35 years ago Ayrton Senna won his first F1 race with Lotus

Lotus celebrates 35th anniversary of Senna’s first F1 victory

There’s no doubt that Ayrton Senna was one of the greatest drivers to have competed in Formula 1. If he was still around, the Brazilian driver would have been 60 this year, and would likely have won more Championship titles under his belt.

This 2020 also marks 35 years since Senna won his first-ever race in Formula 1 with Lotus

During the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix, Ayrton Senna was behind the wheel of a Lotus 97T. At the time, he was merely 25 years old. Not to mention that the 1985 season was only his second year in Formula 1. Despite that, he managed to secure his first-ever pole position in qualifying. Then on April 21, the day of the race, he managed to convert that pole position into his very first victory. Interestingly, this was also just his second race for Lotus as he was only signed onto the team during the 1985 season.

Throughout his career in Formula 1, Senna had a total of 41 Grand Prix wins. Six of those victories would be with Lotus. Though the Brazilian driver may have been known for his career at McLaren and his rivalry with Alain Prost, it was with the Lotus team did his legendary career start. In fact, during the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix, he lapped the entire field up to the second place and finishing over a minute ahead of his nearest competitor.

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of Senna’s win, Lotus has released a podcast featuring an interview with Chris Dinnage, Senna’s chief mechanic in 1985. Today he's the Team Manager at Classic Team Lotus. They have also released new information about the legend during his short stint racing with Lotus.

Senna, tragically, died at the San Marino Grand Prix after crashing at the infamous Tamburello corner at very high speed. Despite nearly 26 years since his passing, Senna's legend still carries on, and he is still considered one of the all time GOATs.