2006 Malaysian Grand Prix - Race 2/18

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Ayrton Senna da Silva

Ayrton Senna da Silva, better known as Ayrton Senna, was a Brazilian Formula One triple world champion. Along with his archrival Alain Prost (a four-time World Champion), he is regarded as one of the best drivers of all time. His life, character and the circumstances of his death have caused his story to approach what could arguably be termed a modern legend. A spectacularly talented driver with an unyielding desire to win, Senna was a complex character who fascinated Formula One fans the world over. His death, whilst leading the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, in 1994 is still mourned, particularly in Brazil.


Early life

Senna was born in São Paulo. As the son of a wealthy Brazilian landowner, he quickly developed an interest in motor racing. Encouraged by his father, a racing enthusiast, Senna got behind the wheel of his first kart at the age of four. He entered karting competition at the legal age of 13. Ayrton Senna himself describes his first ever kart race in a documentary that was made in the early 90s. He described how the circuits were made in regular streets and car parks. Starting positions were pieces of paper mixed in a helmet and were drawn. He mentions drawing the number 1, and therefore being in pole position for his first ever race. The competitors were far more experienced but could not keep up with him on the straights as he was much lighter due to being much younger than they were. He states that they were much better in the corners of course, and eventually someone hit him from behind and he spun off. In 1977, he won the South American Kart Championship, and was runner up several times in the World Championship but never won.

Heading for Europe in 1981, he entered the British Formula Ford 1600 competition, which he won. He also adopted his mother's maiden name, Senna, as da Silva is a very common name in Brazil. In 1982 Senna combined the British and European Formula Ford 2000 Championships, winning both. In addition to winning the prestigious and high-profile Macau Grand Prix, Ayrton saw off the challenges of Martin Brundle in the 1983 British F3 championship, and after testing with Williams, McLaren, Brabham and Toleman, he managed to secure a seat with the latter in time for the 1984 Formula One season.


Into Formula One

The Toleman team was small in comparison to the big teams of that time like Williams, McLaren, or Brabham. Despite this, the team built a decent car powered by Hart Turbo engines and it was to be in this car where Senna's talents soon started to attract notice. He scored his first World Championship point on April 7, 1984 at the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami. Three races and two points later came the high watermark of Senna's debut season when he really impressed at the Monaco GP. Rain had plagued the event come Sunday where he started 13th on the grid, but after the start of the race, he soon was picking his way through the field in the wet on a circuit not known for overtaking in the dry. By Lap 19, he passed second place man (and future World Champion) Niki Lauda and soon chased after race leader Alain Prost. However, the rain started lashing harder and on Lap 31 the race was stopped. (This would have unfortunate consequences for Prost. Half points for a win was less than full points for the second place he would have earned if the event had continued to two-thirds distance, enough to be counted full race. Few doubt Senna would have got by him.) It was an impressive first podium for the Brazilian. Two more podium finishes (thirds) would follow at the British GP at Brands Hatch and at the season-ending Portuguese GP at Estoril, ultimately placing Senna ninth in the standings, tied with Nigel Mansell on 13 points.


The Lotus Years

The next year, Senna joined the Lotus team powered with Renault engines (albeit in a bit of controversy as he had to buy out the remaining year in his Toleman contract) and it was expected that Senna would finally be able to deliver on his promising talent. He scored his first of a record setting 65 pole positions at the season opener in Brazil at the Jacarepagua Circuit in Rio De Janeiro, only to retire with an electrical problem. However, at the second round in Estoril, Portugal on April 21, 1985, he finally scored his first Grand Prix victory, winning from pole position thanks to an impressive display of wet-weather driving in treacherous conditions which even saw second-place man (and later World Champion) Alain Prost spin off into the wall. However, the remainder of his 1985 season was plagued with mechanical failures despite his outright speed and his ability to score pole position after pole position during qualifying. He only managed another win at the Belgian GP at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit (once again in wet conditions). At the end of 1985, he finished a respectable 4th in the World Championship with 38 points and four podiums (two seconds and two thirds), as well as snatching seven pole positions. It was during these years that he also established a relationship with Bernie Ecclestone. A famous account is at Spa, where Bernie was standing very close to the guardrail at a very fast corner. Lap after lap Senna would edge his car closer and closer to the barrier to "test" the courage of Ecclestone. Ecclestone later described how incredible he had found Senna's car control as he ended up tapping the barrier with the tyres at 320km/h lap after lap.

His second season with Lotus however was even better, as the new Lotus-Renault proved to be a more reliable if not consistent package. He started the season on a high finishing second to his fellow countryman Nelson Piquet at their home event, the Brazilian GP at Jacarepagua in Rio de Janeiro. Then he took the World Championship lead for the first time in his career after winning an exciting Spanish GP at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in which he managed to hold off the menacing Nigel Mansell in his Williams-Honda for the victory by just .014 of a second. He would not last there for long however as the Championship would ultimately become a straight fight between Alain Prost's McLaren-TAG-Porsche and the Williams-Honda duo of Piquet and Mansell; key retirements due to mechanical failures once again befell his chase for the Title. Despite this though, Senna still went on a strong charge, taking his second victory of the year at the United States GP at Detroit, and finishing the season fourth (again) with 55 points, 8 pole positions and six podium finishes (four seconds and two thirds).

