As it was, the media was about to dictate policy in a manner never experienced before by those in charge. The feeling that motor racing was somehow 'safe' brought shock, followed by outrage.Īnd yet this was 1994, a decade ahead of social media's accelerating influence and its demand for answers almost before there have been sensible and measured questions. That changed dramatically when Senna - one of the best known names in global sport, never mind motor racing - was transmitted across living rooms around the world. JEAN-LOUP GAUTREAU/AFP/Getty ImagesĬompared to this, Imola had a powerful effect, not least because both accidents were live on television and (the loss of Elio de Angelis during testing in 1986 notwithstanding) the 12 years without a race fatality had created a false sense of security. Ayrton Senna fixes a mirror on his car ahead of the San Marino Grand Prix on May 1, 1994. Callous as it may seem, distress was largely confined to the F1 family and followers as the race went ahead the following day and Villeneuve's loss was almost seen by the outside world as an unfortunate part of a dangerous sport. The Ferrari driver had been killed during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.

With the greatest respect to Paletti in only his second grand prix, the story was never likely to make headlines outside Italy, particularly following just one month after the loss of Gilles Villeneuve at Zolder. Suffering serious abdominal injuries and two broken legs, the 23-year-old Italian was transferred to a hospital in Montreal where he died early that evening.Įuropean newspapers had already published their final editions, leaving radio news as the major outlet. Starting from the penultimate row of the grid, Riccardo Paletti was not seen and accelerated hard when he smashed into the back of Didier Pironi's Ferrari, which had stalled on pole position. The previous fatality in a Formula One race had occurred at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix.

Is Hamilton the GOAT?į1.com editor Lawrence Barretto joins the show to talk Lewis Hamilton's legacy after the Mercedes driver claimed a record-equalling seventh championship. Prior to the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Italy's Imola circuit, and the loss of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna in one terrible weekend, motor sport tragedy had tended to be obscured by the mists of communication methods that were antiquated by today's fast-moving standards.

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