Senna in numbers
610 official points
3Drivers’ titles
1988, 1990, 1991
7th of 789 all time
5Constructors’ titles
1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994
4th of 789 all time
25.5% of races
40.4% of races
49.7% of races
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
21.4% of races with Toleman
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
12.5% of races with Lotus
33.3% of races with Lotus
45.8% of races with Lotus
3Drivers’ titles
1988, 1990, 1991
of 3 in the career
4Constructors’ titles
1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
of 5 in the career
36.5% of races with McLaren
47.9% of races with McLaren
57.3% of races with McLaren
0Drivers’ titles
none
1Constructors’ titles
1994
of 5 in the career
100% of races with Williams
Ayrton Senna da Silva is considered by many to be the most talented driver in Formula 1 history. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, he dominated the grid through the late 80s and early 90s with a blend of raw speed, unmatched wet-weather instinct and an almost mystical focus behind the wheel.
He reached F1 in 1984 with the modest Toleman and dazzled straight away in the Monaco rain, closing on the leader when the race was stopped. After two seasons at Lotus, where he took his first wins, he joined McLaren in 1988 and formed the most dominant (and most fraught) pairing of the era alongside Alain Prost, winning his first title that year with eight victories. Two more championships followed in 1990 and 1991, along with 41 wins and 65 poles, a pole record that stood for over two decades.
His career ended on 1 May 1994 at Imola, at the wheel of a Williams, on one of the sport's darkest weekends. Yet his legacy runs deeper than the numbers: his intensity, his faith and his bond with Brazil made him an icon far beyond Formula 1. His rivalry with Prost remains the benchmark against which every later duel is measured.
What if Senna had another car?
We took his real attributes and put him in the best car of each era: in a real driver's seat, against the team-mate that car actually had. 20 full seasons in each.
| Car | Team-mate | Finish | Wins | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren1988 | Alain Prost-12 pts | P1.5 | 7.1 | 50% |
| Williams1992 | Riccardo Patrese+107 pts | P1 | 11.5 | 100% |
| Ferrari2002 | Rubens Barrichello+88 pts | P1.1 | 13.9 | 95% |
| Red Bull2013 | Mark Webber+120 pts | P1 | 16.1 | 100% |
| Mercedes2016 | Lewis Hamilton+29 pts | P1.2 | 12.5 | 80% |
| Red Bull2023 | Sergio Perez+110 pts | P1 | 18.6 | 100% |
| Cadillac2026 · 11th on the grid | Valtteri Bottas+47 pts | P9 | 0 | 0% |
The only one who beats him is Alain Prost in the 1988 McLaren: 12 points clear over a full season.
Senna against everyone, in the same car
We put the 11 names that come up most often head to head with identical machinery, 150 seasons of 18 races per duel. Senna comes out 3 of 11, between Schumacher and Prost.
The full league, duel by duel, with who beats whom and by how much.
Ver en españolRating by season
- First season
- 95 1988
- Peak
- 96 1993
- 1994
- 95 Williams
7 seasons in the database, from 1988 to 1994. Our own rating, from 50 to 99.
Teams
Tags
Best year
1988
What would Ayrton Senna have achieved with a different car or in a different era?
Hypotheses featuring Ayrton Senna
Related drivers
His team-mates
10 team-mates across 11 seasons. When both finished the race, Senna was ahead in 52 of 62; on the grid he started ahead in 139 of 156.
| Year | Team-mate | In the race | On the grid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Johnny CecottoToleman · 8 races | 1-0 | 7-1 |
| 1984 | Stefan JohanssonToleman · 2 races | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| 1985 | Elio de AngelisTeam Lotus · 16 races | 5-1 | 13-3 |
| 1986 | Johnny DumfriesTeam Lotus · 15 races | 3-0 | 15-0 |
| 1987 | Satoru NakajimaTeam Lotus · 16 races | 7-0 | 16-0 |
| 1988 | Alain ProstMcLaren · 16 races | 7-5 | 14-2 |
| 1989 | Alain ProstMcLaren · 16 races | 7-1 | 14-2 |
| 1990 | Gerhard BergerMcLaren · 16 races | 7-1 | 12-4 |
| 1991 | Gerhard BergerMcLaren · 16 races | 6-1 | 13-3 |
| 1992 | Gerhard BergerMcLaren · 16 races | 3-1 | 15-1 |
| 1993 | Michael AndrettiMcLaren · 13 races | 4-0 | 13-0 |
| 1993 | Mika HäkkinenMcLaren · 3 races | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| 1994 | Damon HillWilliams · 3 races | · | 3-0 |
The first number is always Senna's. A team-mate is whoever started the same race for the same team. "In the race" only counts races both finished, because a retirement says nothing about who was quicker. "On the grid" is the starting position, with penalties already applied.
Compare Senna with another driver
Titles, wins, poles and podiums side by side, against any of the 789 drivers in history.
Keep reading
Where Ayrton Senna comes up in what we have measured, with our own numbers.
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- 9 min readEleven legends, one car, 8,250 seasons: the greatest-of-all-time leagueWe put eleven GOAT candidates in the exact same car and ran them against each other: 55 duels, 150 championships apiece. Verstappen and Schumacher…
- 9 min readWhat is the most dominant car in F1 history? 37 seasons measured with the same driverThe 2023 Red Bull RB19, and not narrowly: with an average driver it still wins nine races in ten. We sat the same driver in the best car of every s…