1987 came with as much promise for better things as it had before. Lotus had now the powerful Honda engines after Renault decided to step out of the sport. After a slow start, Senna won two races in a row: The prestigious Monaco GP (the first of a record breaking six victories at the Principality) and the United States GP at Detroit for the second year in a row, once again taking the World Championship lead. This time, the Lotus-Honda seemed to be more or less on par with the all-conquering Williams-Honda cars once again driven by fellow countryman Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. But Piquet had an amazing run of consistency throughout the year that Senna was not able to match, and after a spin due to a faulty clutch in the third to last round in Mexico, he was out of the championship hunt, leaving Piquet and teammate Mansell to fight it out for the last two races. Alas, Mansell badly bruised his back in an accident while practicing for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, which effectively handed the World Championship to Piquet since he would be out of the season-ending race at Australia in Adelaide as well. However, this meant that Senna still had a fighting chance to snatch the runner-up position in the standings if he managed to finish at least third in both remaining races, and he did more than that by finishing second in both Japan and Australia. Unfortunately at Australia, scrutineering found the brake ducts of his Lotus-Honda to be wider than what they should legally be and he was disqualified, bringing his last and ultimately best season with Lotus to a sour end. After the disqualification, he ended third in the Final Standings, with 57 points, 1 pole position, and 6 podium finishes (four seconds, not counting the one in which he was disqualified, and two thirds). However, this season would mark the turning point of his career as throughout the year, Senna began to build a deep relationship with Honda, a relationship which would pay off in big dividends once his contract with Lotus expired at the end of the season and once the McLaren team soon started calling.


McLaren career

In 1988, thanks to the relationship he had built up with Honda throughout the 1987 season with Lotus, and with the approval of McLaren's #1 driver, Alain Prost, Senna joined the McLaren team with then-two-time World Champion Alain Prost as his team mate. The foundation for a fierce competition between Senna and Prost was laid, culminating in a number of dramatic race incidents between the two. The pair won 15 of 16 races in 1988 (The Italian GP was the one not won by McLaren) with Senna coming out on top, achieving his first World Drivers Championship. The following year their rivalry intensified into battles on the track and a psychological war off it. Prost took the championship after the infamous Suzuka chicane incident, where their two cars tangled Prost as Senna attempted to overtake. If neither McLaren finished, Prost was world champion. In 1993 Prost admitted that he had knowingly not moved aside as he had seen Senna approach. Prost supporters may say that Prost had the inside line, while Senna supporters may say that Senna's car was ahead and that Prost appeared to actually turn slightly towards Senna causing the cars to lock together and go off the circuit, across the chicane. Senna managed to get back to the pits for a new nose cone, rejoined the race, retook the lead and won the race, only to be disqualified for illegally cutting the chicane. At the Suzuka circuit in 1990, the pole position was located on the right, 'dirty' side of the track. Senna maintained that, before qualifying fastest, he had sought and received assurances from officials that pole position would be on the left, clean side of the track, only to find this decision reversed after he had taken pole. At the start of the race Prost pulled ahead but when attempting to take the first right-handed corner he was hit by Senna. Telemetry showed Senna made no attempt to decelerate as the corner approached. Both drivers were removed from the race, meaning that Senna won the championship. Senna later admitted that it was payback for Prost taking them both out the year before in the 1989 Suzuka chicane incident. For critics, it was an act of breathtaking cynicism and one for which Senna received much criticism. He was accused by some of introducing a "video game" mentality of "win at all costs" into the sport, an accusation later repeated against his successor Michael Schumacher. On the track Senna could be ruthless, showing at times extreme determination and precision.

Senna was most renowned for his qualifying skill, a discipline he mastered like none before to produce a record 65 pole positions out of 161 races. This record stood for 12 years after his death, before it was equaled by Michael Schumacher while qualifying for the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix, his 234th race.

"Magic" Senna, as he was known to his fans, also won the Monaco GP six times, a record in itself and a tribute to his skills which earned him the title "Master of Monaco".

Senna's absolute determination to win manifested itself in dismay at McLaren's inability to challenge Williams in 1992. With Prost signed up by the Grove based squad for 1993 and possessing a veto over Senna joining him, Ayrton considered a sabbatical from F1. He tested for Marlboro Team Penske in Indycars, setting swift times and exciting the motoring press. Of course, this test was but a one-off, but the prospect of both Senna and Mansell racing Indycars in 1993 was a brilliant scenario.


Wet weather driving

In F1, wet weather racing is considered to be a great equaliser. Speeds must be reduced and car superiority in power or grip is eliminated. The rain demands great driver car control, ability and driving finesse. Senna is widely considered one of the best, if not the best driver ever in wet weather.

The 1984 season was Senna's first in F1. He came into a field of competitors from whose ranks 16 world championships would be reaped. Participating as an unknown rookie in a low level, non competitive car, the Toleman TG184, Senna had racked up three 16th places and a 13th place.

He started the first wet race of the season, the Monaco Grand Prix (a notoriously difficult circuit for racing, as it is run on regular streets) in 13th place. The race was terminated after 31 laps due to monsoon conditions deemed undriveable. At the time the race was stopped, Senna was classified in 2nd place, and catching up to race leader Alain Prost, at 4 seconds per lap. Senna's performance in this race, on a track on which it is notoriously difficult to pass other competitors, should be contrasted with the events of recent races at Monaco in which passing has been the exception rather than the norm, especially in dry conditions.

In 1993, at the European GP at Donington Park, Senna drove for the McLaren team. The MP4/8, although one of the front running cars, was considered inferior to the leading Williams FW-15C of Prost, and the Benetton B193 (which used a factory Ford engine) driven by Michael Schumacher and Riccardo Patrese. Some maintain that the Williams FW-14B and FW-15C were probably "the most technologically advanced cars that will ever race in Formula One".[1]

The start of the wet-weather 1993 European Grand Prix, by way of its uniqueness, is frequently referred to in racing lore as the best-ever lap. Senna was fifth going into the first corner, having nearly been pushed off the track by a swerving Schumacher. At the end of the first lap, having passed F1 champions with a cumulative world championship total of 12, he was first. Having overtaken Schumacher, Wendlinger, Hill and Prost he went on to lap the entire field. Examples of wet weather car control such as this gained Senna the title "The Rain Master" in numerous F1 publications in the early 90's.


Character

Starkly contrasting to Senna's intense and unyielding will to win on the track, his exploits off it were humane and compassionate. He was renowned for his close relationship with Gerhard Berger, and the two were always playing practical jokes on each other.

