Ayrton Quotes

On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And you then go for this limit and you touch this limit, and you think, 'Okay, this is the limit'. And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.

And suddenly I realized that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension.

With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.

I am not designed to come second or third, I am designed to win.

‎With regard to performance, commitment, effort, dedication, there is no middle ground. Or you do something very well or not at all.

These things bring you to reality as to how fragile you are; at the same moment you are doing something that nobody else is able to do. The same moment that you are seen as the best, the fastest and somebody that cannot be touched, you are enormously fragile.

You either commit yourself as a professional racing driver that's designed to win races or you come second or you come third or fifth and am not design to come third, fourth or fifth, I race to win.

Pride is a wound, and vanity is the scab on it. One's life picks at the scab to open the wound again and again. In men, it seldom heals and often grows septic.

I have no idols. I respect hard work, dedication and competence

Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose.

And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.

I'm very privileged. I've always had a very good life. But everything that I've gotten out of life was obtained through dedication and a tremendous desire to achieve my goals... a great desire for victory, meaning victory in life, not as a driver. To all of you who have experienced this or are searching now, let me say that whoever you may be in your life, whether you're at the highest or most modest level, you must show great strength and determination and do everything with love and a deep belief in God. One day, you'll achieve your aim and you'll be successful.

It was a man taking a machine and a machine taking a man into secret places, into the subliminal.

I have no idols. I admire work, dedication and competence.

Personally I do not agree with sex being brought into science at all. The idea of 'women and science' is entirely irrelevant. Either a woman is a good scientist, or she is not; in any case she should be given opportunities, and her work should be studied from the scientific, not the sex, point of view

By being a racing driver you are under risk all the time. By being a racing driver means you are racing with other people. And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing, we are competing to win.

eyeballs drifting at the surface and all sorts of cables and tubes feeding what remains. But I don’t want to be kept alive. Because I know what’s next. I’ve seen it on TV. A documentary I saw about Mongolia, of all places. It was the best thing I’ve ever seen on television, other than the 1993 Grand Prix of Europe, of course, the greatest automobile race of all time in which Ayrton Senna proved himself to be a genius in the rain. After the 1993 Grand Prix, the best thing I’ve ever seen on TV is a documentary that explained everything to me, made it all clear, told the whole truth: when a dog

If we trust our own strength (said Mr. Orme), it may sustain us up to a certain point and then give way and let us down just at the moment when we need it most, but if the Lord is our strength, and our hearts trust in Him, He gives us His help in time of trouble.

But that’s just it! I never saw the old lady. I heard plenty about her from Roger and the doctor and the black satin pincushion—and they all told me something different. The only thing they had in common was terror; they were all scared to death of Aunt Beatrice.

Connie and Nell and Anne looked on and admired and ran to get coloured string and pieces of wire and tied labels on to the little parcels which were to be given to their guests. It was all tremendous fun and, if the truth were told, Nell and Anne enjoyed the preparations very much more than the party itself. Nell and Anne were so shy, and so unused to the society of their kind, that they found parties an ordeal.

They had finished their meal. Anne rose to fetch the coffee and as she passed his chair she bent over and kissed him lightly on the forehead. It was a butterfly caress and exactly expressed the relationship between them, which was almost that of father and daughter, but not quite. Fathers and daughters have always known each other and take their affection for granted as a natural thing, but these two had found each other and were grateful.

I’ll not wheesht! Those children get no fun at all, they’re shut up in the attics from one year’s end to another — it’s a wonder to me if their mother knows them by sight. I wouldn’t be them for a good deal.” Janet rose as she spoke and flounced out of the room, adding as a parting shot, “The dog has a better life; he’s allowed to lie on the hearth-rug anyway.” An uncomfortable silence followed Janet’s departure for there was too much truth in what she said for her audience to treat it lightly. Mrs. Duff and Nannie and Mr. Gray had all thought the same — in their inmost hearts — though they were too loyal to breathe a word of it.

