First of May, 1994 - The day Ayrton Senna passed away
Michael Schumacher witnessed the horrifying crash firsthand. The rising star was driving right behind race leader Ayrton Senna during the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994 when he lost control of his Williams-Renault on the seventh lap and collided with a concrete wall at the Tamburello corner at an acute angle. Senna, his head slightly tilted to the side, lay motionless in the wreckage.
Impactful events followed the tragedy, with Bernie Ecclestone, Formula 1 boss, describing the incident as "if Jesus had been nailed to the cross live."
Reports state that Senna collided with the wall at 214 km/h on the seventh lap, but it wasn't until hours later when Maria Teresa Sandri, the head doctor at the Maggiore Clinic in Bologna, declared Senna's death to Italian broadcaster RAI at 6:05 pm. Until that announcement, there was still hope the 34-year-old racing driver might survive.
"I saw the accident because I was driving behind him," said Schumacher, who had been undergoing medical rehabilitation since a skiing accident in 2013. "I never thought it would be that bad." Senna had been traveling at approximately 321 km/h when the accident occurred. The crash likely resulted from a broken steering column, and investigations suggested Senna himself had requested this part's repair. Upon impact, he was severely hit by a wheel that had come detached and succumbed to his head injuries. Despite extensive court proceedings, the precise details of the incident were never established.
Senna was a highly respected figure in the motorsport world. He had won three world championship titles, 41 victories, and 65 pole positions, making him one of the most successful drivers in Grand Prix history. His charisma was unmatched and impactful on all who encountered him. "Senna was an incredibly charismatic guy, sensational as a driver, remarkable in the rain. Simply an exceptional figure," recalled Niki Lauda, another three-time champion, years later to the specialist magazine "Auto, Motor und Sport."
"The most charismatic and the best racing driver I've ever met," said his former teammate Gerhard Berger, who had worked with Senna at McLaren for many years. "By far. No one was as smart, as ambitious, as focused. I would even go as far as saying that about Michael Schumacher and the current generation with Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso."
Schumacher, not having had any significant personal associations with Senna, was deeply affected by his death. "For a while, I wasn't sure if I could or wanted to continue being a racing driver, whether I could continue as before." He shared this thought two weeks after the disastrous race weekend at Imola.
Another tragic event happened that race weekend - Roland Ratzenberger lost his life in a fatal accident during final practice. Due to a broken wing on his Simtek Ford, he crashed into the concrete barrier at 314 km/h before the Tosa corner.
The European season opener then witnessed the first violent crash at the start as Pedro Lamy crashed into the stationary Benetton of JJ Lehto with all his force. Nine spectators were injured by vehicle parts as they flew through the air. The race was momentarily halted before resuming after a 30-minute interruption. Schumacher ended up winning his third victory in the Benetton-Ford. "I can't be the least bit happy about this victory," he said during the press conference that followed.
Amidst the terrible race weekend, mechanics were injured during Michele Alboreto's pit stop on lap 49, with a wheel coming loose. Unsuspecting spectators were struck by a flying wheel and sustained injuries. Senna himself seemed overwhelmed by the day's events. Before the race, he visited the crash site of his colleague Ratzenberger, but he was barred from doing so. Additionally, Senna seemed morose and serious throughout the entire weekend. [
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Following two unsuccessful retirements earlier in the races, Senna was also dealing with immense athletic pressure. The apparent title protagonist had shifted to the world champion team Williams at the beginning of the season to succeed his former teammate and rival Alain Prost and achieve his fourth world championship win. Before the Imola Grand Prix at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, he remarked, "I hope that the World Championship will truly begin for me now." However, it turned out drastically differently in a tragic way.
Safety Advancements: Enhanced Vehicles and Courses
Ralf Schumacher, Michael Schumacher's brother, was entering Formula 1 during that time. In a recent interview with dpa, he commented on the tragic Imola weekend on its 30th anniversary. The event seemed incredulous and unimaginable. "For something like that to happen was simply unfathomable. It showcased at the time that there was more to be done in terms of safety," he said.
Michael's involvement, with the support of Max Mosley, the then President of the International Automobile Federation, and Ecclestone, helped Formula 1 considerably enhance its safety standards. For those who entered Formula 1 afterward, this was a fortunate occurrence. The taller cockpits, which previously exposed drivers' shoulders, the Hans system, and other modifications were introduced. A lot has improved, thankfully.
There were still serious crashes after this. One such incident was with Robert Kubica in Montreal in 2007. His car was severely wrecked, with three out of four wheels detached, the front end destroyed, and the rear wrecked. Despite his car being in shambles, the safety cell kept Kubica mostly unharmed, resulting in him being out of one race and then winning in Canada the following year.
Another accident involving Romain Grosjean in Bahrain in 2020 showcased the increased safety in Formula 1. After 27 seconds, the Frenchman emerged from the flames and his car, which was split in two after colliding with the crash barriers, survived. The chances of his survival were likely due to the improvements in Formula 1 safety, which also means that any severe accident is thoroughly analyzed and processed.
The last fatal accident involving a driver in Formula 1 occurred in Japan in 2014, when Jules Bianchi's car slid under a recovery crane. He eventually passed away the following summer.
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Source: www.stern.de
