The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix weekend went from lucky to shocking in the span of a day, and then got even worse. In 2024, what was arguably Formula One's darkest weekend has its 30th anniversary - including the death of Ayrton Senna.
There is no doubt that Ayrton Senna was one of the absolute best drivers in F1 in the 1980s and 1990s. The Brazilian's three World Championships and fierce rivalry with Alain Prost, as well as his prowess for racing in the rain, are the stuff of legends. Most, if not every racing fan will immediately recognize the bright yellow helmet in a red-and-white F1 car.
Heading into 1994, Senna was the man to beat. Prost had retired after taking his fourth and final title, Nigel Mansell was still in the US defending his IndyCar championship. Nelson Piquet had retired from F1 after the 1991 season already, meaning Senna was the only driver on the 1994 grid to have won a World Championship.
Instead of turning their fortunes around at the start of the European season, things took a tragic turn at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on May 1, 1994.
So much has been written, so many documentaries and even a movie in 2010 have been produced on Ayrton's career and his Imola accident. Racing fans around the world know about the Williams FW16 not handling well in its initial guise. About Gerhard Berger's and Nelson Piquet's previous accidents at Tamburello. About Senna's reaction to Roland Ratzenberger's death in qualifying.
Most likely, they even know about how Berger and Senna took a closer look at the Tamburello corner a few years prior and concluded that nothing could really be done to expand the run-off area due to the Santerno river behind the barrier. A chicane never crossed their minds.
After Ratzenberger's death, they, alongside the other drivers, had decided to re-form the Grand Prix Driver's Association after the weekend to address safety improvements moving forward. While this did happen, Senna, tragically, could not be one of the driving forces.
The start of the seventh lap of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix would go around the world as Senna went off at Tamburello. A brief moment of hope, uncertainty and confusion followed, until it was confirmed that evening at the Maggiore Hospital in nearby Bologna that Senna had died. The official time of death was given as 14:17 CEST - the moment of the impact.
On the previous day, Ratzenberger's death had been declared upon arrival at the same hospital. Had this happened at the track, as it was later determined that he died on impact, the event would have had to be stopped entirely according to Italian law, which in turn would have prevented the Senna tragedy.
The event did go ahead, and after Senna's crash and the subsequent restart, Lotus and Ferrari mechanics were injured after getting hit by a stray wheel that had come off of Michele Alboreto's Minardi in a final stroke of terrible luck. Schumacher won the race ahead of Nicola Larini and Mika Häkkinen - and everyone was simply glad that the weekend was over.
There has been much speculation about the cause of Senna's accident. The official reason determined in court was a steering column failure, another prominent theory being that his car bottoming out due to the low tire pressures following the Safety Car perior.
Had the Formula One circus been "just" shocked on Saturday, it was completely devastated after the events of Sunday. Senna, the number one driver in the world at the time, was gone. Bernie Ecclestone once likened his death to crucifying Jesus on live TV - and the reaction around the world, particularly in Brazil, spoke volumes about what he meant to racing fans.
Ayrton was given a state funeral on May 5, with about 500,000 people lining the streets in Sao Paulo to see the procession. A smaller funeral was held in Salzburg for Ratzenberger, with Brabham, Johnny Herbert, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Karl Wendlinger and Berger attending as well as FIA President Max Mosley.
As a tribute to Senna, Williams ran his logo on their cars until 2021. Simtek carried on with a "For Roland" logo with his helmet design at the top of their car's airboxes for the rest of the season.
More importantly, however, sweeping changes for safety affected all areas of F1, including the tracks. Since the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, only a single death resulted from a racing weekend incident, that being Jules Bianchi in 2015 following his injuries sustained in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Injuries in general have dramatically decreased in the 30 years since.
Perhaps most fascinating is how many people still pay tribute to Senna. As a controversial driver during his career, he certainly was not someone everybody loved, and there are still many who do not look upon him favorably. However, there are still countless racing fans viewing him as an icon, many who have not even seen him race because they are too young. His death arguably elevated Senna to almost mythical status.
His car control is admired to this day, and it shows in many recordings of Senna driving. Whether its wrestling a Lotus 97T turbo beast around the streets of Adelaide on the edge of grip, a lightning-quick Monaco lap any time he competed there, or the famed first lap of the 1993 European Grand Prix at Donington - there are tons of moments that show what he could do behind the wheel.
And this status was on full display during the WEC 6 Hours of Imola weekend. When walking up to Tosa from the main entrance to the track, you will pass by the Senna memorial on the inside of Tamburello, roughly opposite from where Ayrton's car came to rest after the crash.
