Ayrton Senna 30th anniversary: Remembering the F1 legend's first ever victory at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix

21 April marks the 30th anniversary of Senna's first ever victory in Formula One

(YouTube/@Formula1)

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Ayrton Senna's first ever victory in Formula 1 after he took the paddock by storm – literally – in the torrential rain at the Portuguese Grand Prix in 1985.

Regarded as one of, if not the greatest driver to ever grace the sport, Senna captured the hearts of those back in Brazil and the imagination of motorsport fans worldwide. Senna made his name with McLaren, the team with whom he secured all three of his Drivers’ Championships with, but it was with the Lotus team that he first took to the top stop of the podium 30 years ago today.

The Brazilian started to cement his reputation as the ‘rain master’ at the previous year’s Monaco Grand Prix when driving for Toleman, but it was on that memorable day at Estoril when a rain storm hit the Portuguese track shortly before the start of the race that he came to the fore.

Ayrton Senna in his Lotus during the 1985 season (Getty Images)

Having taken pole in the dry ahead of his future McLaren team-mate and fierce rival Alain Prost, Senna dominated the 67-lap race, and beat the entire field by over a minute to claim his first ever victory in F1.

The sight of Senna, overcome by emotion as he hung out of the cockpit celebrating as he came down pit-road, proved to be an iconic image that would remain a part of the sport until this day.

Watch the video below…

Senna would go on to win again that year at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Franchorchamps, and he would remain with Lotus until 1988, when he would join McLaren and embark on an unforgettable career that would sadly result in his tragic death at the San Marin Grand Prix in 199, but his legacy lives on to this very day.