Ayrton Senna was one of the best Formula 1 drivers ever. Then again, he raced most of his career before the cars all ran on computers, and you actually had to drive the car with a manual gear box (no flappy paddles yet) so you had to be really good. (If I had been born a little earlier I could have totally gotten into F1) He had a way of driving that was not always as safe as others would like it to be. He would put others in a position, not of direct danger, but they would have to back off if they didn’t want to wreck. If someone ever gave him any sort of gap he would be sticking his nose in for sure because he lived by this one racing philosophy.
“If a gap becomes available to you and you don’t go for it…you are no longer a race car driver!”
-Ayrton Senna
It was this mentality that caused him to win 3 World Championships and beat out his fiercest of rivals, Alain Prost. They had quite the rivalry, you can watch it unfold in the documentary movie Senna.
He was one of McLauren’s most legendary drivers, and had he stayed with them one more year before hoping over to Williams or whatever other team he would have desired to be with, he probably would still be with us today. Then again racing debris can fly at anyone at any track.
Still, how many people get to die doing what they love? It beats being in a hospital bed somewhere.
Happy what would have been your 54th, Ayrton.