The legacy of Imola 1994
The loss of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at Imola in 1994 led to a safety revolution for which countless drivers have reason to be thankful today, as EDD STRAW explains
The deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at Imola 20 years ago this week shook Formula 1 to its core. But their legacy is of vastly improved safety, not just in grand prix racing but all of motorsport.
Senna's death, live on TV in front of around 200 million people, ensured there was the will for drastic changes. This led to a revolution in motorsport safety that means there are drivers and trackside workers still with us today who otherwise would have been lost.
Share Or Save This Story
More from Edd Straw
How the Senna myth has been transformed
Archive: When the French GP almost produced F1's greatest shock
Autosport 70: How Scheckter instigated Silverstone's most famous F1 incident
Autosport 70: The lost F1 team that launched Newey
Why Haas's shocking 2019 should have F1 worried
How Kubica found the answer to his own incredible F1 challenge
The real step that ended McLaren's F1 nightmare
2019's Albon, Norris and Russell are 2001's Montoya, Raikkonen and Alonso
Latest news
DJR completes Davison car rebuild after heavy Bathurst qualifying crash
The defining moments of Williams boss Vowles’ rollercoaster season
Podcast: The Best of Super Touring Power 2 - Ray Mallock, John Cleland and Laurent Aiello
Solberg's failed Rally Chile protest to be reheard by stewards
Autosport Plus
How McLaren went from back to front in 18 months
Jon Noble: The one thing McLaren must leave behind for the title run-in
Ranking the real 2025 F1 driver line-up pecking order
Will Sauber's C44 go down as F1's best point-less car, or are there better contenders?
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.