Interview: Bianca Senna, Inspiring Change Through Ayrton Senna And TAG Heuer

As part of the Senna Brand and TAG Heuer collaboration, the brand has launched two dedicated timepieces to celebrate the life and legacy of the driver and face of their "Don't Crack Under Pressure" campaign.
 

These two new timepieces take inspiration from the design of the driver's favorite TAG Heuer watch. The new TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre Heuer 02T Ayrton Senna Special Edition 2019, limited to 65 pieces, comes with a completely matte black ceramic case coupled with a ceramic bezel and the name "SENNA" in yellow, a nod to the Brazilian flag.  
 

For the diehard Senna fans, TAG Heuer also launched a TAG Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 16, similar to the piece Ayrton wore on the campaign poster. However, both pieces are meant for Ayrton Senna's fans, as both have his iconic helmet on the back of the watch.
 

From the moment I met Bianca, I was starstruck, and we naturally started speaking in our native language, Portuguese. She is extremely polite and speaks with such conviction that she could convince anyone to help the Senna Foundation. Naturally, for my first question, I asked about the legacy her uncle left behind and how they shared it. 
 

Viviana: Ayrton left such a legacy in the world of Formula 1. Very similar to Lewis Hamilton, his reach extends far beyond F1. Some even speculated he would run for President of Brazil one day. What's his legacy for you?

Bianca: He was much more than a Formula 1 driver. His story transcended the titles he had. What is unique about Ayrton was his values, he is still inspiring people even today. His motto was, to become the best of yourself, you have to have a lot of determination and guts to get where and what you want.
 

(Bianca Continues) All these values and attitudes are timeless. Our goal as a brand is to inspire people to be their best. His story and experiences show how much you can do and how much you have. We want to show people that each of us has the inner strength to get things done. I think in today's world, everyone thinks things are easy. But no, they are not. The new generations think these things are owed to them, that they can easily become president thanks to YouTube. At the end of the day, life is, unfortunately, not that easy.
 

(Bianca) We need examples of people who worked extremely hard to achieve what they want and people who reach for their dreams. This is what we strive to do, in different ways, with products and the Senna brand experiences. Besides that, we have a social side that aims to inspire people through education. At the moment in Brazil, we have 53 million children in school, 90% of whom are in public schools. Unfortunately, the public-school system is of very poor quality in Brazil. So, we started working to develop the potential of new generations 25 years ago, right after the accident (1994, Imola).

(Bianca) We really want to transform Brazilian education so that new, young Sennas can emerge. Not Sennas in the sense of being a race car driver or a successful sportsman, but full-fledged people who have the chance to chase after their dream, to be their best version of themselves. The Ayrton brand works in different ways to inspire people to share their values, to use their full potential, and to aspire them to be their best.
 

Viviana: I was extremely young when Senna died, but thanks to my father, I still knew who he was. More recently, my husband introduced me to a couple of documentaries about Senna's life. They triggered my curiosity, and I have to ask Bianca, when did you realize the importance of Senna?

Bianca: I was 14 years old when he passed away. So, to me, he was my uncle. I didn't have much of an idea of how big he was to people. It was more when I started working for the family, and especially for the Senna brand, that I began to see how much he inspired people. Even today, 25 years later, people have an emotional connection with him, and it's is very strong. Recent research shows that 90-95% of people in Brazil know him. He is still the first personality in Brazil today. It’s massive. You can see that big brands such as TAG Heuer, Heineken, and McLaren are also inspired. They want to be part of this brand, to be near the inspiration Ayrton started through the brand and share in his legacy.