Ayrton Senna: Remembering the Formula One icon

There has hardly ever been a Formula One driver as revered as Ayrton Senna. The Brazilian won 41 Grand Prix races, held 65 pole positions, and won three driver's championships. At the third race of the 1994 season, he crashed his Williams-sponsored car on the racetrack at Imola in San Marino.

Following an accident at the start, the race on May 1, 1994, began with a safety car phase. Senna won the restart and led the field for two laps. On the seventh lap, and without any perceivable steering correction, Senna crashed straight into a wall on the Tamburello curve. A front tire was torn off and a metal bar from the wheel suspension went through Senna's helmet

At a hospital in Bologna, Senna's death was confirmed — he died from the grave injuires to his head. Formula One was in a state of shock and Brazil was in a state of mourning. Senna's coffin was interred at the parliament building in Sao Paulo. One and a half million people took part in his funeral procession to say goodbye to their idol.

One day before his death, Senna said Formula One needed to be safer, a reaction to the death of Austria's Roland Ratzenberger, who died during training in Imola. But it wasn’t until after the "blackest weekend in Formula One" that changes were made. Tracks were made safer, the cars were improved, and no Formula One drivers have died in racing accidents since Senna.

At the time of his death, Senna was the driver with the most kilometers spent in the lead and the second-highest number of Grand Prix wins in Formula One. He was considered an athlete behind the wheel who was brilliant in rainy conditions. He was a role model for drivers in his generation and those yet to come, including Michael Schumacher.

Just like Schumacher, Senna got his start in kart racing. He came from a well-off family and was 13 when he drove his first race. He won the Brazilian and South American kart championships several times. After stints at Formula Ford and Formula 3, he started working as a test driver for various Formula One teams in 1983.

Senna's first Formula One race was for Toleman in 1984. Of all places, it was the Brazilian Grand Prix in his home of Sao Paulo. But he didn't reach the finish line in that race. After he switched teams to Lotus, he celebrated his first Grand Prix win in Estoril and finished among the top places in the world championship ranking.

The most successful period in Ayrton Senna's career came after moving from Lotus to McLaren in 1988. He won the world title in his first year with his new team. He repeated the feat in 1990 and 1991. His teammate during that period was France's Alain Prost, who was also his biggest rival at the time.

Competition with Prost was most intense at the Japan Grand Prix in 1989, the penultimate race of the season. Senna had to win in order to pass Prost in the title ranking. On a chicane, Senna tried to pass Prost on the inside. Prost wouldn't let Senna by, and both cars ended up on the side of the racetrack. Senna kept driving and won, but was later disqualified. Prost became world champion.

After five years with McLaren, Senna went to Williams in 1994, the most dominant team in Formula One at the time. The combination of the best car and the best driver was meant to yield another title. But Senna only started three races for the English team. At the first two, in Sao Paulo and Aida, Senna had to drop out of the race. In the third race at Imola, he crashed and died.

Ayrton Senna has an honorary grave at the Morumbi cemetery in Sao Paulo. There is a memorial next to the Tamburello curve in Imola. It depicts a seated, contemplative Ayrton Senna, and flowers are still left by hundreds of fans today.

To mark the 30th anniversary of his passing, many fans will take part in a run at Interlagos. There will also be a host of television programs marking the anniversary, and an exhibition (above) titled "I, Ayrton Senna da Silva –- 30 years" will open in Rio de Janeiro on May 1 after a nationwide tour.