Ayrton Senna's Family Were Not of Any Racing Lineage

What leads a child to the destiny he will pursue into manhood?

Opportunity? Chance? Hereditary? Predisposition? Environment?

Ayrton Senna's family were not of any racing lineage. Not that it matters. Great musicians are not guaranteed to sire great musicians, politicians sire politicians playing a different music, and so it goes.

Senna's father Milton was a successful businessman and his mother a sucessful housewife. That excludes heredity. Milton gave his son a kart at the age of four as something to play on. that provides opportunity and chance. He might equally have insisted on violin lessons. Milton had a farm and a house in Sao Paulo on a hill. As it would seem, he'd never been to a racing circuit. That excludes environment.

We're left with predisposition building on opportunity. Most young men like speed and danger. Senna was able to express that and, because he enjoyed motor racing so much, his father's money enabled him to progress in it.

From the beginning he was utterly serious about karting, so serious that eventually he flew to Milan to run with the famous DAP team in the World Championships. From 1978 to 1982 he tried unsucessfully to win it. By 1981 he had made a further decision: he would compete a season in single-seater racing in England. What happened the is not clear. His father had paid for the season and young Senna said if he couldn't find sponsorship he wouldn't come back for 1982. As the eldest son he must surely have been expected to join the family business. He did come back and from then on the Rushen Green team and already had a clear aim of reaching Formula 1 — he moved to the threshold of that in 1983 with the West Surrey team in Formula 3.

SOURCE

HILTON, Christopher. Memories of Senna: Anecdotes and insights from those Who knew him.  Sparkford: Haynes Publishing, 2011.