Ayrton Senna

During the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Senna was killed in a crash whilst leading the race, driving the Williams FW16. His state funeral was attended by over a million people. Following subsequent safety reforms, he was the last fatality in the Formula One World Championship until Jules Bianchi in 2014. Senna achieved 41 wins, 65 pole positions, 19 fastest laps and 80 podiums in Formula One; he remains a legendary figure within motorsport for his raw speed and uncompromising driving style, as well as his philanthropy, and is frequently cited as a national hero of Brazil. He was also widely acclaimed for his wet-weather performances, such as at the 1984 Monaco, 1985 Portuguese and 1993 European Grands Prix. Senna was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2000 and into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2025.

Senna attended the Colégio Rio Branco in the São Paulo neighbourhood of Higienópolis and graduated in 1977 with a grade 5 in physics, alongside other grades in mathematics, chemistry, and English. He later enrolled in a college that specialised in business administration, but dropped out after three months with an average grade of 68%.

Senna won the South American Kart Championship in 1977. He contested the Karting World Championship five times from 1978 to 1982, finishing runner-up in 1979 and 1980. From 1978 to 1980, he was the teammate and rival of Terry Fullerton at DAP; their fierce rivalry saw several 1–2 finishes in major competitions. Senna later stated that Fullerton was the rival he got the most satisfaction racing against, owing to the lack of money and politics at that level, describing it as "pure racing".

In 1981, Senna moved to Eaton, a suburb of Norwich in England, to pursue an open-wheel racing career; he began his career in Formula Ford 1600, winning the British and Townsend Thoresen Championships that year with Van Diemen, amid a fractious rivalry with teammate Enrique Mansilla.

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