How A Family Feud Forbade Ayrton Senna’s Girlfriend From Attending His Final F1 Race

Ayrton Senna’s 21-year-old model girlfriend Adriane Galisteu was disliked by his family. The Brazilian shared a very tightly-knit relationship with his family and this caused a lot of differences among them.

The arguments he had with his family members regarding his love life affected his mental health, and this became evident during the 1994 season. Senna was frustrated and chose to rather separate the two.

He also started spending more time with Galisteu in Portugal. And this increased the driver’s separation from his home. This further increased the Senna family’s dislike towards her.

 

Senna crashed out of the lead in the season opener in Brazil. And in the following race in Japan, the Williams driver retired early following a collision. But it was the next race in Imola which will be tragically remembered to be his last race ever in F1.

Also Read: “If I Ever Die in an Accident, I Hope It’s in One Go”: Ayrton Senna Never Wished To Survive A Tragic F1 Crash

Who was Ayrton Senna’s Girlfriend? Why was she disliked by his family?

Between 1993 and his death in 1994, Senna dated Galisteu, who was a Brazilian model. She was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Senna’s city, and the pair had a 13-year age gap.

Despite the difference in age, Senna loved Adriane’s company. However, she did not sit well with the racer’s family. Adriane had appeared in the Brazilian edition of Playboy magazine.

She also came from humble beginnings, which his family looked down upon. Senna’s family deemed her unfit to be in a relationship with the 3-time World Champion who had a mythical status in Brazil and F1.

According to Tom Rubython, the author of the book “Life of Senna,” the former McLaren driver loved her and wanted to marry her after concluding the 1994 season. He shared that only Ayrton’s mother approved of this relationship. While his siblings and his father detested her.

Adriane stayed with Ayrton at his place in Algarve, Portugal. She used to accompany him for races around Europe along with Ayton’s friends. However, his family stepped in between and the Williams driver was forced to change his mind.

Also Read: Ayrton Senna Once Felt Insecure by a Younger McLaren Teammate

Why couldn’t Adriane attend Senna’s final F1 race in Imola?

Senna’s brother Leonard attended the 1994 San Marino GP along with him. He was sent by Ayrton’s family to convince the racer in breaking up with his girlfriend Adriane. As his brother and girlfriend don’t see eye-to-eye, Senna asked his girlfriend to stay back at his Algarve home.

The 3-time World Champion was very close to his family and did not want any differences to aggravate. This forced the Brazilian racer to separate his friends and family. Senna’s family stayed in Brazil while his girlfriend and friends resided with him in Portugal.

His friends and Adriane used to attend European races with the driver and used to hang around with him. He liked having his friends around as it gave him peace of mind and even wanted Adriane to join him for the fateful race in Imola.

Leonardo was keen on changing Ayrton’s mind. This led to the two having a heated argument right before the race. Adriane recalls the Brazilian racer was quite angry before the race in Imola.

Senna even told Galisteu that he’d be coming home directly from the race. However, he crashed at Tamburello whilst leading the race. Ayrton succumbed to the injuries and the world lost one of its most gifted racers.

Adriane never got to see him again as the Brazilian F1 legend was announced dead. His death sparked a major debate regarding driver safety in F1. But unfortunately, Senna went down with problems of his own, problems we never knew or heard of.

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