𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐞 , cl16

𝐰𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 | 𝐧𝐨𝐞̂𝐦𝐢𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬

Senna in 2020
via Instagram

Noêmia Senna, full name Noêmia Beatriz Senna Borges, is a Brazilian racing driver who (as of the beginning of the 2021 Formula 1 season) will become the first woman to drive in Formula 1 since Giovanna Amati in 1992. Born in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro on 13 January 2000, she is the daughter of four-time Formula 1 World Driver's Champion, Gabriel Carvalho Borges and his wife Flávia Senna da Silva, the youngest sister of the late Ayrton Senna.

Noêmia, who goes by her mother's maiden name, Senna, rather than Borges, to honour her uncle's memory, began her career in karting at the age of five. She won the RMCIT South America Cup at the age of nine, the first major victory in her karting career. In 2011, Senna competed in the KF3 CIK-FIA World Cup, where she finished runner-up to current Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc, her childhood friend. After a number of years in the karting categories, in which she became World Champion in 2016, Senna then graduated to single-seaters where she began racing in the GP3/Formula 3 series. At only seventeen years of age, she beat current Formula 1 driver George Russell in the final race of the series to win the championship. In 2016, Senna became a member of the prestigious Ferrari Driver Academy. Throughout her early years in both karting and single-seater categories (approximately 2012-2018) Senna was managed by her father, Gabriel.

In 2018, Senna graduated to the FIA Formula 2 Championship, driving for Prema Powerteam alongside Nyck de Vries. She was leading the championship up until the eighth round at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Hungary, where damage sustained in a collision with fellow Brazilian Sérgio Sette Câmara caused her to retire from the feature race, and receive a ten-place grid penalty that ultimately dropped her out of contention in the sprint race on the following day. Though Senna went on to score two podiums in the next round, she finished runner-up to George Russell after the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Despite this slightly disappointing end, her miraculous performances across the rest of the season caught the attention of Formula 1 team Scuderia Ferrari. Reportedly, Ferrari opened talks with Senna after her fantastic recovery drive in the Sochi feature race to take P3 from the back of the grid. She was in strong contention to take over from Kimi Räikkönen, who had announced earlier in the month his intention to leave Ferrari for Alfa Romeo. However, talks ended when Ferrari decided to sign rookie Charles Leclerc instead. Many gossip outlets have reported strong though unconfirmed rumours of the rift this formed between the two childhood friends. This has not been confirmed by either Leclerc or Senna, but it is true that they have not been seen together publicly since 2018.

Senna stayed with Prema Powerteam for the 2019 FIA Formula 2 season, where she won the championship by a margin of almost 100 points. However, following her win and the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Senna returned to her family home in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, and did not return. She later released a statement around a month after Formula 1 and its lower categories returned, saying that she was taking a break from the sport for unspecified personal reasons. During this time, Senna also stepped away from social media almost entirely, where she had previously been very active. Fans have speculated many reasons as to why Senna may have made this decision, however she has never answered any of these rumours.

Up until the end of the 2020 FIA Formula 1 season, it looked as though Senna would not be making any return to racing. However, upon the announcement of the rebranding of Racing Point Formula 1 Team to Aston Martin Formula 1 Team, a shock move saw Senna announced as the team's second driver, to partner Sebastian Vettel for the 2021 season. Currently, Senna is participating in winter testing with Aston Martin at their headquarters in Silverstone, United Kingdom. She will make her full Formula 1 debut at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix at the beginning of the next Formula 1 season — the only woman to do so in almost 32 years.

Born: Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Birthday: 13 January 2000

Occupation: Formula 1 driver

Personal life: Senna is linked with a number of other drivers who she has raced with over the years, including Pierre Gasly, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton (who she has said is something of a mentor to her) and, most notably, Charles Leclerc, her childhood best friend.

She has also been linked romantically with Brazilian actor Oscar de Conceição Soares (known for roles in Stranger Things, Sex Education and Never Have I Ever) after the two were seen leaving a nightclub together in October of 2020.