Arriving there seemed to make the event around it disappear for a minute. For one, you simply could not see the track due to the amount of flags, signs, t-shirts and other tributes fans have put up on the fence. But the atmosphere at the statue also changed. Fans were taking photos, but it was relatively quiet - save for the cars flying by, of course.
Standing there made me wonder how it must have felt in that same spot on May 1, 1994, just after the accident. Seeing the doctors on the scene, the helicopter, the Larrousse of Erik Comas arriving after mistekenly being released from the pits, all while not knowing anything about the driver's condition - the same thought came up later on one of the grandstands overlooking Tosa for Ratzenberger's accident.
I tried to push these thoughts away immediately, which helped. Instead, I tried to focus on the legacy Senna and that Imola weekend itself had - in a way, it is beautiful to see that both Roland and Ayrton are still present for so many people.
And for me personally, being at the track where F1 changed forever for the first time in my life, it felt a bit like my racing journey had come full circle, if you will. Like I mentioned before, I have no memory of the weekend as I was too young then, but so much of the Formula One I grew up with was influenced by what happend in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix - so being there felt like a bit more than ticking off a bucket list item.
For racing fans around the world, Senna continues to be an icon. And it shows in sim racing, too - the 1994 season has been the subject of countless mods for 20 years or more. Senna's cars are usually very popular in sims, particularly the Lotus 98T and McLaren MP4/4. Although some sim racers need to be reminded that his "if you no longer go for a gap..." line was not something to live by on the virtual tracks, of course.
30 years after his death, the Brazilian is still inspiring people. His merchandise is still sold at race tracks, and buying it supports education programs by the Instituto Ayrton Senna. Finally, as a silver lining, his and Ratzenberger's fates helped to make motorsport much safer.
Rest in peace, Ayrton Senna.
There is no doubt that Ayrton Senna was one of the absolute best drivers in F1 in the 1980s and 1990s. The Brazilian's three World Championships and fierce rivalry with Alain Prost, as well as his prowess for racing in the rain, are the stuff of legends. Most, if not every racing fan will immediately recognize the bright yellow helmet in a red-and-white F1 car.
Heading into 1994, Senna was the man to beat. Prost had retired after taking his fourth and final title, Nigel Mansell was still in the US defending his IndyCar championship. Nelson Piquet had retired from F1 after the 1991 season already, meaning Senna was the only driver on the 1994 grid to have won a World Championship.
Difficult Start With Williams Turns Into Tragedy
Following two years in which the previously dominant McLaren team struggled against Williams, he had finally joined the team for the new season. A match made in heaven, and almost certainly a fourth title for Senna, many thought. But after two retirements to start the year and watching a young Michael Schumacher win both races, Senna and Williams headed to Imola on the back foot.Instead of turning their fortunes around at the start of the European season, things took a tragic turn at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on May 1, 1994.
So much has been written, so many documentaries and even a movie in 2010 have been produced on Ayrton's career and his Imola accident. Racing fans around the world know about the Williams FW16 not handling well in its initial guise. About Gerhard Berger's and Nelson Piquet's previous accidents at Tamburello. About Senna's reaction to Roland Ratzenberger's death in qualifying.
Most likely, they even know about how Berger and Senna took a closer look at the Tamburello corner a few years prior and concluded that nothing could really be done to expand the run-off area due to the Santerno river behind the barrier. A chicane never crossed their minds.
After Ratzenberger's death, they, alongside the other drivers, had decided to re-form the Grand Prix Driver's Association after the weekend to address safety improvements moving forward. While this did happen, Senna, tragically, could not be one of the driving forces.
The start of the seventh lap of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix would go around the world as Senna went off at Tamburello. A brief moment of hope, uncertainty and confusion followed, until it was confirmed that evening at the Maggiore Hospital in nearby Bologna that Senna had died. The official time of death was given as 14:17 CEST - the moment of the impact.
On the previous day, Ratzenberger's death had been declared upon arrival at the same hospital. Had this happened at the track, as it was later determined that he died on impact, the event would have had to be stopped entirely according to Italian law, which in turn would have prevented the Senna tragedy.
The event did go ahead, and after Senna's crash and the subsequent restart, Lotus and Ferrari mechanics were injured after getting hit by a stray wheel that had come off of Michele Alboreto's Minardi in a final stroke of terrible luck. Schumacher won the race ahead of Nicola Larini and Mika Häkkinen - and everyone was simply glad that the weekend was over.
