Ayrton Senna
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Formula One Career | |
Nationality | Brazilian |
---|---|
Active years | 1984 - 1994 |
Team(s) | Toleman Hart, Lotus, McLaren Honda, Williams |
Grands Prix | 162 |
Championships | 3 (1988, 1990, 1991) |
Wins | 41 |
Podium finishes | 80 |
Pole positions | 65 |
Fastest laps | 19 |
First Grand Prix | 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix |
First win | 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix |
Last win | 1993 Australian Grand Prix |
Last Grand Prix | 1994 San Marino Grand Prix |
Ayrton Senna da Silva (March 21, 1960–May 1, 1994), better known as Ayrton Senna, was a Brazilian Formula 1 driver who won the championship three times, in 1988, 1990 and in 1991. He died in a horrible accident that took place on the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, better known as Imola, in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
[edit] Life before Formula 1 Racing
Senna was born in São Paulo, a city in Brazil. When he was four years old, he first got into a kart. When he was 13, he entered a karting competition for the first time. A fun fact is that he started his first kart race on pole position. The start places were written on pieces of paper and put in a driver's helmet, and he drew number one. Because he was a lot lighter than the other racers, he was much faster than all of them. He won the South American Kart Championships in 1977 and was runner-up in the World Championship, but he never won it.
In 1981 he raced in the British Formula Ford 1600 championship, and won it aswell. He also changed his name to Senna, since da Silva is used a lot in Brazil.
In 1982 Senna won two European championships; the European and the British Formula Ford 2000. After testing with Williams, McLaren, Brabham and Toleman, he got a place on the grid for the 1984 Formula One season.
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