The most satisfactory proof of intellectual strength is to be found in the existence of a power which enables the mind to conquer its prejudices and to correct its own errors

From his earliest days William Ayrton’s ambition had been to become a landed gentleman and to found a family. To modern ears this ambition may sound peculiar in the extreme, but in the more spacious times of William Ayrton it was a laudable ambition

The property was situated in a fold of the hills and sloped gently down to the sea. It consisted of meadows and a little wood and some moorland; there was a well, built of glowing yellow stone, which was fed by a spring and was always full of ice-cold water. The water itself was as clear as crystal but the reflection of the stone gave it the appearance of amber … it was this well which gave the property its name, Amberwell.

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Thy hand shall guide me and Thy right hand shall hold me.

Anne could not explain. It was always difficult for Anne to explain things even when they were clear to herself, and in this case she scarcely knew what she meant.

Standing with reluctant feet Where the brook and river meet; Womanhood and childhood fleet. HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

As long as skies are blue and fields are green Evening must usher night, night urge the morrow, Month follow month with woe, and year wake year to sorrow PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

When Nell had undressed and put out the light she opened the window wide and lay looking out at the stars … and presently the moon rose from behind the hill like a great golden ball. Nell’s head ached and her heart ached too. She was too unhappy to sleep.

Frank (Williams) idolised (Ayrton), and with good reason: not only was he one of the all-time special drivers but he had a certain aura about him. And if that sounds a bit corny, fair enough, but I can only say it made perfect sense when you were with him. You felt as though you were with somebody special. How much of that was was due to his reputation is impossible to quantify, but you felt it. ...He wasn't an engineer, but he wanted to absorb as much as he could about the design and philosophy of the car. He was of the now slightly old-school approach that the more one can understand technically about a car, the more it will help one understand how to drive and feed back on it to the engineers, which is such a key attribute for any driver. He had a boyish enthusiasm. A desire to learn. It was definitely one of the qualities that made him so great. ...Then of course was his driving. As a driver, he seemed to be able to make the car do things that others simply couldn't. ...What a driver. The thought of working with him was tremendously exciting.

...if the importance of being physically well prepared is obvious, mental preparation may seem less decisive. But that is not so, because before being a racing driver, you have to become a man. If that does not happen, it does not matter how much talent you might have, you will never reach the top, because for one reason or another the results will seem to elude you.

The main point is this: never give up and never lose heart.

To get to the top of motor racing, to drive a Formula 1 car in one of the leading teams, you have to have certain qualities in the right proportion. One of them has always been much admired, and is now more important than ever: consistency. What matters is not a single outstanding move but your performance across the full duration of a race, a racing season, and indeed your career...Clearly consistency is not simply a natural talent within a driver, but the outcome of a long and tough physical programme which will allow us to give our best at all times and reach the end of a race - even the toughest - as fresh as we were to start.

Broadly speaking any kind of mental training which aims to increase a driver's effectiveness at the wheel of a racing car must start from the assumption that victory is a consequence of the work done. With this attitude, victory ceases to be the main objective and is replaced by the quest for perfection in the various factors which contribute to victory, such as fitness training, setting up the car, managing a set of tyres properly, knowledge of the race tracks and so on, always focusing on smaller and smaller things...For a driver, getting into the car must be like going to the office for a top manager: it is his everyday job.

There are drivers who have successfully made tactics the key to their approach and exploited them to the full. A mature driver must have an understanding of race tactics, he cannot always follow his nose. This is something that requires experience and the tempering of your aggression: A driver who sees the race like a chess game is easy to spot as he stops getting involved in accidents and aims for points and not just wins. This kind of driving is very effective over a season when aiming for the world title. Choosing the best set-up (a less fast car, but one that will be reliable) or the right time to stop for tyres, and knowing when to relinquish a position when the race situation calls for it are all part of this.

The dialogue with the pits is very important for a driver who uses his head, and this is why, when choosing a team, you have to give careful consideration to its management.

During the formation lap - and this is something you learn quickly in the lower formulaes - the driver must also leave his mark on his opponents, let everyone know he is not there to be pushed around, that he will finish as high as he possibly can. A squeeze on a bend, a hint of overtaking, a braking maneuver extended to within a few centimetres of the gearbox of the car in front demonstrate your intentions and ambitions: these feints and thrusts are a sort of declaration of war.

