Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna Foundation Instituto Ayrton Senna is the realization of the three time Formula 1 World Champion's dream to offer essential opportunities to new Brazilian generations to develop their potentials so they can become champions in school and in life. Our work is focused on education, an important tool to promote human development. We believe it is the most effective means to transform everyone's innate potential into capabilities and skills to ensure one's active participation in society. Since 1994, the Institute develops educational solutions to fight bad quality in public education that hinder millions of children and young people to successfully move on with their studies. These educational programs proportionally equalize quantity and quality, that is, they are reproduced in large scale, at low cost and yield effective results. To implement its programs, the Institute builds alliances with the private and public sectors and civil society. read more

Senna remembered - Portugal 1985 Leading from start to finish, from pole position to the 120th minute, Ayrton Senna da Silva won his first Grand Prix. That was the most significant event in Portugal. The next was that neither McLaren MP4/2Bs finished the race, making it a total eclipse by John Player Team Lotus-Renault. Whilst Senna disappeared into the mist, his pit board showing plus a million minutes over anyone who tried to race him, McLaren began to look like?just another front-running team. Alain Prost spent 30 laps behind Elio De Angelis?s second-placed Lotus ? and then spun. Once, twice and then again, aquaplaning off at the end of the race-defining main straight. Further down the field, Niki Lauda was looking as though he would rather be in his motorhome. A down-on-power TAG Porsche engine, which eventually blew, enabled him to take tea on lap 50.. read more

Meet Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna was born in Sao Paulo, March 21st, 1960. He started his career on the kart tracks and from then on he celebrated several victories in different racing categories until he reached Formula 1, where he was also very successful: 2.982 leading laps; 610 score points; 161 grand prix; 65 pole positions; 41 victories; 3 World Championships. His values, intensely cultivated along his life, are, up to the present date, the motivations that stimulate Instituto Ayrton Senna's team and inspire children and youngsters in the educational programs: Motivation, dedication, determination, achievement, perfection, aspiration... Ayrton held a special affection for his country. Its social inequalities bothered him and he nourished a deep desire to help transforming that reality through effective actions for the benefit of the new generations. As he said: If we want to change something, we must start with the children, through their education". read more

Senna beyond the speed of sound Senna's remarkable story, charting his physical and spiritual achievements on the track and off, his quest for perfection, and the mythical status he has since attained, is the subject of SENNA, a documentary feature that spans the racing legend's years as an F1 driver, from his opening season in 1984 to his untimely death a decade later. Far more than a film for F1 fans, SENNA unfolds a remarkable story in a remarkable manner, eschewing many standard documentary techniques in favor of a more cinematic approach that makes full use of astounding footage, much of which is drawn from F1 archives and previously unseen.
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Ayrton Senna, success in details. Donnington Park, 1993. The track was wet and it was drizzling. Senna was having trouble keeping up in his inferior McLaren from the beginning. He had dropped to fifth position when a new lap had begun, behind the likes of Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill and Alain Prost. A couple of corners later, he had muscled his way to third. And yet another couple of corners later Alain Prost was eating his tire marks and Senna was leading the race, which he went on to win. This historic lap, which saw Senna taking the lead within a half of a lap of running fifth, established him as an all time great wet weather driver. After the race he said that the driving pressure in such conditions is tremendous and it's like gambling; taking chances where it might pay off. And that his team gambled well that day. read more

Senninha - Our little Hero Senninha is a boy who lives with a community of friends by a race track. Rather than playing football he races a go-kart. Senninha has all the qualities that celebrate Senna; he is simple, honest, hardworking and, above all, a winner.Senna launched Senninha shortly before he died. Rather than retiring him after Imola, Senninha has grown from strength to strength and now rivals Mickey Mouse in the hearts of young Brazilians, even those born years after Senna died. Senninha was released by Ayrton Senna on February 27, 1994. Its founders are the designers and Ridaut Rogerio Martins Dias Jr. With the character, the triple champion for the children wanted to spend some of their values, as the will to win, determination and pride of being Brazilian. . read more

Friendship forever - Berger and Senna Berger first met Senna when the duo raced in Formula 3. At the time Berger recognised that Senna had talent "but, obviously at this stage you always think you are the best and the others are good but beatable," the likeable Austrian explained. "We had a really good relationship because, I mean first, we were the same age," Berger explained. "We knew each other from Formula 3. We spent time. We went holidaying together. Spent time on my boat together. We spent time in his place in Brazil together. We played around. We went out. We had a really good time. And you know, when I was racing for him. Always when I came into the team with him, until this stage all my team-mates had been very good, but no problem to beat them. . read more

Ayrton Senna - Karting Years According to his own words, the first karting he had was when having 4 years. A gift of his father, built by his very hands using a lawnmower (with a horse power) so he could be able to exercise and correct the motor skill coordination problems of little Beco. Using the number 007 at front Ayrton played along his neighbors Roberto Kahvogian and Alfredo Popesco from Tremembe neighborhood (North west of Sao Paulo) reaching some 60kph taking advantage of the slope of Peter St. where he lived. And spent in the garage of the house assembling and dismantle the gift during hours and hours, until getting the right setup the wanted to race at the Anhembi Park's track. Again dad Milton bought the first kart for real when he was 9, a kart that had been owned by Emerson Fittipaldi no less, it weighed less than 50kg and with hydraulic disc brakes it reached up to 100 kph. read more

Ayrton Senna - In his own words On computers in F1 cars: "I want to be challenged by my own limits and by someone who is made of the same skin and bone and where the difference is between brain and experience and adaptation to the course. I do not want to be challenged by someone else's computer. If I give 100% to my driving, which is my hobby as well as my profession, I can compete with anyone, but not computers." On his relationship with God: "If you have God on your side, everything becomes clear. I have a blessing from Him. But, of course, I can get hurt or killed as anyone can. This knowledge, this need for self-preservation, is what keeps you together. There is no end to the knowledge you can get or the understanding or the peace by going deeper and deeper. I pray regularly, not because it is a habit but because it has innovated my life. I hardly go to church because the only time I feel really good in a church is when there's nobody there." . read more