When Ayrton Senna crashed at Imola in 1994, Michael Schumacher believed at first that his rival would miss just a couple of races before returning to fight for the championship. Like millions of fans worldwide, Schumacher had to grapple with the devastating reality that Senna had not survived.
Senna, a three-time Formula 1 World Champion, died on May 1, 1994, at the San Marino Grand Prix after losing control at the Tamburello corner while leading the race ahead of Schumacher. His Williams car went straight into an unprotected concrete wall at around 211 km/h. Although medical staff, including FIA doctor Sid Watkins, rushed to the scene, and Senna was airlifted to the hospital, he was pronounced dead later that day.
The race eventually restarted, and Schumacher claimed victory, finishing 54 seconds ahead of Nicola Larini, with Mika Häkkinen in third. But there was no champagne celebration on the podium — out of respect not only for Senna but also for Roland Ratzenberger, who had died the day before during qualifying.
Dr. Maria Teresa Fiandri officially announced Senna’s death two hours after the race, stating that he had been killed instantly at 14:17 local time.
In the months that followed, Schumacher was haunted by the memory. As he continued to race, he became hyper-aware of the risks, reflecting constantly on how close death could be at any point on the circuit. “You race around these tracks, and suddenly you see everything with new eyes,” Schumacher recalled in an interview later featured in the Netflix documentary Schumacher. “You think: here, you could be dead; there, you could be dead.”
He described the sleepless nights that followed, often managing just a few hours of rest. For Schumacher, the hardest part was accepting Senna’s death in the weeks after Imola, especially as he prepared for the next race at Silverstone.
Despite the tragedy, Schumacher went on to claim his first World Championship that year. He followed it with another title in 1995, both with Benetton, before joining Ferrari, where he famously secured five consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004. After retiring in 2006, Schumacher made a comeback with Mercedes in 2010, racing for three more seasons before stepping away from Formula 1 for good in 2012.
Tragically, in 2013, Schumacher suffered severe brain injuries in a skiing accident in the French Alps. Since then, his family has kept details of his recovery private.
