30 years after his death, Formula 1 recalls Brazilian Ayrton Senna with awe and gratitude for helping reshape the sport
- On May 1, 1994, the 34-year-old was leading at the San Marino Grand Prix when he went off the track and smashed into a wall
- While F1 had already started paying more attention to safety, his death renewed efforts to improve cars, equipment and circuits
Thirty years after his death at the San Marino Grand Prix, Ayrton Senna is still adored in Formula One, a sport his fatal accident reshaped.
The 34-year-old Brazilian was leading at Imola on May 1, 1994, when he went off the track at the Tamburello curve and smashed into a concrete wall. It was the second death of the weekend.
Since then, only one driver, Frenchman Jules Bianchi in Japan in 2015, has died in a Formula One crash.
In the 2013 film 1: Life on the Limit, British journalist Maurice Hamilton observed that Senna’s death “was broadcast into the living rooms of millions of people who didn’t know much about motorsport but knew who he was and wanted to know who the culprit was”.
Investigations into Senna’s death laid the blame for the crash on the steering column on his Williams. In the collision, the right front tyre tore off and flew into his head. A suspension arm also pierced his helmet.