Ayrton Senna was born Ayrton Senna da Silva on March 21, 1960 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He began his racing career at an early age when he appropriated the go kart that had been given to his older sister Viviane. In 1973, at the age of thirteen, he started entering karting competitions and was just seventeen years old when he won the South American Kart championship; He continued in kart racing until 1981 when he relocated to England to race single seaters. At that time he dropped the da Silva and took his mother s name of Senna.
In 1982 he won both the British and European Formula Ford 2000.
His record attracted the attention of four Formula 1 Teams and he tested for all four but received only one offer and that was from the Toleman team. Senna scored his first point at the South African Grand Prix, his second race. He scored again at the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks later but because of mechanical problems, was unable to qualify for the San Marino Grand Prix. Later he entered to Monaco Grand Prix but just as he was closing in on the leader the race was stopped due to heavy rainfall.
Senna took his first pole position in Formula 1 in 1985, winning the Portuguese Grand Prix however he had difficulty getting along with his partner De Angelis. He had also started to earn the criticism of other drivers for some of his strategies on the track. In 1986 he won the Spanish Grand Prix, barely edging out Nigel Mansell. In 1987 while attempting to win the Spa Francorchamps Senna collided with Mansell who confronted him after the race, criticizing Senna s strategies on the track.
Senna moved to McLaren in 1988 where he ran afoul of Alain Prost who was at that time double world champion. Here began the intense rivalry that would spark a series of track incidents in the days to come. By 1989 the two drivers were battling on the track and conducting psychological warfare off of it. In 1990 Senna had a collision with Prost as a result of a controversy over the pole position. Senna blamed the race officials but Prost blamed Senna.
By 1993, Senna did not have a contract with any team and was driving on a race by race basis. However, in 1994 he agreed to drive for the Williams Renault team that was also Prost s team. Prost retired from racing at that time rather than be a teammate of Senna.
In the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Senna was leading the pack when on Lap 7; his car skidded off the track and hit a concrete barrier. Senna was killed. There was considerable controversy surrounding the accident and his subsequent death. Both had a profound impact on Formula One as many safety measures were then implemented and no driver has died in his car since that time.
He was buried in Brazil and his home country turned out in droves for his funeral to mourn the legendary driver who had won three Formula One championships.
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