Wednesday marks 30 years since the tragic death of the legendary Ayrton Senna.
The three-time Formula One world champion was killed in an accident early in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, just one day after the death of Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger. They were the first drivers to be killed in a crash at an F1 race for 12 years, and would be the last for 20 years, as safety improved dramatically following the horrific events of Imola 1994.
Senna was shaken by the death of Ratzenberger a day earlier, and the face of the sport was to change forever when the Brazilian hit the wall on the outside of the Tamburello corner on lap seven of the race. He was just 34 years old.
The arguments are destined to rage on about who the greatest F1 driver of all time is. Modern viewers might be inclined to plump for Lewis Hamilton, while the statisticians and those who witnessed his era of domination in the Ferrari are likely to opt for Michael Schumacher. Traditionalists might even say Juan Manuel Fangio, the titan of the sport's opening decade in the 1950s.
But, when you ask those in the know, there is scarcely a name mentioned more often than that of Ayrton Senna. The Brazilian may not have the seven titles of Hamilton and Schumacher, or the multi-team championship successes of Fangio, Prost, or Lauda, but his brilliance was visible in a way matched by nobody before or since.
Senna drove the car in such an aggressive, hostile, ruthlessly effective fashion that it is difficult even now not to be totally immersed in old clips of him flinging the Lotuses and McLaren around the circuits of the '80s and '90s. Ask any F1 driver born in the '80s who their hero was growing up and they will almost to a tee answer "Senna."
The memorial for Ayrton Senna at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola (Photo: Shutterstock)
Even in the afterglow of Hamilton v Verstappen 2021, it is hard to think of a time when Formula 1 had such a cultural presence as it did at the height of Senna's infamous and bitter rivalry with Alain Prost.
The tributes will flow in this Wednesday as they do on the first day of May every year, for a driver who has defined the face of the sport in a manner nobody else has ever managed.
Especially for someone such as me cursed to have been born after Senna's demise and unable to witness him in his prime, it is hard to truly wrap one's head around just how powerful a presence Senna was in the sporting world of the 1980s and '90s.
The outstanding Senna is among the greatest documentaries ever made - sporting or otherwise - but, in concise form, it's hard to think of a better tribute to the legendary Brazilian than Top Gear's outstanding 16-minute feature from the same year as Senna's release.
2010 would have marked Ayrton Senna's 50th birthday had he survived the 1994 season. Tributes poured in just as they have this year for Senna's 30th anniversary - but Top Gear's went above and beyond.
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Top Gear knocked it out of the park with 2010 tribute to the late Ayrton Senna
For the best part of 15 years, Top Gear was among the very best weekly TV in the UK and Ireland for petrolheads and otherwise.
At its core, it was more a comedy show than an out-and-out car show, though it did have the ability to pull out some truly special segments from time to time. Their 2010 tribute to Ayrton Senna stands out as perhaps their best work.
Introducing the segment, Jeremy Clarkson says:
The funny thing is, I was talking to my 14-year-old son about this the other day. He went, 'Oh, Ayrton Senna, is he that racing driver that got killed?'
It's awful but what I said to him...if you'd seen his funeral, you'd know he was a bit more than that.
What follows is 15 or so minutes of the best sports television you will ever watch (thankfully still to this day available on YouTube).
Enlisting the help of iconic F1 drivers throughout, Clarkson hosts a monumental segment which not only made Senna such a great of the sport, but also a pantomime villain thanks to his often excessively dangerous driving on the track.
Martin Brundle, who enjoyed a famous rivalry with Senna on their way up to Formula 1, is one of those called in to share his memories of his old friend. The now-Sky F1 commentator remarks that Senna was indeed a driver who lived life on the edge and constantly risked his own life and those of his competitors in the car - but that he was, paradoxically, a remarkably kind human being.
He would put you in a compromising position and then leave you to make the decision. If you didn't run into him, psychologically you were buried and finished. He knew that, from then on, every time he showed you a wheel, you'd jump out of the way.
That's the paradox of Ayrton Senna, isn't it? He was clearly a fantastic human being. He cared about people in Brazil, he cared about racing drivers, he was mortally hurt when Ratzenberger died the day before he died. But then, he would crash Alain Prost off the race track and put both their lives at risk.
The complexity of Senna's character is perhaps the final piece of what makes him such a truly compelling driver, and the yellow crash helmet has come to define a style of driving noticeably prevalent among the drivers of today. It is no coincidence that countless drivers utilise a yellow crash helmet nowadays to emulate their hero, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris included.
A Senna tribute piece by @JeremyClarkson and @LewisHamilton on @BBC_TopGear #Senna30 #F1
pic.twitter.com/JkEjE5dRli— FormulaNerds 🤓🏁 (@Formula_Nerds) May 1, 2024
Undoubtedly the highlight of the Top Gear feature is when a then-25-year-old Hamilton gets the opportunity to drive Senna's iconic McLaren MP4/4 around Silverstone, a lifelong dream for the Brit. Hamilton was only three years into his F1 career then, and a long way away from surpassing Senna's records, something he would do later in his career.
But the then-McLaren driver has always stated that Senna was his idol growing up, sharing on the Top Gear special that he wept the day of Senna's death. The giddiness and glee in his voice as he flings one of the most famous F1 cars of all time around one of its greatest tracks is the perfect embodiment of how the spirit of Senna has carried over to the generation of drivers who followed him.
Indeed, the feature opens with a host of drivers from the 2010 grid and beyond - including world champions Fernando Alonso, Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher - being asked to name their "GOAT." Each and every one says the same name.
The final word goes to Clarkson. The controversial host is, for once, understated during the feature, in an unfamiliar, non-joking mood - but captivating throughout. But he sums it up better than anyone when he puts his finger on what, to him, makes Senna such an immortal figure in motor racing.
I'll be honest with you, I was never a Senna fan. I always thought Gilles Villeneuve was the greatest racing driver of them all. But, to make this film, I've watched hours and hours and hours of footage. And the thing is...Villeneuve was spectacular on a number of occasions.
Senna was spectacular every single time he got in a car.
Other may have surpassed and come to surpass his records, but we will never see a driver and a sporting figure quite like Ayrton Senna in Formula 1 ever again. To gain an understanding of what made him so special, one could do a lot worse than watch one of the greatest Top Gear segments ever made.
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