Today would have been the 65th birthday of one of the greatest, if not the greatest, pilots of all time, Ayrton Senna. One can only guess how many world championship titles he would have collected alongside the existing three, if it weren't for the black weekend of Formula 1 in Imola...
However, during his short earthly journey, he gifted us countless fantastic moments and interesting facts about how he impacted fans, fellow athletes, and the media. For example, did you know that…
A luxury skyscraper has been named after him in Brazil? The Senna Tower, rising to 509 meters, will be built on the beautiful beach of Balneário Camboriú, and its name is not the only connection to the legend. The sensational building is being designed by none other than Ayrton's niece, Lalalli Senna!
Did you know that his great rival Alain Prost offered him the McLaren? Back then, there was no trace of what we would later come to know as the greatest rivalry ever seen in Formula 1.
Did you know that due to a coincidence, it was Erik Comas, one of the drivers, who saw him alive for the last time, the same Comas whose life Senna saved two years earlier? On that ominous sad day, immediately after the accident, a track closure was enacted, but Comas drove onto the track due to a communication error and the chaos. By the time he reached Tamburello, he could only feel "Senna's flying soul..." After the incident, Comas burst into tears, repeating that he would never race again. He retired at the end of the season...
They say, the "spirit of the place": Well, the exact location of Senna's death truly bears such a spirit. The author of these lines walked the Imola track, feeling the fate intertwined with silence, the breeze of passing away, Senna's soul.
Happy birthday, wide roads on the heavenly racetracks, Ayrton!
Photo: McLaren
