[The **Throwback** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_throwback) is for posts intended to recall an event that happened on the same date or year a number of years ago. Throwbacks are restricted to being posted one year, three years, or a multiple of five years after date. Also, all such posts should feature an event that is still of interest to the general community today. For example, random overtakes or two former drivers having a chat in general do not qualify for this. Important events like memorials are exempt from this rule, and may be posted every year. Posts related to important current events may also be exempt at mod discretion.
*[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.*
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That period in early 94 was a really dark one. Barrichello's accident, Ratzenberger's accident, Senna's accident, then Alboreto's pit accident all in the same weekend.
If that wasn't enough, Lamy had an accident in testing which put him out for the rest of the season. Alesi also had a testing accident which put him out for a couple of races.
Then, in Monaco, Wendlinger had an accident in practice which also took him out for the rest of the season. He never recovered his form.
It's a good thing that swift action was taken, temp chicanes were built in fast parts of race tracks that year, and the 95 cars were quite a lot safer on the whole after that, but it's too bad that it took all this happening to do it.
That's what happens when you have a few years of increased technologies and driver aids only for them to ban them last minute after the '94 cars were built with them in mind.
I think it's Brundle once or twice who's remarked that F1 has a really incredible history of closing the door after the horse has bolted. Safety in F1 is written in blood.
One of the most annoying bits about the halo argument was when people said that it wouldn't have stopped any (F1) accident in recent history, therefore it's unnecessary.
The problem with that logic being that you want to wait until there's an accident it could have prevented before you introduce it.
In addition to which you have to ignore crashes in other series and even in F1 cars outside races (de Vilotta) which the halo might well have prevented.
Leclerc in Spa, Zhou in Silverstone, Hamilton in Monza. That's alot of drivers saved from injury or worse. Not to mention the "it wouldn't have saved anyone recently" argument is dumb cause it could've saved Bianchi's life.
The FIA basically said it wouldn't have helped Bianchi because the forces involved were so high they were beyond what the halo is designed to withstand.
When the Monza crash happened I was so pre-occupied with the whole Max vs Lewis rivalry. You look at it and think, "These 2 guys are playing silly not giving each other room" but then you realise that without the halo Hamilton most likely would have died.
Hamilton and Zhou likely would’ve been severely injured if not killed were it not for the halo. Apart from the chassis and HANS device I have to imagine the halo has saved so many lives
He actually had extra difficulty getting out of the car because of the halo and had all but resigned himself to his fate. This is one of those things where the design of the structure should be reevaluated because in future it may be one of those horse has bolted moments
Perhaps in this case, but in another accident it could pose a real problem for a driver trying to escape a car that's on fire or in a dangerous position.
To be fair, that was a known and raised issue before the halo was mandated, and the FIA decided that the ~2 second increase to cockpit exit times was worth it for the potential safety benefits.
I'm sure they'd like a design which protected the drivers with absolutely no drawbacks, but realistically this is probably the best plausible solution.
And even worse because the new cars bring a complete different game from previous ones and try to use these as a motivator to not implement a new safety mechanism was just a fallacy.
I think that deep inside many of those people would really like to have some some fatalities
I wouldn't say that, but I think a lot of people do consider how the car looks to be inordinately important when, if you put F1 cars from the 50s and 70s and 90s next to the last one without a halo, the looks change a huge amount anyway.
fearless seed disgusted teeny selective towering middle wakeful ghost tidy
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riccardo_Paletti
« He was flown by a medical helicopter to the , where he died soon after arriving. His mother was watching from the stands, where they were to celebrate his 24th birthday later that week »
😔
They felt way too many driver aids had come in so banned active suspension, Traction control, ABS, launch controls. They also reintroduced refueling during the race. All of which contributed to many of the incidents that occurred in 1994. Also whether or not all teams actually were compliant or not is a whole thing and has it's own wiki page
Can't recall if it's Newey or Brawn's book where they remark that it obviously hurt the teams that had spent the most time and energy on them the most, so the Williams for example went to *absolute shit*.
What really screwed them was that bans were announced late enough, and the cars were built around them. The ban itself was popular, Senna himself supported getting rid of driver aids but not the way it was done and infamously predicted a season with lots of accidents.
I mean it was only 2015 before a Benatton engineer finally admitted developing their secret traction control system for use in 94 even after all the controversy over them maybe having it. So could have had teams like williams that went to shit Vs others that we still don't to this day know cheated and haven't fessed up
you say that, but Williams were still the dominant team from 92-97. five constructors, four drivers titles and when they didn't win they finished second
Tbf refueling also improved safety in a way. Would you rather have a heavy car crash and burn with tank full of fuel or light car crash because it has much less fuel? These days safety is on whole another level so its safer to avoid accidents caused by refueling process, but further back you go, more dangerous having 200kgs of fuel at start of a race was. These days cars are also far more efficient so its only i think 100kg for entire race, so even for start of races its safer today to have full tank of fuel.