In 1992 at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium when during Friday free practise Erik Comas had crashed heavily on the back straight other drivers drove past the wreckage at high speed. Senna could be seen jumping out of his car and while endangering his own life, sprinting down the track to the wrecked car to reach inside and hit the electrics kill switch, to prevent a possible fire.

In 1993 again at Spa-Francorchamps when Alessandro Zanardi crashed his Lotus heavily at Eau Rouge corner, Senna could again be seen jumping out of his car to help the injured driver.

Fellow Brazillian F1 driver Mauricio Gugelmin tells of an episode in 1988 where Senna and Nelson Piquet, another champion, had developed an altercation. It had started when tongue-in-cheek remarks made by Senna to a reporter had been taken out of context. Having been asked why he had not been readily available to the press for a few weeks, Senna had responded that, as Piquet had just been crowned World Champion he had receded to give the press time to talk about Piquet. Piquet, who was infuriated by these comments, told the press to ask Ayrton why he did not like women. Mauricio Gugelmin expands: "He [Senna] was at my house when they called and told him Piquet's answer, wanting more of him. Even my wife was angry with that and said to him: 'Ayrton, tell them to ask Piquet's wife if it is true', referring to Catherine, who was Ayrton's girl before Nelson's. And Ayrton refused: 'No, I don't do this. If he doesn't respect anybody, I do. I don't do this to any woman.'"

After Senna's death it was discovered that he had donated millions of dollars to children's charities, a fact that he during his life, had kept secret.

 

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Death

In 1994, Senna finally left the ailing McLaren team for the top team at the end of 1993 Williams-Renault. After the banning of active suspension Williams started the season trying to close the gap to Benetton. Senna failed to finish his first two races, despite taking two superb pole positions against the Benetton at both events. On May 1 1994, he took part in his third race for the team, the San Marino GP. Senna took pole position yet again, but would not finish the race.

That weekend, he was particularly upset by two events: On the Friday of the Grand Prix, during the morning session, Senna's protégé, the then newcomer Rubens Barrichello was involved in a serious accident that would keep him out of the race. Senna visited Barrichello in the hospital (he jumped the wall in the back of the facility after being barred from visitation by the doctors) and was then convinced that safety standards had to be reviewed. On Saturday, the death of driver Roland Ratzenberger in practice forced the issue and even caused Senna to consider retiring. Ironically, he spent his final morning in meetings with fellow drivers, determined by Ratzenberger's accident to take on a new responsibility to re-create a Driver's Safety group to look at safety changes in Formula One. As the most senior driver, he was asked (and accepted) the role of leader in this effort.

A crash at the start of the race involving Pedro Lamy and J. J. Lehto (in which a stray wheel hit spectators in the grandstand) caused the caution flag to wave, and Senna was leading the race after a decent start kept him ahead of Michael Schumacher, the young German. Because of the fact that the drivers were behind the safety car, the pressures in the tyres were reduced, when Senna crashed, it was because the bottom of his car touched the road, and the steering column broke, giving him a lack of steering. But on the second lap after the restart, Senna's car left the track in Tamburello and struck an unprotected concrete wall. Telemetry shows he left the track at 193 mph and managed to slow the car to 135 mph in less than two seconds but it was not enough. After Senna's car had come to a halt false hopes were raised when his head was clearly seen to move slightly. Professor Sidney Watkins M.D., F.R.C.S., O.B.E. a world-renowned neurosurgeon and Formula One Safety Delegate and Medical Delegate, head of the Formula One on-track medical team, who performed an on site tracheotomy on Ayrton Senna, reported:

"He looked serene. I raised his eyelids and it was clear from his pupils that he had a massive brain injury. We lifted him from the cockpit and laid him on the ground. As we did, he sighed and, although I am totally agnostic, I felt his soul departed at that moment."

Senna was 34 years old. The lack of information on the cause of death led to much speculation. What is known is that the front right tyre with attached suspension piece became loose on impact, hit Senna on the head and pierced his visor, causing the fatal trauma. Images of Senna's battered helmet indicate that some sort of puncture had occurred at the top of the visor, just over his right eye. This led to the now most commonly accepted theory that one of the car's suspension bars had come loose and impacted with Senna's head.

The FIA and Italian authorities still maintain that Senna was not killed instantly, but rather died in hospital, to where he had been rushed by helicopter after an emergency tracheotomy and IV administration were performed. There is an ongoing debate as to why Senna was not declared dead at the track. Under Italian law when a person dies at a sporting event, that death must be investigated, causing the sporting event to be cancelled. The Director of the Oporto (Portugal) Legal Medicine Institute, Professor Pinto da Costa, has stated the following

"From the ethical viewpoint, the procedure used for Ayrton's body was wrong. It involved dysthanasia, which means that a person has been kept alive improperly after biological death has taken place due to brain injuries so serious that the patient would never have been able to remain alive without mechanical means of support. There would have been no prospect of normal life and relationships. Whether or not Ayrton was removed from the car while his heart was beating or whether his supply of blood had halted or was still flowing, is irrelevant to the determination of when he died.

The autopsy showed that the crash caused multiple fractures at the base of the cranium, crushing the forehead and rupturing the temporal artery with hammerhead in the respiratory passages. It is possible to resuscitate a dead person immediately after the heart stops through cardio-respiratory processes. The procedure is known as putting the patient on the machine. From the medical-legal viewpoint, in Ayrton's case, there is a subtle point: resuscitation measures were implemented.

From the ethical point of view this might well be condemned because the measures were not intended to be of strictly medical benefit to the patient but rather because they suited the commercial interest of the organisation. Resuscitation did in fact take place, with the tracheotomy performed, while the activity of the heart was restored with the assistance of cardio-respiratory devices. The attitude in question was certainly controversial. Any physician would know there was no possibility whatsoever of successfully restoring life in the condition in which Senna had been found."

