Senna

Kersh

Senna. Its 10 years since. Anyone got any lasting memories?

Kalina

Unfortunately I wasn't a fan of F1 when Senna was alive, I only started watching the sport in 1999. It's such a pity because he was fantastic, and if he was alive today there would have been some incredible racing between himself and Schumacher.

irishgeo

Not a fan when senna was around but i do remenber the crash on tv and how shocking it was. Its strange that he wasnt actually killed by the crash itself but by a piece of his brakes flying into his helment. The drivers safety structure wasnt breached.

Kersh

His head was crushed between the front right wheel and the head rest. A suspension part pierced his visor.
He was the best. There would have been an almighty few years between him and Michael had he not been killed.

the cat

I remember the day alright. it was very sad:( I can remember when murray walker said "wow thats a big one" my first thought was that he was ok but as I was very young i didnt understand what had happened, until my brother had tears in his eyes.
then i knew it was serious.

He wont be forgotten.

PlasseyMinstrel

again, wasn't a fan at the time but have seen him drive and am in awe

F1 would be very different today if he was still around.


I know I'm treading dangerous ground here, but I do wonder whether he could have stopped Schumacher from becoming what he is now, as most people think. I reckon Senna would have retired in 96/97 regardless of circumstances. That's not to take anything from him though - amazing racer - still (barely) holds onto poles record.

Doctor J

I remember the days when he drove the Toleman, he was super quick straight away.

If you really want to see how great he was search for a video of the GP in Donington in 93.

The first lap alone showed how much better Senna was than anyone else there (and Schumacher was there too).

He was 5th at the first corner. Before the lap was out he was 1st. A Genius.

BrianD3

To be honest, I still haven't fully come to terms with what happened at Imola in 1994. F1 changed forever for me and hasn't really been the same since. I started following F1 around 1986-87 when I was a kid and quickly became a huge fan. I had gotten accustomed to seeing drivers walk away unharmed from massive accidents. Like a lot of people at the time, I had the attitude that deaths in F1 were a thing of the past. So the Ratzenberger crash was a major shock, then to lose Senna the next day....well I can't begin to describe how bad that felt.

My memories of Senna's accident are mainly the things that the commentators were saying. I remember Jonathan Palmer saying "this looks very serious indeed" immediately after the crash when it was clear that Senna wasn't moving. Then Senna's head gave a sort of twitch and there appeared to be hope. Senna was treated at the trackside (thankfully the BBC switched to cameras which weren't showing this) was taken away and the race was restarted after a delay. But it was very sombre and after a while Murray Walker announced the news that Senna had grave head injuries. I watched the rest of the race but it was unimportant. At that stage, I think everyone pretty much knew that Senna was going to die.

A few hours after the race ended, I turned on the radio and heard the news that Senna had been declared clinically dead. Also tuned into the BBC Grand Prix programme later on and remember Steve Rider saying "After a high speed crash at Tamburello, Ayrton Senna is dead" So that was it really. Very upsetting. Very shocking. Definitely the blackest weekend in the history of F1.

Next day in school, numerous ****ing gobsh1tes were making a laugh out of the whole thing and taunting people who were known to be F1 fans. I remember exactly who these people were and will always hold it against them for as long as I live.

At the next GP (Monaco) Karl Wendlinger had a bad crash and it was touch and go whether he would live, thankfully he did. Next thing I remember was the addition of chicanes and modifications to many of the circuits, eg a temporary chicane was placed in the middle of Eau Rouge (Spa circuit) to slow it down. Also there was some controversy that year with Schumacher and Hill battling for the title with Schumacher eventually winning after the two collided at the Australian GP.

So, those are my memories of F1 in 1994.

As for memories of Senna: I remember him as being the most intense, hardest charging, most determined driver I have ever seen. All of this as well as being hugely talented and fast. Impossible to say whether he was the best ever - however he's definitely up there with the likes of Fangio, Clark and Schumacher etc.

