Ayrton Senna - the destruction of the indestructible

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Ayrton Senna - the destruction of the indestructible

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Created on April 29, 2021

Text:

Hartmut Lehbrink

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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McLaren MP4-4 (1988) Ayron Senna at the French Grand Prix

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McLaren MP4-4 (1988) Ayrton Senna at the US Grand Prix

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An exhibition in Sao Paulo commemorates Ayrton Senna

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Mercedes Benz 190 E 2.3-16 (1984) - Ayrton Senna wins the inaugural race at the new Nürburgring

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Mercedes Benz 190 E 2.3-16 (1984) - Up-and-coming talent Ayrton Senna wins the Nürburgring Winner's Race on May 12, 1984

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The grave of Ayrton Senna in Sao Paulo in 1995

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Senna 1990 braking into the St. Dévote chicane at the end of the start-finish straight (Pos 01)

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Senna 1992 ahead of Nigel Mansell in the St. Dévote chicane (Pos 02)

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Senna 1990 on the uphill Beau Rivage in the direction of the Casino (Pos 03)

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Senna 1990 in front of the Hotel de Paris in the fast Massenet curve (Pos 04)

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Senna 1987 on the curbs of the Casino corner (Pos 05)

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Senna 1990 accelerates out of the Casino corner onto the downhill section towards Mirabeau (Pos 06)

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Senna 1990 starts to drift and stabilizes the car on the plank (Pos 07)

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Senna 1993 in the Mirabeau Haute (Pos 08)

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Senna 1990 brakes into the Loews curve (today Fairmont) (Pos 09)

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Senna 1984 steers into the tightest corner of the entire F1 (Pos 10)

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Senna 1987 with a lot of turbo power in the slowest corner of the year (Pos 11)

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Senna 1991 with full impact at the Monaco GP in front of the casino entrance (Pos 12)

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Senna 1988 seen through the palm trees (Pos 13)

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Senna 1990 accelerates the McLaren out of the Loews curve (Pos 14)

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Senna 1987 on the way to the Mirabeau Bas (Pos 15)

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Lotus 98T (1986) - Ayrton Senna in the JPS Lotus at the 1986 Rio Grand Prix in Brazil

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Senna 1988 on the way to the other dimension in the tunnel under the Loews Hotel (Pos 17)

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Senna 1990 at the fastest point of the track shortly after the tunnel exit (Pos 18)

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Senna 1993 in the nouvelle Chicane of the former harbor chicane (Pos 19)

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Senna 1993 enters the Tabac curve (Pos 20)

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Senna 1993 flies into the double chicane around the pool, hence the name Piscine (Pos 21)

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Senna 1993 The corner exit depends on this first turn-in point (Pos 22)

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Senna 1987 in the 2nd of the four kinks (Pos 23)

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Senna 1988 in the third and slowest part of the double chicane (Pos 24)

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Senna 1992 accelerates from the third into the fourth and last corner of the double chicane (Pos 25)

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Senna 1993 back on the start-finish straight (Pos 26)

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Ayrton Senna wins the inaugural race of the new Grand Prix circuit at the Nürburgring, May 12, 1984 with 20 top racing drivers on 20 identical, then new Mercedes-Benz Type 190 E 2.3-16 (W 201)

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McLaren MP4/8A (1993) - Ayrton Senna in his winning car in Monaco

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Start of the 400th Formula 1 Grand Prix - Piquet ahead of Prost and Tambay; Senna tackles Nigel Mansell in the background - 1984 Austrian GP

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Toleman 184 (1984) - Ayrton Senna drove far to the front at the 1984 Austrian GP

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Summary

Ayrton Senna was more than just a racing driver, even more than the best. He was a dazzling beacon of hope for an entire nation and proved that mercilessness and the fierce pursuit of victory can also go hand in hand with humanity and warmth. This article by Hartmut Lehbrink gives an insight into the immediate hours after the tragedy and describes emotionally how the name Senna was significant far beyond the asphalt of the world's racetracks.

This article contains the following chapters

Concerns from within the ranks
Nothing is set in stone
Between joie de vivre and mourning
In the fog of speculation
A beacon of hope for an entire nation

Estimated reading time: 10min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The best driver in the best car will win, or so the industry augurs promise. This equation - also Frank Williams' equation - sounds simple - too simple. The first concerns came from within the Williams camp: "The 1994 season will be the tightest for years," Williams designer Patrick Head rebutted. His reasoning: the cars are more difficult to drive, the young lions like Schumacher, Häkkinen and Barrichello are hot, imponderables such as tire changes and refueling stops come into play. During testing in Imola in March, Michael Schumacher drove 0.166 seconds faster than Senna, only a small difference, but of great psychological significance. "We don't reveal our cards," says Senna, "that's a good tradition in the team." He will have to reveal them at the Brazilian Grand Prix on March 27.

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