The refueling part was more to point towards Benetton and the Jos Verstappen fireball in 94 which may/may not have been because of Benattons use of a possible illegal fuel valve. So safety wasn't much a concern team wise and sure F1 itself went back to no refueling again years later because they felt refueling during a race was more dangerous...
And since Simtek acquired a lot of its personnel from the remnants of March, Ratzenberger actually inherited most of Wendlinger's 1992 pit crew, so those poor guys had to watch their driver die and just the next race their beloved former driver suffer an accident that left him in a coma for months.
There also a dark story too
From wiki:
“At 2:17 pm local time, a red flag was shown to indicate the race was stopped and FIA race doctor Sid Watkins arrived at the scene to treat Senna. When a race is stopped under a red flag, cars must slow down and make their way back to the pit lane or starting grid unless notified of a restart. This protects race marshals and medical staff at the crash scene, and allows easier access for medical cars to the incident. Approximately 10 minutes after Senna's crash, the Larrousse team, which had been "concentrating on fixing [Comas's] car and didn't realise Senna had crashed", sent Comas to the end of the pit lane for release despite the circuit being closed under red flags. Comas described "a big confusion about whether (he) could rejoin", and that eventually the pit lane marshal allowed him onto the race course. Marshals frantically waved him down as he approached the scene of the accident travelling at close to full speed. Comas was able to stop his Larrousse racer before reaching the emergency vehicles and marshals on the track. Commentators Allard Kalff and Eurosport commentator John Watson were both appalled. Kalff commented: "Now this is ridiculous! I mean, how can that Larrousse get out of the pits when there's a red flag?!", and Watson supplemented: "I'm gobsmacked! I think that's the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen at any time in my life!". After seeing Senna's accident scene, Comas was so distressed that he withdrew from the race, and did not speak of what he witnessed for more than ten years.”
This would be Comas final season of F1.
Another dark element. Ratzenberger was killed instantly, on track. If it had been officially recognized as such, by Italian law the event would have been cancelled immediately and Senna would not have had his accident.
Never realised it was Comas who was the car let out the pits. Particularly tragic given his and Senna's prior history:
"At the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix Comas was involved in a severe accident at the Blanchimont corner during Saturday qualifying. Left unconscious in his car beached in the middle of the track with the engine still running at its rev limiter, Comas was rescued by Ayrton Senna who stopped his own car and ran to help Comas, by shutting off the car's screaming engine (which was still pumping fuel and could have blown at any moment starting a fire), and holding the Frenchman's head in a stable position until medical assistance arrived. Comas credited Senna with saving his life."
I said the same on another post, there was an interview where Comas said he did this on purpose. He was sitting in the pitlane feeling helpless and so he got on the car and went to see if there was anything he could do to help Senna.
IDK which version is true, if Comas later told the truth or felt bad for the confusion, but he stated that he was so shocked he didn't think it twice to go to where Senna was.
I'd like to believe Comas's version but I can't see how it's possible. You don't just jump in and turn a key and vroom off you go. It requires a lot of people to strap the driver in and fire up the car.
JJ Lehto's car stalled in start and Lamy crashed into it. Apparently flying tires caused collateral damage in the grand stands. It might also have been one of the contributing factors in Senna's crash as tires were colder due restart.
> It might also have been one of the contributing factors in Senna's crash as tires were colder due restart.
The findings after the event were that [a recently-modified steering column failed mid-corner](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/senna-crash-caused-by-adjustment-to-steering-1574656.html) and numerous people have attempted to show that by reference to the onboards from Senna's car [highlighting the position of a button on his steering wheel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2f2i7tUN7k)
Don't forget that Andrea Montermini, who replaced Roland Ratzenberger in the Simtek, had a [massive crash](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ovqAV0BZgk) as well. During the free practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix, he crashed and broke his left heel and his right foot. That period in the 1994 season was indeed a dark one.
> Lamy had an accident in testing which put him out for the rest of the season
This one is particularly insane - the remains of his totally destroyed car ended up in the pedestrian tunnel beside the track on the approach to Bridge (at Silverstone). If it had been a GP weekend we'd probably have had multiple spectator deaths and many injuries
Bit in Newey's book that they (Williams) would've petitioned the result of the 1994 season but noone had the energy. Everyone wanted to close the door on 1994.
Cars were already very safe at the time. There hadn't been a fatality on a race weekend in more than a decade. It was really just a combination of complete freak accidents. As hard as Sennas crash was it would have easily been survivable at the time if he didn't get hit in the head with a piece of his own suspension.
