It was nineteen years ago today the motor sport world was shocked when Williams Forumla One driver Ayrton Senna died at the San Marino Grand Prix.
The three times Formula One World Champion, entered the high-speed Tamburello corner on lap seven only for his Williams car to leave the track and hit the concrete retaining wall at around 135mph. He was declared dead hours later in the hospital. The tragic accident happened a day after Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger perished during qualifying for the race. In Senna’s wrecked vehicle was an Austrian flag he planned to unfurl at the finish line in a tribute to Ratzenberger.
As a result of Senna’s death, there have been no further fatalities in Formula One, mainly thanks to the changes in the sport and steps taken to protect drivers from further injury. Senna was one of F1’s great entertainers. He was only 34 when he passed away. Senna’s motorsport legacy and life-story was immortalised in Asif Kapadia’s documentary.
One of the highlights of Senna’s career occurred at the 1993 European Grand Prix at Donington Park. Senna qualified fifth and was briefly sixth on the run to the first corner, but what followed was breathtaking. Passing Michael Schumacher’s Benetton on the exit of the first corner, Redgate, Senna went around the outside of Karl Wendlinger’s Sauber at the daunting Craner Curves. This put him third behind the Williams cars of Alain Prost and Damon Hill. He lunged up the inside of Hill at McLeans and then closed in on Prost, passing him into the hairpin. Taking him from 5th to 1st on the first lap!
It was a race that will live in many fans memory. Few drivers have left as much of an impression on the world as Ayrton Senna.
Senna not only spent his time on the racetrack racing, he played a pivotal role in shaping the development of Honda’s first foray into the ‘Supercar’ world with his work on the Honda NSX. In my opinion I consider the videos of him taking the NSX out on the track to be some of his best work. I especially like the choice of footwear and socks for testing the NSX at the Suzuka racetrack.
I will now leave you with my own particular favorite shot of Senna, battling Nigel Mansell at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona in 1991. The two were fierce competitors and wouldn’t give an inch. However, despite being competitors, they were also great friends.
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