Remembering Ayrton Senna: A tribute to the legendary F1 daredevil
Yet, those who saw Senna race from 1984 to 1994 will vouch he was daring and ruthless. Those were hard times, where his rivalry with Alain Prost was legendary stuff.
Follow Us
(Image Credits: RacingOne Archives)
May 1 is Labour Day. May 1 is also a mourning day for die-hard Formula One fans. Twenty-nine years ago, the debonair of F1, Ayrton Senna, was killed after his Williams car crashed into a concrete wall at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola.
Those who have watched F1 over the decades swear that between Senna, the flamboyant Brazilian, and the daring Michael Schumacher, there was so much to see. It’s quite unlike what we see today in F1, where safety measures have improved so drastically.
Discover: Top 5 most dramatic moments from Azerbaijan GP
Old time F1 racing was raw, pristine. You needed to have guts and that madness in you to race. It was a bit like entering the boxing ring minus the guard. And at the Imola layout, which has undergone changes in many ways, racing was never easy. The history of the track is well-known to pundits and fans. Challenging in initial days, minus the chicanes and later kind of toned down, the anti-clockwise layout was not for the weak-hearted.
Yet, what happened in that infamous weekend in 1994 still gives you goosebumps. That was a jinxed weekend for sure. Fame and fortune are rhyming words, like fate and death. Senna was the debonair. He had the looks; he had the skills; and he had that high adrenaline flow. People loved him, just as one could see how Michael Schumacher also raced in that period.
It was probably far more engrossing than what we see today in the F1 circus. One cannot complain, really. Perhaps that jinxed Saturday, a day before Senna was killed, was like a bad omen. On Saturday, Rubens Barrichello, driving for the rusty Jordan team, lost control, clipped a kerb and then crashed at over 220 kmph speed. Many thought Brazilian Barrichello had gone. It was to his good fortune, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) doctor brought him back to life, with Senna watching. That incident was hard to digest.
Yet, who had known, the very next day, the biggest tragedy was going to hit the world of Formula One? Over the weekend, Ayrton Senna had not felt that good with the Williams car, as there were issues with the F1 beast’s steering column. For someone who loved speed, the feel of the wheels was not good. This is a sport where decisions at the wheel made in a difference of nano-seconds separate you from life and death.
Senna had worked with his engineers over the weekend. Yet, on Race Day (Sunday), there was something wrong. Did Senna have a premonition about death, we do not know. After the Barrichello incident, there was another screw-up when Roland Ratzenberger hit a wall at approx 315kmph in practice on Saturday. Senna was shaken, that was confirmed by all, on Saturday. Race drivers are a mad breed. Each second on the track is a dance with death. Be it two-wheelers, four-wheelers, touring cars, or Formula cars, the element of risk is very high.
Well, Senna went out on Sunday afternoon in Imola. He would not have imagined this was going to be the three-time world champion’s last few laps — literally. On the seventh lap, Senna realized, there was something amiss. He missed the racing line and went into a concrete barrier. There are many who have seen those visuals of May 1, 1994, still horrified, including Bernie Ecclestone.
Senna was gone. There was definitely an issue with the Williams car. That led to the crash, for a man of his stature was not going to drop from around 300kmph, make downshifts and come down to approx 200 plus kmph, and then hit a barrier. That was crazy. His helmet was ripped, and Death stared at Senna. He was removed from the car, and doctors on site did an op called (tracheostomy) which is to clear the air passage. His helmet had taken the impact and also his head. Telemetry data revealed how he had lost control.
“He looked serene. I raised his eyelids and it was clear from his (eye) pupils that he had a massive brain injury. We lifted him from the cockpit and laid him on the ground. As we did, he sighed and, although I am not religious, I felt his spirit depart at that moment,” said Sid Watkins, the neurosurgeon. Some ghastly images of Senna were captured by a well-known photographer but never put out. That was massive respect for the driver and how the photographer showed a human touch.
Senna’s brave heart transcends time
Compare it with today, when everything goes on social media, it is good those ghastly photos never came out. There is a slight confusion if Ayrton Senna died then and there or in the hospital when he was airlifted in a helicopter. All that the world knew then was the hero had been killed at the wheels. The Imola accident on May 1 is haunting. Much later, “Senna” was produced as a documentary film in 2010. For this generation, it may make great viewing.
Yet, those who saw Senna race from 1984 to 1994 will vouch he was daring and ruthless. Those were hard times, where his rivalry with Alain Prost was legendary stuff. Senna fought constantly for more safety in F1 with the officials during his days. Would he have ever dreamt he would himself become a victim?
Fate, cruel fate.
Senna is gone, memories linger. Today’s F1 is far more safe, though present-day characters lack the charisma of a Senna, Prost, or Michael Schumacher. Today we have more pansies like Lewis Hamilton, wearing earrings, nose rings, and more crap. We also have current champion Max Verstappen who wants to even go away because he does not like the new Sprint format. Hell, those days, Senna, Prost and Schumi never bothered about all these things. They were the real F1 daredevils.
In case you missed it:
- What is the longest-running F1 Grand Prix?
- “Guarantee to put a woman in the seat,” Rodin Carlin makes big promises, considers F1 entry with New-Zealand based team
Stay Updated!
S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)