We didn't think that karting
would become a career.
But it's taking on a bigger dimension
and we're a little worried
because he will probably race in Formula One.
May God always protect him
from all danger he may face, that's my greatest fear.
I want to thank him for being such a great son,
for his good and honest work this year.
That is more important than any title for me.
The time has come.
Ayrton is ready to drive a Formula One car for the first time.
I think God gave me this chance,
which I have been waiting for so long.
And now He is helping me to stay calm, relaxed, tranquil.
Well Ayrton, it's a beautiful city
lovely narrow streets for walking, but not for racing, right?
Yes, exactly. I got here at the last minute
and I'm impressed because it's my first time in Monaco.
I've had a bit of practice
and, luckily, managed to adapt to the track.
There's no room for error, as an error would lead to an accident.
But so far I'm pretty happy.
I was already travelling a lot, reporting on Formula One
when Ayrton began to stand out. He was driving for Toleman.
Toleman wasn't a winning team.
It wasn't a winning car.
It was never going to win a race.
That's why what Ayrton did at Monaco showed a touch of genius.
He comes and devours Niki Lauda!
Ayrton Senna takes second place
on the most dangerous part of the circuit!
They are going to stop the race.
It is incredible!
Ayrton waves his arm wildly!
He is celebrating as if he has won the race!
If it went on for a few more laps,
you can be sure Ayrton would have taken the lead.
I had a great chance to win.
But unless you cross the finishing line in first place,
it is impossible to know.
Formula One is political, it is money,
and when you are still small, you have to go through this.
Ayrton Senna, the new star of Formula One!
On the Formula One podium for the first time
after a fantastic performance.
Even when he was very young he already knew what he wanted
and he would make it happen.
For example, he paid extra attention in class
so he wouldn't have to study at home
and have more time to play with his go-kart.
Ayrton was a genius in the rain.
Whenever the conditions were bad and the track got more slippery,
he had something else.
Ayrton Senna wins in Portugal!
AYRTON SENNA Winner of Portuguese Grand Prix '85
The race in Estoril was incredible.
He lapped every car but one.
It's marvelous! It's an extraordinary feeling.
I'm delighted because in my second year in Formula One,
I achieved my first dream, which was to win a Grand Prix.
AYRTON SENNA Winner of Portuguese Grand Prix '85
I think there are many Japanese girls
who are fans of Mr Senna.
I'm so close to Mr Senna and so nervous.
The first year at McLaren was very decisive in Ayrton's life.
He was very tense,
it was like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders
because now he had a responsibility
to prove he really was a top driver.
Fifteenth race of the season.
In the small hours, Brazil is waiting
for Ayrton Senna to win his first world title in Formula One.
His childhood dream.
They are going to start, let's go, green light.
Senna stalled!
Senna left on the grid.
Prost took the lead, Ayrton Senna is way behind.
There is Ayrton Senna in fourteenth place.
I thought, "The Championship is over.
"It's all over."
Senna is already up to eighth place. He is making a fantastic recovery.
But then his favorite thing happened,
it began to rain.
Senna's now in fourth place.
Senna's coming, he's coming, coming, coming!
Ayrton Senna goes for it and overtakes Prost.
I started being thankful as I was doing the last lap.
I thanked God.
I couldn't believe I was actually going to win the Championship
with all the anxiety and tension.
I felt His presence.
I visualized, I saw God.
It was a special moment in my life.
An enormous feeling.
I have registered it in my memory,
and it remains a part of me.
Ayrton Senna of Brazil!
World Champion of 1988!
A fantastic race!
A brilliant win because he came back from sixteenth place.
Ayrton, do you feel like a World Champion now?
I just feel peace.
It feels like tons of weight have lifted
from my head and shoulders.
And it is hard to comprehend what being a World Champion is.
He is an incredible person.
He is so humble,
and he raises the image of Brazil abroad.
He shares his victories with us.
I admire him so much.
He's a very brave man.
That's all I know of him.
He is our pride.
One of the few things we can still be proud of.
I once asked Ayrton when he would stop racing.
Mum, I'll stop when I become World Champion.
I knew deep inside it is not true.
We all know that.
When the 1988 Championship was over and he'd won,
it was plain to see how he'd become a different person
because he had, in fact, found himself.
He discovered what he was about,
it was a process which had its closure with that victory.
At Christmas things happen.
We make new friends,
like the one I will introduce now.
He was part of my 1988,
Ayrton Senna.
Isn't he cute?
I have a question.
