While Roland Ratzenberger was a relative newcomer to Formula 1, Ayrton Senna was anything but. Indeed, it is no understatement to claim that Ayrton Senna was one of the best, some argue the best, driver to ever race in Formula 1. He was three-times world champion and was renowned for his ability to turn in mythical performances in the most difficult of situations. His death sent shockwaves not just through Formula 1, but the world, particularly his home country of Brazil.
After his death, Formula 1 was never the same - from that dark weekend to the present, Formula 1 shifted its priorities from speed to safety. No longer would a car or racing circuit be optimized for speed, rather, everything would be built around safety. It is a fitting legacy that Ayrton Senna's death remains the last fatality Formula 1 has experienced.
But Ayrton's legacy is far more reaching than just improved safety. As his fame and wealth grew, Ayrton felt more and more unrest regarding the fiscal inequality found in his homeland. Two months before his death, he expressed feelings of angst being from a country where only the wealthy are given an opportunity to succeed. He wanted to do something, but was unsure of what.
Then the unimaginable happened.
As the world mourned, his family decided the only way to honor their fallen son was to address Ayrton's desire to ensure children of poor economic standing were presented opportunities to grow and nurture their talents. His sister Viviane Senna founded the Ayrton Senna Institute whose goal is to provide educational tools and approaches that can be used in the poorest sections of Brazil to offer the opportunity of education to the children there.
The rationale for this, in Viviane's own words captures the intent beautifully:
This is why we chose education, because education is the only tool discovered by mankind that is able to develop potential and turn it into something real.Recently, Sony Computer Entertainment entered into a long-term licensing agreement with the Senna Institute. For Sony's part, it will receive permission to use Ayrton Senna's greatest achievements, cars, and likeness in their flagship motorsport game Gran Turismo 6. In return, the Senna Institute will receive handsome royalties to further fund their drive to present more and more opportunities to the poorest children of Brazil.
To commemorate this agreement as well as the 20th anniversary of Ayrton's death, Sony today published the following short film titled 'Ayrton's Wish'. It is perhaps the best memorial tribute I have viewed this week regarding Ayrton, and is highly recommended to anyone remotely interested.
The video can be found here on YouTube.
