Bette Davis
91% Profile Match
Martin Lee from London, UK, 'Ayrton Senna in the paddock before the 1993 British Grand Prix', CC BY-SA 2.0 (resized from the original) · Martin Lee (Flickr, user kartingnord), via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Trait Constellation
Key Achievements
Senna won the 1983 British Formula 3 championship for West Surrey Racing. He won the first nine races of the season, trailed Martin Brundle in the standings going into the finale, and took the title with a win at Thruxton.
In his first Formula One season, driving for Toleman in 1984, Senna finished second in a rain-hit Monaco Grand Prix that was stopped early while he was closing on leader Alain Prost. He added a podium finish at the British Grand Prix and a third in his final race for the team.
Moments That Reveal Them
In late August 1984 word of Lotus's plan to announce Senna for 1985 reached the press, and Toleman team principal Alex Hawkridge learned from it that Senna had signed without telling him. Toleman suspended him for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and engineer Pat Symonds later said that by the following race Senna seemed to have understood he had to follow certain rules, after which relations became more courteous.
The episode illustrates a willingness to accept an open breach with his own team while pursuing a move he had chosen, which is consistent with the conflict-tolerance score. Conflict Tolerance
In winter 1992-93 Senna stayed away from McLaren's early tests, drove a Penske IndyCar at Firebird Raceway in December, and did not commit to McLaren's 1993 season until he had driven the new MP4/8. After a first run of about 20 minutes at Silverstone in early March 1993, engineer Giorgio Ascanelli recalls a two-hour debrief, and Senna later phoned him at night to say he would race. He agreed only a race-by-race arrangement and did not sign for the rest of the season until the French Grand Prix in July.
Deciding only after testing the car and keeping the contract open race by race is consistent with a strong need to control the terms on which he raced. Need for Autonomy
Turning Points
At the end of 1981 Senna went home to Brazil without contesting the season-ending Formula Ford festival. Soon afterwards he phoned Van Diemen's Ralph Firman to say he was coming back to Europe, and in 1982 he raced Formula Ford 2000 for Dennis Rushen's team, which won the European title that year.
The phone call is one of several self-started moves behind the proactive-agency score. Proactive Agency
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Sources
- Ayrton Senna -- orientation only (full name Ayrton Senna da Silva, born 21 Mar 1960 Santana, Sao Paulo; died 1 May 1994; Brazilian; team-by-year list Toleman 1984, Lotus 1985-87, McLaren 1988-93, Williams 1994; 1981-83 Formula Ford/Formula 3 timeline); not used as support for any scored row. Fetched and read.
- Ayrton Senna (Q10490) -- identity verified live via the wbgetentities API and a second page fetch: label 'Ayrton Senna', description 'Brazilian racing driver (1960-1994)', born 21 Mar 1960, died 1 May 1994, citizenship Brazil, instance of human, English aliases 'Ayrton Senna da Silva' and 'Senna', ko label '아이르통 세나', kowiki sitelink '아이르통 세나', P18 'Ayrton Senna 9 - Cropped.jpg'. Orientation only.
- Korean Wikipedia, '아이르통 세나' -- read only to confirm the conventional Korean spelling (title and body use 아이르통 세나; 아일톤 세나 is noted as an alternative spelling). Orientation only.
- 'Ron Dennis on Senna - Part one: the early years', Formula1.com, 28 Apr 2014 -- FIRSTHAND account (non-self) by the McLaren team principal who worked with Senna 1988-93, given for the 20th anniversary of Senna's death: his 1982 offer to fund an F3 season for an option and Senna's refusal, the 1983 McLaren test, Senna's 1987 approach to join McLaren, the equality talk with Senna and Prost, the money negotiation settled by a coin flip, engine-selection coin flips, Imola 1989, the 1989 Suzuka disqualification and Senna's note that he would stop racing, Monaco 1988 (qualifying lap, race crash and walk to his flat) and the Suzuka 1990 collision (Dennis read the throttle/brake traces). Dennis is an interested party (employer, protest-filer). Fetched and read in full; Part two was not located.
- Keith Collantine, 'Ron Dennis on Ayrton Senna', RaceFans, 17 Apr 2014 -- reports Dennis's remarks to a media group at the McLaren Technology Centre: the 1983 test (Senna demanded an extra run after a problem on his first flying lap, then set a fast time), Senna arriving in 1988 with Honda, the engine coin flips, Imola 1989 and Suzuka 1989. SAME perspective as src_senna_dennis_f1 (same speaker, same anniversary period); counted once. Fetched and read.
- Nigel Roebuck, 'Ayrton Senna by Alain Prost', Motor Sport, Oct 1998 (web version dated 7 Jul 2014) -- FIRSTHAND interview account (non-self) by Senna's rival and 1988-89 McLaren team-mate, four years after his death: the spring 1984 Nurburgring celebrity race, the pre-season 1988 Rio tyre test, Estoril 1988 (first-lap move toward the pit wall and Senna's later apology), Honda's treatment of the two drivers (including Prost's report of a dinner with Honda's Kawamoto), the Imola 1989 agreement and restart, Monza 1989, the Suzuka 1989 and 1990 collisions, and Prost's interpretation ('he had his own rules', 'he wanted to destroy me'). Prost is an interested party and a rival; the Suzuka 1989 account conflicts with Senna's (see provenance notes). Fetched and read in full.
- David Tremayne, 'The other side of Senna -- his rage at Prost and Suzuka 1990', Motor Sport, Dec 1991 (web version dated 7 Jul 2014) -- contemporaneous FIRSTHAND press-room report (non-self; strongly critical in tone) of Senna's Oct 1991 Suzuka press conference, where he said the 1990 collision was deliberate, with long direct quotations of Senna's own words (self-testimony within a non-self report), Prost's 1989 remarks, and Tremayne's statement about Honda telemetry. Only the dated facts and quoted words are used, not Tremayne's moral judgments. Fetched and read in full.
