Recently, I went on Netflix and watched Senna, a film documenting the life and career, and ultimately, the death of, Three-Time World Driver's Champion Ayrton Senna. Before I go further, let me say that I've only watched Formula One since July of 2008. I've only known three different World Champions in my time. Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, and Sebastian Vettel are the only drivers to win the title since then.During the 1980s and 1990s, Ayrton Senna could be described as the standard bearer of racing drivers. He and Frenchman Alain Prost, the Professor, dueled each other from start to finish. It began in 1984, when Senna piloted a lesser-quality Toleman car through the ranks at rain-drenched Monaco, only to see Prost beg for the race to be stopped...and race directors under Jean-Marie Balestre agree.
Later in his career, Senna and Prost would team up, although their professional animosity would not subside. Over the course of his career, Senna would drive for Toleman-Hart, Lotus-Renault, McLaren-Honda, and finally Williams-Renault. He would win 41 races, place on 80 podiums, gain 65 pole positions, and earn the World Driver's Championship three times. To me, the highlight of his career might just be the 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix.
In March of 1991, the Brazilian Grand Prix was the second race of the season. Senna had already won the first race of the season, but Brazil saw his car turn against him. The gearbox began to fail, gear by gear, until, with only 10 laps to go, Senna was wrestling a car stuck in sixth gear. He won, but afterwards had to be bodily lifted from the car. He asked reporters and crew members alike not to touch him, as he was in such pain that it was unbearable to even be touched. That action, to me, showed me all I needed to know about Ayrton Senna.
Then the movie reached the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. I felt a lump harden in my stomach. I knew what happened at Imola that year. Rubens Barrichello would crash hard on Friday, ending his weekend. On Saturday, Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger was killed in the final round of qualifying.
After an early race crash, the race restarted, only to see Senna's Williams spear off course at the Tamburello Corner. It was immediately evident that something was wrong. Once Senna's car came to rest, he moved his head only a little bit, and then went still. As fire marshalls and then health officials came to his aid, the race was red flagged. A radio communication erroneously sent to Erik Comas's Larrousse car saw the driver leave the pits. He later admitted that the sight at Tamburello was one of the most disturbing things he'd ever seen.
Prof. Sid Watkins performed an emergency tracheotomy at the scene, but later said that, once Senna had been extricated from the car and placed on the ground, he sighed once. According to Watkins, who claims not to be religious, it was the moment his spirit departed. There was some controversy after the race. Williams would eventually face several legal charges, including manslaughter. Due to the statute of limitations under Italian law expiring, the accused at Williams faced no legal repercussions.
Senna was honored with a state funeral attended by much of the Formula One community, and even Alain Prost was a pall bearer and eventually became a board member at the Instituto Ayrton Senna, a charity Senna developed for Brazilian children.
The movie sticks with you. For days, it sticks with you. And I didn't experience the events in real time. The analog in my life is the death of Dale Earnhardt.
In 2001, the NASCAR season kicked off with the Daytona 500. On the final lap, Earnhardt was running third and defending the rest of the pack to allow teammate Michael Waltrip to win the race. As they entered turn four, Earnhardt tangled with Sterling Marlin and went nose-first into the wall. A few hours after the race, NASCAR announced that Earnhardt had died as a result of the accident.
As a 19-year-old racing fan, it was a shock. I was no fan of Earnhardt. In fact, I couldn't stand him. But you still don't want anyone to get hurt, much less killed. I sat there on the edge of my bed that night, trying to figure out what NASCAR would be like without the Intimidator. He was a 7-time NASCAR champion. He gained the Intimidator nickname because that's what he was...Intimidating.
After Senna's death, Formula One changed. There was initial overreaction, but it smoothed out to the point that there was still exciting racing. And better yet, Formula One has suffered no driver fatalities since. An impressive run of 17 years. NASCAR, similarly, has not suffered a driver fatality at its highest levels since Earnhardt's accident.
Both series made massive safety changes to the cars. NASCAR took steps to make its tracks safer, installing SAFER barriers and requiring drivers to use Head-and-Neck Support (HANS) devices. Formula One increased driver safety in the cars and reprofiled several high speed corners to rein in the speed and power of the cars.
All of this changed racing forever. But Senna, the movie if not the man, has stuck with me. Senna was a devout believer in God. His religion came to gnaw at other drivers. Alain Prost basically accused Senna of thinking he was invincible just because he believed in God. Senna admitted that he wasn't invincible. In the movie, Senna's sister claimed that the morning of the San Marino Grand Prix, less than 24 hours after the death of Roland Ratzenberger, Ayrton awoke and took his Bible, and read a passage that he would "receive the greatest gift of all, which was God himself."
Prof. Sid Watkins tried to get Ayrton to quit after the Ratzenberger accident by saying "You know, Ayrton, you've been three-times World Champion, you're the fastest man in the world." and "Why don't you quit? And I'll quit. And we'll just go fishing." Senna responded "Sid, I can't quit."
On Ayrton Senna's tombstone is the quote "Nada pode me separar do amor de Deus."
Nothing can separate me from the Love of God.
The movie sticks with you. Than man will stick with you even more.
