLaren Ford MP4/1 at Silverstone in October 1983, watched by an anxious Martin Brundle, his F3 rival that year.

  The first year in Formula One with Toleman

  40. Ayrton Senna’s Toleman TG184 Hart heads Elio de Angelis’s Lotus Renault at the wet 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. He very nearly won the race in the wet conditions and was incensed when race director Jacky Ickx brought the race to a premature close, and handed the win to Alain Prost.

  41. Senna fights for position with Derek Warwick’s Renault at the 1984 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, leading a host of illustrious cars and drivers.