It may have been two decades since his Williams crashed into the concrete wall at Imola, but for the Formula One fraternity, Ayrton Senna remains a fresh wound.
The name ‘Senna’ means a lot to F1. He was one of its most celebrated and decorated drivers, a leader within the paddock, who inspired an entire generation of racers and a tragic figure whose death was the catalyst for a number of safety reforms that have made sure no other life has been shed in a Grand Prix since. But to Bruno Senna, he was much more — a loving uncle, mentor and above all, proof that greatness can come wrapped in the most human of packages.
While the world remembers a serious, focused and unyielding figure, Bruno paints a rather different picture. “My first memories from Ayrton are when he was back home in Brazil after the last GPs of the season for holidays. He’d always bring some incredible things to me and my sisters, especially from Japan. The first thing I remember him bringing were some r/c cars that we immediately started to drive around,” says Bruno.
“He was a very relaxed, family-oriented person. Always wanted to help others and enjoy the less stressful times, when he was off-season, to the fullest. He would enjoy that time to sleep a lot and was always playing pranks with his house guests, such as putting pepper on their food when they weren’t looking, or pushing someone into the pool or sea straight after they have had a shower.”
Bruno was usually at the centre of Ayrton’s attention whenever he came home. “If you think I’m fast, wait till you see my nephew,” he had famously remarked in an interview. It was clear Ayrton saw something of himself in the younger Senna.
“Ayrton’s time was usually divided between being at the family’s farm and the beach house when he was on holidays in Brazil. Whenever we were at the farm, we’d take the go-karts out and have a few races. Ayrton was always trying to teach me through experience and just giving tips for me to learn the best ways on my own account. Sometimes he would go out on the track with me to teach some racing things as well.”
Then came Imola. Few people lost more at the Tamburello corner on May 1, 1994 than Bruno. Ayrton’s death brought Bruno’s own fledgling racing career to an abrupt halt. Few in the family wanted him to take up a sport that had cost them his uncle. “I was at home with my family when the accident happened. It was obviously a very confusing time for the family. Information was very imprecise until his death had been confirmed, so it caused a lot of stress to everyone. After we had the confirmation, it took a few moments for it to sink in and luckily, we are a very strong centralised family that gave each other support at this very difficult time.”
It took him nearly a decade to recover from that blow and despite his late start, he did make it to F1, driving for HRT first in 2010, and then for Williams — the team Ayrton was driving for at the time of his untimely death. But that was about as good as it got for the 30-year-old in Formula One.
“My time outside of motor racing wasn’t exactly by option. I was only 10 years-old and obviously lost support from my family to go racing, so it took a while before I could push for it again. Speculating if I would have gotten into Formula 1 sooner is difficult, as it could be that I wouldn’t be mature enough to go through the ranks, but certainly with more experience in motor racing before hitting F1, things could have been different.”
But everywhere he has gone, Ayrton’s shadow has followed him. “Everyone seemed to have a different story about Ayrton but I think the best one was Nigel Mansell’s one. He told me that when he won the championship in 1992, Ayrton was on the podium with him and as he was there enjoying the moment and letting the fact he had just won a world title sink in. Ayrton came to him and said: ‘Feels good, doesn’t it? Why do you think I fight so hard?’”