GP: South Africa
Date: 7 April 1984
Winner: Niki Lauda - McLaren-TAG Porsche
It was Ayrton Senna's second ever F1 race, at the wheel of a Pirelli-shod Toleman and he picked up his first world championship point.
It was the start of a legendary career, which was brought to a tragic and premature end at Imola on 1st May 1994. He won three world titles with McLaren in 1988, 1990 and 1991, with 41 wins and 65 pole positions from 162 Grand Prix starts.
Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 21 March 1960, his talent was first put to good use in karts, followed by phenomenal performances in Formula Ford and Formula 3 which led to an immediate step up to Formula 1.
Everyone still remembers the way he closed down Alain Prost in Monaco in the wet, also in '84. Then came his first win, in Portugal in 1985, driving for Lotus, again in the rain, conditions where he excelled.
Then came that terrible rivalry with McLaren team-mate Prost, which reached new heights once the Frenchman moved to Ferrari. Then, in 1994 Senna made that ill-fated move to Williams, replacing Prost who had just clinched his fourth title with the team the year before.
Fiercely aggressive on track, but with a calm sense of spirituality, driven by a deep-seated need to give something back in return for his talent and ability to achieve his dreams, Senna died at the age of just 34, a shooting star that left a trail of light in the firmament that still fascinates people of all ages and backgrounds.
In 2025 Pirelli will hit the 500 F1® Grands Prix mark during the season.
Legacy of Speed series looks back at the fifty most significant Grands Prix from Pirelli's time on the F1 World Championship trail.
