Had he lived, Ayrton Senna would be 55 years old today.

It’s impossible to imagine the Brazilian pushing into his second half-century, a quiet figure in the modern F1 paddock with flecks of grey in his hair and creases lined into his face. Impossible because like all those who die young, his legacy and image remain so immovably tied to his time that there’s just no escaping that permanence of youth.

Our gallery of images remembers him best – behind the wheel of one of a series of iconic red and white McLarens, driving over the limit. In those cars, he embellished the legend he’d started building at Team Lotus during his fledgling years in Formula 1 – a relentless hard-charger who took no prisoners, who would always go for the gap, and who’d happily have an accident in order to prove a point.

Happy birthday Ayrton…