Death of Ayrton Senna
Senna's fatal accident just after the moment of impact at the Tamburello corner of the Imola circuit
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| Date | 1 May 1994 |
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| Location | Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
Three-time Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna died on 1 May 1994, as a result of his car crashing into a concrete barrier while he was leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Italy. The previous day, Roland Ratzenberger had died when his car crashed during qualification for the race. His and Senna's accidents were the worst of several accidents that took place that weekend and were the first fatal accidents to occur during a Formula One race meeting in twelve years. They became a turning point in the safety of Formula One, prompting the implementation of new safety measures and the Grand Prix Drivers' Association to be re-established.
Senna left his longtime team McLaren that he joined in 1988, to join Williams for 1994, replacing Alain Prost and being paired with Damon Hill. Williams was expected to again contend for the F1 world championship, as they had in the previous two seasons with Prost and Nigel Mansell, albeit with cars that had electronic aids no longer allowed in the new season.
On debut for his new team during the traditional pre-season testing at Estoril, Senna said of the Williams FW16:
I have a very negative feeling about driving the car and driving it on the limit and so on. Therefore I didn't have a single run or a single lap that I felt comfortable or reasonably confident. I am uncomfortable in the car. It all feels wrong. We changed the seat and the wheel, but even so I was already asking for more room. Going back to when we raced at Estoril last September (on testing the passive Williams at the same track 4 months later), it feels much more difficult. Some of that is down to the lack of electronic change. Also, the car has its own characteristics which I'm not fully confident in yet. It makes you a lot more tense and that stresses you.
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