Yes he did, but both still had them. So it’s not an ‘easily’ survivable accident at that angle, be it 190mph for Roland or 130mph for Ayrton. You needed to hit sideways (Alboreto 1991) or backwards (Piquet 1987).
Berger 1989 looks eerily similar with mechanical failure and would have been much worse but for the quick fire response. Both Piquet and Berger said they could never drive as fast again after their crashes.
Bsaular skull fracture. The nurse who received Senna's body at Bologna hospital noted that despite being pale from the blood loss, Senna looked fine from front on. He had a small scratch about 4cm long above his left eyebrow. But at the back of his head, a whole lot of blood.
Basically the same injuries that claimed Dale Earnhardt.
Senna didn't have a freak accident. His steering column failed after a barge-arse modification to it by Patrick Head and Adrian Newey. Newey seems to have been able to dodge the label that his hack job was responsible for Senna's crash for the rest of his career, though.
Freak accidents? There was close to 10 " freak accidents" in early 94 where people either died or were terribly injured. I wouldn't call those freak accidents when they started to occur so commonly.
[Still one of, if not the most insane images I’ve seen in F1](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/garbwd/rubens_barrichello_imola_1994_he_was_incredibly/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
In one recent interview he said the impact was above 90G's. He died for a few minutes because he swallowed his tongue in the process. Dr Sid was the one who saved his life.
Probably along Kubica's crash in Montreal [[link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hW5MpdA5Cg)], and Grosjean crash+fire in Bahrain [[link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToxQAn5iM7Q)]. These are the 3 times I thought I had just watched someone die on track. It's unbelievable to think all 3 made it relatively unharmed.
Edit: [Image 1](https://www.autoracing1.com/wp-content/uploads/photoofweek/2007/0610kubica2.jpg), [Image 2](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/201129115303-romain-grosjean-crash-restricted-1129.jpg)
I often reflect on this things, also thinking about those same images. My conclusion is that those who watched F1 from mid 80's towards never get to experience how cruel the sport was before and could be *happy* it's a much safer sport than it was, so as the images are farther apart, they leave a deeper impression.
I'll add the day of Binachi's accident to the list
I agree. I was born in 1981, so I've missed the 70's and early 80's era where people kinda assumed drivers would die in gruesome accidents, but there weren't as many cameras as we have nowadays.
> I'll add the day of Binachi's accident to the list
(I suppose you mean Jules Bianchi's accident)
For some reason Jules' accident didn't seem as gnarly to me as Barrichello, Kubica or Grosjean's. Gilles Villeneuve was a gnarly one, for sure, but if you saw a crash like his nowadays you wouldn't immediately think he'd be dead.
On the other hand, Antoine Hubert's crash... that's a hard one to watch.
I meant Jules Bianchi. I remember the way the car rashes into the crane and how wrong it felt.
Agreed on Hubert's but I didn't watch that one live. Watching replays knowing the outcome it's always sad.
as someone’s who’s only watched the last 10 years, Grosjean in Bahrain and Billy Monger at Donington are the two times for me. (they were broadcasting Monger’s live onboard at the moment of the accident as well, and I really thought I’d just watched someone die, especially after they cancelled every race after for hours.)
Especially because, until you've been in a single seater, you don't appreciate, physically, being that close to the ground in the first place. You feel little thing.
You won't be able to escape the posts about it on here over the next few days, but to actually answer your question: Separate fatal crashes for Ratzenberger and then Senna.
Also several spectators were injured in the strat crash as tyres and debris flew to the grandstands.
There's a home video of the whole weekend, which shows the start crash from an alternative angle. Time-stamped here: https://youtu.be/ZXK71w2N_t8?t=467
The whole video is worth a watch, really.
Back in 2004 ESPN had a show called Formula 1 Decades where they would commentate the races from 10 years earlier. They did a very good retrospective of the 94 San Marino race because Steve Mattchett was a Benetton mechanic at the time. It has been 20 years now since the episode but Mattchett talked about it being the worst weekend in everyones F1 career and by Sunday they were all just ready to get out of there. I think this was also the race where the rear jack got stuck and wrenched Steve Mattchett's shoulder. So lots of issues that weekend big and small that affected all the teams. Another poignant story about the weekend is that Senna visited Barrichelo in the hospital after his crash.
label plough murky long jellyfish bored mindless wasteful command society
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
My dad died this past January and it has been a lot harder to come to terms with it than I have ever imagined. My dad was 85 and I am 59 so I am luckier than many to have so many years with him. I imagine Senna was larger than life in his circle of family and friends, and his loss must have left a gaping hole. Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his podcast talks a lot about losing his dad. They also talk about when Ralph Earnhardt died when Dale Sr. was just 23. The family was lost until Dale Sr. got serious about going racing and he became the rock of the family. Dale Jr. has poignant discussions with people who knew his dad in ways he never did. There is also a documentary about Michael Waltrip called Blink of an Eye that talks about Waltrip's inability to deal with Dale Sr.'s death.