I have lots of footage of him on tape which I look at from time to time. For instance:
The 1993 European GP at Donnington as already mentioned.
The 1988 Monaco GP where he was on a different plane to everyone else before losing concentration and crashing.
The 1989 Australian GP where he sat impassively in his car waiting for the start in appalling weather conditions while the other drivers led by Alain Prost were scurrying about trying to get the race abandoned.
His qualifying lap for the Monaco GP in 1990.
Ramming Prost off the road at around 150 mph to win the world championship - Japanese GP 1990
His battles with Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost over the years.
His qualifying laps and record number of pole positions.

I think it's fair to say that I still miss him.

BrianD3

the cat

Read Sid Watkins book theres lots in it about senna, what kind of person he was, the accident, etc.

Doctor J

Imola was just the ****tiest weekend ever. Apart from Senna and Ratzenberger, Barrichello had a sickening crash on Friday, the reason the pace car came out in the first place, that awful crash on the start line where debris went into the crowd, I think it was Michele Albereto's wheel detached as he sped out of the pits and slamming into some mechanics. Then at Barcelona a few weeks after Wendlingers crash didn't Montermini skid coming out of the last corner and smash his legs up agains the pit wall.

daveirl

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Dcully

Senna was and imo still is the best ever.
F1 fans were robbed of great years of battle between himself and Schumi.
A very sad day it was,he is gone but never forgotten.
Still my favourite driver of all time closely followed by Jim Clarke having watched some videos of him ,my god he was amazing also.

SouperComputer

as far as im concerned, Schumi doesn't come close to Senna's caliber. Senna raced against many WC's simultaneously: Piquet, prost, mansell.

Schmacher is more of a "technical" driver, senna had more in the way of natural, amazing car control. I think schumi has had it too easy TBH.

that said, they both lack sportsmanship!

The Beer Baron

10 years...christ we're old!

daveirl

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Corben Dallas

Senna was one of the Greatest if not THE grestest F1 Drivers of all time The Imola Gp in 94 was a black nightmare race that F1 hadnt experienced in decades. I remember the shock throughout the grid in the following races along the lines of -if Senna got killed and he was the best, what chance do the rest of us have( GP drivers)

IMO if Senna continued even for 3-5 more yrs then Schumi def wouldnt have 5 Drivers Championships (or is it 6?ive lost count) there would have been titanic battles between Senna and Schumi in 94/95/96. Senna was a naturally quick driver(ie he didnt have to 'think' about it) whereas Schumi is more of a technical driver(like Prost).

In many ways Schumi has had it way too easy which is why he has monstered the overall F1 stats. Schumi has never had another World Champion in the same team. Always had a subordinate Number2 driver, and with the exception of Mika Hakkinen he really hasnt had to fight with the likes of a Prost, Mansell, Piquet and Lauda whilst they were at teh height of their powers

Ayrton Senna Da Silva ~1960- 1994 Gone but never forgotten.

Get Cracking

Great movie ,I hightly reccommnend it for everyone!:D

losthorizon

TBH I never really liked Senna when he was alive. It was just his personality - it didnt appeal to me. I was a huge fan of F1 at the time and beforehand (and still am). Its funny but when Senna crashed that day I really didnt think it looked that bad. It was only when they put up the white sheet and the helicopter landed that I began to fear that he had sustained bad injuries.

Ratzenbergers crash the previous day you knew it was an awful accident and that he had suffered a terrible terrible accident.

The one time I have feared for a driver since was Kubica in Canada - how he survived I dont know. What I do know though is that F1 is dangerous and that in the future someone somewhere will be killed again. Its safer now but the danger is still there.

For me Senna was one of the greats. The greatest - debateable.

BrianD3

losthorizon wrote: »

Its funny but when Senna crashed that day I really didnt think it looked that bad. It was only when they put up the white sheet and the helicopter landed that I began to fear that he had sustained bad injuries.

