Why Silverstone Festival is perfect setting to celebrate Senna

Ayrton Senna always had a strong affinity with the UK. Like so many before and since, it was on Britain’s race tracks where Ayrton Senna da Silva (as he was then) cut his racing teeth when he came here as an already precocious 21-year-old in 1981 to dive into the maelstrom that was good old Formula Ford. He didn’t take long to make the climb to Formula 1, where he spent 10 years driving solely for British teams: Toleman, Lotus, McLaren, and Williams. I must admit it hadn’t occurred to me until it was pointed out, but such was the incessant nature of national single-seater racing in the 1980s that Senna won more races at Silverstone than at any other circuit (at least in cars, discounting his early karting career back home in Brazil). Related articles Somehow, he won the British Grand Prix on only one occasion: a wet Silverstone in 1988, when he simply drove away from everyone. I was there that day, aged 13, drenched to the bone at Stowe corner. Even in my bedraggled state, I knew I was witnessing something special. But combined with his record in Formula Ford 2000 and Formula 3, Senna’s overall strike rate at Silverstone was precisely 50%: 20 races, 10 wins. That’s why in this special Senna anniversary year, Silverstone Festival is the perfect occasion and venue to celebrate the great man. Forty years after his first F1 season, and 30 since his tragic death at Imola, the circuit is promising what might well be the biggest collection of Senna-related cars ever gathered. “Ayrton always had a very strong connection with Silverstone,” says Bianca Senna, the three-time world champion’s niece and CEO of legacy company Senna Brands. “We are excited to participate in the Festival this year, which is so special as we celebrate 30 years of Senna’s legacy. It is a tribute that will move fans worldwide.” For the hardcore enthusiasts, Silverstone Festival is primarily one of the ‘majors’ when it comes to historic motorsport: packed grids of single-seaters, sports cars, and saloons from just about every era (including pre-WW2), competing in more than 20 races across three days on the full 3.66-mile Grand Prix circuit.