- Gary Watkins, 'The rushed McLaren F1 car that elevated a reluctant Senna's legacy', Autosport, 1 Dec 2023 -- retrospective built on FIRSTHAND recollections (non-self) of McLaren chief designer Neil Oatley, engineer Giorgio Ascanelli and chief mechanic Dave Ryan about winter 1992-93: Senna staying away from early testing, his unhappiness after Honda's exit, the Dec 1992 Penske Indycar test, his condition that he test the MP4/8 before deciding, the first Silverstone run and two-hour debrief, the late-night phone call, the race-by-race deal (with a reference to Maurice Hamilton's 2014 book quoting McLaren's lawyer), and Ryan's description of the Senna-Ascanelli debriefs. Fetched; the whole page was read from the raw text.
- James Allen, 'Autosport 75: The McLaren test that persuaded Senna to stay', Autosport (page dated 30 Jul 2025; reprints Allen's report from the 11 Mar 1993 issue) -- contemporaneous FIRSTHAND reporter's account (non-self) of the early-March 1993 Silverstone MP4/8 test, with Senna's own quoted remarks (the three-step decision process: meeting Philip Morris, test, decision; effort to learn the V8) and Allen's contemporaneous comment that money is always a sticking point and that Senna had added a few million at each renewal. Senna's quotes are self-testimony inside a non-self report. Fetched; read from the raw text.
- 'A personal account of Ayrton Senna - before F1' (Dennis Rushen interviewed by Henry Hope-Frost; Rich Fowler, Motorsport Retro, 1 May 2014) -- FIRSTHAND account (non-self) by the Rushen Green Racing team owner who ran Senna in 1982 Formula Ford 2000: first meeting at Snetterton in 1981, Senna's return to Europe after going home at the end of 1981 (he phoned Van Diemen's Ralph Firman), the Zolder 1982 error and his reaction, and the two-pounds-down tyre feel test. Rushen's opinions about Senna's character, religion and private life are not used; the last section of the page is subscriber-only. Fetched; read from the raw text through the visible article.
- 'Senna vs Brundle: The title battle that had it all', Motorsport.com, 20 May 2021 -- feature built on FIRSTHAND accounts (non-self) by Senna's 1983 F3 team principal Dick Bennetts (West Surrey Racing) and rival Martin Brundle: the first nine wins, Silverstone tyre choice and crash, Bennetts's advice to settle for second, Senna throwing away races, Brundle's view that Senna's 'head fell apart' but recovered, and the Thruxton finale with different Ralt development parts on the two cars. Fetched and read in full.
- Jake Williams-Smith, 'Senna and Brundle's F3 showdown: I knew Ayrton was beatable', Motor Sport, 3 Feb 2021 -- short piece quoting Martin Brundle (same Brundle perspective as src_senna_f3_motorsportcom): Senna had been to Italy, seen his new engine on the dyno and brought it back himself for the Thruxton finale; Brundle's view that he could have rammed Senna but it 'wasn't my style'. Only the engine remark is used. Fetched and read in full.
- Rene Fagnan, 'Retro 1984 - Quand Ayrton Senna fut puni par l'ecurie Toleman', Motorsport.com (French edition, updated 18 Feb 2024) -- retelling that quotes FIRSTHAND recollections (non-self) by Toleman engineer Pat Symonds (from a Royal Automobile Club podcast, as reported by Fagnan) of Senna's 1984 Lotus signing without informing Toleman, Alex Hawkridge learning of it from the press, the one-race Monza suspension, and Symonds's view that it changed the relationship. Fagnan's own narrative adds the July 1984 Warr visit and the 27 Aug press-release date. Fetched and read in full (French; translated by the researcher).
- 'How "devious" Senna thwarted a rising F1 talent's path to success', Autosport / GP Racing, 11 Aug 2024 -- extract from Derek Warwick's autobiography Never Look Back (FIRSTHAND account by the aggrieved rival; David Tremayne is credited on the page as collaborator on the book, which is a separate work from his 1991 report): Warwick's signed 1986 Lotus contract, his account that Senna pressed Lotus to drop him and demanded exclusive access to the best car, spare, mechanics, engineer and designer, Warr's rejection of Senna's suggestion of Mauricio Gugelmin as number two, and Warwick's view that Senna 'never even thought he was screwing me over'. One-sided and disputed in part (Warr's version of when Warwick was told is reported only by Warwick). Fetched and read in full.
- James Phillips, 'Ayrton Senna: Toleman and Lotus years foreshadow legendary F1 career', FormulaNerds, 28 Apr 2024 -- SECONDARY feature that attributes to Malcolm Folley's 'Senna vs Prost' the claim that Senna wanted a clause letting him leave Toleman if a rival offer appeared, quotes Senna on the 1984 Monaco stoppage and on the Zandvoort announcement, and describes the Monza suspension. Not independent of the sources it draws on; used only as weak corroboration of the Toleman contract clause and the Monza suspension. Fetched and read in full.
- Keith Collantine, 'From Flying Pig to Senna's heroics: The short, incredible history of Toleman', RaceFans, 11 Apr 2024 -- SECONDARY history feature: Senna's 1984 Toleman debut, the wet Monaco race stopped while he was closing on Prost, the late-1984 Lotus signing that infuriated Toleman, and Hawkridge benching him for a race. Used only as weak corroboration of the Toleman episodes. Fetched and read (Senna sections).