It wasn't a very bad crash, he was extremely unlucky. If he went off at the exact same speed and angle 10 times its likely that the wheel/suspension would miss him most of the time or at least glance off his helmet in such a way that a fatal injury would not occur.

Ratzenbergers crash the previous day you knew it was an awful accident and that he had suffered a terrible terrible accident.

Agreed, it was a terrible crash with an impact speed of probably close to 200 mph into concrete. Even then, had there been better head and neck protection he'd probably have gotten out of it with injuries.

I didn't see that crash live and was pretty shocked when I turned on Ceefax to find out the result of qualifying to find that Ratzenberger had been killed.

The one time I have feared for a driver since was Kubica in Canada - how he survived I dont know.

I also feared for Luciano Burti at Spa - remember the crash with Irvine. Also Pedro Diniz had a shocking crash at the Nurburgring where his rollbar broke off.

What I do know though is that F1 is dangerous and that in the future someone somewhere will be killed again. Its safer now but the danger is still there.

I think the most likely fatality scenario now is if one car makes wheel to wheel contact with another at high speed and somersaults into the air/over a barrier. There seems to be an increasing amount of high speed wheel contact (or near contact) in F1 these days. Maybe its due to an impression of invincibility or maybe visibility is an issue. The drivers are certainly much more enclosed in the cars now than they were in the early 90s.

G-Money

I can't remember exactly when I started watching Formula 1, but I think it was around 1988. I have memories of watching Senna and Prost collide at Suzuka two years in a row. I don't think I was as knowledgeable about F1 then as I am now so I probably didn't have a great knowledge of everything that was going on behind the scenes, but I do remember one thing, Senna was my hero. I know that might sound cheesy or whatever, but it's the truth.

I was about 16 or 17 when Senna died and I can still remember seeing the crash live on TV and expecting to see him just get out of the car. I still remember seeing the car bounce back out from the wall and his head move slightly after it came to a stop which made me think perhaps he was ok.

I was really upset when he died and I'm not normally one who would be upset when famous public figures pass away. But there was something about Senna that I was attached to. It's hard to say what it was, but there was something. I stopped watching Formula 1 for months after he died as I lost interest in it altogether. Although I sort of got back into again around the end of the year, just in time for Schumacher to run into Hill in Adelaide. And I'm possibly more of a fan now that I ever have been.

I'm in my early 30's now and recently I had started to wonder if I was remembering things correctly. Was I really as upset by the whole thing as I think I was? One of my sisters kind of put my mind at ease as I was talking to her the other day about the film and I was telling her how upset I was at when Senna died and she said "I know, I remember". Even my youngest sister with whom there's an age gap of about 9 years came to me the other week to tell me about an article on Senna there was in the paper and asking had I read it yet. So it was obvious that even at her young age back then, I was really down about it.

Never been anyone like him since. Not sure there ever will be.

clear thinking

His spat with Irvine in Suzuka in october 1993 was my best memory, some amazing drives all season.

Prost & Hill had the Renault engine and the proven active suspension yet Senna won 5 races with a two step down spec cosworth.

I'd agree that Schumi would not have won so many championships, just think of the benneton dog in '95 that he beat Hill with, Senna I reckon would have won '94 & '95, hill and villeneuve then won the next two in the same team so your talking Senna potentially being a 7 time champion plus the one he was denied when he skipped the road in suzuka.

The thing that sticks out for me is the story about his photographic memory. He could describes the handling, readings, feel off the car in every corner of every lap in precise detail, it was a massive asset, and even after a race he could relate this detail.

StephenHendry

the first race i watched was monaco 92 which of course was that great battle between mansell and senna, didnt' follow f1 really closely until 97 onwards , i remember the various programmes, stuff on the tv etc. around the time senna was killed but unfortunately i didn't see that race in imola. senna arguably the greatest f1 driver ever , had he lived id say he'd have won a few more wc