On This Day: Senna is born

Perhaps the ultimate Formula 1 legend was born on this day 58 years ago. From Sao Paulo, Brazil to standing on top of the world three times, Ayrton Senna da Silva remains one of the reference points for motorsport greatness to this day, some 24 years after his tragic death.

Though they do not begin to tell the full story, the statistics are always worth bearing in mind...

• 162 races
• 65 pole positions
• 41 victories
• 3 world titles

Still to this day, only Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton top Senna's one-lap benchmark. Sebastian Vettel and his great rival Alain Prost also won more races, while Juan Manuel Fangio completes a legendary quintet with more trophies than him.

Born into a wealthy family, Senna's first battle was to convince his parents that motorsport was a dream worth pursuing. After moving to England and adopting his mother's surname (because Da Silva is as common in Brazil as Smith in the UK), Senna's reward for winning the British Formula Three Championship came in 1984 when he was offered a race seat at Toleman.

It was soon apparent that his was a special talent. His debut in Monaco - just his sixth race in F1 - was sodden, but Senna's mastery of wet conditions had him second behind Prost, and sure to overtake, when the chequered flag controversially fell to halt the race.

The streets of Monte Carlo would soon become synonymous with Senna, thanks to six wins at the famous race - more than anyone in history.

Further impressive displays with Toleman led to Lotus signing him in 1985 and a first victory followed in his second race for the team, in Portugal.

Over three seasons, Senna picked up five more wins, before being signed by the era's dominant team, McLaren, to partner world champion Prost.

The pair wiped the floor with everyone in 1988 - the Italian Grand Prix the sole race either of them didn't win - but Senna came out on top, setting then records for pole positions (13) and race wins (eight) in a season.

The battle for sporting pride only intensified as the years went on. Prost won the 1989 title in hugely acrimonious circumstances, crashing into Senna in Suzuka when the Brazilian needed a victory to keep his title hopes alive.

Senna went to war with the FIA - then governed by Frenchman Jean-Marie Balestre over perceived bias - and, with Prost leaving for Ferrari, tensions simmered for a full year until F1 returned to Suzuka in 1990 with Prost requiring victory to keep his hopes alive and Senna in the driving seat.

What followed is one of the most infamous incidents in F1 history, Senna driving Prost off the road at the first corner, simultaneously sealing the title and enraging his rival.

Title number three came a year later in dominant fashion for Senna, but it would be his last.

Williams emerged to end McLaren's dominance, Nigel Mansell and Prost crowned champion in 1992 and 1993 - with Senna furious about the technological advantages that Williams were able to eke out over his team.

Though so vociferously against them at times, Senna shocked the F1 world by signing for Williams in 1994, replacing Prost, who retired,

The fastest man in the fastest car ought to have been a dream, but it soon turned to nightmare at the San Marino Grand Prix, as Senna smashed into a concrete wall at Tamburello corner at almost 150mph and was later pronounced dead in hospital.

Perhaps the greatest shame of all came in Senna's determination to make F1 a safer sport, although that tireless work he put in has not gone unrewarded. Since his death, only Jules Bianchi has died as a result of injuries sustained in an F1 race.

The Brazilian government declared three days of national mourning and it is estimated that three million people attended his funeral in Sao Paulo, where his coffin was carried by, among others, his long-time, on-track foe Prost.

Senna remains one of the few past stars that the current crop of F1 drivers wish to emulate to this day. Hamilton has regularly spoken of his admiration for Senna, having set the Brazilian as a benchmark throughout a career which has now superseded those levels.

Regardless of the numbers, however, to many Senna remains simply the best.