thirty years after his death, Ayrton Senna remains present in all memories

30 years ago to the day, the Brazilian driver was killed on the Imola circuit (Italy) on May 1, 1994. A tribute will be paid to him on Wednesday at the scene of the tragedy.

30 years ago, the cursed Grand Prix. In Imola (Italy) on 1^er May 1994, the Brazilian pilot Ayrton Senna, three-time world champion, died, the day after the accident which had already cost the life of the Austrian Roland Ratzenberger. Adored, Ayrton Senna remains the idol of a good number of current drivers, and a tribute will be paid to him on Wednesday 1^er May, on the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit, in the presence of Formula 1 boss, Stefano Domenicali, and the Italian and Brazilian Ministers of Foreign Affairs. An exhibition is also dedicated to it at the National Automobile Museum in Turin (Italy).

“He was the driver who inspired me as a child. He is still a hero today and always will be.” The tribute to Ayrton Senna was signed, in 2019, by Lewis Hamilton, seven-time world champion, and it sums up quite well the feeling that animates the paddock. “To be tied with Ayrton is something incredible,” rejoiced Max Verstappen at the time of his 41st success in F1, during the Canadian Grand Prix in 2023.

Triple world champion (1988, 1990 and 1991), 41 victories, 65 pole positions, the Brazilian’s record still commands admiration, even if drivers have since broken the records established by the Brazilian. Formula 1 will only stop at Imola on May 18 for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, but the memory of the Brazilian driver continues to be honored during each event on the Italian circuit, such as during the second round of the world endurance championship, on April 21.

A model for many drivers, and especially Hamilton

Within the circuit, the statue representing him is surrounded by numerous Brazilian flags, but also from countries around the world. “Legends are never forgotten”wrote Pierre Gasly on Twitter when unveiling his helmet in Brazilian colors and the likeness of the driver during the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in 2020.

The French driver was not born at the time of the fatal accident at Ayrton Senna, but he counts the three-time world champion among his models, just like Charles Leclerc. “Ayrton is the one and only idol that I have had my entire career. And this, even if unfortunately I never had the chance to see him in real life, because I am too young. He has always been a huge inspiration for me”assured the Monegasque of the Ferrari team to RTBF during the 2023 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Older, the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, 39, experienced the Brazilian’s hours of glory, whose exploits he watched on video cassettes, and lived in a manner “difficult” the announcement of his death. “I remember having to move away from my father, because he never wanted me to cry in front of him,” told the Briton at Imola in 2020. “When I came to F1, I wanted to be like Ayrton Senna, I wanted to drive like him”he even confided in the Automoto show a year earlier.

His memory seems unforgettable as a pilot, but the South American was also concerned about poverty in his country. From now on, the “Instituto Ayrton Senna”, run by his sister and his niece, takes care of deprived children. Lewis Hamilton, who became an honorary citizen of Brazil, is one of the ambassadors.

And if the memory of the Brazilian driver remains alive, it is also taken into account in all the improvements made to Formula 1 since his death. The terrible weekend at Imola “has been a catalyst for change”estimated Max Mosley, then president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) at the time of the tragedy.

The side protections of the single-seater cockpits have been raised and no longer reveal the drivers’ shoulders, Hans (Hand and Neck Support) has been generalized to protect the vertebrae and cervical spine, chicanes have been added on certain circuits to slow down the cars, clearance zones have been enlarged to secure single-seater track exits, a cable wheel restraint system has been made compulsory to prevent them flying away during an impact, and protective barriers absorb kinetic energy during shocks have been installed.

Since Ayrton Senna’s tragic accident, only one driver has died following an on-track accident, Frenchman Jules Bianchi, after a collision between his car and a tow truck during the Japanese Grand Prix in 2014. Following this tragic death, the safety halo, a sort of rollbar protecting the pilots’ heads, was made compulsory in 2015.