Family Senna regarded Adriane Galisteu as little better than a peasant girl, and not good enough for their son Ayrton Senna, the hero of Brazil

Senna loved the girl 

On Saturday afternoon his girlfriend, Adriane Galisteu, a 21-year-old model, was arriving to join him for the whole of the European summer. It had been a month since she had seen him off at the airport in São Paulo, when he left to start his challenge for the 1994 world championship. They had been together for 14 months and she was everything he liked in a woman, good-looking but ethereal rather than beautiful, blonde, small-breasted and long legged but not too tall and with no attitude. In fact her naiveness was refreshing and their sex life was stimulating and compatible. She was also intelligent in an unobvious way, with a perception of things that weren’t always clear. She understood the things that mattered. He was really looking forward to Sunday evening, when he would return from Italy and they would be reunited.

He packed a small overnight bag himself for the three nights he was going to spend in a hotel in San Pietro near Bologna, whilst competing in the San Marino Grand Prix. There were no formal dinners or commitments that weekend, so his clothing needs were minimal. As he packed he remarked to Juraci that life couldn’t get any better than it was that bright sunny morning in the Algarve. But he was always saying that to the people around him, reminding them all, and not least himself, how lucky they all were to be sharing the life Formula One had given him.

But there was a small irritation in his life that glorious morning. His brother, Leonardo, was staying until Sunday and would be coming with him to Imola. Leonardo was on a mission from his family to try and persuade him to give up Adriane. For all sorts of reasons the family, with the exception of his mother Neyde, who loved what he loved, detested Adriane. They regarded her as little better than a peasant girl, and not good enough for their son, the hero of Brazil. 

They regarded her as little better than a peasant girl, and not good enough for their son, the hero of Brazil. 

The truth was that it was none of their business, and Senna loved the girl and would probably ask her to marry him when this summer was over. But this family was tight, very tight, and usually everything was everyone’s business within a circle of six people – Milton his father, his mother, his sister Viviane, his brother and his sister’s husband. Adriane’s arrival marked the start of a long period living together when he would not return to Brazil for six months, something he had never done before. This decision had precipitated a family feud, and Leonardo had been dispatched to try and change Ayrton’s mind. Over that week, it had led to some rare harsh words between Senna and Leonardo. But Senna would not be moved. He was staying put for the summer, even if it meant seeing far less of them, especially Leonardo, as he knew his brother would not return to Portugal whilst Adriane was around.

Senna spent his time between two tight groups: his family, with whom he congregated in Brazil; and his private circle of friends, which was just as tight as his family group, and with whom he spent time in Europe. Adriane was part of this group which consisted of around a dozen people headed by Antonio Braga, a wealthy Brazilian who also divided his time between Brazil and Portugal. The second group had embraced Adriane, unlike his family, and many would hang around with him at races. He liked having them around. The upcoming race at Imola would be no different.

SOURCE

RUBYTHON, Tom. The Life of Senna. 1º Edição Sofback. London: BusinessF1 Books, 2006.