Everyone's excited, but no one more than me,
because it's hard to speak now that he's my friend.
Ayrton, what do you want for Christmas?
A Christmas present?
What I really want, I can't say here.
Why not?
Censored, but I just want happiness.
Tell me here.
Happy New Year.
Happy 1990.
Happy '91 .
Happy '92.
Happy '93.
Senna v Prost, Prost v Senna,
the order of the grid is always one or the other.
It is war between them
because the French driver Alain Prost
thinks that his team-mate has been disloyal towards him.
And it seems that this quarrel could have consequences
for the rest of the season.
Race by race, they were growing further apart.
He said, "This Frenchman... This Frenchman is hard.
"He wants war."
Sometime after that
they split completely, they didn't speak any more.
I'd like you all to welcome the President of FISA, Mr Balestre.
Prost is first, Senna is second.
Prost jumped into the lead.
Prost makes a better start.
They crash and it is better for Prost.
If this is the end, Prost wins the title.
Once again, only a victory will do for Ayrton Senna.
Nannini goes by.
He goes by to take the lead.
Senna is still in the pit.
Senna rejoins far behind Nannini.
It's going to be almost impossible.
It is all or nothing, five laps to go.
A suicidal race for Senna if he tries something.
Prost saw Ayrton rejoin the race
and went straight to the Race Stewards' Office.
Nannini is first, Senna is second.
Senna forces it, blocks Nannini.
Senna overtakes!
Brazilian flags are waving.
Everyone is on their feet.
Ayrton Senna.
The checkered flag!
Senna celebrates inside his cockpit.
He pounds his helmet.
Ayrton Senna from Brazil!
Visibly emotional,
he flips open his visor and wipes his tears.
It was a fantastic victory,
the like of which I have never seen before.
It was unheard of for the podium to be delayed.
The longer we waited, the more we feared things were becoming political.
The decision taken by the Stewards,
by the Stewards at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Excludes car number one and its driver Ayrton Senna
from the final result of this race.
Just after the race
this Giant Screen
repeatedly showed the accident
and Senna rejoining the race.
After reviewing these images, the stewards concluded
that because Senna did not drive through the chicane
to rejoin to the track,
he infringed Article 56 of FIA regulations.
The Court of Appeal pronounces
a six month suspended ban of Senna's license,
which is a warning not only for Ayrton Senna,
but for all drivers,
and also a $100,000 fine.
Even if you are one of the biggest drivers in the world,
you don't have the right to cause a stupid accident.
That was a huge blow for Ayrton
because Balestre's attitude was even worse than Prost's.
He almost gave up racing in Formula One.
All drivers go on their limit.
My limit is different from Prost's, that is the reality.
And instead of trying to improve his own skills,
he found it easier to attack me.
Because I believe in God and have faith in God,
it doesn't mean I am immortal.
It doesn't mean I am immune,
as has been claimed.
I am as scared as anyone of getting hurt,
especially driving a Formula One car.
It's a constant danger.
Crash! They both crash.
And if the race continues, it is the end of the Championship.
The Championship is over.
And Ayrton Senna is the 1990 Champion.
Two of the greatest champions in the history of Formula One
ended up in the sand and wasted a Championship.
Each accused the other, but Prost was hurt the most.
Let's listen to his extreme reaction.
I wanted to punch him in the face...
but I was so disgusted,
I could not do it.
He revolts me.
The situation in Brazil was very negative and depressing.
But what happened is, when Ayrton won numerous times,
instead of trying to hide his Brazilian origins, as others did,
he did the opposite, he'd wave the national flag.
Ayrton would do this every Sunday.
And people were inspired, that's why they loved him.
Ayrton had never won the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Ever since he'd been in Formula One, it was his dream to win at home.
The Brazilian Grand Prix is about to start.
Red light, green light.
He starts well.
Come on, Senna!
And Senna gets away in the lead.
Here is Senna... It's raining.
It's raining, stop this.
It should have been impossible to drive a Formula One car stuck in sixth gear.
He wanted to stop. He couldn't drive any more.
But he had tried so many times to win the Brazilian Grand Prix,
that he found a special inner strength.
After this corner, Senna is on the home straight.
He is going to win.
Ayrton, Ayrton... Ayrton Senna from Brazil!
Leading from start to finish, he wins at Interlagos!
A great victory for Senna.
Fucking hell,
I've won.
Prost, you son of a bitch!
He won, then passed out.
It was his most heroic moment.
Because of the huge physical effort,
I had muscle spasm in my shoulders and neck.