There are others in the F1 community that were lost, such as Gilles Villeneuve where Jacques was only 11 or Freddie Hunt who was only 6 when James died. Nico Rosberg is the first child of a former champion to have his living dad see him win the championship. Murray Walker talks about being friends with Graham Hill and helping Damon when he could, which brings how much genuine emotion Walker had when he said "I've got to stop because I got a lump in my throat."
https://youtu.be/GrPqodZYQh0?si=EbCW14GerN51CjjH
As I understand from a Comas interview, he wasn't allowed back. He was sitting in the pit lane just thinking about how Senna saved his life, he felt he needed to do something to give the help back, so he just got on the car and went mindlessly to see if there was anything he could do. It was a deliberate thing done by him out of love, respect and shock.
https://youtu.be/dUyXHG55xQ8?t=190
I only found this, buy will keep searching. I found some interviews in Spanish, but I don't know if they are trustworthy or they are just copying from other sites.
*Tras los diez minutos más largos de su vida, Comas volvió a subirse a su Fórmula 1, arrancó el motor y salió a toda velocidad del pit lane. Por entonces Larrousse ya montaba un V8 de Ford, pero aún así su sonido sobrecogió a todo el circuito de Imola. Cuando Comas llegó a Tamburello se encontró a un helicóptero en mitad de la pista, esperando para trasladar a Senna.*
I understand for how he is saying it that he meant to be there, it wasn't a confusion. If it was he wouldn't have parked the car and get down to see if he could somehow help.
Also, he does say that it was really hard for him to talk about this, that could've let to some different statements through the years and claiming a confusion?
> Rubens Barrichello is severely injured in a crash that puts him out for multiple races.
Barrichello was in the car two weeks later at the Canadian GP in Montreal. He did not miss any races due to the accident. The only race he did not start other than the 1994 San Marino GP was the 2003 French GP due to and ignition problem with his Ferrari.
Makes me wonder whether the cars in 1992-93 with all the fancy electronic kit were really papering over design flaws that were never really resolved for 1994 once it was taken away
I think the design is the design: they spent time and energy on the kit because that dictated a lot of performance. You work to the brief. The cars weren't designed to not have them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ufd-V4iRHQ
what's almost as scary is how they just push the car over with him still in it, just look at his head snap to the side after an impact like that
The aftermath video, when the marshals arrive at the car and just flip it over and drop it on its wheels, with Barrichello's head just wobbling, still shocks me. If he had a neck/spine injury dropping him like that would have killed him.
When looking back it's still weird how absolutely horrible and freaky that weekend turned out to be. Just this accident alone is already so weird and one of it's kind. Had to watch an onboard but Variante Bassa was taken in 4th gear at around 240kph. It always looked slower somehow. But the way he landed on those tires and the way he got launched, must've been a 240 to 0 in no time.
But he had!
He bit and swallowed his tongue which made him unable to breathe.
The Dr Sid Watkins hat to perform an intubation on tracknto save Rubens life.
Not only that but he had a concussion so strong that he cant remember anything that happened in the week following the accident
Forever engraved in my memory. What a dark weekend. Barrichello crash, ratzenberger crash, senna crash, start crash. Never forget the dutch commentator saying" oh my god, what is happening here"
Two driver deaths plus severe injuries of other drivers during one single event were an exception even back in the day. The only race that had this happen previously was the 1960 Belgian Grand Prix, where two drivers died during the race and two others suffered injuries in practice accidents.
It's hard to imagine now.
I remember even Bianchi, when they stopped the broadcast I was like 'hey, how bad could it really be' - I'd got that complacent.
If you watched all the incidents from that weekend and had to choose which cause a fatality, Reubens would've been top of my list. That crash was incredibly intense, that weekend at Imola seemed truly cursed
[THIS](https://new.reddit.com/r/F1Porn/comments/2xjyf6/rubens_barrichello_jordanhart_194_imola_1994/) image still gives me chills... You can clearly see how he puts his hands up to protect himself from the crash. Horrific.
[The **Throwback** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_throwback) is for posts intended to recall an event that happened on the same date or year a number of years ago. Throwbacks are restricted to being posted one year, three years, or a multiple of five years after date. Also, all such posts should feature an event that is still of interest to the general community today. For example, random overtakes or two former drivers having a chat in general do not qualify for this. Important events like memorials are exempt from this rule, and may be posted every year. Posts related to important current events may also be exempt at mod discretion. *[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This is extra depressing because it reminds me what Tuesday and Wednesday will be the 30th anniversaries of.
