The story of what is for many, the best Formula 1 driver ever, intersects closely with the Estoril Circuit. But first, let's recall the succession of events that led to Ayrton Senna shining on the biggest stage of motorsport in Portugal.
Ayrton Senna was born on March 21, 1960 in São Paulo, Brazil, and since he was little he started to give cards. He was behind the wheel of a kart with a lawnmower engine, which at age four began to show what he was born for. He entered official competitions at age 13, where he often struggled with second place.
On the last lap I unfastened my seat belt, such was my euphoria to get up and celebrate my first victory in F1 — Ayrton Senna, Estoril Circuit, 1985.
But in 1977 his perseverance earned him his 1st place, which led him to win the South American Kart Championship, a feat that was repeated in 1978 and 1980. Effortless and with his eyes always on first place, Ayrton Senna never lost the hope of becoming number 1. With so many victories, the next step was obvious: start competing in the main European championships.
And in 1981 he started competing in Europe, winning the English championship in Formula Ford 1600 where he won 12 out of 20 races. In 1982 he became European champion of Formula Ford 2000 , winning 22 of the 27 races.
This evolution has not gone unnoticed. In 1983, Senna won the English championship in Formula 3 where he got 13 wins, nine of them consecutive, by Dick Bennetts team. A time marked by the controversial battle with Martin Brundle, who was running for an opposing team.
triumphed in the prestigious Macau Grand Prix by Teddy Yip’s Theodore Racing Team, a victory that led him to be a Formula 3 driver. reaching Formula 1 in 1984 at the controls of a British single-seater Toleman. And it was in the 1984 Monaco GP , where he caught the attention of all the teams with a masterful performance at the controls of a completely obsolete single-seater.
It was in his second season that Ayrton Senna won his first GP, it was in 1985. And it was in ours GP of Portugal that the Brazilian pilot would inaugurate a series of victories.
A race that will go down in history as a driving recital. A deluge was falling on Sintra, and Ayrton Senna left the starting line at the wheel of a Lotus-Renault with the conviction of someone who knew that victory, more than a possibility, was a certainty. Before finishing the first lap, Senna already secured first place.
His abilities cannot be described, mere words are not enough to qualify his driving. I leave you a video, a short summary about the 1985 Portuguese GP, with Senna's comment about the race: