Court Decision Focuses on Senna's Steering Column

Italy's Supreme Court said its decision to re-open the manslaughter trial over the death of Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna 10 years ago was reached due to flaws in the original acquittal decision by the appeals court.

Magistrate Rinaldo Rosini has appealed to Italy's highest court last year, requesting a re-trial over Senna's death, after the appeals court had acquitted Frank Williams, Patrick Head and Adrian Newey from manslaughter charges over Senna's death.

In a decision handed out yesterday, the Supreme Court stated there was a need to re-open the case in order to ascertain what caused Senna's death and whether the steering column, which was found broken after the fatal injury to Senna when he hit the wall of the Tamburello corner at the Imola circuit, was modified prior to the race.

The court stated it was necessary to establish if, and by whom, "the steering column was erroneously and/or inadequately modified"; if "such incompetent modification caused the breaking or the steering column, or if the latter was caused by other reasons"; and whether "the breaking of the steering column contributed to the loss of car control or if it was a consequence of the latter and the following impact (or other causes)."

The court further stated that, should the breaking of the steering column be established as the cause for the loss of car control, the magistrates will have to ascertain if "other factors were contributing causes, and alone were sufficient in causing the accident."

The Supreme Court criticised the Appeals Court ruling, stating that "there are contradicting points regarding the breaking of the steering column [...] at first it is declared unequivocally as the cause [of the accident], while later doubt is affirmed about that very same significance."

Finally, the Supreme Court also criticised the fact that the acquittal listed other elements of risk for the FW16 - such as modifications to the suspension, the state of the car's bottom, the irregular substitution of the tyres - "however without determining a primary and essential value in ascertaining what had caused the lethal event."

The case will now be returned to the appeals court, where a date for the retrial hearing will be set.