25 YEARS ON: AYRTON’S LEGACY AND LEGEND

25 Years On: Ayrton Senna’s Legacy and Legend – Photo: LAT

Auto Action’s Formula 1 correspondent Dan Knutson and Editor-At-Large Mark Fogarty reflect on a tragic weekend that both witnessed first-hand 25 years ago.

The weekend bought about major changes to Formula 1 safety bought on not only the death of racing hero Ayrton Senna, but that of Roland Ratzenberger. Furthermore, Rubens Barrichello was severely injured, as were nine people in the grandstands in separate incidents.

The FIA’s Max Mosley took immediate and very public action to improve safety standards to show that Formula 1 was getting its own house in order and didn’t require any interference from the outside. It is sad but true to say that if only Ratzenberger had died that weekend, there would not have been the public outcry that was triggered by the death of Senna, a world-famous figure.

Adding to Dan’s reflections, Foges chatted with former Formula 1 World Driver’s Champion and Senna’s teammate during that fateful weekend Damon Hill.

On the 25th anniversary of Senna’s death, he was the most natural person to reflect on the epochal events and its ramifications. In an expansive conversation by phone from his home in southwest London, Hill opened up about the weekend and the day that changed his life and F1 forever.

“Sounds, really, really, really odd – 25 years ago,” Hill said. “It still seems like yesterday. Twenty-five years is a big time scale, but for the people who were affected by that and are still around – and there are lots of people in F1 who were there – emotions were and still are very strong about the whole experience.

“It’s not difficult for me to talk about it, but I’m conscious that some people are still suffering from that experience.”

Read the full story in our special eight-page feature in the latest issue of Auto Action (1760) available digitally now, and in stores tomorrow.

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