F1
Ayrton Senna at McLaren
The great Brazilian spent six seasons with the Woking team, winning 35 Grands Prix and three world titles. Twenty years on from Senna’s passing, McLaren boss Ron Dennis reflects on…
Senna: 60 years
Celebrating Brazil's F1 champion, who would have been 60 this year
Getty Images
Born on 21 March 1960, Ayrton Senna would be celebrating his 60th birthday this year. His status as one of the sport’s greats remains undimmed, more than 25 years after the Brazilian’s tragic death at Imola.
To commemorate this anniversary, we have collated some of the best and most insightful articles from our Archive, from writers including Nigel Roebuck, Mark Hughes, Simon Arron and Paul Fearnley, giving a comprehensive view of Ayrton Senna the man and the racer.
What else is there to say about the three-time Formula 1 champion? We’ve taken a new look at some of Senna’s less celebrated — but brilliant — drives, as well as a retrospective look at the race that confirmed his status as a future champion: the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix
Senna’s status undimmed
Weaving between the barriers at Monaco; walking on water at Donington; and an emotional home victory in São Paulo: each moment was one of supremacy, writes Jake Williams-Smith
“Ayrton Senna was the most complex character I ever encountered in the sport.”
From the Motor Sport Archive, Nigel Roebuck looks back at the career of a “special force in motor racing”.
Ayrton Senna: the forgotten great drives
Senna’s great drives trip off the tongue. Monaco ’84; Portugal ’85; Donington ’93. But easily lost amid the accolades are a string of remarkable performances, writes Graham Keilloh
Ayrton Senna by Alain Prost
He was so different, you know, so completely different from any other racing driver – any other person – I’ve ever known…”: Nigel Roebuck’s 1998 interview with Alain Prost, on Senna.
With Toleman in F1, ahead of the 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix
Grand Prix Photo
On the grid ahead of the 1990 British Grand Prix
Grand Prix Photo
Senna at Monaco
Motor racing was spiritual for Ayrton Senna and Monaco was his cathedral, writes Paul Fearnley. The most glamorous race provided the perfect shop window for Senna to display his gifts, be they God-given or otherwise.
1984 Monaco Grand Prix: the arrival of Senna
Ayrton Senna had already made an impression in the paddock, but it was on F1’s brightest stage, the Monaco Grand Prix, where he announced himself to the world. writes James Elson
Light at the end of the tunnel
Ayrton Senna won the Monaco Grand Prix a record six times, but his connection with the event went far deeper than mere results, writes Mark Hughes in this article from our Archive
Snapshots of Senna
Only a small number of journalists were allowed into Ayrton Senna’s world. Mike Doodson, one of the favoured few recalls his early friendship – and final falling out – with the great Brazilian.
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F1
Watch Senna's legendary Donington F1 lap
Relive possibly the finest lap in all of motor sport, as McLaren looks back to Ayrton Senna's famous 1993 opening tour at Donington "The image is clear in my mind's eye,"…
F1
Watch Senna's greatest lap dissected
There are of course a few drivers in history who in their heyday routinely bagged Formula 1 poles and wins. There also is by now a motley crew of those…
F1
Alesi vs Senna: the battle for victory in Phoenix
A new season opens with complaints that Formula 1 is less competitive, exciting and dramatic than in its golden years. The sentiment 30 years ago was much the same. Entering the…
F1
Estoril and memories of Senna
Welcoming you to Estoril circuit is a large stone sculpture overlooking a small memorial to Ayrton Senna. Flowers are laid there weekly by passers-by – perhaps competitors, perhaps spectators who once…
Opinion
F1
Senna and Hamilton: making sense of the comparisons
In Austin Lewis Hamilton duly clinched his third world championship, and there’s no reason why anyone should be surprised. Whatever the era in grand prix racing, enthusiasts have always argued…
Senna’s dirty weekend
From the Motor Sport Archive: It’s the kind of thing a team would now suppress – an F1 star sneaking a go at rallying. But such things were possible in 1986, even when the driver was Ayrton Senna, writes Steve Bennett
Estoril 1985, Senna’s first win
A dominant drive in the rain that brought an emotional first victory: Nigel Roebuck recounts Ayrton Senna’s first win at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix.
