Ayrton Senna and Interlagos had a long and ancient relationship. Champion since his karting days at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, the Brazilian idol helped design the layout of the track that continues to this day. On the circuit in São Paulo, his hometown, Senna won two thrilling Formula 1 victories, in 1991 and 1993. The documentary series “Senna pro Ayrton”, available on Globoplay, shows several episodes of the pilot’s relationship with the track, which was like a second home for him.
“Senna by Ayrton” series brings details of Senna’s victory in the Brazilian GP in 1993
From the very beginning, the Senna-Interlagos relationship showed that it would work forever. At the age of thirteen, in 1973, young Ayrton made his debut at the Interlagos Kartódromo and won. It was not only the young promise’s first race there, but the first in an official karting race. The track has been named after the Brazilian idol since 1996.
Interlagos was Ayrton Senna’s home ground for winning the Paulista Kart Championship in 1976. He had already won the competition in the junior category two years earlier, at the age of 14. Still young, Ayrton was the star of the Kartódromo. It was there that Senna began to show his ability in the rain. It all started after a poor performance on a wet track. From then on, he started taking the kart to the track as soon as the first drops fell to train in these adverse conditions.
When Senna left Brazil to race in Europe, Interlagos was also left behind. An encounter with the track took place in 1982, shortly after Ayrton became Formula Ford champion. He was invited to a special superkart race at the end of the season. Even without experience in that type of kart, the young driver won two three heats and came in third place in one of them.
With Ayrton Senna in Formula 1, the relationship with Interlagos would become more distant. At the time, the Brazilian GP was held at the Autódromo de Jacarepaguá, in Rio de Janeiro. The driver’s debut in the category, in fact, was in Rio de Janeiro, and ended with an abandonment, in 1984. Fate seemed to say that Senna’s place was not on that track, but on another that he knew very well.
In total, there were six races held in Jacarepaguá between 1984 and 1989. The long-awaited victory at home was far from coming for Senna, who reached the podium on just one occasion, when he was second in the 1986 race. In addition to his debut, Ayrton had two other retirements, one disqualification and a bitter 11th position in Rio de Janeiro.
The good Son returns home. In 1990, the Brazilian F1 GP was once again held in Interlagos, which underwent many changes to the layout. Ayrton Senna helped design the new track, which would feature a downhill curve affectionately called “Senna’s S”. The pilot’s idea, however, was not to have his own name on the site. For him, the right thing to do was to be the “S for Chico Landi”, the first Brazilian to race in Formula 1 and who had died in 1989.
What really caught on was the “Senna S”, as the curve is still called today. In the first race there, Senna was visibly excited to be at Interlagos. It was the second stage of the 1990 championship, and Ayrton had already won the first, on the Phoenix street circuit, in the United States. It was the beginning of a season that did not have the natural animation of the Brazilian idol.
The previous year, Senna lost the world title after being disqualified in the Japanese GP. He and his then teammate, Alain Prost, were fighting for the lead in the race. The Frenchman turned the corner earlier and went straight towards the Brazilian’s car. Prost had to abandon, but Ayrton managed to return to the track with the help of the marshals, but missed the chicane. He finished the race in first place, but was disqualified. Protests from Senna and McLaren were not few, and the FIA (International Automobile Federation) even suspended the Brazilian’s super license.
Prost left McLaren and signed with Ferrari for 1990. Ayrton, who thought about not competing in the new season, returned to the track. The victory in Phoenix wasn’t enough to get him excited to seek his second Formula 1 title. It was at home that everything changed.
– With all the enthusiasm from the fans, which was enormous, there in Interlagos, I regained a flavor, a taste, in driving, in fighting for victory – said Senna about his home debut.
In pole position, Senna had everything he needed to win in Brazil for the first time. He was leading the race with a good advantage over his opponents when he collided with latecomer Satoru Nakajima and broke the front wing of his McLaren MP4/5B, forcing him to make another pit stop. With that, the Brazilian took third place while he saw the victory go to Alain Prost.
Despite this, in 1990, the title returned to Ayrton’s hands at the end of the season. The following year, again with the best car, and now without Prost in the way, Senna would go all out for the tri. He started 1991 with another victory in the US GP and arrived optimistic for the race in Brazil. It wouldn’t be easy to stop McLaren at Interlagos, and Ayrton flew to secure pole position ahead of Williams’ Riccardo Patrese and Nigel Mansell. In the race, the fight was between the Brazilian and the British.
After a mistake by Williams at the pit stop, Mansell lost time compared to Senna. The FW14, however, made the Briton get closer to Ayrton’s McLaren, which lost fourth gear. While his opponent lost pace on the track and spun to retire, the Brazilian faced more problems with two other gears breaking.
Leader with a large gap to Patrese, second place after Mansell’s retirement, Senna had to make a great effort without some gears. With seven laps to go, the McLaren was stuck in sixth gear until the end. Much slower than Williams, Ayrton took advantage of the rain to win his first victory in Brazil. The celebration on the car radio is one of the most moving in Ayrton Senna’s career. On the podium, the idol was physically exhausted, had very little strength to stand and showed great effort to be able to lift the triumph trophy in Interlagos.
Two years later, in 1993, Senna faced a large gap to Alain Prost’s Williams. The opponent’s car was superior to the one McLaren had assembled for that year’s championship. None of this was enough to stop Ayrton on the track he knew so well. Victory in the second stage, in Interlagos, seemed very far away. With a 1s8 gap to Prost in qualifying, Senna started behind the Frenchman, on pole, and Damon Hill, also in Williams.
The Brit fell behind at the start, but recovered the position on the 11th lap of the race. With the rain on the track, Senna was the first to go to the pits to change the tires. The Brazilian’s life became easier when the race leader, Alain Prost, crashed into Christian Fittipaldi’s Minardi in Senna’s S and left the race to the cheers of the fans at Interlagos. Ayrton also had problems on the curve and almost had to leave, but he continued in second place and in search of victory.
After the end of the rain and with dry tires, overtaking still seemed dangerous. Senna, however, didn’t want to know. Behind Damon Hill, he threw the car around the outside, and the Brit closed to defend the left side. The Brazilian’s McLaren went inside and got first place with a beautiful “cow dribble” on Williams. Ayrton Senna opened up a good gap to his opponent and took victory in the 1993 Brazilian GP. The fans went to the Interlagos track to celebrate the victory, and Senna had to ride to the podium in the safety car.
Senna’s last race at Interlagos took place in 1994, when he was at Williams. Before the race, he guided the FW16 on a lap that taught what should be done on each section of the circuit. In the main race he was unlucky. Ayrton started on pole position, but spun on lap 55 and saw his engine stop. A large part of the fans left the stands as soon as their idol left.
The farewell to Interlagos was far from being the best, but Senna’s history was already made at the race track. In the next stage, in Ímola, the Brazilian idol suffered the accident that took his life at the Tamburello curve and died at the age of 34.
Interlagos Autodrome receives tribute to Ayrton Senna
Tags: Series details Sennas relationship Interlagos karting titles formula
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