A special bronze bust of Ayrton Senna sculpted by the F1 legend’s niece Paula Senna Lalli will be presented to Pope Francis on Wednesday at the Vatican.

Senna Institute

Paula Senna Lalli – the daughter of Viviane Senna and the sister of former Lotus and Williams driver Bruno Senna – initiated her work on the bust in 2016 following a request from her grandmother Neyde Senna, the mother of the three-time world champion. The original clay sculpture was completed at the end of 2016, and then casted into bronze.

“I was very proud to be given this mission by my grandmother, who wanted to portray the way he is remembered by the family with lots of warmth,” said Paula on her Facebook page.

“I took on the challenge, even though I knew it would be a hard task, since very few masterpieces like this are approved by our family, and even fewer by grandma Dona Neyde.”

As a legacy of Ayrton Senna’s profound religious faith, the Senna family wished to gift the work to Pope Francis. Paula Senna Lalli will be unable to attend Wednesday morning’s dedicated ceremony at the Vatican, having just given birth in Sao Paulo to her second child.

Bianca Senna Lalli – Paula’s sister and a director of the Ayrton Senna Institute – will present Pope Francis with the bronze work of art which will then take its place in the Vatican Museum.

f1i.com