Professor Jose Pratas Vital, Director of the Egas Moniz hospital in Lisbon, a neurosurgeon and Head of the Medical Staff at the Portuguese GP, offers a different opinion:

"The people who conducted the autopsy stated that, on the evidence of his injuries, Senna was dead. They could not say that. He had injuries which lead to his death, but at that point the heart may still have been functioning. Medical personnel attending an injured person, and who perceive that the heart is still beating, have only two courses of action:

One is to ensure that the patient's respiratory passages remain free, which means that he can breathe. They had to carry out an emergency tracheotomy. With oxygen, and the heart beating, there is another concern, which is loss of blood. These are the steps to be followed in any case involving serious injury, whether on the street or on a racetrack. The rescue team can think of nothing else at that moment except to assist the patient, particularly by immobilising the cervical area. Then the injured person must be taken immediately to the intensive care unit of the nearest hospital".

Rogério Morais Martins [Micropower] states that:

"According to the first clinical bulletin read by Dr. Maria Teresa Fiandri at 4.30 p.m. Ayrton Senna had brain damage with haemorrhaged shock and deep coma. However, the medical staff did not note any chest or abdomen wound. The hammerhead was due to the rupture of the temporal artery. The neurosurgeon who examined Ayrton Senna at the hospital mentioned that the circumstances did not call for surgery because the wound was generalised in the cranium. At 6.05 p.m. Dr. Fiandri read another communiqué, her voice shaking, announcing that Senna was dead. At that stage he was still connected to the equipment that maintained his heartbeat.

The release by the Italian authorities of the results of Ayrton Senna's autopsy, revealing that the driver had died instantaneously during the race at Imola, ignited still more controversy. Now there were questions about the reactions of the race director and the medical authorities. Although spokespersons for the hospital had stated that Senna was still breathing on arrival in Bologna, the autopsy on Ratzenberger [who died the day before] indicated that death had been instantaneous. Under Italian law, a death within the confines of the circuit would have required the cancellation of the entire race meeting.

That in turn, would have prevented the death of Ayrton Senna.

The relevant Italian legislation stipulates that when a death takes place during a sporting event, it should be immediately halted and the area sealed off for examination. In the case of Ratzenberger, this would have meant the cancellation of both Saturday's qualifying session and the San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday.

Medical experts are unable to state whether or not Ayrton Senna died instantaneously. Nevertheless, they were well aware that his chances of survival were slight. Had he remained alive, the brain damage would have left him severely handicapped. Accidents such as this are almost fatal, with survivors suffering irreversible brain damage. This is due to the effects on the brain of sudden deceleration, which causes structural damage to the brain tissues. Estimates of the forces involved in Ayrton's accident suggest a rate of deceleration equivalent to a 30 metre vertical drop, landing head-first. Evidence offered at the autopsy revealed that the impact of this 208km/h crash caused multiple injuries at the base of the cranium, resulting in respiratory insufficiency.

There was crushing of the brain (which was forced against the wall of the cranium causing oedema and hammerhead, increasing intra-cranial pressure and causing brain death), together with the rupture of the temporal artery, hammerhead in the respiratory passages and the consequent heart failure.

There are two opposing theories on the issue of whether the drivers were still alive when they were put in the helicopters that carried them to hospital. Assuming both Ratzenberger and Senna had died instantaneously, the race organisers might have delayed any announcement in order to avoid being forced to cancel the meeting, thus protecting their financial interests.

Had the meeting been cancelled, Sagis - the organisation which administers the Imola circuit - stood to lose an estimated US$6.5 million."

The FIA dismisses that conception as an unfounded conspiracy theory.

The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola was immediately investigated by the FIA, and the track's signature Tamburello, a lightning rod of controversy because of the lack of run-off and two previous incidents – Piquet's 1987 crash in Friday practice caused by a tyre failure, which kept him out of the race, forced Goodyear to withdraw all tyres after the first practice, and replace tyres for Saturday's qualifying session. Two years later, Gerhard Berger's Ferrari was in flames after another tyre failure early in the race, surviving because of alert safety workers. But Senna's death meant the end of the sweeper, and it was replaced by a chicane in 1995.

In 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

In 2004, a television documentary by National Geographic called Seconds from disaster: The death of Ayrton Senna was screened worldwide. The programme considered the available data from Senna's car to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the fatal crash. The programme concluded that an unusually long safety car period had reduced the pressures in Senna's tyres, thereby lowering the car. As the car entered the Tamburello bend, it bottomed-out and the loss of the ground effect led to a sudden reduction in downforce, and hence grip. As Senna instinctively corrected the resultant slide, the downforce and grip suddenly returned, and Senna effectively drove off the circuit. The programme came to the conclusion that if Senna's reactions had actually been slower, he might have survived the crash. To many within the F1 world including drivers of that era who had raced at Imola, the conclusions drawn from low tyre pressure as a cause of the accident seem highly implausible. Telemetry recorded that Senna took the bend at 190mph on lap 6 with cold tyres. Alboreto and other drivers of the era claimed that given his lap time, his tyres would have been at race temperature by the 7th lap and it was not a factor in the crash.

The ban on active suspension affected Williams more than any other team as it was the key development that had helped make the Williams car the class of the field from 1991-1993. 1994 started with the Williams drivers complaining of severe handling problems and a twitchy rear-end. The FW16 new rear end was introduced at Imola. It was ironic that at the beginning of 1994 Senna himself had told the press that he would be surprised if there would be no large accidents that year. Referring to the fact that after the wide "white label" 26" Goodyear slicks were banned for 1993 (replaced by "yellow label"), now the technology at the very core of the cars, the science around which they had been based for the last few years; (Active suspension, traction control and ABS) were also banned for 1994. He surmised that the cars would have trouble staying on the road, which is exactly what was observed at the beginning of 1994, J.J. Lehto damaging his vertebrae at Silverstone in January, Lamy breaking both knee-caps at the same track in May, Alesi breaking his neck in preseason testing, Ratzenberger and Senna's fatal accidents at Imola, the race after at Monaco, Wendlinger comatose for months and Ratzenbergers replacement, Montermini breaking his feet in the Simtek in Barcelona. None of these accidents were deemed to be caused by driver error.

