The
biography of Ayrton Senna
Ayrton
Senna was in many people’s opinion the most brilliant Formula One driver who
ever raced. His death on Sunday 1st May 1994 was as shocking as it was public.
Over 200 million people watched him perish on television, and the knowing
realised he was dead as soon as his car came to rest. In this first full
account of the life of Ayrton Senna, the author and his collaborators examine
each detail of the driving maestro’s life – from his earliest days to his first
race, his pole positions and his world championships, and finally his death and
its aftermath. It is a story that has never been fully or properly told, and it
is a story that needed to be told.
________________________________________________
also by Tom
Rubython –in hardback Life of O’Reilly
– the biography of Tony O’Reilly
and in
hardback and paperback The Rich 500
– the 500 richest people in Britain
also by
Keith Sutton in hardback Nigel Mansell
– The Complete Pictorial Record
and in
hardback Ayrton Senna – A personal tribute
and in
hardback Everlasting Hero – Ayrton Senna
and in
hardback F1 through the eyes of Damon Hill
The Life of
Senna is published by:
BusinessF1 Books
A biography
of Ayrton Senna written by Tom Rubython and
photographed by Keith Sutton.
Apart from
any fair dealing for the purposes of private study or criticism or review, as
permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988, this publication
may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
with the prior permission in writing of the Publisher, or in the case of
reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency. Nor may this book be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise
disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other than that in
which it is published without prior consent of the Publisher. Enquiries outside
these terms should be sent to the Publisher at the address below.
Proof
Edition first published on 1st January 2004
Hardback First Edition published on 1st May
2004
This Softback edition published on 14th
October 2006
British
Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from
the British Library.
ISBN 0-9546857-0-9
Epub ISBN 978-0-95698-934-5
Kindle ISBN 978-0-95698-935-2
Copyright © 2006 Tom Rubython and Keith Sutton
First edition in softback
The text of this book is set in Bembo 11/14
Printed and
bound in England by Butler and Tanner, Somerset
Additional Research by Caroline Reid and Ania
Grzesik
Copy-editing by Paul Jones and Shelley White
Book design by Jo Maxwell
BusinessF1
Books
a division
of BusinessF1 Magazine Limited
Contents
Acknowledgements
Tom
Rubython
FOREWORD:
My Friend and Team-mate
Gerhard
Berger
PROLOGUE:
Memories of Ayrton
Keith
Sutton
PREFACE: A
Chance of Fate
Tom
Rubython
CHAPTER 1:
Life: 2:17pm Sunday 1st May 1994
Thursday
7am to Sunday 2.17pm
CHAPTER 2:
1960-1980: Early Life
Against all
the odds
CHAPTER 3:
The First Year in England
An
overnight success in Formula Ford
CHAPTER 4:
Return of the Prodigal Son
Indecision
as the best-laid plans go wrong
CHAPTER 5:
The Decisive Year
Formula
Three on Ayrton Senna’s terms
CHAPTER 6:
Senna vs. Brundle
When
careers collided and divided
CHAPTER 7:
A Day of Dreams
Senna’s
first test in a Formula One car
CHAPTER 8:
1984: The Toleman Year
The rookie
learns the ropes
CHAPTER 9:
Race of the Champions
The day
Senna scalped the greats
CHAPTER 10:
1985: Lotus and the first win
The search
for perfection
CHAPTER 11:
1986: Champion Potential
So near and
yet so far with Lotus
CHAPTER 12:
1987: The start of the Honda Years
Giving up
on Lotus
CHAPTER 13:
1988: The Golden Car
Instant
glory and personal happiness
CHAPTER 14:
1989: Losing the Battle
Winning
Xuxa but not the Championship
CHAPTER 15:
1990: Senna vs. Prost
The
Confrontation Year
CHAPTER 16:
Afternoon of a Hero
Witnessing
tragedy for the first time
CHAPTER 17:
The Feud with Prost
Six years
of continual conflict
CHAPTER 18:
1991: Title by Default
A World
Championship to forget
CHAPTER 19:
1992: Sensational in Monte Carlo
But little
other glory
CHAPTER 20:
The James Bond Years
Three
golden seasons with Gerhard
CHAPTER 21:
1993: The Split
A year of
pleasure and complication
CHAPTER 22:
The Best Lap Ever Driven
Senna’s
finest two minutes
CHAPTER 23:
The Secret IndyCar Test
Senna
Sizzles in the desert
CHAPTER 24:
Senna’s Polar Passion
A colossus
in qualifying
CHAPTER 25:
Senna’s Quest to Win
The
groundwork of victory
CHAPTER 26:
The Last Love Story
So close to
happiness
CHAPTER 27:
The Invincible Philosopher
The
bodywork was his second skin
CHAPTER 28:
Fear, Death, God and Racing
One man’s
beliefs and motivations
CHAPTER 29:
1994: The Williams Year
A brief
shining moment
CHAPTER 30:
Death: 2:18pm, Sunday 1st May 1994
The final
accounting
CHAPTER 31:
Anatomy of an Accident
The
ingredients of tragedy
CHAPTER 32:
Funeral in São Paulo
The long
goodbye
CHAPTER 33:
The Trial
The worst
country to die in a race car
CHAPTER 34:
The Aftermath for Brazil
The
consequences of Sunday 1st May 1994
CHAPTER 35:
Senna’s Legacy to the Drivers
More
consequences of Sunday 1st May 1994
CHAPTER 36:
The Consequences for F1
How Senna’s
death changed the sport
Appendices
APPENDIX I:
1974-1982 Karting
APPENDIX
II: 1981 Formula Ford 1600
APPENDIX III: 1982 Formula Ford 2000
APPENDIX
IV: 1982 Formula Three
APPENDIX V:
1984-1994 Formula One
APPENDIX
VI: 1982-1984 Other Races
APPENDIX
VII: Championship Tables
APPENDIX
VIII: 1985-1993 Formula One wins by season
APPENDIX IX:
1985-1993 41 Formula One wins
APPENDIX X:
1985-1994 Formula One pole positions by season
APPENDIX
XI: 1985-1994 65 Formula One pole positions
APPENDIX
XII: 1984-1994 Formula One career statistics
APPENDIX
XIII: Top 20 pole scorers of all time
APPENDIX XIV:
Top 20 race winners of all time
APPENDIX
XV: Top 20 point scorers of all time
APPENDIX
XVI: Top 20 races led of all time
APPENDIX
XVII: Senna’s Formula One Cars
Lide of
Senna: Bibliography
Índex
“If I ever
happen to have an accident that eventually costs me my life, I hope it is in
one go. I would not like to be in a wheelchair. I would not like to be in a
hospital suffering from whatever injury it was. If I am going to live, I want
to live fully. Very intensely, because I am an intense person. It would ruin my
life if I had to live partially.”
Ayrton Senna
Estoril, Portugal
January, 1994
Acknowledgements
Many individuals in London , Australia , Portugal
and Brazil London , São
Paulo and Lisbon
Insiders will know that The Life of Senna was planned as a book of some
400 pages and ended up being 600 pages, after we uncovered new material and
spoke to more and more people. We felt obliged to include everything relevant
about his life. By necessity the book is also nearly two years late, three
times being postponed and finally fatefully ready on the 10th anniversary of
Ayrton Senna’s death.
The book started life when I edited Formula 1 Magazine after we all
realised a short series of articles we had published justified something much
worthier of the man who, in my opinion, was clearly the greatest Formula One
driver who ever performed on the circuits. I am indebted to current and former
colleagues who have helped in this production.
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