May 1st, 2024, marks 30 years since the death of Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. It also comes one day after the 30th anniversary of Roland Ratzenburger’s death that same weekend, during qualifying for the race, and we must never forget the Austrian rookie.
Senna was a true titan of the sport, a legend who clinched three world titles, secured an impressive 65 pole positions, and celebrated 41 race wins. Many consider him the greatest-ever Grand Prix driver, a testament to his unparalleled skill and determination. His bitter rivalry with Alain Prost, mastery of the wet, and status as a hero to modern-era drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, Sebastien Ogier, and Pierre Gasly all serve as a beacon of inspiration for aspiring racers.
Narrowing down the best drives of a man who won over 40 races is brutal. So we have decided on 13 of the best of Senna’s career to mark 30 years since his passing and remember what a remarkable racer and human being he was.
1984 Monaco GP – 2nd Place
Senna made his F1 debut in 1984, driving for the small Toleman team, but he would work miracles in that car, putting it in places it had no right to be in. That year’s Monaco Grand Prix, in the pouring rain, is where Senna announced himself to the world.
Qualifying 13th on the grid, he made steady but scintillating progress to the field, passing Niki Lauda’s McLaren for 2nd on lap 19. Then, in the other McLaren, he carved into Alain Prost’s lead. The race was stopped on lap 31 due to the rain, with Senna finishing second, but at that point, he was catching Prost at around four seconds a lap, which rarely happens in modern-day F1.
1985 Portuguese Grand Prix – 1st Place
In 1985, Senna moved to Lotus, which, while a far cry from its title-winning days, was still a car that could win races. At round two in Portugal, Senna took his first pole position in F1, and then the following day, he produced a masterclass to take his first Grand Prix win.
The weather on race day was appalling, and the race was in heavy, wet conditions. Yet Senna didn’t make a single mistake, lapping everyone up to third-placed Patrick Tambay and beating nearest rival, Ferrari’s Michele Alboreto, by over half a minute. Senna would later say this was the best race of his career.
1987 Monaco Grand Prix – 1st Place
The 1987 Monaco Grand Prix was significant for Senna. It was the first of his record six wins at the principality, a record that remains untouched by any other driver. Senna qualified second and remained in that position until lap 30 when the Williams of Nigel Mansell retired with a loss of turbo boost.
Despite making an extra pitstop for tires, Senna led to the end, winning by a dominant 33 seconds from Mansell’s teammate Nelson Piquet and taking the first of two victories that year. The result was also the first win in his final season for Lotus, ahead of his move to McLaren in 1988.
1987 Detroit Grand Prix – 1st Place
Senna’s final win for Lotus came in the 1987 Detroit Grand Prix, where he once again lined up in second place on the grid behind Mansell. However, Mansell would suffer from cramps in his right leg, causing Senna to retake the lead, and the Lotus dominated, winning by over 30 seconds again.
The Louts 99T had recently received its computer-controlled active-suspension system, which resulted in the first time an F1 car had won a race with that system. Senna left Lotus in 1988 for McLaren, where he would take the remainder of his victories and pole positions and win all three of his championships.
1988 Japanese Grand Prix – 1st Place & World Champion
Senna’s McLaren career started well, with multiple wins in the McLaren MP4/4 in an exclusive battle with teammate Alain Prost. During his year at Lotus, Senna also built a good relationship with the engine supplier, Honda, which was crucial as McLaren had Honda power in 1988.
At that year’s Japanese Grand Prix, Senna went into it with a shot at the title. However, he bogged down from his pole position grid slot and dropped the order to about 14th place. Despite McLaren’s advantage that year, his climb through the field was impressive, and he would later pass Prost for the lead, securing the win and, with it, the first of his three world championships.
1988 Monaco Grand Prix – Pole Position
Senna was perhaps the fastest qualifier F1 has ever seen, but his pole position lap at the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix was out of this world. During qualifying for the race, Senna, driving the same car as Prost, took pole position by a mighty 1.4 seconds, something that astounded everyone watching.
Senna later said he entered a new dimension during that lap, operating wholly on instinct and not consciously driving the car. Sadly, despite leading for 67 laps, Senna would crash out with a 55-second lead over Prost, in a mistake that tormented Senna so much he got out of the car, left the truck, and hid in his hotel room. He wouldn’t come out again until that night.
1991 Brazilian Grand Prix – 1st Place
Senna had yet to win his home race in Brazil as the Formula 1 circus arrived at the Sao Paulo circuit in 1991. As you might expect, Senna qualified in pole position ahead of Riccardo Patrese in Williams and would waltz away into a commanding lead.
