Ayrton Senna would have turned 50 on the 21st.

Some notable Senna quotes.

On qualifying at Monaco in 1988 "I was nearly two seconds faster than anyone else. And suddenly I realised I was no longer driving the car consciously. It frightened me because I realised I was beyond my conscious understanding."

On fear: "To survive in grand prix racing, you need to be afraid. Fear is an important feeling. It helps you to race longer and live longer."

Speaking on the eve of the 1994 season: "The cars are very fast and difficult to drive. It's going to be a season with lots accidents and I'll risk saying we'll be lucky if something really serious doesn't happen."

On the eve of the race at Imola: "My car reacts a bit nervously on this kind of surface. It stems from the special aerodynamics but it's also got to do with a difficulty in the suspension."

On being advised to withdraw from the race after Roland Ratzenberger's fatal crash: "There are certain things over which we have no control. I cannot quit. I have to go on."

IMO, The most talented and arguably the greatest race car diver ever. Who knows what may have been if it were not for that tragic day in 1994... I'll never forget as I watched that race live that morning my local time.

Senna was great at a time when there was reasonable depth of talent in the field. But I do think Alonso is on par and if Kimi was still in F1 this year would be without doubt the strongest grid (the top twelve cars anyway) of the modern era.

Senna had some good moves in the wet.

senna, schumacher and jim clark were on a level above all the others. i only saw two of them race, but theres never been any others with such an ability to dominate regardless of the car's performance

I'm beginning to think Loeb is the best race driver of all time.

Pennzoil GT-R wrote:senna, schumacher and jim clark were on a level above all the others. i only saw two of them race, but theres never been any others with such an ability to dominate regardless of the car's performance

Prost needs to be in that group too. "The Professor" was arguably the most technically perfect F1 driver ever. Lap after lap after lap he could maintain almost perfect synced lap times. On top of that he was so patient and almost instinctively knew when to make a pass. It was at times figuratively as if a surgeon was manipulating a scalpel at just the right time when Prost would make a race changing pass. He during the 80's and into the early 90's was just a beautiful driver to watch on the track.

Alonso has a lot in common with Senna. They are the only two drivers that I'm positive would trade the money and lifestyle for world championships. That's not to say Senna didn't and Alonso doesn't take full advantage of the reality of the situation, but the motivation is purely to win.
You couldn't say that about Button or Hamilton or Kimi, who seem equally interested in either the fame or the money or both.

Swerve wrote:Alonso has a lot in common with Senna. They are the only two drivers that I'm positive would trade the money and lifestyle for world championships. That's not to say Senna didn't and Alonso doesn't take full advantage of the reality of the situation, but the motivation is purely to win.
You couldn't say that about Button or Hamilton or Kimi, who seem equally interested in either the fame or the money or both.

no coincidence senna, schumacher etc. are also the most successful. the best ones are usually pretty dirty too, but only because they have that unbridled desire to win at all costs that the others lack.

Prost won 4 championships and 51 races without being considered as dirty. You can be a competitive racer at heart and not be dirty. Hakkinen was similar in winning 2 championships while being well liked on the grid and a very sporting driver.