Here are some rules: never let an opponent know where you are faster than him (or where he is slower) so that you do not lose the element of surprise, allowing your rival to take defensive action. You must act decisively, without the slightest hesitation: once a decision has been taken, it has to be carried through. Don't fall into the rhythm of the driver you are chasing, but keep your own. Have the strength of purpose to run an independent race, in the firm belief that the 'study phase' will be short-lived. Use your intuition and imagination, because the one thing that is not legislated in motor racing is overtaking.

I earned good money,’ he said. ‘I was driving in good teams, I was winning races, I had pole positions … basically, not a lot to prove. So what is the point to take still the risk? That was my question to myself last week. But the other side is, what is the rest of your life?

Quando o AI-5 arreganhou suas mandíbulas, parte deles empunhou as armas, enquanto outra fração usou palavras, sons e imagens contra o regime

Ayrton Senna. He was admired, loved, cheered, honored, respected. In life as well as in death. A great man, he. A great man, he was. A great man, he will be. He died that day because his body had served its purpose. His soul had done what it came to do, learned what it came to learn, and then was free to leave.

Escrevo como um cidadão brasileiro, igual a todos os demais, que foi empapado com a cultura brasileira, que torceu em muitas Copas do Mundo de Futebol e como um brasileiro que assistiu nosso Ayrton Senna da Silva dar a última volta na pista empunhando a bandeira brasileira após vencer mais uma corrida.

Il casco nasconde sentimenti che non possono essere compresi.

R. L. S. put it like this: ‘Let it be enough for faith that the whole creation groans in mortal frailty, strives with unconquerable constancy.

am a technician but I am also a legend so that I survive suspended in a solution of memory

He sought to destroy the order of the [Sun] god’s passage, because he feared the measurement of action, knowing nothing of the consequences of action.

The fact that we did not understand each other, Icarus and I, is due to my being a most ordered man, or ultimately a most insensitive one. It is not simple. There is a kind of stupidity buried in intelligence.

To keep up one's spirits with bragging is well enough when night comes on, but to imagine oneself responsible for the normal circle of day into night is a remarkable imaginative feat.

I am a technician but I am also a legend so that I survive suspended in a solution of memory.

I am not a god, and have never been made one, despite the abrasive of time, which sometimes grinds men into divine shapes.

It was not I who had cast Icarus into shadow, making his shadow monstrous. I had merely stepped between him and the sun for a moment – the moment that separated him from childhood and the achievement of death.

I had to evolve his shape as he rose and then combine in a single image the aspiration and the disaster, the triumph and defeat and the paradox of motionlessness at high velocity.

Some Brazilian bloke called Ayrton Senna da Silva seemed to be doing pretty well driving for Van Diemen. So thinking that this car must be great,

The property was situated in a fold of the hills and sloped gently down to the sea. It consisted of meadows and a little wood and some moorland; there was a well, built of glowing yellow stone, which was fed by a spring and was always full of ice-cold water. The water itself was as clear as crystal but the reflection of the stone gave it the appearance of amber … it was this well which gave the property its name, Amberwell

When Constance was born she was welcomed with enthusiasm by both her parents — it was delightful to have a little girl — but when her second daughter arrived Mrs. Ayrton was disappointed. Her third daughter was a disaster (there was no other word for it in Mrs. Ayrton’s opinion) for not only was the child of the wrong sex but she was positively ugly; a thin puling baby with a curiously broad forehead and no hair at all. Mrs. Ayrton took one look at the new arrival and then turned her head and wept. “She’s a nice little baby,” said the nurse. “No,” said Mrs. Ayrton between her sobs. “Perhaps it will be a boy next time.” “No,” said Mrs. Ayrton. She had made up her mind there was to be no “next time.” Three babies in three years was enough. If she could have been certain that the next one would be a son … but it might be a girl … she was not going to risk it.

The leaves were beginning to fall. They fell reluctantly. They hovered in the air and drifted slowly sideways to the damp ground. You would wonder why, having survived days of wind and rain, they should detach themselves now, at this moment of peace. Did they part with the twigs voluntarily? Did they say, 'Goodbye, we clung to you when the wind raged, but now our time has come?' Gently and slowly they drifted to the ground making a carpet of brown and gold upon the grass.