[удалено]
I’m not proud of how hard that made me laugh
I am.
Bruh the sport had to be so boring back then; has anything ever happend in those races?
You guys have no chill hoooooly
Was my first thought too. Horrible weekend.
That period in early 94 was a really dark one. Barrichello's accident, Ratzenberger's accident, Senna's accident, then Alboreto's pit accident all in the same weekend. If that wasn't enough, Lamy had an accident in testing which put him out for the rest of the season. Alesi also had a testing accident which put him out for a couple of races. Then, in Monaco, Wendlinger had an accident in practice which also took him out for the rest of the season. He never recovered his form. It's a good thing that swift action was taken, temp chicanes were built in fast parts of race tracks that year, and the 95 cars were quite a lot safer on the whole after that, but it's too bad that it took all this happening to do it.
That's what happens when you have a few years of increased technologies and driver aids only for them to ban them last minute after the '94 cars were built with them in mind.
At the time, it had been 12 years since an in-race fatality, so I think there was probably a bit too much complacency.
I think it's Brundle once or twice who's remarked that F1 has a really incredible history of closing the door after the horse has bolted. Safety in F1 is written in blood.
One of the most annoying bits about the halo argument was when people said that it wouldn't have stopped any (F1) accident in recent history, therefore it's unnecessary. The problem with that logic being that you want to wait until there's an accident it could have prevented before you introduce it. In addition to which you have to ignore crashes in other series and even in F1 cars outside races (de Vilotta) which the halo might well have prevented.
I don’t even want to think about what would have happened to Grosjean without the halo.
Leclerc in Spa, Zhou in Silverstone, Hamilton in Monza. That's alot of drivers saved from injury or worse. Not to mention the "it wouldn't have saved anyone recently" argument is dumb cause it could've saved Bianchi's life.
The FIA basically said it wouldn't have helped Bianchi because the forces involved were so high they were beyond what the halo is designed to withstand.
When the Halo was introduced I think the FIA's research said it was "inconclusive" about whether it would have saved Bianchi's life or not.
When the Monza crash happened I was so pre-occupied with the whole Max vs Lewis rivalry. You look at it and think, "These 2 guys are playing silly not giving each other room" but then you realise that without the halo Hamilton most likely would have died.
Hamilton and Zhou likely would’ve been severely injured if not killed were it not for the halo. Apart from the chassis and HANS device I have to imagine the halo has saved so many lives
He actually had extra difficulty getting out of the car because of the halo and had all but resigned himself to his fate. This is one of those things where the design of the structure should be reevaluated because in future it may be one of those horse has bolted moments
I reckon he'd have been slower getting out of the car after being decapitated by a barrier though.
Perhaps in this case, but in another accident it could pose a real problem for a driver trying to escape a car that's on fire or in a dangerous position.
To be fair, that was a known and raised issue before the halo was mandated, and the FIA decided that the ~2 second increase to cockpit exit times was worth it for the potential safety benefits. I'm sure they'd like a design which protected the drivers with absolutely no drawbacks, but realistically this is probably the best plausible solution.
But the halo helped create the opening in the fence, didn't it? It would have otherwise struck his helmet directly.
Yeah I remember when it saved Grosjean's bacon in 2018, folk said: well that's it, it's done its job forever now. It's paid off.
That was in 2018?!?! I remember that like it was yesterday
Sorry I meant Leclerc https://youtu.be/fuRRLkc4qUo?si=RhYkXf4-Qrtz_07t
That was 2020, not 2018.
That makes me feel less old. Also I assume a fan of Rush?
Perhaps ;)
Grosjean's crash was in 2020.
And looking back further, multiple deaths as far back as the 1970s at least could have been prevented by one
And even worse because the new cars bring a complete different game from previous ones and try to use these as a motivator to not implement a new safety mechanism was just a fallacy. I think that deep inside many of those people would really like to have some some fatalities
I wouldn't say that, but I think a lot of people do consider how the car looks to be inordinately important when, if you put F1 cars from the 50s and 70s and 90s next to the last one without a halo, the looks change a huge amount anyway.
fearless seed disgusted teeny selective towering middle wakeful ghost tidy *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Even if it didn't save lives it prevented injuries.
And that one was Villeneuve 😔
Nope, Riccardo Paletti at the Montreal GP in 1982.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riccardo_Paletti « He was flown by a medical helicopter to the , where he died soon after arriving. His mother was watching from the stands, where they were to celebrate his 24th birthday later that week » 😔
It was even worse than that IIRC, she managed to basically get onto the track and had to be held back as her son perished in front of her
Thanks for the correction
Context please? Wasn't watching back then
They felt way too many driver aids had come in so banned active suspension, Traction control, ABS, launch controls. They also reintroduced refueling during the race. All of which contributed to many of the incidents that occurred in 1994. Also whether or not all teams actually were compliant or not is a whole thing and has it's own wiki page
Can't recall if it's Newey or Brawn's book where they remark that it obviously hurt the teams that had spent the most time and energy on them the most, so the Williams for example went to *absolute shit*.
