Death of Ayrton Senna: On this day F1's greatest driver passed away
Ayrton Senna died in 1994, 30 years ago, after crashing into a concrete wall. He is still remembered by millions of fans, and we honour his legacy on this day.
On this day in 1994, F1’s greatest driver passed away after a massive crash in Imola. Ayrton Senna is a legend who left us with a big void, and we still remember the legend for all his outstanding achievements and for changing Formula 1 forever. The Brazilian Legend was a three-time F1 world champion at the time of his death.
Ayrton Senna’s death was not the first in that Grand Prix in 1994. On the previous day, his friend Roland Ratzenberger was the Austrian driver who tragically died during the qualifying session. Senna asked the race officials to call off the race, but the F1 leadership counted on the sponsorship losses and proceeded with the race. The weekend was still the darkest in F1’s history.
Battle with Schumacher
Senna was driving for the Williams Racing team, the team for which his biggest rival, Alain Prost, won the championship the previous year. It was the Rookie vs Legend battle, where the seven-time world champion Schumacher qualified second behind Senna. The two great drivers had some tussles before, and Ayrton was desperate to keep Schumacher behind him. There were rumours that Senna wanted a low steering column, as the Brazilian was not comfortable with the steering.
How Ayrton Senna died of the Fatal crash?
Footage taken on 1 May 1994, shows the fatal crash of Brazilian Formula One legend Ayrton Senna.
He sadly died after his car crashed into a concrete barrier while he was leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at the Imola Circuit in Italy.
Senna was holding Schumacher behind for 7 laps, but the German driver was too quick and was pushing Senna to the limits. On lap 7, Senna was approaching the Tamburello corner. Suddenly, he lost control of his car and crashed straight into the concrete wall. The Williams FW16’s suspension was broken into pieces, and one of those pieces pierced Senna’s head. He was air lifted to the hospital, and his blood was flowing all over the media personnel who were standing under the chopper.
Ayrton was declared dead later that day before the race was even completed. The podium winners, Michael Schumacher, Nicola Larini and Mika Hakkinen didn't celebrate after they were told about Senna’s death. The cause of death was rumoured to be the breakage of the Steering column. Senna was just 34 years old at the time of his death. Millions of fans attended and mourned his death. There was an Austrian flag in Senna's car, the legend planned to wave the flag to remember his friend Roland, who died in qualifying.
Impact of Ayrtion Senna
Though we lost the legend 30 years ago, his impact is still big in F1. He was the last driver to win a Formula 1 world championship powered by Honda until recently, when Max Verstappen became the world champion. Only after Senna’s death, F1 took driver safety more seriously and started improving the safety in F1 cars.
This was the reason behind all the safety equipment in F1 cars. Many young drivers came into F1 like Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel after being inspired by Senna. He is still a world icon and is remembered by fans. Ayrton Senna will always be the greatest driver and challenger in F1 history.
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