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Think back to Imola, F1 weekend in 1994 – Ayrton Senna’s last race.
The weekend began like any other race weeknd, but by the end of it, something felt broken.
Friday was the first warning, after Rubens Barrichello’s high-speed crash, that uneasy feeling settled over the paddock, something was off, and then came Saturday.
The Saturday qualifying – Imola 1994
Rolando Ratzenberger, another driver who was chasing his dream, in his second race of his career in Formula 1, he passed away.
Full story of Roland Ratzenberger at Imola in 1994
On Sunday, on lap 7, Ayrton Senna, leading in his Williams FW16, approached tamburello, the car did not turn well, simlpy went straight on, into the wall at full speed.
A champion, a national hero and for many, the heart of F1, passed away, his loss left a mark the sport would never fully recover from.
The Reality Behind the Glamour
People often call racing beautiful, even glamorous, but the truth is, its unpredictable, always has been.
In 2010s, Niki Lauda, who had faced fire and pain himself, once said, ‘Fatal accident can happen again in F1’.
And Niki Lauda was right, in 2014, Jules Bianchi went off in heavy rain and hit a recovery vehicle, passed away after few months of battle in hospital.
When Fire Didn’t Win – Bahrain 2020
We thought modern safety had seen it all, until Romain Grosjean’s crash in Bahrain. The car split in half. Fire engulfed the cockpit. It looked impossible for anyone to survive.
But 53 seconds later, he climbed out.
What saved him? The Halo — that metal structure so many fans once disliked. It proved its worth that day, reminding everyone that safety in racing is not just technology; it’s the difference between life and death.
Even with all the progress, motorsport still carries risk. Always has, always will.
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What Really Happened to Ayrton Senna?
That day have many questions, what caused the crash, why did not the car turn, and what went wrong.
The first one theory is, Ayrton Senna may have briefly lost consciousness, watching the onboard, his hands seem calm, no signs of panic, it’s possible, but we may never know.
Cold tyres, after an early safety car period, the tyre temperature dropped, so with cold tyres you have less grip, the FW16 was already unstable at the beginning of the season, it might have played a role, but it does not tell the full story.
The car was unpredictable, the FW16 was a handful, with electronic drivers aid banned. Even Ayrton Senna often looked unsettled in it, later in the season the car improved a lot, but early on, it was tough to handle.
Tyre failure, a front tyre blowout could explain the straight-line crash, but evidence for that was never clear, no puncture, no debris.
The last thing that happened to car is the Steering column failure, this remains the most likely cause, Ayrton Senna had asked for a longer steering column for comfort and the team modified it by welding an extension.
After the crash, investigators found the column had snapped right where it was welded, the car simply could not turn, and Ayrton Senna had no chance to react.
The Day That Still Hurts
The 1st May in 1994, was not just a bad day in racing, it was a turning point.
The paddock fell into silence, Brazil mourned, millions of fans around the world felt the same hollow ache.
Ayrton Senna’s broken car, his helmed, the red flag, those images never faded.
What Came After Changed Everything
The changes after Imola, F1 began to rebuild itself with safety at its core.
Cockpit sides were raised to protect drivers’ heads, crash tests became far strictier.
Dangerous corners, like the tamburello were redesigned.
Lately, the Virtual Safety Car was created, the halo became mandatory by 2018.
Even now, the evolution continues, the safety standards for 2026 and beyond will again raise the bar.
Fans remember the wins, trophies and the lap records.
But in the end, the biggest victory is simpler, seeing every driver climb out of the car safely.
God bless Senna and Ratzenberger!
There have been some great F1 drivers before and after, but for me Senna will always be the very best!