[ad_1]
The life of Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna at Imola tragically ended 26 years ago.
There were times on this fateful 1994 weekend in Imola when Ayrton Senna considered giving up the start. Moments when the three-time world champion and 41-time GP winner thoughtfully leaned against his Williams and stared into space.
Senna’s Brazilian compatriot Rubens Barrichello had already survived a serious accident with good luck in training on Friday. He passed out momentarily and missed the rest of the weekend. Austrian Roland Ratzenberger died 24 hours later. The front wing of his car was released at 300 km / h, the uncontrollable crash crashed into a wall in the Villeneuve curve.
Tragedy at the Tamburello bend
Senna decided to start anyway. And the catastrophe ran its course. On May 1, 1994 at 2:17 p.m., his Williams fired directly at the wall at about 330 km / h on the long Tamburello curve. The car crashed, part of the suspension went through the hull on Senna’s head.
Senna’s death left Formula 1 and the sports world in deep pain. His close friend Gerhard Berger said that Mirror once upon the fateful day: “It was as if the sun had fallen from the sky.”
SRF commentator Michael Stäuble remembers the tragedy well: “It was a great shock. At that time, Formula 1 really rocked in safety. There have been no fatal accidents in over a decade. The deaths of Senna and Ratzenberger were a true paralysis.
