Ayrton Senna - the bravest F1 driver of all time

Some people consider him one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time and he was fabulous in his era. But what made Ayrton Senna so iconic? And what are his secrets?

Ayrton Senna da Silva was born in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo on the 21st of March in 1960 to a wealthy family of a landowner and factory owner Milton Guirado da Silva, besides being a top student in his childhood, he was also a karting driver with a unique racing style. However, the development of young drivers wasn't as progressive as today, so after successfully passing all lower categories and doing a testing of an F1 monopoly in 1983, he finally joined the pinnacle of motorsport in 1984.

Instead of a chronological description of his F1 career, I am going to remark on the most important moments or important fun facts. However, the most important aspect of his career was his rivalry with melancholic French Alain Prost - who was right the opposite of Senna. Prost was one of the most consistent drivers of all time in F1 and even though he didn't look like a killer, he conquered the championship four times in his career. Senna either won the race or did not finish it. Nonetheless, even with this trait, he was a madman in wet conditions and he also won the Monaco GP - which is driven on a very tight circuit without a possibility of making a mistake - six times, which is considered a record today.

Besides that, he also won 3 World Drivers championship titles, nevertheless, he could have more overall triumphs. As I said before, without Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna could be the greatest driver of the pinnacle of motorsport of all time. And even with the new points system introduced in 2010, which awards points to the top 10 drivers instead of 6 or 8, Senna would have easily equaled Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher in several World Championship titles. Instead, we have an intense battle between the Brazillian and the Frenchman. The rivalry itself could be enough for another article, so in short - there were a lot of skirmishes among these two. Incomprehensibly, even as teammates in the McLaren F1 Team, they collided in the last race of the season (Japanese Grand Prix) after Senna's lock-up in one of the last turns. Even though Prost won the World Championship, he reluctantly left McLaren and joined Ferrari after the season. Nonetheless, they met each other again in the next season on the same track. This time, Senna didn't back off in the first turn of the first lap and they crashed there thanks to Prost who "closed the door" justly. However, this time it was Senna who won the World Championship.

Even though Senna was a tough competitor, because he even had a small conflict with Michael Schumacher in his rookie season, he was also a brave human and a great friend. Till today, his act from the Belgian GP 1992 is considered one of the biggest sportsmanship moments in Formula 1 history. Senna was coming out of the corner when he suddenly saw Ligier of Eric Comas devastated in the middle of the track. He crashed heavily before and his leg was still revving the engine because Comas was unconscious. Risking his life and the explosion that could come anytime, Senna pulled Comas' leg out of the throttle and turned off his engine. I admire him personally for this good deed.

Sadly, Ayrton Senna ain't been among us anymore for more than 30 years. On free practice at the San Marino GP in 1994, Rubens Barichello almost died after a massive impact and on Saturday, Austrian Roland Ratzenberger died in the qualifying. Before the race, Senna went to stewards to warn them seriously about the safety on the track, however, they acted carelessly. After a little discussion with Alain Prost, who retired a year earlier, he got into his car with the hidden Austrian flag (he wanted to pay tribute to Ratzenberger after a possible win - he started on a pole position). On lap 7 of the Grand Prix, Senna was heading towards the Tamburelo corner, and for unknown reasons, he crashed into the wall with a velocity of 206 km/h. He died immediately.

After his death, FIA made safety measures to prevent similar unnecessary accidents in Formula 1. Other Formula 1 drivers respect Ayrton massively till today. Michael Schumacher didn't celebrate his win at the San Marino GP and even after he outscored Senna in several Formula 1 victories, respectively a reminder from a journalist about that fact, he dissolved into tears at the press conference. Or, when Hamilton passed Senna in all-time race wins, he got his original helmet thanks to Senna's family and Hamilton's love for Brazil. He was positively shocked and so grateful for the artifact. Today, Senna is a national symbol of Brazil, his institute helps Brazilian children gain an appropriate education, and last but not least he has a statue in Imola near the Tamburelo chicane.

Jakub Ondruš

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayrton_Senna</p>

https://www.formuleshop.cz/clanky-2/ayrton-senna-da-silva-legenda-f1/<br>

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