Book Review: Ayrton Senna – A Tribute by Ivan Rendall

I’ve been trying to slowly post reviews of the various Senna books on my shelves and its amazing just how many books have actually been written about him. Ivan Rendall’s “Ayrton Senna – A Tribute” is another book on the famous Brazilian driver. Originally published in 1994, it was one of the first Senna tribute books released. While there have been later books more superior in content, some of the photos in this book are still unique.

The book contains  7 basic chapters, with the first chapter starting with Imola ’94, Senna’s Brazilian state funeral and the aftermath of his death in F1 for the rest of the ’94 season. Rendall then traces Senna’s early childhood racing years in Brazil, moving to the UK to get his ‘apprenticeship’ in the lower formula, ‘musical chairs’ in selecting Toleman as his first team in F1 and gradual career progression to Lotus and McLaren, world championship success and his place amongst F1’s other past legends like Clark, Nuvolari, Fangio, Moss and Caracciola. The final section is chapter containing all Senna’s career races, the final podium places and a short paragraph summary of Senna’s race.

Rendall’s narration covers a lot of territory and whilst he documents Senna’s various career highlights and incidents, he also tries to discuss a lot of the impact Senna had outside of the cockpit. Text is printed in small fonts in double column format. Stirling Moss, the ever present foreword writer, gets writing duties again and opens the book with a 2 page foreword.

Photos are mainly black & white although there are some color race shots. Rendall has managed to select a number of still personal and family shots, and although they are black & white, they still manage to capture Senna’s personality and intensity. If you are a fan of Senna’ early career, this book offers quite a number of photos from junior racing and in the Toleman. The color photos though aren’t particularly unique or outstanding.

Wow factor or Money Shot: Personal photos of the young Senna with his father; racing in the lower British formula categories.

Suitable for: Senna fans