However, disaster would strike on lap 60, as unknown to those watching, other than in the team, Senna’s gearbox was failing. It became stuck in sixth gear, leading the nearest rival, Nigel Mansell, to close in on the McLaren. However, a puncture and then a gearbox failure of his own took the Williams driver out of the race. Senna somehow held on despite nearly stalling several times, winning the Grand Prix by 2.9 seconds. He was in excruciating pain after the race and needed lifting out of the car, but he made his way onto the podium, lifting the trophy aloft after his first home victory.
1992 Monaco Grand Prix -1st Place
The 1992 F1 season was feast or famine for McLaren, as the Williams FW14B was the class of the field. Despite this, Senna did take three victories in the MP4/7A, most famously at Monaco, where he held off a charging Nigel Mansell on fresher tires after the Williams driver pitted following a puncture.
Mansell rapidly closed up to Senna, but the tight and twisty track, combined with Senna’s driving prowess, meant that Mansell could not get past the Brazilian. Senna would take his first win of 1992, beating Mansell by just over two-tenths of a second in what was undoubtedly one of the best defensive drives in Formula 1 history.
1993 Brazilian Grand Prix – 1st Place
At the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix, Senna qualified nearly two seconds off the pace of Prost in the Williams FW15C, making a race win look impossible. Although the McLaren-Ford package of that year was inferior to the Williams, it was good enough that a bit of Senna magic propelled it to five wins that year.
The first came in Brazil, the second round of the year, which saw Senna take his second home victory, but he had to fight for it. Senna lept up to second, but Damon Hill passed him on lap 11 and then had to serve a stop-go penalty for lapping a backmarker under yellow flags. But as rain fell, Senna pitted for wet tires, while Prost came in for slicks, who then lost control on lap 30 and crashed into Christian Fitipaldi’s car. Senna would later pass Damon Hill, taking the lead and winning by over 16 seconds, and he took the lead in the driver’s championship.
1993 European Grand Prix – 1st Place
The 1993 European Grand Prix was at Donington Park in the UK, and this was a race that reminded everyone of just how good Senna was in the wet. Senna qualified in fourth place but dropped a couple of positions at the start before he scythed his way ahead of Karl Wendlinger, Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, and Alain Prost, all before the end of lap one, to take the lead of the race.
From that point on, there was no going back. Senna dominated the race, beating nearest rival Hill by over 1 minute 20 seconds, with arch-rival Prost a lap down in third place. The McLaren was less competitive than the Williams of Prost in 1993. Still, this result put Senna at the top of the championship standings, keeping him in the fight with inferior machinery.
1984 Portuguese Grand Prix – 3rd Place
Senna showed his class multiple times during his rookie season in 1984; despite the Toleman-Hart, he was racing massively inferior to rival cars. At the 1984 season finale in Portugal, Senna qualified the Toleman third on the grid, only two-tenths away from Nelson Piquet in the Brabham-BMW’s pole-position lap time.
Senna put in one of the finest drives of his career that day. He took his third podium of 1984 in third place, only 20 seconds behind Alain Prost’s race-winning McLaren. Senna also held off a charging Michele Alboreto in the Ferrari, finishing just a few tenths of the Italian driver.
1985 Belgian Grand Prix – 1st Place
Senna’s second victory of his career was at the 1985 Belgian Grand Prix, the first of five wins at the circuit for the Brazilian. Senna, in his Lotus, lost out to Prost for pole position by less than a tenth of a second. With rain on race day, the scene was set for another Senna masterclass.
Senna would lead the race at the start, and he pulled away from his rivals in the wet conditions. Mansell was the closest to Senna, coming to the checkered flag, and the Williams driver finished nearly 30 seconds behind the Lotus. Unreliability prevented Senna from fighting for the title that year, but he would finish the season in fourth place with 38 points, just two behind third-place Keke Rosberg.
1988 British Grand Prix – 1st Place
The 1988 British Grand Prix was another wet-weather masterclass from Senna, held in the typically British conditions of pouring rain. Qualifying hadn’t gone McLaren’s way, as the two Ferraris started on the front row, with Senna third and teammate Prost fourth.
At the start of the race, however, Senna followed the Ferraris and was ahead of second-place Michele Alboreto before the end of lap one. On lap 14, Senna overtook Gerhard Berger to take the lead of the race, while Prost languished down the order after a poor start and would retire from the race on lap 24. Senna went on to win 23 seconds ahead of nearest rival Nigel Mansell, who himself put in a fine drive in the wet with the underpowered Williams-Judd from 11th on the grid.
