19 years ago we were mourning the loss of one of the all time greats in Formula One – Ayrton Senna. Tragedy struck at Imola, 1994 when he was killed in an accident while leading the San Marino GP. Sir Frank Williams was then and still is today, the Team Principal of the Williams F1 Team. Here he reflects on the time he spent with Aytron and tells us why he will live on our FW cars forever.
“Ayrton was a great man. You could tell he had that fierce competitive spirit that every racing driver should have. But off the track, he was a calm, charming man and that’s what made him stand out.
His approach was immensely professional; he was very tough minded and expected the very highest standards from everyone. He was extremely dedicated to Formula One and had a strong personality that often drove others on to achieve their goals.
Ayrton found it hard to trust people initially, but when you gained that trust, you knew about it. He was a very clever man who could have been an astute businessman, possibly even achieving the highest political status in his country.
His personality meant that he was able to persuade people to do things they never dreamt of doing or even to change your mind to his way.
He will always be remembered for his success on track and the impact he had on many people’s lives. We have chosen to honour him in our own way, the Senna ‘S’ has been on the front nose of every Williams car made following his passing away.
The tribute will remain there, along with a ‘VW’ for my late wife Virginia, as we as a team want them to be the first to cross the finish line in every race Williams take part in.”
Sir Frank Williams was speaking in the days before the 19th anniversary of Ayrton’s death. The picture below displays the reference to the Senna ‘S’ on the Williams car.
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