FormulaNerds was privileged to speak to Ayrton Senna’s niece, Lalalli, at the Silverstone Festival about her work cementing her uncle’s legacy.
Lalalli and her brother Bruno were young children when their uncle had his accident at Imola in 1994. Since his death, Lalalli has become the Creative Director of Senna Brands, looking after the vital work undertaken by the Senna Institute. Founder and CEO of Lalalli Studios, Lalalli’s work has seen the creation of spectacular sculptures.
Lalalli and her brother Bruno had active roles at the Silverstone Festival this year, helping to commemorate Ayrton’s legendary career. With the infamous British weather again playing its hand, all seven of Ayrton’s cars graced garage one instead of their outdoor awnings.
She and Bruno arrived in garage one at Silverstone for a special media event, flanked by these legendary cars. This was a special moment for all involved, and the significance of this moment was not lost on anyone.
After photos in front of the iconic 1985 Lotus, we moved with Lalalli to escape the revving classic F1 cars in the next garage. Stopping in front of Ayrton’s 1991 McLaren MP4/6, we began a fascinating discussion. Lalalli oozes warmth and is passionate about her work and her uncle.
The Senna Foundation
We asked Lalalli to tell us about the work of the Senna Institute and how it was formed. This vital foundation looks after underprivileged children in Brazil and is still going strong thirty years after Ayrton’s death:
“Well, it always had to do with Ayrton. He was always caring about children and people in Brazil very much, and a few months before the accident, he spoke to my mother, Viviani, that he wanted to do something for the children that was actually organised and official.
“He was always doing things like frequently or unofficially, but he wanted to do something big. So he asked her to help him think about what he could do officially for the children in Brazil because she was a children’s psychologist/therapist.
“Then, a few months later, unfortunately, he had the accident, and the family decided to honour his wishes. So the first decision that we took as a family, was to give a part of his earnings, the royalties of his name to the Ayrton Senna Foundation. We’ve been doing that for thirty years.
“We’ve been helping Brazilian education, and we have backed over thirty-six million children in Brazil during this time, which was work led by my mother.”
Lalalli Studios
Lalalli is also known for her fantastic sculptures of her uncle. These accurately recreate Ayrton’s face and expressions. Stunning pieces of artwork, they are admired by all involved in motorsport.
We asked her how the Senna Foundation influenced the creation of Lalalli Studios, where these sculptures are created. Her answer revealed the positivity of her family:
“So we have in the family, we have a value, an idea that everybody comes with their own talent, you know? And each person is special because of that. My gift is art.
“I’m creative in every way, I’m a musician, I’m an artist, a sculptor and, and so I created my own study to create my own pieces of art. One of them, which is here is at the museum is a sculpture made of Ayrton.
“Because my grandmother Neyde [Ayrton’s mother] asked me to make a sculpture of him, because she wanted to see a representation of her son the way that she remembers him. Because we have many representations of Ayrton, but not as a family member, not somebody that was known intimately personally.
“So since I met him as a child, I was able to create something for her, and then we did this sculpture that’s in Brazil in Interlagos. The three-and-a-half metres high sculpture….the fans wanted to have something that they could have as well, so I made the limited edition version, and one of the pieces is here.
“It’s funny because, if you look at the sculpture, at the same level and you have to see, like, exactly the expression that he had that I remember as a child”.
Creating the first sculpture
The sculpture at the festival proved popular throughout the weekend, captivating audiences. We asked Lalalli about the very first sculpture she created for her grandmother.
The depth and detail required is extraordinary. The end result took time and effort to bring her vision of Ayrton to life in a way that she remembers him:
“It was a long, long process. I was always looking for the perfect expression and I couldn’t find it anywhere. And I looked at the pictures, we had so many pictures of Ayrton but I couldn’t see what I was looking for anywhere.
“So it took me some time. I did the first. I thought, well, actually, I started with a water bottle, and there was like a water bottle, and you put clay on it to start. And I was like, this is never going to turn into it.
“And then I just kept doing it. I was very nervous because there was a lot of pressure to do something this great for my grandmother, you know, and then I could come up with the perfect portrait that looked exactly like him but didn’t have the expression that I was looking for.
“But the family was already very happy. I wasn’t happy enough, but they were happy, so they said can you please make a big version of this because we want to put it in a public place so that other people can can see it and enjoy it, and I said: Okay.
The moment of clarity
“So I did a big version and then I was doing work on the big model. I was changing little details like changing the deposition of the eye and going back like 30 metres, looking in front of distance, coming back.
Lalalli then described the moment that she looked at the sculpture and saw Ayrton looking back at her:
“At some point, when I looked at the sculpture, I just looked and saw Ayrton looking back at me. He was exactly like that, and I didn’t even know that I remember him like that anymore because it had been such a long time
“It was like, looking at him again since the last time that I really saw him. It was really amazing. And then I thought, everybody, maybe this is my experience, something that only I will be able to live through and feel.
“But everybody, everybody else felt it too, so it has become a really special project.”
On Ayrton’s enduring legacy
Thirty years after his accident, Ayrton’s career and story continue reverberating with the fans. We asked Lalalli what it meant to see the fans’ passion for his legacy and to see two of his cars once again take to Silverstone:
“It’s amazing. As a family member everywhere I go since I was a child people know him in every country, they know my name, they understand, they ask questions, they get very emotional.
“But somehow, in 2024, it’s been like the 30 years…of his legacy, and it has become even greater than it was before. Because when we were doing the twenty-year legacy, it wasn’t as big.
“Somehow, people remember him still, and it’s like he became to another level, you know? For me, it’s unexplainable, It’s difficult to understand how people love him so much.
“I understand because he was my uncle, but he affected people in a way that is hard to explain is more than normal successful sports-person does you know?
“He became somebody like really inspired people, and for me, there’s no words to express this, honour, and the emotion that I have been feeling this year because we’ve been like having so many beautiful tributes.
“And this is one of the greatest ones because there has never been such a greater gathering of cars in the same place in Silverstone, which is a place that he loved so much.
A personal legacy
For our final question, we asked Lalalli to tell us the most significant lesson her uncle instilled into her that she still abides by today. Her response showed just how deep an impact Ayrton had on family members, as well as the wider world:
“Well, there are two kinds of lessons that are very important: one that I learned from him, knowing him personally, and the other one that I learned from him, understanding who he was.
“So the first one is very personal because he cared about people and I could feel that even as a child, you know, he really connected to people. He looked people in the eye, he remembered every single person, and he was going back on trips, bringing gifts to the children that we met, every single family member, and his friends, and people that were as successful as him, but he cared, as much as, you know, very deeply for everyone.
“So to be that there’s a noble quality that, you know, to care for people this much. And I think this is something that I learned from the first week because I felt it.
“The second one I learnt afterwards because I was a child when he passed. So I learnt about his qualities as a driver afterwards, and it was his determination to keep on going and to cross difficulties and overcome challenges.
“This is by me even for his own sculpture, because I was scared and, you know, that the water bottle became a three and a half metre, high culture, and it’s actually great. So, you know, you never know.”
Feature Image Credit: Silverstone Circuit
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