Ayrton Senna's career, and death at Imola, Italy in 1994 created several almost mythical subplots, memorials and mysteries.
This weekend at Imola, Italy, fans and drivers alike are marking 30 years since Senna's death in a crash at the Imola circuit on May 1, 1994. Here's a look back on the death of an F1 legend that rocked a sport:
The Car
Senna disliked Williams' new car from the start of the 1994 season due to what he described as an inherent balance-changing tendency, making it difficult to drive and control on the limit.
FW16 chassis No. 02, the car he crashed at Imola, was for years afterward impounded by investigating authorities in Bologna, Italy, before being returned to Williams in 2002. The team destroyed it, along with its Renault V10 engine.
The Helmet
Ayrton Senna's trademark yellow lid—probably the most famous Formula 1 racing-driver helmet design ever—served notice of his presence to any competitor who saw it reflected in their mirrors. Today it stands as the man's most recognizable, enduring symbol.
Famed Brazilian helmet painter Sid Mosca, who died in 2011 at age 74, was responsible for the livery from Senna's days in karting. Save for different sponsors' logos, the Brazilian flag-like design changed little throughout Senna's career, though its shades of yellow varied, and he sometimes switched its blue stripe for a black one; he also used unique blue or green interior-padding liners.
A replica Senna helmet is on display this weekend at Imola.
Senna wore Bell, Rheos and Shoei helmets at various stages of his F1 life; one he wore during the 1993 season sold at a 2012 auction for more than $118,000. Italian authorities in 2002 finally returned the one he used that fateful day at Imola to Bell Racing Europe; Senna family members watched as the company incinerated it, by their request. The location of his Imola driver's suit, shoes and gloves remains a mystery.
The Funeral
Senna's status in Brazil was so great the government declared national mourning for three days, and an estimated 3 million people lined São Paulo's streets as a fire truck transported his coffin from the airport into the city upon its return from Italy.
Racing figures in attendance at his funeral included Alain Prost; Wilson, Emerson and Christian Fittipaldi; Damon Hill; Rubens Barrichello; Thierry Boutsen; Frank Williams; Jackie Stewart; Ken Tyrrell; Ron Dennis; Gerhard Berger and others. The Senna family asked F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone not to attend, allegedly because it was upset he did not halt the race following Senna's crash.
FIA president Max Mosley, meanwhile, instead attended Ratzenberger's funeral because “everyone [else] went to Senna's. I thought it was important that somebody went to his.”
Senna is buried in São Paulo's Morumbi Cemetery. The epitaph on his grave marker reads, “Nada pode me separar do amor de Deus”--“Nothing can separate me from the love of God.”
The Trial
Under Italian law, the Williams team found itself on trial for manslaughter. The affair dragged on for years--and, at one point, F1 threatened to cease holding Grands Prix in the country. In December 1997, owner Frank Williams and several other team member—including technical director Patrick Head and chief designer Adrian Newey—were acquitted.
The Italian Supreme Court in 2003 reopened the case and closed it in May 2005, with Newey acquitted fully. Ultimately, in April 2007, verdict No. 15050 stated, “It has been determined that the accident was caused by a steering-column failure. This failure was caused by badly designed and badly executed modifications. The responsibility of this falls on Patrick Head, culpable of omitted control.” However, Head was not arrested and the case was over, finally, because Italy's statute of limitations for manslaughter spanned just seven years, six months.
Newey in 2011 revealed to the Guardian's Donald McRae, “There's no doubt the steering column failed, and the big question was whether it failed in the accident or did it cause the accident? It had fatigue cracks and would have failed at some point. There is no question it was a very poor design. However, all evidence suggests the car did not go off the track because of steering-column failure.
“If you look at the camera shots, especially from Michael Schumacher's following car, the car didn't understeer off the track [as if it had no steering]. It oversteered; [that's] not consistent with a steering-column failure. The car's back end stepped out, and all data suggests that [indeed] happened. Ayrton then corrected that by going to 50 percent throttle, consistent with trying to reduce the rear stepping out, and then, half a second later, he went hard on the brakes.
“The question then is, why did the rear step out? The car bottomed much harder on that second lap [after a restart]; it again appears unusual because the tire pressure should have come up by then [after several slow laps during a safety-car period]--which leaves you expecting that the right-rear tire probably picked up a puncture from debris on the track. If I was pushed into picking out a single most likely cause, that would be it.”
Lewis Hamilton was one of several F1 drivers to visit a Senna memorial site at Imola this week—30 years after Senna’s death.
The Memorials
There are several monuments to Senna's career. One—a stylized interpretation of an F1 car conceived by Brazilian artist Melinda Garcia--stands at the tunnel entrance under São Paulo's Ibirapuera Park.
A world away in Italy, in Imola's infield across the track from where he struck the wall, sits a bronze statue of him in contemplative meditation. A plaque on the actual wall's outside surface marks the infamous spot. In England, the Donington Park circuit is home to a sculpture featuring Senna and his own hero, Juan Manuel Fangio.
The Institute
Long before his death, Senna took interest in the welfare of Brazil's millions of disadvantaged children. He not only donated millions of his own money for their well-being but also put into place a framework that in November 1994 became the Instituto Ayrton Senna (IAS). His older sister, Viviane, launched the nonprofit organization and today oversees it. IAS' education programs now reach more than 10 million young people each year.
In October 2013, IAS announced a partnership with “Gran Turismo 6,” the popular racing video-game franchise's latest installment. Players could choose to “wear” Senna's red McLaren driver's suit and famous helmet in the game, and additional Senna-related downloadable content is in the works.
“Gran Turismo” creator Kazunori Yamauchi noted, “If it wasn't for my hero Ayrton Senna, I don't think 'Gran Turismo' would ever have been developed. … There were two things I learned from Senna: One was simply how incredible motor racing is, and the other was his constant strive for perfection. I was very young then, watching him, and I was very affected by his drive for perfection.”
Senna is his 1994 Rothman’s machine.