There are other factors – Senna did not like the position of the steering column relative to his seating position and had repeatedly asked for it to be changed. At Imola Senna found himself in a car with his team's engineers struggling to cope and adapt to the ban of active suspension. Patrick Head and Adrian Newey agreed to Senna's request to shorten the FW-16's wheelbase, but there was no time to manufacture a shortened steering shaft. The existing shaft was instead cut, shortened, and welded back together with reinforcing plates. Many surmise, based on comparing hours of onboard video footage from Brazil and Imola that the movement of the steering wheel during the race at Imola was completely abnormal. Senna on his final lap is seen turning the wheel left to full lock with no movement of the front wheels. Others have raised suspicion at what can clearly be seen on the onboard footage as Senna looking down onto his steering wheel seconds before entering Tamburello.

Senna's helmet

Damon Hill, Senna's teammate at the time of his death, had this to say in an interview given on the subject 10 years later.

"After the warm-up we went to the drivers' briefing. Ayrton was upbeat and determined after his good performance, but he had concerns about the new safety car regulations. These fears were to be prophetic. It was a measure of the political climate of Formula One that A. S. felt it necessary to get other drivers to ask questions about the safety car so that he did not appear to be alone. The implication was that the bosses made the rules; if you had issues with that, they would make sure you knew who ran things. So we got on to the subject of the safety car (importantly distinct from the "pace car" used to spice up US racing).

Ayrton became vociferous, claiming that it was ill-conceived and dangerous for one specific reason — the temperature of the tyres of a Formula One car is critical in several respects. One, they only stick when they are very hot; two, the pressure varies enormously with temperature and, consequently, the stability of the tyre construction.

To sum up: if a Formula One car has to follow an ordinary road car it will not travel fast enough for the tyres to keep within their designed working temperature and pressure. I believe this was a contributing factor in Ayrton's accident, as the safety car was deployed directly after the start, exactly as he had feared.

And so it was we left the briefing on Sunday having agreed to pay some kind of tribute to Roland on the grid. We went to the normal sponsor functions and then back to the motorhome. I never really talked or spent any time with Ayrton before the race. Everything was extremely businesslike, with an added severity because of the death of Roland."

The Williams team was entangled for many years in a court case with the Italian prosecutors over manslaughter charges, but they were found not guilty and no action was taken against Williams. In 2004, the case was re-opened, but closed again in 2005 when there was no new evidence.

His death was considered by many of his Brazilian fans to be a national tragedy, and three days of national mourning were declared. Senna is buried at the Cemitério do Morumbi in his hometown of São Paulo.


Legacy

Off the track, Senna was a deeply religious and compassionate man. After his death, his family created the Ayrton Senna Foundation, an organization with the aim of helping poor and needy young people in Brazil and around the world. As a result, Senna continues to impact the world today and has become a beacon of hope to millions of his countrymen and an example of professionalism and humanity to those who remember him.

In 2004 (when, ten years after his death, the Brazilian media revisited the entire life of Senna), a book called "Ayrton: The Hero Revealed" (original title: "Ayrton: O Herói Revelado") was published in Brazil. The book recalls several passages of Senna's career, and adds a lot of never written before information about his personal life. As the title suggests, the book "reveals" the human side of a hero.

As well, to mark the 10th anniversary of Senna's passing, on April 21, 2004, over 10,000 people attended a charity match in a soccer stadium near Imola. The game was organized by several devoted Italian and Canadian fans of Ayrton, bringing together the 1994 World Cup winning team of Brazil to face the "Nazionale Piloti", an exhibition team comprised exclusively of top race car drivers (of which Senna was a part in 1985). Michael Schumacher, Jarno Trulli, Rubens Barrichello, Fernando Alonso and many others faced the likes of Dunga, Careca, Taffarel and many of the team that won the World Cup in the USA ten years earlier.

That same weekend, Bernie Ecclestone revealed that he still believed Ayrton Senna was and remained the best F1 driver he'd ever seen.

Perhaps the unique duality of his character was most evident at the moment of his death. As track officials examined the wreckage of his racing car they found a furled, bloodsoaked Austrian flag. A victory flag that he was going to raise in honour of Austrian Roland Ratzenberger, who had died on that track the day before.

At his memorial service one million people lined the streets to give him their salute.


Notable quotes
"On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit and you go for this limit and you touch this limit and you think, ok, this is the limit. As soon as you touch this limit, something happens and you realise that you can suddenly go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and your experience as well, you can fly very high."

"Being second, is to be the first of the ones who lose."

"Racing, competing, it's in my blood. It's part of me, it's part of my life; I have been doing it all my life and it stands out above everything else."

"It's going to be a season with lots of accidents, and I'll risk saying that we'll be lucky if something really serious doesn't happen." - pre-season 1994.


Ayrton Senna – F1 record
Nationality:
Brazilian

Active years:
1984 - 1994

Teams:
Toleman Hart, Lotus, McLaren, Williams

Race starts:
161

Championships:
3

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

The reason for all this?

Today would have been Ayrton Senna's 46th birthday.

 

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Possibly the most perfect F1 car of all time...

 

[Flibster]

McLaren to modify rear wing for Australia

McLaren have confirmed that they will be making minor changes to the rear wing of their car in time for the Australian Grand Prix.

It was revealed this morning that McLaren and BMW have joined Ferrari in being told that they will need to bring new designs to Melbourne amid a clampdown on flexi-wings in Formula One.

The FIA has made it clear that it will not allow the designs that have been run by the three teams to race again after stepping in to prevent a controversial post-race protest in Malaysia.

The news about McLaren and BMW comes despite both teams having signed a document on Sunday complaining about the flexi-wings on the Ferrari and threatening to protest Michael Schumacher's car unless the situation was resolved before the race.

A McLaren spokesman confirmed that the team would be modifying their wing before the next race of the championship, although insisted that it was not a major problem.

