Who is Ayrton Senna? 5 Things To Know About Brazilian Racer Remembered By Google Mexico

1. Ayrton Senna da Silva was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil on March 21, 1960. He was a celebrated race car driver -- in fact, he was one of the most successful Formula 1 drivers of all time. He won the Formula One World Championship three times: in 1988, 1990 and 1991. He also won two sub-championshis in 1989 and 1993. He drove for Toleman, Lotus, McLaren and Williams, accumulating a total of 41 victories, 80 podiums and 65 pole positions.

2. Senna died in Italy on the 1st of May 1994. He suffered a terrible accident on the Autódromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari during the San Marino Grand Prix. His death provoked three days of mourning from the Brazilian government and a burial with honors from the state. Over one million people attended the ceremony. The first curve on the Jose Carlos Pace raceway in Sao Paulo Brazil is called the "S de Senna" -- it was designed by Senna himself.

3. Senna had a well-known rivalry with French driver Alain Prost. In the Suzuka Grand Prix in Japan in 1989, Senna tried to pass Prost on a narrow stretch of the track - the ensuing crash forced both drivers from the race. Senna managed to return to the race and crossed the finish line in frist place. He was later disqualified from the race. Despite the fact that it had little effect on the race standings of the year, Senna always felt that his disqualification was deeply unjust.

4. Despite being a very aggressive driver, Senna was very religious: before every Grand Prix he would read a passage from the Bible.

5. In the year 2000, Brazil celebrated its 500th anniversary: a vote was conducted by local media to find out who was the country's national hero. Both Pedro Alvares Cabral (the country's discoverer) as well as Pelé came far behind the winner who attained 23 percent of the vote: Ayrton Senna.