The legend of Ayrton Senna may have been long in the making already, but the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix saw the Brazilian achieve his maiden Formula 1 success, marking the start of his next chapter.

Senna may be most famously associated with McLaren, the team with which he scored all three of his world titles, and remembered through rose-tinted glasses for his eye-catching near-miss in the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix just six races into his F1 career with Toleman, but it was in the iconic black and gold liveried Lotus that he first took to the top step of the podium. 

On 20 April, 1985, at Estoril, Senna took his first pole position. In a field stacked with some of the biggest names in F1 history, this was already no small feat.

The Sunday saw heavy rain fall in Portugal, the kind that would almost certainly see a race delayed or prevented from taking place at all in modern times. In an era far looser on safety, it says a lot that even the late commentator Murray Walker described conditions at one point as “appalling”.

Senna stormed away from the line, followed by team-mate Elio de Angelis, and put in one of the most spellbinding and underrated wet-weather performances of all time – a drive comparable to that of Michael Schumacher’s at the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix. 

To see how treacherous the conditions were, one only needs to look at the list of retirements, with Keke Rosberg (Williams), Niki Lauda (McLaren), and a certain Martin Brundle (Tyrrell) all failing to finish. Indeed, soon after Senna had been seen signalling to officials to red flag the race due to increased rainfall, Alain Prost spun off while travelling down the start straight.

Of the 26 starters, just 10 reached the chequered flag, with nine of these classified – Manfred Winkelhock in the RAM 17 laps down and unclassified when the two-hour time certainty limit ended the race.

Not only were there few finishers, but Ferrari driver Michele Alboreto was the only man to remain with Senna on the lead lap, although 62.978s behind. Patrick Tambay (Renault) and de Angelis were the only drivers a single lap back, with Nigel Mansell (Williams) leading those two laps adrift.

The Brazilian had many notable victories in his illustrious F1 career, but it is quite possible that this first success was his best. Let us know your thoughts below on which of Senna’s wins ranks at the top of your list. 

The legend of Ayrton Senna may have been long in the making already, but the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix saw the Brazilian achieve his maiden Formula 1 success, marking the start of his next chapter.

Senna may be most famously associated with McLaren, the team with which he scored all three of his world titles, and remembered through rose-tinted glasses for his eye-catching near-miss in the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix just six races into his F1 career with Toleman, but it was in the iconic black and gold liveried Lotus that he first took to the top step of the podium. 

On 20 April, 1985, at Estoril, Senna took his first pole position. In a field stacked with some of the biggest names in F1 history, this was already no small feat.

The Sunday saw heavy rain fall in Portugal, the kind that would almost certainly see a race delayed or prevented from taking place at all in modern times. In an era far looser on safety, it says a lot that even the late commentator Murray Walker described conditions at one point as “appalling”.

Senna stormed away from the line, followed by team-mate Elio de Angelis, and put in one of the most spellbinding and underrated wet-weather performances of all time – a drive comparable to that of Michael Schumacher’s at the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix. 

To see how treacherous the conditions were, one only needs to look at the list of retirements, with Keke Rosberg (Williams), Niki Lauda (McLaren), and a certain Martin Brundle (Tyrrell) all failing to finish. Indeed, soon after Senna had been seen signalling to officials to red flag the race due to increased rainfall, Alain Prost spun off while travelling down the start straight.

Of the 26 starters, just 10 reached the chequered flag, with nine of these classified – Manfred Winkelhock in the RAM 17 laps down and unclassified when the two-hour time certainty limit ended the race.

Not only were there few finishers, but Ferrari driver Michele Alboreto was the only man to remain with Senna on the lead lap, although 62.978s behind. Patrick Tambay (Renault) and de Angelis were the only drivers a single lap back, with Nigel Mansell (Williams) leading those two laps adrift.

The Brazilian had many notable victories in his illustrious F1 career, but it is quite possible that this first success was his best. Let us know your thoughts below on which of Senna’s wins ranks at the top of your list.