"We have received no formal communication from the FIA on this matter," said the spokeswoman. "However, a minor issue with an attachment on a secondary wing came to our attention in Malaysia and this will be rectified for the Australian Grand Prix."

McLaren are due to introduce major upgrades to their MP4-21 in time for the Australian Grand Prix in a bid to help them take their first win of the season.

The FIA has made it clear that it is hopeful the flexi-wing controversy will be sorted by the time F1 arrives in Australia for the third race of the season.

An FIA spokesman said: "We've been concerned about several teams and confident the issues will be resolved before Melbourne."

 

[Flibster]

A worthy tribute that Simon.

I never got to see him race in the flesh but I'll never forget some of the in car footage of his qualifying laps - an absolute genius in a racing car.

Cheers. I'll admit that it was all nicked from his Wikipedia entry though - immensely better than anything I could have written.

He was an absolute perfectionist in the car.

There's a story that I love about him going for a qualifying lap *and getting pole* where he went flat out through a chicaine - which no-one else did as the margin for error was non existant - and there was a marshall leaning over the tyre barrier watching.

Marshall met Senna a bit later on and congratulated him on his pole position and Senna asked him if got a good view from leaning over the tyres at the chicaine.



That ability to process data is just astounding. I have trouble spotting people when on a track let alone being able to recognise someone and know where and who it was...

We won't see anyone with his natrual talent and skill for many years, if at all.

Sorely missed.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

BMW also modify rear wing

BMW-Sauber have already modified the design of their rear wing in order to fall in line with a request from the FIA.

Both BMW and McLaren have been asked to make minor changes to their cars amid the increased focus on flexi-wings in Formula One.

Both teams have had no issue with making the modifications, having been part of the group of eight teams who complained about the flexibility of the front and rear wings of the Ferrari in the letter to the race stewards at Malaysia last weekend.

A McLaren spokesman confirmed earlier today that they would be modifying their wing before the Australian Grand Prix.

"We have received no formal communication from the FIA on this matter," said the McLaren spokeswoman. "However, a minor issue with an attachment on a secondary wing came to our attention in Malaysia and this will be rectified for the Australian Grand Prix."

A spokesman for BMW-Sauber told autosport.com that there had been no official request from the FIA to make changes to their rear wing, but that a verbal request was made in Sepang.

The team duly completed this design tweak after the race, even though the legality of their F1.06 had not be called into question.

"There is no official message communicated by the FIA to our team," said the spokesman. "The Technical Delegate of the FIA verbally informed us that we were supposed to change a certain detail on the rear wing before Melbourne.

"This is not unusual and this minor change has already been performed. Jacques Villeneuve's car was checked by the FIA after the race in Malaysia and found to conform to the rules."

The confirmation of McLaren and BMW's position means that Ferrari are now alone in claiming that they have no plans to change the design of their front and rear wings.

A spokesman for the Maranello outfit said earlier this week that reports that Ross Brawn had agreed to change the design of the wings for Melbourne were wide of the mark.

"Ross never said this, and we have no reason to do it," the spokesman said. "We simply said that we will comply with whatever the FIA requires. Whatever the FIA asks us to do, we will comply.

"If the FIA decides to change the flexibility tests, we will do what is necessary."

 

[Flibster]

Mosley pressures GPMA with engine freeze

The 2008 F1 sporting regulations will be considered by the World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday, and they include a freeze on engine development that has allowed FIA president Max Mosley to apply extra pressure on the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association.

A proposed engine freeze for 2008-09-10 has long been a key element in Mosley's plans to implement cost-cutting measures.

Last month the FIA president suggested that a deadline for presenting such an engine could be as early as June this year. All potential entrants have since been told to present a definitive 2008 engine specification for homologation by the FIA before June 1st.

The five GPMA members did not receive formal notification, until a draft copy of the sporting regulations was sent to all Formula One teams on March 15, just as most of the bosses were on their way to Malaysia.

Article 86e of the proposed sporting regulations states: "Only engines which have been homologated by the FIA in accordance with Appendix 6 may be used at an Event during the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons."

The all-new Appendix 6 explains how the homologation process will work:

--------------------------------------------------------------------

1. A homologated engine is an engine identical in every respect to:

(i) an engine delivered to the FIA prior to 1 June 2006, or,

(ii) an engine delivered to the FIA after 1 June 2006, or modified and re-delivered to the FIA after 1 June 2006, which the FIA is satisfied, in its absolute discretion and after full consultation with all other suppliers of engines for the Championship, could fairly and equitably be allowed to compete with other homologated engines.

All such engines should be delivered in such a condition that the seals required under Article 85(d) can be fitted. Engines will be held by the FIA throughout the homologation period.

2. The supplier of a homologated engine and/or the team using the homologated engine must take and/or facilitate such steps as the FIA may at any time and in its absolute discretion determine in order to satisfy the FIA that an engine used at an Event is indeed identical to the corresponding engine delivered to and held by the FIA.

3. The FIA, in consultation with the TWG and the engine suppliers, will from time to time issue indicative information as to the tests and inspection procedures to be applied.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The June 1st deadline apparently remains open for discussion. However, the real significance is that unless they enter the F1 World Championship by March 31st, the GPMA teams will not be allowed to take part in any debate about this or any other rules, even if they eventually join in before June. They thus have an extra incentive to sign up and get their entries in by the end of this month.

The engine suppliers currently represented within the teams aligned with Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA are Ferrari, Cosworth and, via their customer teams, Toyota and Honda. However, as things stand, BMW, Mercedes and Renault have no say.

Critics suggest that the June freeze defies common sense. Not only are the V8 engines in their infancy, but also development will effectively carry on for another 18 months, through the rest of the 2006 and 2007 seasons, before the manufacturers have to take a step back to what they were able to present in June this year.

However, in theory they could deliver a specification that is not yet fully tested and proven, and then spend the intervening time making it work.

Mosley is thought to be keen on bringing the engine freeze forward to 2007, if the agreement of all parties can be achieved, which would at least add some logic to the situation.