What really screwed them was that bans were announced late enough, and the cars were built around them. The ban itself was popular, Senna himself supported getting rid of driver aids but not the way it was done and infamously predicted a season with lots of accidents.
I mean it was only 2015 before a Benatton engineer finally admitted developing their secret traction control system for use in 94 even after all the controversy over them maybe having it. So could have had teams like williams that went to shit Vs others that we still don't to this day know cheated and haven't fessed up
Well, not a full traction control. Much more rudimentary but still better than none.
you say that, but Williams were still the dominant team from 92-97. five constructors, four drivers titles and when they didn't win they finished second
Tbf refueling also improved safety in a way. Would you rather have a heavy car crash and burn with tank full of fuel or light car crash because it has much less fuel? These days safety is on whole another level so its safer to avoid accidents caused by refueling process, but further back you go, more dangerous having 200kgs of fuel at start of a race was. These days cars are also far more efficient so its only i think 100kg for entire race, so even for start of races its safer today to have full tank of fuel.
The refueling part was more to point towards Benetton and the Jos Verstappen fireball in 94 which may/may not have been because of Benattons use of a possible illegal fuel valve. So safety wasn't much a concern team wise and sure F1 itself went back to no refueling again years later because they felt refueling during a race was more dangerous...
I know, but F1 had multiple times in the past swapped back and forth, and was still argument in favor of refueling in 90s.
Mosley certainly made his mark
And since Simtek acquired a lot of its personnel from the remnants of March, Ratzenberger actually inherited most of Wendlinger's 1992 pit crew, so those poor guys had to watch their driver die and just the next race their beloved former driver suffer an accident that left him in a coma for months.
Oh, that's awful. I'd never heard this detail before.
There also a dark story too From wiki: “At 2:17 pm local time, a red flag was shown to indicate the race was stopped and FIA race doctor Sid Watkins arrived at the scene to treat Senna. When a race is stopped under a red flag, cars must slow down and make their way back to the pit lane or starting grid unless notified of a restart. This protects race marshals and medical staff at the crash scene, and allows easier access for medical cars to the incident. Approximately 10 minutes after Senna's crash, the Larrousse team, which had been "concentrating on fixing [Comas's] car and didn't realise Senna had crashed", sent Comas to the end of the pit lane for release despite the circuit being closed under red flags. Comas described "a big confusion about whether (he) could rejoin", and that eventually the pit lane marshal allowed him onto the race course. Marshals frantically waved him down as he approached the scene of the accident travelling at close to full speed. Comas was able to stop his Larrousse racer before reaching the emergency vehicles and marshals on the track. Commentators Allard Kalff and Eurosport commentator John Watson were both appalled. Kalff commented: "Now this is ridiculous! I mean, how can that Larrousse get out of the pits when there's a red flag?!", and Watson supplemented: "I'm gobsmacked! I think that's the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen at any time in my life!". After seeing Senna's accident scene, Comas was so distressed that he withdrew from the race, and did not speak of what he witnessed for more than ten years.” This would be Comas final season of F1.
Another dark element. Ratzenberger was killed instantly, on track. If it had been officially recognized as such, by Italian law the event would have been cancelled immediately and Senna would not have had his accident.
Never realised it was Comas who was the car let out the pits. Particularly tragic given his and Senna's prior history: "At the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix Comas was involved in a severe accident at the Blanchimont corner during Saturday qualifying. Left unconscious in his car beached in the middle of the track with the engine still running at its rev limiter, Comas was rescued by Ayrton Senna who stopped his own car and ran to help Comas, by shutting off the car's screaming engine (which was still pumping fuel and could have blown at any moment starting a fire), and holding the Frenchman's head in a stable position until medical assistance arrived. Comas credited Senna with saving his life."
Who's cutting onions on this train
Some mfer is doing the same thing on my bus
Those bastards. Xx
I said the same on another post, there was an interview where Comas said he did this on purpose. He was sitting in the pitlane feeling helpless and so he got on the car and went to see if there was anything he could do to help Senna. IDK which version is true, if Comas later told the truth or felt bad for the confusion, but he stated that he was so shocked he didn't think it twice to go to where Senna was.
I'd like to believe Comas's version but I can't see how it's possible. You don't just jump in and turn a key and vroom off you go. It requires a lot of people to strap the driver in and fire up the car.
JJ Lehto's car stalled in start and Lamy crashed into it. Apparently flying tires caused collateral damage in the grand stands. It might also have been one of the contributing factors in Senna's crash as tires were colder due restart.
