This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous interviews: on July 4, 1989, the newly crowned Formula One champion, Ayrton Senna, was interviewed by Jô Soares for the biggest talk show on Brazilian TV – “Jô Soares Onze e Meia”, on SBT.

Sitting at the top of motor sport’s main category in the world, after winning the previous year championship, with Maclaren, Senna talked to the host about his career and about his amazing 1988 season, as well as other great moments in his career. He also highlighted his level of fitness as something that set him apart from the rest of the field.

“It’s important to have good physical conditioning. And I’ve been doing it since 1984, with professor Nuno Cobra. From December to January, when I’m in Brazil, I try to create a good infrastructure, training five days a week, sometimes. It takes a lot of willpower and a lot of energy”, said Senna.

Ayrton also commented on the success of Brazilian drivers in F1 and mentioned that facing all sorts of difficulties to get to Europe made them different. “We’re far from Europe, we’re 10 or 12 thousand kilometers away. You leave Brazil and you’re far from your friends, from your family. You’re alone, you have almost nothing – it’s like that for most people. And you have to live in a different country – England, let’s say – and handle the language, the food, the ‘wonderful’ weather on that island. Everything is different, and it takes a lot of guts to face the unknown alone”, said the McLaren driver.

“So, it takes grit, it takes determination, it takes a desire to win that most Europeans don’t have, since they have everything they want all around them, readily available, easy. We have to fight to get there, and I think this extra willpower, this determination, ends up making a difference and resulting in victories”, concluded Senna.

Check out the full interview below:

This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous interviews: on July 4, 1989, the newly crowned Formula One champion, Ayrton Senna, was interviewed by Jô Soares for the biggest talk show on Brazilian TV – “Jô Soares Onze e Meia”, on SBT.

Sitting at the top of motor sport’s main category in the world, after winning the previous year championship, with Maclaren, Senna talked to the host about his career and about his amazing 1988 season, as well as other great moments in his career. He also highlighted his level of fitness as something that set him apart from the rest of the field.

“It’s important to have good physical conditioning. And I’ve been doing it since 1984, with professor Nuno Cobra. From December to January, when I’m in Brazil, I try to create a good infrastructure, training five days a week, sometimes. It takes a lot of willpower and a lot of energy”, said Senna.

Ayrton also commented on the success of Brazilian drivers in F1 and mentioned that facing all sorts of difficulties to get to Europe made them different. “We’re far from Europe, we’re 10 or 12 thousand kilometers away. You leave Brazil and you’re far from your friends, from your family. You’re alone, you have almost nothing – it’s like that for most people. And you have to live in a different country – England, let’s say – and handle the language, the food, the ‘wonderful’ weather on that island. Everything is different, and it takes a lot of guts to face the unknown alone”, said the McLaren driver.

“So, it takes grit, it takes determination, it takes a desire to win that most Europeans don’t have, since they have everything they want all around them, readily available, easy. We have to fight to get there, and I think this extra willpower, this determination, ends up making a difference and resulting in victories”, concluded Senna.

Check out the full interview below:

This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous interviews: on July 4, 1989, the newly crowned Formula One champion, Ayrton Senna, was interviewed by Jô Soares for the biggest talk show on Brazilian TV – “Jô Soares Onze e Meia”, on SBT.

Sitting at the top of motor sport’s main category in the world, after winning the previous year championship, with Maclaren, Senna talked to the host about his career and about his amazing 1988 season, as well as other great moments in his career. He also highlighted his level of fitness as something that set him apart from the rest of the field.

“It’s important to have good physical conditioning. And I’ve been doing it since 1984, with professor Nuno Cobra. From December to January, when I’m in Brazil, I try to create a good infrastructure, training five days a week, sometimes. It takes a lot of willpower and a lot of energy”, said Senna.

Ayrton also commented on the success of Brazilian drivers in F1 and mentioned that facing all sorts of difficulties to get to Europe made them different. “We’re far from Europe, we’re 10 or 12 thousand kilometers away. You leave Brazil and you’re far from your friends, from your family. You’re alone, you have almost nothing – it’s like that for most people. And you have to live in a different country – England, let’s say – and handle the language, the food, the ‘wonderful’ weather on that island. Everything is different, and it takes a lot of guts to face the unknown alone”, said the McLaren driver.

“So, it takes grit, it takes determination, it takes a desire to win that most Europeans don’t have, since they have everything they want all around them, readily available, easy. We have to fight to get there, and I think this extra willpower, this determination, ends up making a difference and resulting in victories”, concluded Senna.

Check out the full interview below: