- McLaren’s latest tribute to Ayrton Senna takes place at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed
- 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the Formula 1 icon’s death
- Senna’s nephew, Bruno Senna, will pilot his uncle’s car up the hill during the event
McLaren will pay tribute to Ayrton Senna at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, part of a series of Senna remembrances this year marking the 30th anniversary of the Brazilian F1 icon’s death.
The automaker will display the Senna supercar and an MCL38 F1 car in matching Senna-inspired liveries that were unveiled earlier this year at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix. Both feature the green and gold colors of the Brazilian flag, which also adorned the patriotic Senna’s helmets.
McLaren’s special livery marking 30th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s death
Senna’s nephew, ex-F1 driver and current McLaren brand ambassador Bruno Senna, will also drive the 1991 McLaren MP4/6 his uncle raced to seven F1 wins and his third and final title up the Goodwood hill climb. The Honda-powered MP4/6 is notable for being the only title-winning F1 car powered by a V-12 engine, and the last championship-winning car to use a conventional manual transmission.
Though he only lived to age 34, Senna is still regarded by F1 drivers past and present as one of the greatest in the sport’s history. In addition to his three championships, Senna managed 41 wins and 80 podium finishes during his career. Most came during his time with McLaren, which spanned 1988 to 1993.
McLaren’s special livery marking 30th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s death
Senna was killed in a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, a tragic weekend that also saw the death of Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger, who crashed his Simtek in qualifying the day before Senna’s fatal crash. The exact cause of that crash has never been determined, but the deaths of Senna and Ratzenberger triggered a new round of safety improvements in F1.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of McLaren’s first F1 championships. It claimed its first constructor’s and driver’s titles in 1974 with the M23 and driver Emerson Fittipaldi. The Brazilian, who won a second F1 championship with Lotus, will once again drive his title-winning car at Goodwood this year. Fellow two-time F1 champion Mika Hakkinen will drive a McLaren Solus GT painted like his 1998 title-winning MP4/13.