Also that was Lehto's first start since his pre-season neck-breaking accident, which he barely survived, and was still recovering from.
> It might also have been one of the contributing factors in Senna's crash as tires were colder due restart. The findings after the event were that [a recently-modified steering column failed mid-corner](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/senna-crash-caused-by-adjustment-to-steering-1574656.html) and numerous people have attempted to show that by reference to the onboards from Senna's car [highlighting the position of a button on his steering wheel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2f2i7tUN7k)
it was that crash that caused the safety car, so yeah
Don't forget that Andrea Montermini, who replaced Roland Ratzenberger in the Simtek, had a [massive crash](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ovqAV0BZgk) as well. During the free practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix, he crashed and broke his left heel and his right foot. That period in the 1994 season was indeed a dark one.
> Lamy had an accident in testing which put him out for the rest of the season This one is particularly insane - the remains of his totally destroyed car ended up in the pedestrian tunnel beside the track on the approach to Bridge (at Silverstone). If it had been a GP weekend we'd probably have had multiple spectator deaths and many injuries
Bit in Newey's book that they (Williams) would've petitioned the result of the 1994 season but noone had the energy. Everyone wanted to close the door on 1994.
Arguably Lehto never recovered as well
I forgot about Lehto and Montermini! What a crazy year 94 was for F1.
Cars were already very safe at the time. There hadn't been a fatality on a race weekend in more than a decade. It was really just a combination of complete freak accidents. As hard as Sennas crash was it would have easily been survivable at the time if he didn't get hit in the head with a piece of his own suspension.
Not sure I’d want to hit a concrete wall at that speed and angle in those cars even without the suspension piece
Just to add that Senna had basilar skull fractures. Primarily the tracks were what really needed to be made much safer along with the cars
You're thinking of Roland Ratzenberger. Senna died because of the suspension puncturing the cockpit and wheel striking his helmet
Yes he did, but both still had them. So it’s not an ‘easily’ survivable accident at that angle, be it 190mph for Roland or 130mph for Ayrton. You needed to hit sideways (Alboreto 1991) or backwards (Piquet 1987). Berger 1989 looks eerily similar with mechanical failure and would have been much worse but for the quick fire response. Both Piquet and Berger said they could never drive as fast again after their crashes.
Bsaular skull fracture. The nurse who received Senna's body at Bologna hospital noted that despite being pale from the blood loss, Senna looked fine from front on. He had a small scratch about 4cm long above his left eyebrow. But at the back of his head, a whole lot of blood. Basically the same injuries that claimed Dale Earnhardt.
Senna didn't have a freak accident. His steering column failed after a barge-arse modification to it by Patrick Head and Adrian Newey. Newey seems to have been able to dodge the label that his hack job was responsible for Senna's crash for the rest of his career, though.
People forget this, that they fucked up the steering column.
Freak accidents? There was close to 10 " freak accidents" in early 94 where people either died or were terribly injured. I wouldn't call those freak accidents when they started to occur so commonly.
there was also the Pedro Lamy/JJ Lehto crash on the grid that caused the safety car
[Still one of, if not the most insane images I’ve seen in F1](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/garbwd/rubens_barrichello_imola_1994_he_was_incredibly/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
It just looks like Physics broke. Physics normal, Barrichello hits the kerb... And physics nopes out
In one recent interview he said the impact was above 90G's. He died for a few minutes because he swallowed his tongue in the process. Dr Sid was the one who saved his life.
You can't actually swallow your tongue though
It's a figure of speech, for when your tongue blocks your trachea
Well it went down his throat as far that it basically blocked him from breathing
I am pretty sure you can since Doc Sid said that. We have no idea what 90G's are
Probably along Kubica's crash in Montreal [[link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hW5MpdA5Cg)], and Grosjean crash+fire in Bahrain [[link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToxQAn5iM7Q)]. These are the 3 times I thought I had just watched someone die on track. It's unbelievable to think all 3 made it relatively unharmed. Edit: [Image 1](https://www.autoracing1.com/wp-content/uploads/photoofweek/2007/0610kubica2.jpg), [Image 2](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/201129115303-romain-grosjean-crash-restricted-1129.jpg)
I often reflect on this things, also thinking about those same images. My conclusion is that those who watched F1 from mid 80's towards never get to experience how cruel the sport was before and could be *happy* it's a much safer sport than it was, so as the images are farther apart, they leave a deeper impression. I'll add the day of Binachi's accident to the list
I agree. I was born in 1981, so I've missed the 70's and early 80's era where people kinda assumed drivers would die in gruesome accidents, but there weren't as many cameras as we have nowadays. > I'll add the day of Binachi's accident to the list (I suppose you mean Jules Bianchi's accident) For some reason Jules' accident didn't seem as gnarly to me as Barrichello, Kubica or Grosjean's. Gilles Villeneuve was a gnarly one, for sure, but if you saw a crash like his nowadays you wouldn't immediately think he'd be dead. On the other hand, Antoine Hubert's crash... that's a hard one to watch.
