A Star Named Ayrton Senna Page #2

his trademark throughout his career.

I'd known him for a long time...

because we did two World Carting

Championships. In Le Mans and Estoril.

In '78 and '79, so this goes back

to the very old days.

And he was very committed.

He had this look in his eyes.

He was exceptionally committed,

more than anybody else.

We were always a very close family.

So when Ayrton went to live in

England, we missed each other a lot.

We traveled over there often

and he came here when he could...

so we could be close together.

He wrote often.

After every race, he'd send us all

the details. About every corner...

and what he did and how he did it.

I still have the letters.

And in spite of the distance,

we always remained very close.

When Ayrton moved to England,

he didn't speak English.

So he would sit

and watch television...

for hours on end, trying to understand

and trying to learn the language.

And he couldn't cook either.

He never learned.

So he spent years eating fried eggs,

boiled eggs, scrambled eggs...

any egg dish imaginable, because

that was all he knew how to cook.

When Ayrton hired me back in 1984...

he was very worried about

his physical condition.

And about his health,

because he was a very skinny man.

The media referred to him

as Skinny Ayrton Senna.

We started working together...

and we recognized his determination...

to become stronger

and more able-bodied.

He was a very persistent person...

because he went all out.

What made Ayrton different from

the rest was that he actually did it.

Because knowledge alone

doesn't mean a thing.

I always told him that: A wise man is

not someone who knows everything.

A wise man is a man who can do

the things he knows.

It's not simply a stronger muscle

or a better tone in your muscle...

but it's really the power,

the strength you get...

physically speaking, to your body,

but also to your mind.

You only really learn by doing it,

I believe.

Once I realized

there was something special in that...

I really focused

and tried to learn about myself.

You learn about your own limitations,

about your strengths, your qualities...

and, as a whole,

trying to make yourself...

a smoother person.

I don't remember exactly,

but certainly in 1983...

I was very much aware of him

in Formula 3 in England.

He was very persistent about winning.

He was already very good at it then.

But also persistent about persuading

Patrick Head and myself to let him test.

To have his first drive

in a Grand Prix Formula-1 car.

That first drive came at

Donington Park in England...

at the wheel of the Williams FW-08C.

The model that took Keke Rosberg

to victory in Monaco earlier that year.

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