There has been much speculation about the cause of Senna's accident. The official reason determined in court was a steering column failure, another prominent theory being that his car bottoming out due to the low tire pressures following the Safety Car perior.
Brabham's Dodged Bullet
What is certain, however, is that F1 dodged another potential tragedy by sheer luck. As Ratzenberger's team mate David Brabham later revealed, he had suffered steering failure himself - just ahead of Variante Bassa. The official reason listed for Brabham retiring from the race on lap 27 was that he spun, but the Australian reminisced in 2014:David Brabham about the end of his 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in a Crash.net interview
Had the Formula One circus been "just" shocked on Saturday, it was completely devastated after the events of Sunday. Senna, the number one driver in the world at the time, was gone. Bernie Ecclestone once likened his death to crucifying Jesus on live TV - and the reaction around the world, particularly in Brazil, spoke volumes about what he meant to racing fans.
Ayrton was given a state funeral on May 5, with about 500,000 people lining the streets in Sao Paulo to see the procession. A smaller funeral was held in Salzburg for Ratzenberger, with Brabham, Johnny Herbert, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Karl Wendlinger and Berger attending as well as FIA President Max Mosley.
As a tribute to Senna, Williams ran his logo on their cars until 2021. Simtek carried on with a "For Roland" logo with his helmet design at the top of their car's airboxes for the rest of the season.
More importantly, however, sweeping changes for safety affected all areas of F1, including the tracks. Since the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, only a single death resulted from a racing weekend incident, that being Jules Bianchi in 2015 following his injuries sustained in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Injuries in general have dramatically decreased in the 30 years since.
Senna Still Shines
What has not decreased is the shine of the icon that Ayrton Senna was and still is to many. A controversial driver during his career, he had two very contrasting sides - ruthless on the track, but determined to do good off of it. His contributions to education for children in Brazil continue to this day via the Instituto Ayrton Senna, set up by his sister Viviane.Perhaps most fascinating is how many people still pay tribute to Senna. As a controversial driver during his career, he certainly was not someone everybody loved, and there are still many who do not look upon him favorably. However, there are still countless racing fans viewing him as an icon, many who have not even seen him race because they are too young. His death arguably elevated Senna to almost mythical status.
His car control is admired to this day, and it shows in many recordings of Senna driving. Whether its wrestling a Lotus 97T turbo beast around the streets of Adelaide on the edge of grip, a lightning-quick Monaco lap any time he competed there, or the famed first lap of the 1993 European Grand Prix at Donington - there are tons of moments that show what he could do behind the wheel.
And this status was on full display during the WEC 6 Hours of Imola weekend. When walking up to Tosa from the main entrance to the track, you will pass by the Senna memorial on the inside of Tamburello, roughly opposite from where Ayrton's car came to rest after the crash.
Arriving there seemed to make the event around it disappear for a minute. For one, you simply could not see the track due to the amount of flags, signs, t-shirts and other tributes fans have put up on the fence. But the atmosphere at the statue also changed. Fans were taking photos, but it was relatively quiet - save for the cars flying by, of course.
Standing there made me wonder how it must have felt in that same spot on May 1, 1994, just after the accident. Seeing the doctors on the scene, the helicopter, the Larrousse of Erik Comas arriving after mistekenly being released from the pits, all while not knowing anything about the driver's condition - the same thought came up later on one of the grandstands overlooking Tosa for Ratzenberger's accident.
I tried to push these thoughts away immediately, which helped. Instead, I tried to focus on the legacy Senna and that Imola weekend itself had - in a way, it is beautiful to see that both Roland and Ayrton are still present for so many people.
And for me personally, being at the track where F1 changed forever for the first time in my life, it felt a bit like my racing journey had come full circle, if you will. Like I mentioned before, I have no memory of the weekend as I was too young then, but so much of the Formula One I grew up with was influenced by what happend in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix - so being there felt like a bit more than ticking off a bucket list item.
For racing fans around the world, Senna continues to be an icon. And it shows in sim racing, too - the 1994 season has been the subject of countless mods for 20 years or more. Senna's cars are usually very popular in sims, particularly the Lotus 98T and McLaren MP4/4. Although some sim racers need to be reminded that his "if you no longer go for a gap..." line was not something to live by on the virtual tracks, of course.
30 years after his death, the Brazilian is still inspiring people. His merchandise is still sold at race tracks, and buying it supports education programs by the Instituto Ayrton Senna. Finally, as a silver lining, his and Ratzenberger's fates helped to make motorsport much safer.
Rest in peace, Ayrton Senna.
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