All manufacturers employ huge engine departments, and offloading employees who suddenly have nothing to do may not be easy, despite the financial savings that Mosley is seeking.

Moreover, a new engine spec will presumably be allowed from 2011, and prior to that makers would have to ramp up development.

"We're not too keen on the idea of freezing the whole engine," Honda's Nick Fry said.

"It makes it very impractical for all the engine manufacturers, because you'll need a development team every two or three years, so the work load goes up massively and then down massively, and really doesn't suit anybody at all.

"I haven't heard one person or one engine manufacturer who is really too keen on this idea. I think we all agree that we need to cut costs, but this idea needs some refinement.

"The problem is that if you're ahead - and we're in a very good position at Honda - it's not so bad. But for those that are behind, you're then behind for a long period, which is really not on.

"In North America, when similar things have been done, it's ended up as a bit of a farce, where the team that was behind, which were one of our competitors, were then given some behind-the-scenes advice on what they could change.

"It all became a little bit of a farce that the organisers then tried to equalise the situation after a freeze. This needs a lot of work."

"I think it's extremely difficult," said Toyota's John Howett. "If you read the letter we received, it did say that there was still room to actually discuss with those people who signed up for 2008, and there is still room for change. We have to see what the final decision is.

"But three years out is quite a long way to freeze an F1 engine after a very limited period of running with it.

"We more or less got the regulations on Wednesday, just before leaving for Malaysia, and I need more time to talk with [engine chief] Luca [Marmorini] and discuss the real implications of what the FIA is proposing."

Good god - what a blatently stupid idea...

The sooner Max sod's off the better.

 

[Flibster]

Uh Oh.....

FIA's WMSC ratifies 2008 regulations

The FIA's World Motor Sport Council approved on Wednesday the sporting regulations for the 2008 Formula One season.

The WMSC also approved Max Mosley's proposed one-week window for entries for the 2008 season. The entries will have to be confirmed between 24 March and 31 March this year.

"The FIA will then begin a series of meetings with the teams which enter the 2008 Championship in order to finalise the regulations for 2008," said the FIA in a statement.

"The regulations which affect the design of the cars must be finalised before 30 June 2006 to give the competing teams sufficient time to design and develop their 2008 cars.

"The regulations not affecting the design of the cars can be modified at any point up to the start of the 2008 season.

"A regulation can be modified following a majority vote of the Sporting Working Group, consisting of one senior representative from each team, and ratification by the Formula One Commission and the World Motor Sport Council."

The 2008 regulations, aimed at reducing costs and improving the show, will be published in full tomorrow, the FIA said.

 

[Flibster]

Cosworth top list of F1's fastest engines

Cosworth, F1's smallest engine maker, is leading the pack in terms of horse power and revs in 2006, according to an analysis.

Germany's 'Sport1.de' publication printed the results of an apparent acoustic study, showing that Williams' independent Northampton-based supplier is packing the highest revs with its V8.

The analysis, believed to have been conducted by a rival F1 team, estimated that Cosworth is nipping the heels of the elusive 20,000rpm barrier. Close behind, however, is Mercedes-Benz, generating a maximum of 19,600 revs per minute for the silver McLaren cars. In third and fourth places are Ferrari and BMW, with about 19,000 rpm each.

Acoustic rev studies are carried out by recording the sound of an engine whilst it is lapping a formula one track.

 

[Flibster]

Petition targets Monza GP threat

The fate of September's Italian GP continues to look uncertain, after a civil court last week refused to overturn a ban on noisy cars at Monza.

Although the historic grand prix might be protected, one junior-category event at the track has already been axed.

Now, like F1, the ban also threatens events like touring cars and Italian F3 and formula 3000.

'Drivingitalia.net' has set up an online petition against the court's ruling, which can be signed at http://www.petitiononline.com/m0nz4/petition.html

SIGN IT!!!

 

[Flibster]

Alonso explains Bahrain posturing

World champion Fernando Alonso has put an end to speculation regarding his celebration at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Renault driver's posturing after winning the season-opening race generated all kinds of rumours about its meaning, and even upset animal rights organization PETA, who wrote a letter criticising the Spaniard for what they interpreted to be a bullfighter's moves.

The organization said attempting to glorify bullfighting offended millions of people who are against animal abuse.

As expected, PETA has been proved wrong, with Alonso confirming rumours that his posturing was an imitation of actor Jim Carrey in the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

"It's better to clear it because there have been too many rumours," Alonso told Spanish radio Cadena Ser. "It's from a two-year old movie. A kids' movie," added the Spaniard, laughing.

By imitating Carrey, Alonso won a bet placed with friends before the start of the season.

And once again, PETA come out looking like gibbons...

 

[Flibster]

Dennis: McLaren to take quantum steps

McLaren chief Ron Dennis says his team will take "some quantum steps" over the next races as they fight to return to winning ways.

The British team have endured a somewhat troubled start to their season, while rivals Renault have won the first two races in Bahrain and Malaysia.

McLaren's winter testing progress was slowed due to problems with their Mercedes engines, but they raised their game for the start of the season and were seen as favourites to fight at the top.

In Bahrain, Kimi Raikkonen finished in third place after starting from the back of the grid, while in Malaysia the Finn retired after an incident at the start while his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya finished a distant fourth.

McLaren, however, are planning major developments for the next few races, and Dennis is adamant the team will be able to fight back.

"I don't ever get optimistic because it is a very tough sport in which to compete, but we know our car has the underlying pace," Dennis told The Guardian in an interview.

"And the most encouraging thing for us is that we know what's coming in terms of technical upgrades for our car in Australia, and we know what's planned for the Nurburgring. We will be taking some quantum steps over the next races.

"McLaren exists to win every race in which it competes," Dennis added. "Worrying about what your rivals are doing is a fruitless exercise. If you win all the races, or as many as you possibly can, then hopefully the championship will flow logically from those efforts.

"I am not a person who looks backwards and worries about what has gone before. The only priority for McLaren is looking ahead and aiming to win the next race."

