Ayrton Senna: The death of an icon, 30 years on
Ayrton Senna, one of F1’s greatest drivers, died 30 years ago. Explore his career, his tragic death and the lasting legacy he left on the sport.
Image: Ayrton Senna sitting in his McLaren in May 1988 | Cristiano Barni / Alamy Stock Photo
Even now, 30 years after his death, Ayrton Senna remains one of the most iconic figures in Formula One history. For casual and long-time followers of the sport, his name continues to be associated with many of F1’s most legendary moments.
Through mesmerising driving, intense rivalries and controversial incidents, Senna’s story continues to captivate both new and old fans to this day. Join us as we look back at the life, career and death of one of the all-time sporting greats.
Background to Ayrton Senna’s tragic death
Part of the mystique of Ayrton Senna centres around his death three decades ago. For many, 1st May 1994 remains one of those time-stopping ‘where were you when’ moments.
Ayrton Senna entered the 1994 Formula One season chasing a fourth World Championship. Having taken titles in 1988, 1990 and 1991 with McLaren, Senna made a high-profile switch to Williams for the new campaign.
In previous years, Williams had succeeded McLaren as the dominant team within Formula One. During the early 1990s, the sport was a technological arms race, with cars becoming increasingly advanced, leading to innovations such as active suspensions. Williams was often the pioneer of many of these developments.
However, the FIA, the sport's governing body, were concerned that driving talent was being masked by technology so they made changes for the new season. The 1994 regulations banned driver aids and were intended to put greater emphasis on the skill of the drivers.
Suddenly, the all-conquering Williams team lost their main advantage. Senna was worried about the changes, famously predicting (and perhaps foreshadowing) what was to come.
'It's going to be a season with lots of accidents, and I'll risk saying that we'll be lucky if something really serious doesn't happen.'
Senna, ahead of the 1994 F1 season
The 1994 season did not start well for Senna and Williams. Failing to finish either of the first two races, they entered the third round of the year at Imola firmly on the back foot. Senna’s newest rival, Michael Schumacher, had won both races. It was now imperative for Senna to win at Imola if he was to have any chance of title glory that year.
The fateful weekend of Imola 1994
The Imola 1994 weekend is undoubtedly one of the darkest in the sport’s history. But as the teams and drivers arrived at the San Marino circuit, few could have predicted just how tragic the event would become.
It began with a shocking high-speed crash during Friday practice for Rubens Barrichello, Senna’s young Brazilian protégé. Barrichello was knocked unconscious after his car impacted the barriers and flipped over. Remarkably he escaped with only a broken nose.
The next day, tragedy struck. Roland Ratzenberger, a Le Mans winner in only his first season of Formula One, crashed at over 190mph during qualifying. It was immediately clear that the 33-year-old Austrian was gravely injured. Despite the rapid response of medics, Ratzenberger became the first driver to die on a race weekend since Riccardo Paletti in 1982.
Yet, despite Ratzenberger’s fatal accident, the weekend continued and the race went ahead on Sunday, 1st May 1994.
Ayrton Senna started the race from pole position, with Michael Schumacher in second. But a scary start line accident seconds into the race resulted in the safety car being deployed. The safety car was a relatively new addition to Formula One and was used to neutralise a race rather than stop it completely.
On lap six, the race restarted with Senna still leading from Schumacher. But on the following lap, Senna suddenly lost control at the fearsome Tamburello corner and crashed heavily into the barrier. He remained in the cockpit of his badly damaged Williams for several minutes while the race was stopped and doctors arrived on the scene.
Millions watched on in horror as Senna was extricated from the car and given immediate medical attention. After being stretchered onto a waiting air ambulance Senna was flown to Bologna’s Maggiore Hospital in critical condition. He was pronounced dead that evening from massive head injuries.
An Austrian flag was later found in Senna’s car. He had planned to raise it, in Ratzenberger’s honour, after completing the race.
The lasting legacy of Ayrton Senna
The cause of Senna’s crash was never determined. Some speculated that it was a punctured tyre from earlier debris, or his tyres not being fully up to temperature after the safety car. Others claim it was a steering column failure.
The mystery only increases people’s fascination with Senna’s story. For Formula One fans in particular, it’s a story of ‘what if?’
What if Senna had survived? How would his rivalry with Schumacher have developed through the 1990s? It is claimed that before Imola, he had already signed to drive for the sport’s most famous team, Scuderia Ferrari.
But his death, along with Ratzenberger’s, prompted significant safety improvements that might not otherwise have happened. Over the following seasons, cars, tracks and driver equipment were changed and improved in an attempt to prevent the events of Imola 1994 from ever happening again.
The result? Formula One saw no driver fatalities from that day up till Jules Bianchi’s tragic death, following a freak accident at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. There have been no further fatalities since.
For all his on-track achievements, perhaps Senna’s greatest lasting legacy is the countless life-saving changes the sport made after his death.
Ayrton Senna's most iconic moments
Monaco 1984 – first F1 podium
After rising through karting and the junior categories, Senna first rose to prominence in F1 on a wet day at Monaco in 1984. Driving for the unfancied Toleman team, Senna demonstrated his enormous potential by rising from 13th to 2nd in the race. He was closing on race leader, Alain Prost, when the race was stopped early due to the weather conditions.
Portugal 1985 – first F1 win
As a wet weather specialist throughout his career, it was no surprise that Senna’s first F1 victory came in the rain. Now driving for the more competitive Lotus team, Senna qualified on pole in Portugal in 1985. He dominated the race, winning by over a minute.
Japan 1988 – first F1 World Championship
After moving to McLaren in 1988, Senna was in immediate title contention. Driving the dominant McLaren MP4/4, Senna prevailed in a year-long battle against teammate, Alain Prost. At the Japanese Grand Prix, Senna recovered from a poor start, where he dropped from pole position to 14th, to win the race and his first F1 World Championship.
Japan 1989 – title-deciding collision with Alain Prost
The Senna/Prost rivalry intensified during their second year of fighting for the title at McLaren. The back-and-forth season reached its peak at Suzuka, where Senna needed to outscore Prost to keep the championship alive going into the final race of the season.
The two famously collided after Senna attempted an overtake, putting Prost out of the race on the spot. While Senna recovered to win, he was later controversially disqualified for cutting a corner to rejoin the track. Senna’s disqualification handed the 1989 title to Prost.
Japan 1990 – second collision with Prost and second World Championship
Despite Prost moving to Ferrari in 1990, their public feud continued into a third season. Once more, the championship was decided by a collision in Japan. This time it was Prost who needed to outscore Senna to keep his title fight going. The pair started on the front row of the grid, with Prost getting a better start to take the lead going into the first corner.
Seconds later, Senna made contact with Prost, sending both cars into the gravel and out of the race. The controversial crash sealed the title in Senna’s favour. Legendary commentator Murray Walker described the drama as 'amazing, but absolutely predictable'.