I used to worry myself nearly crazy about money—about how I was to make ends meet and pay for Emmie's education—but not now." She hesitated and then added in a lower voice, "You've taught me to trust God and enjoy my daily bread, that's why I said don't let's think about the future." "....We'll trust God and enjoy our daily bread together.

Tragically I was to learn how it felt the hard way. I’ve had one driver die in a car I’ve designed. Ayrton. That fact weighs heavily upon me, and while I’ve got many issues with the FIA and the way they have governed the sport over the years, I give them great credit for their contribution to improving safety in the sport.

It is not only great occasions which call for strength beyond our own; ordinary people who go about their daily duties feel the need of God's strength to help them, and God's shield to protect them from harm. The chief cause of unhappiness in modern times is fear, said Mr. Orme; fear of illness, fear of the future, fear of death; but the heart that trusts in the Lord fears nothing.

As she went about her tasks — writing letters, answering telephone calls and putting the house in order — Nell reflected that the war had killed her father just as surely as if he had been shot through the heart by a German bullet. It seemed odd that he, who had stayed at home in peaceful Amberwell, should be the first casualty in the Ayrton family.

We are airborne,” said Roger trying to smile. “Airborne,” repeated Aunt Beatrice, savouring the word. “It is a very pleasant sensation. When I get home I shall write to Elsie Cannan and tell her about it. She has never been airborne.” It was encouraging to discover that although she looked like death his charge had plenty of spirit. There was nothing yellow about Aunt Beatrice except her face.

Next year when I take my holiday I shall certainly fly——” “But not to Rome,” said Roger hastily. “No, not to Rome,” agreed Aunt Beatrice. “I have a feeling I should like to visit Copenhagen. It is a very beautiful city I am told.” Roger could not help smiling. He wondered whether he should begin to study Danish—just in case.

The offer of money to tide him over any temporary difficulties had been sensible and businesslike. Roger had not thanked Dennis—there was no need—but he had appreciated it greatly; the more so because it was so unusual. Roger was frequently asked for the loan of money, but he could not remember ever having been offered such a thing before.

This morning Mr. Orme had taken Strength as his theme: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped.” If we trust our own strength (said Mr. Orme), it may sustain us up to a certain point and then give way and let us down just at the moment when we need it most, but if the Lord is our strength, and our hearts trust in Him, He gives us His help in time of trouble. All the great men of history had the Lord as their strength: Drake, Nelson, Gordon—and a host of others. In modern times we need look no further than Churchill who was sustained through terrible strains and stresses by the Lord’s hand. But it is not only great occasions which call for strength beyond our own; ordinary people who go about their daily duties feel the need of God’s strength to help them, and God’s shield to protect them from harm. The chief cause of unhappiness in modern times is fear, said Mr. Orme; fear of illness, fear of the future, fear of death; but the heart that trusts in the Lord fears nothing.

Arnold knew a little about the “lost years” but he had not realised it had been as bad as that. “The publishers tried to persuade me to write another,” continued the author, “but of course I couldn’t. You see that book is all true. I couldn’t make up a story to save my life.” She paused for a moment and then added thoughtfully, “It’s funny how things happen. If it wasn’t for that little book I wouldn’t be here now.” “You wouldn’t be here now?” “No,” said Anne.

God likes boys better than girls, doesn’t He?” asked Anne suddenly. “No,” replied Mr. Orme. The question startled him — in fact it horrified him — but he answered it quite quietly. “No,” he repeated. “Certainly not.” “I thought He did,” said Anne. “Boys are more important, aren’t they?” “No, we are all of equal importance in the sight of God. He loves us all.

Now he altered his routine and began to take his walk in the afternoon. If the children were not to be allowed to come to him for religious instruction he must go to them. He knew they played in the gardens and was sure he would find them … but he was disappointed. The children saw him, of course, but they avoided him — as they avoided all grown-ups —

Roger smiled. He reflected that his little sister was very unworldly. “Not really,” he said. “There are various snags. The people you would like to help won’t accept it — or if they’re in an awful mess they take it as a loan and come and pay you back a little at a time, which makes you feel quite sick and completely spoils your friendship. Then of course there are the other kind — the spongers — who approach with a Cheshire Cat grin and murmur, ‘I say, old boy, could you possibly lend me five quid?