The pain was absurd.
The physical and mental stress this weekend was huge.
But there could only be one result.
Finishing the race with nothing left.
Come here, Dad. Come here.
Come here!
Touch me very gently.
Calm down, Ayrton.
I fought so hard.
I needed to finish, I needed to finish first
because He is greater than everyone
and He gave me this race.
And that is what happened.
God gave me this race and I am very happy.
It was very exciting.
Brazil cherishes your victory, Senna. Congratulations.
Thank you, Brazil, thank you, fans.
The human heat this weekend was so great
that we had to win this time.
It couldn't be any other way.
We did it.
Because Ayrton was so widely known in Brazil,
many people would ask him for help,
personal requests, hospitals,
charities would ask him for help for instance.
Ayrton would donate and keep it going without fail.
But, he no longer wanted to make random donations.
He wanted to develop something, plan it, organize it,
to help Brazil, especially children.
Mansell tries to overtake, but he goes straight on!
Mansell goes straight on!
The World Championship is over because he can't restart!
Ayrton Senna from Brazil, Triple World Champion!
A whole life dedicated to this moment
by a genius of international sport.
Triple World Champion, and many titles lie ahead.
And he is still only 31 years old.
Thirty-three victories, three World Titles.
Breaking record after record. Celebrating as only Senna does.
This is a very special gift to me.
I thank you from my heart.
I kissed Senna's left hand, Triple Champion.
I want Senna. I want to hug and kiss him.
I have a box full of paper cuttings and pictures.
Everything you can imagine.
He is the only good thing in Brazil.
I think it is an incredible party
and anything goes.
Did you talk about Formula One today?
Formula One is so square, today is Carnival.
Have any of your girlfriends asked, "Go faster, Ayrton"?
Yes.
To Ayrton, becoming Triple World Champion
was the culmination of a script that he wrote for himself
before he even entered Formula One
because he knew he was capable of that and much more.
He was already the idol of Brazilian sport,
and now he became a great idol of world sport.
The negotiations are long,
and we still don't know who Alain Prost's team mate will be.
The Triple World Champion
signed a two-year contract with Williams.
He will start testing the car this week.
I am very certain of one thing.
I am the one who has most to lose
if I have to stop for one year or more.
Because I am at the peak of my career,
and the career of a Formula One driver is limited.
So no one has more to lose than myself if I stop,
professionally and in my personal life.
In 1993, Ayrton's driving was pure genius.
For me, it was the best season.
Ayrton Senna is in a race against time.
He needs to integrate into his team and adjust to the car.
He says that he is uncomfortable with little space.
This car doesn't have
the electronic components used on last year's cars.
It doesn't have traction control,
special brakes or electronic suspension.
The cars are immediately less stable
without the electronic suspension.
As a consequence, they are harder to drive,
and we'll have more cars spinning and going off the track.
More cars spinning is more excitement for the viewers,
and for us, if nothing happens to the driver.
Otherwise it's not very comfortable.
I'd never seen Senna as tense as I did that weekend.
At no moment did I see him smile.
He was constantly focused, annoyed,
saddened really.
Do you already know Ayrton or shall I introduce you?
No, I already know him.
Do you know him by name or have you met him?
I know him because I follow Formula One,
so I've met him before.
Why are you so nervous?
Because when you're close to someone like him,
you always get nervous.
Well, good luck to the Champion and the future Champion.
On Saturday, at dinner, Frank Williams had doubts
if Senna was going to be on the grid.
I was certain that he didn't want to race.
On that morning when he woke up,
he asked God to talk to him.
He opened the Bible
and read a passage which said
God would give him the greatest of all gifts.
Which was God himself.
A crash!
Everyone goes around, look at that!
Lamy arrives at full speed.
And there is Lehto!
Terrible crash. Lamy and Lehto are very lucky.
The safety car goes out on track.
The safety car's lights are off
which means the safety car is going into the pits.
And here we go, Senna in front,
Schumacher is second.
And Michael Schumacher tries to pressure Senna on the sixth lap.
Senna crashes hard!
At Tamburello Corner.
A very serious accident.
Was there a cause?
In my opinion the steering column broke
and the car became uncontrollable.
But above all, it was fatal because
the car crashed at the exact angle for the suspension shaft
to hit his helmet.
He was an idol for me. He represented the best of Brazil.
I kiss you, Senna.
I will never forget you.
Brazilian people need food, education, health
and a little bit of joy. And now that joy is gone.
Nothing can separate me from the love of God.