1994 was a dark year for the San Marino Grand Prix as it marked the shocking deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna, who were also the first ones to come following Elio de Angelis's death in 1986.
The crash of Rubens Barrichello, who eventually survived yet sustained heavy injuries, on April 29, 1994, was just the beginning of the tragedies that were to come that weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, Ratzenberger and Senna faced fatal accidents, respectively. Ratzenberger's crash was caused by the damage to his car's front wing.
As the Netflix biographical drama Senna talks about the life and death of Ayrton Senna, read on to learn more about the crash that killed Ratzenberger, which only happened a day before Senna’s demise.
Also Read: Is Senna based on a true story? The inspiration behind the 2024 Netflix F1 series explored
What caused the Ratzenberger crash?
The weekend in itself seemed to be jinxed as during the first qualifying round, driver Rubens Barrichello, while driving at a speed of 140 mph, hit the Variante Bassa corner curb. This led to his car coming to a halt while being upside down, and Rubens Barrichello was found unconscious inside the car.
After the accident of Rubens Barrichello on Friday, no one expected that Saturday would bring an even worse tragedy. During the final qualifying round, Roland Ratzenberger, a driver from Simtek, Austria, could not navigate the Villeneuve curve properly and, as a result, directly hit the opposing concrete wall while driving at a speed of 200 mph. The accident killed him instantly.
On the earlier lap, at the Acque Minerali chicane, Ratzenberger had run over a curb. A thin incident supposedly damaged his vehicle’s front wing, which eventually led to its detachment. This resulted in the loss of control over his car and led to his fatal accident.
The accident caused Ratzenberger three injuries, all of them fatal. He suffered a basilar skull fracture, a ruptured aorta, and blunt force trauma caused by the front left tire. While talking about him, David Brabham mentioned,
"He was a grafter, an absolute grafter, and he was admired by many people, not just because of his ability behind the wheel, but in how hard he worked in reaching his dream."
He further added,
"Rags to riches is probably not the right word, but he struggled as a young driver trying to make his way, he didn't have that family support a lot of other drivers have, because they weren't that keen on him racing, certainly his father.”
Following Ratzenberger’s death, the session started again after a break of 48 minutes. Ayrton Senna, despite being deeply affected by what he witnessed, went on to take his position at the pole. As neurosurgeon Sid Watkins asked Senna to reconsider his career in racing, he answered,
"I cannot stop racing."
This conversation makes his tragedy even more hard-hitting because he possibly could not have imagined what happened to him the very next day.
Also Read: Is Senna based on a true story? The inspiration behind the 2024 Netflix F1 series explored
What is Senna on Netflix about?
The limited series Senna on Netflix, starring Gabriel Leone as the greatest Formula 1 driver of Brazil, Ayrton Senna, follows the racer’s life and career along with his relationships and legacy, which have led to significant changes to this extremely dangerous sport.
The show is six episodes long and chronicles Senna’s journey of winning three world championships to the moment of his fatal accident at Imola, Italy.
Senna can be streamed on Netflix.
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