Ayrton Senna, Forumla 1 Legend And Three Times World Champion (GALLERY)

The Huffington Post UK  |  By Samuel Luckhurst  |  Posted: 01/05/2012 10:28 Updated: 10/05/2012 13:41

Eighteen years ago, Williams Forumla One driver Ayrton Senna died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

The Brazilian, three times F1 World Champion, entered the high-speed Tamburello corner on lap 7, but his Williams car left the track at around 205mph and hit the concrete retaining wall at around 135mph.

He was declared dead hours later at Bologna's Maggiore Hospital, a day after Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger perished during qualifying.

Senna's success in the sport occasionally lifted the darkness which loomed over his country during impoverished times. Three days of national mourning were declared after he died, and an estimated three million people flocked to the streets of his hometown of São Paulo to pay their respects.

Aged 34 when he passed away, Senna's legacy and life-story is one of the most colourful in any sport. He was immortalised outside of Brazil courtesy of Asif Kapadia's superb 2010 documentary.

In tribute to one of F1's greatest ever drivers, here's a gallery of his life and times behind the wheel:

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Eighteen years ago, Williams Forumla One driver Ayrton Senna died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. The Brazilian, three times F1 World Champion, entered the high-speed Tamburello corner on lap 7,...
Eighteen years ago, Williams Forumla One driver Ayrton Senna died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. The Brazilian, three times F1 World Champion, entered the high-speed Tamburello corner on lap 7,...
 
 
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vividrick
I came, I saw...I had a cup of tea!
11:20 on 25/05/2012
I hate Formula One lol. But I did make myself watch the 'Senna' film dcumentary last year, on the basis I remember the impact in when he died in 1994, I remember that year vividly. I was in high school, my art teacher, I guess he must have been a Socialist, suddenly anncounce to his pupils that Labour leader John Smith had collapsed & died, I could see from his eyes he was gutted! My mate said: "What's going on? Everyone is dying!" ...and there were other cultural icons dying shockingly young that year, Bill Hicks, Kurt Cobain, Andres Escobar, etc etc.

Not forgetting Ratzenberger, whom Senna wanted to pay tribute to by waving the Austrian flag (tucked in his car) had he won the race at Imola. On another nice touch, Saw ESPN documentary on Prost recently, and he treasures one of Senna's helmets in his office mantelpiece, his great rival & friend.

Anyways, anyone who hasn't seen the docu-film 'Senna', I recommend it, it's fantastic, great footage, like I say, don't have to be an F1 fan to enjoy it. You learn about him as a person, and he seemed a nice bloke.
20:29 on 14/05/2012
You can see Ayrton Senna's legacy today. Win at all costs, disregard the safety of other drivers, if I can't win neither shall you. This has all come from him. If you are that good let your driving speak for you. One of the worlds greatest drivers?? NO. If he were driving today his excesses would be reined in (I hope). I regret his death but I do not wish to see his like again.
08:12 on 25/05/2012
What are you talking about? Senna is probably the best racing driver there has been. He may have had a few prangs in his time, but that's racing. If you see a gap you go for it. I'd rather see someone going for it and have a few crashes here and there than just driving around being cautious.
08:52 on 25/05/2012
While you may be correct about his ability, any driver who will deliberately drive a competitor off the circuit (Prost) to win a championship in the paddock rather than 'risk' losing it on the track to an equally talented driver does not earn my respect. As an occasional racing driver myself I may have a different perspective to yourself.