From their earliest days the Lambert children had been brought up in accordance with the book and, as they were quite intelligent enough to realise that they could do exactly as they pleased without reproof, they took full advantage of their license. Most of their friends and acquaintances were of the opinion that the Lambert children were intolerable little nuisances but their parents doted upon them and had no eyes nor ears for anybody else.

but when Gerry and Joan and little Marion were there it was anything but peaceful. They were noisy and argumentative and took pleasure in practical jokes of a very annoying character. And they were so careless and untidy that their belongings were scattered about in every room. The young Lamberts were not welcome visitors at Merlewood.

The leaves were beginning to fall. They fell reluctantly. They hovered in the air and drifted slowly sideways to the damp ground. You would wonder why, having survived days of wind and rain, they should detach themselves now, at this moment of peace. Did they part with the twigs voluntarily? Did they say, “Goodbye, we clung to you when the wind raged, but now our time has come?” Gently and slowly they drifted to the ground making a carpet of brown and gold upon the grass.

Nannie loved babies and sometimes she so longed to hold a tiny baby in her arms that she was tempted to give in her notice and look for another post … but on the other hand she loved the Ayrton children and could not make up her mind to leave them.

It happens when you’re eighteen,” said Anne thoughtfully. “You’ll be eighteen next year.” “But I don’t want it to happen!” cried Nell in alarm. “I couldn’t go out to parties and — and talk to people — and go downstairs to dinner and all that.” “Perhaps when you’re eighteen —” “Not when I’m eighty! I’d rather things went on just as they are for ever.

Roger reflected that it was a pity children had to grow up; by this time next year Stephen would be a schoolboy and the childish innocence would have vanished . . . but one could not help it of course. One could only do one’s best to see that the child grew into a boy and the boy into a man smoothly, and with the least possible suffering . . . and that there were as few “nasty things” as possible in his cupboard of memory to roll out unexpectedly and make him uncomfortable.

but the moment one started home one was filled with impatience. Amberwell pulled like a magnet; the nearer one approached the harder it pulled.

On wet days Roger and Tom got out their clockwork trains and spread the rails all over the nursery floor. They built stations and goods yards and tunnels with bricks. It took a long time to get everything in running order and Connie and Nell and Anne were allowed to help if they did not offer too many suggestions. The boys found them quite useful (sometimes they were allowed to wind up the engines under careful supervision) and more often than not it was left to Connie and Nell and Anne to tidy up the mess when the game was over and the boys remembered that they had other important business to attend to.

I’ll not wheesht! Those children get no fun at all, they’re shut up in the attics from one year’s end to another — it’s a wonder to me if their mother knows them by sight. I wouldn’t be them for a good deal.” Janet rose as she spoke and flounced out of the room, adding as a parting shot, “The dog has a better life; he’s allowed to lie on the hearth-rug anyway.

Mrs. Ayrton was equally bewildered. She picked up the book and began to turn over the pages and in a very few moments her idea that Shakespeare’s Plays were suitable reading for the young received a severe shock. She replaced the book in her husband’s library and informed her daughters that they were not to read Shakespeare’s Plays.

This man spoke in a frank voice and with a confident look; his words could not be doubted. The irishman, in whose service he had been for more than a year, answered for his trustworthiness. Lord Glenarvan, therefore, believed in the fidelity of this man and, by his advice, resolved to cross Australia, following the thirty-seventh parallel. Lord Glenarvan, his wife, the two children, the major, the Frenchman, Captain Mangles, and a few sailors composed the little band under the command of Ayrton, while the 'Duncan,' under charge of the mate, Tom Austin, proceeded to Melbourne, there to await Lord Glenarvan's instructions.

had

With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.” —AYRTON SENNA

No matter how much she deserved it, she couldn’t bring herself to tell an old woman to piss off.

Reasons to stay crept up on you, like ivy or brambles, so slowly you didn’t notice, but then one day you tried to stand up and you were pinned in place – as much a part of the landscape as the cliffs.

But change comes, again and again. It’s the only thing you can count on.