 

[Flibster]

WORLD MOTOR SPORT COUNCIL
22.03.2006


The World Motor Sport Council met in Paris on 22 March, 2006. The following decisions were taken:


FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship Sporting Regulations were accepted and will be published in full on 23 March 2006.

The 2008 Sporting Regulations have three objectives:

• to reduce the cost of competing;
• to improve the sporting spectacle; and
• to maintain and, where possible, improve current safety standards.

Entries for the 2008 Championship will open on 24 March 2006 and close on 31 March 2006.

The FIA will then begin a series of meetings with the teams which enter the 2008 Championship in order to finalise the regulations for 2008. The regulations which affect the design of the cars must be finalised before 30 June 2006 to give the competing teams sufficient time to design and develop their 2008 cars. The regulations not affecting the design of the cars can be modified at any point up to the start of the 2008 season.

A regulation can be modified following a majority vote of the Sporting Working Group, consisting of one senior representative from each team, and ratification by the Formula One Commission and the World Motor Sport Council.

 

[Flibster]

I hope that the break away championship is happening by then.
F1 might have been the pinnicle of motor sport but these days there are too many regulations and arsing around to be the pinicle any more.
Its time for the break away take the title of being the pinicle of motorsport imo.

If it's going to happen - it has to happen in the next 10 days...

After that entries for 2008 are closed.

 

[Flibster]

Also - currently uploading 200mb or so of Senna video's to my site so those who didn't see his mastery at work can gawp in wonder at driving around Monaco flat out, with one hand on the wheel and the other changing gear for 80% of the lap...

I want to see that again - manual gearboxes, 3rd pedals, no aerodynamic devices between the front and rear axle and flar bottomed cars scraping on the ground and sending up masses of sparks...

*sigh*

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

What resolution is it?
Its not a tiny little box is it
I hope its big enough to see whats happening

They're not bad - I was watching them on an 2304x1440 resolution monitor though.

Certainly good enough to watch.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

You are not the only one.

Video sounds interesting, I think your bandwith is gonna get raped as soon as you finish uploading

Expecting it.

Still got just over 1.125tb of data transfer to use up before the 10th of April..

How much have I used this month so far.... 2.7gb... More than expected..

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

Clikly Senna at Monaco (onboard) - 1986 - 21.8MB

Clicky Onboard with Senna on the Donnington Park 1st lap in 1993 - Possible the finest single lap of all time - 4.2mb

Clicky Senna - 1985 in the UK - 1.9mb

Clicky Ayrton Senna A Tribute - 9.9mb

Clicky Senna shows what a NSX is for - 20.4mb

Clicky Senna @ Barcelona - Start - 2.3mb

Clicky Senna - Donnington in 1993 again - 3.8mb

Clicky Senna's Pole lap round Monaco (onboard) - 1991 - 6.6mb

Clicky Senna's Pole lap around Interlagos (onboard) - 1991 - 11mb

Clicly Onboard with Senna @ Phoenix - 1991 - 17.2mb

 

[Flibster]

Is that all of them?
My download is killing me

Nope...

 

[Flibster]

Mosley and Manufacturers exchange letters

It has been revealed that in a letter sent to Max Mosley at 22.12 on Tuesday evening, BMW, Honda, McLaren, Renault, Toyota and the GPMA, raised a number of concerns which they wanted to identify before today's meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.

The concerns relate to the Organisation Agreement, Engine Homologation and Rule Changes. They also raised concerns regarding the restriction on testing (Article 63 b), the engine ballast penalty (Article 86 a) and the new gear box rule (Article 87).

With regard the Organisation Agreement, the manufacturers wrote: "The 1998 Concorde Agreement to which the teams and the FIA are parties, guarantees the participating teams, during each year of the term, a right of entry into the Championship. Furthermore, the 1998 Concorde Agreement provides for the teams, as stakeholders in the sport, to have a significant role in its governance. The provisions appear to have been removed from the latest proposals submitted by the FIA post 2007 and we would ask that provisions to accomodate these concerns be taken into account in the draft 2008 Sporting Regulations to be approved by the World Motor Sport Council."

On Engine Homologation: "Whilst all signatories to this letter (and Cosworth) agree and confirm that they are commited to reducing engine costs, we realise that there is no time to discuss this issue further with you before the meeting of the World Motor sport Council; we would respectfully request that Regulation 86e and Appendix 6 be agreed before the Sporting Regulations are adopted."

As for Rule Changes: "We have noted that the provision for changes in the Sporting and Technical Regulations, which are currently set out in Appendix 5 of the draft 2008 Sporting Regulations, are different from those proposed in your letter of 18 November 2005. We would wish to see the composition, voting structure and process of the Formula One Commission and its related working groups being established in line with your 18 November 2005 proposal. In particular, we beleive that, further to previous discussions, if the majority of teams vote in favour of a change, such a change should not be capable of being vetoed by the F1 Commission."

The signatories to the letter suggest that the changes could be made to the provisions which would better the FIA's three main objectives.

However, in his response to the letter, Mosley notes that it contained no proposals which could be substituted for any of those being presented to the World motor sport council, and which were made available on March 1, and then again - with minor modifications - on March 15.

Furthermore, Mosley points out that none of the signatories attended the meeting in early 2005 at which the 2008 regulations were discussed. He also claims that the manufacturers own proposals which were due to be presented in June 2005 are still not forthcoming.

"In the circumstances, the Council decided to adopt the proposed Sporting Regulations in their entirety," he writes, "and extend an invitation to all interested teams to enter the 2008 Championship and participate in discussions on any element which they believe could be improved."

He adds: "The Council noted that although the 2008 Sporting Regulations are now fixed, any element could be changed on a proposal of a simple majority of the entered teams sitting in the Sporting Working Group (Appendix 5) and that the Formula One Commission or World Motor Sport Council would only reject such a proposal in the overall interests of the Formula One World Championship or of motor sport in general."