On May 1 1994, the darkest weekend in Formula One history
ended with the death of a legend of the sport.
The weekend of the San Marino Grand Prix started as we all
know with a horrendous accident involving Rubens Barrichello in his Jordan.
Despite the massive impact of the crash the Brazil survived the crash and went
on to become the most experienced driver in Formula One history.
On Saturday, the sport suffered its first fatality since
1982 when MTV Simtek driver Roland Ratzenberger tragically lost his life.
Ratzenberger had just started his Formula One career and was a very promising
and talented driver and his death sent shockwaves through the sport. Ayrton
Senna debated with his Williams team as to whether or not he would race on the
Sunday.
The Brazilian who joined the Grove based outfit from McLaren
over the winter of 1993 had been shaken by the accident suffered by his
countryman Rubens Barrichello during Friday Practice.
The triple world champion had endured a tough start to his
time at Williams Renault however the San Marino Grand Prix weekend was in
Senna’s eyes the start of his season. The struggled in practice on the Friday
however managed to put the car on pole position for the race on Sunday.
The Brazilian started the race alongside Benetton’s Michael
Schumacher. Following a serious accident at the start of the race, the Safety
Car was deployed and two laps after it returned to the pit-lane on lap 7 of the
race, Senna’s Williams left the circuit at the Tamburello corner at 190mph and
hit the concrete wall at that corner at approximately 135mph as the Brazilian
managed to slow the car down just prior to the accident.
Senna was regarded by many myself included the best driver
in the history of Formula On. The Brazilian won three world champions with
McLaren Honda in 1988, 89 and 91 and would undoubtedly gone on to win more
championships.
When it came to racing in the wet, Senna was the best and he
showed this at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix when he finished the race in second
place just behind McLaren’s Alain Prost. I never had the opportunity to meet
Ayrton Senna, however at the 2010 Italian Grand Prix I had the pleasure of
meeting his nephew, Bruno who was an absolute gentleman.
Ayrton Senna’s death lead to incredible changes within
Formula One today it is now at the fore-front of safety in motorsport.
© Ben Johnston 2015
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