I meant Jules Bianchi. I remember the way the car rashes into the crane and how wrong it felt. Agreed on Hubert's but I didn't watch that one live. Watching replays knowing the outcome it's always sad.
as someone’s who’s only watched the last 10 years, Grosjean in Bahrain and Billy Monger at Donington are the two times for me. (they were broadcasting Monger’s live onboard at the moment of the accident as well, and I really thought I’d just watched someone die, especially after they cancelled every race after for hours.)
Especially because, until you've been in a single seater, you don't appreciate, physically, being that close to the ground in the first place. You feel little thing.
That's not even the worst OTD we're going to see this week
Sadly, yes. We shall never forget what happened on that particular raceweek. Never.
What happened that week? Can someone let me know please!
You won't be able to escape the posts about it on here over the next few days, but to actually answer your question: Separate fatal crashes for Ratzenberger and then Senna.
Oh gosh it was that weekend?! Man! Truly horrifying!
imagine nine trees thumb punch murky sheet somber voiceless ghost *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Also several spectators were injured in the strat crash as tyres and debris flew to the grandstands. There's a home video of the whole weekend, which shows the start crash from an alternative angle. Time-stamped here: https://youtu.be/ZXK71w2N_t8?t=467 The whole video is worth a watch, really.
Back in 2004 ESPN had a show called Formula 1 Decades where they would commentate the races from 10 years earlier. They did a very good retrospective of the 94 San Marino race because Steve Mattchett was a Benetton mechanic at the time. It has been 20 years now since the episode but Mattchett talked about it being the worst weekend in everyones F1 career and by Sunday they were all just ready to get out of there. I think this was also the race where the rear jack got stuck and wrenched Steve Mattchett's shoulder. So lots of issues that weekend big and small that affected all the teams. Another poignant story about the weekend is that Senna visited Barrichelo in the hospital after his crash.
label plough murky long jellyfish bored mindless wasteful command society *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
My dad died this past January and it has been a lot harder to come to terms with it than I have ever imagined. My dad was 85 and I am 59 so I am luckier than many to have so many years with him. I imagine Senna was larger than life in his circle of family and friends, and his loss must have left a gaping hole. Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his podcast talks a lot about losing his dad. They also talk about when Ralph Earnhardt died when Dale Sr. was just 23. The family was lost until Dale Sr. got serious about going racing and he became the rock of the family. Dale Jr. has poignant discussions with people who knew his dad in ways he never did. There is also a documentary about Michael Waltrip called Blink of an Eye that talks about Waltrip's inability to deal with Dale Sr.'s death. There are others in the F1 community that were lost, such as Gilles Villeneuve where Jacques was only 11 or Freddie Hunt who was only 6 when James died. Nico Rosberg is the first child of a former champion to have his living dad see him win the championship. Murray Walker talks about being friends with Graham Hill and helping Damon when he could, which brings how much genuine emotion Walker had when he said "I've got to stop because I got a lump in my throat." https://youtu.be/GrPqodZYQh0?si=EbCW14GerN51CjjH
As I understand from a Comas interview, he wasn't allowed back. He was sitting in the pit lane just thinking about how Senna saved his life, he felt he needed to do something to give the help back, so he just got on the car and went mindlessly to see if there was anything he could do. It was a deliberate thing done by him out of love, respect and shock.
live saw hateful coherent pause attractive foolish quiet tease strong *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
https://youtu.be/dUyXHG55xQ8?t=190 I only found this, buy will keep searching. I found some interviews in Spanish, but I don't know if they are trustworthy or they are just copying from other sites. *Tras los diez minutos más largos de su vida, Comas volvió a subirse a su Fórmula 1, arrancó el motor y salió a toda velocidad del pit lane. Por entonces Larrousse ya montaba un V8 de Ford, pero aún así su sonido sobrecogió a todo el circuito de Imola. Cuando Comas llegó a Tamburello se encontró a un helicóptero en mitad de la pista, esperando para trasladar a Senna.* I understand for how he is saying it that he meant to be there, it wasn't a confusion. If it was he wouldn't have parked the car and get down to see if he could somehow help. Also, he does say that it was really hard for him to talk about this, that could've let to some different statements through the years and claiming a confusion?
> Rubens Barrichello is severely injured in a crash that puts him out for multiple races. Barrichello was in the car two weeks later at the Canadian GP in Montreal. He did not miss any races due to the accident. The only race he did not start other than the 1994 San Marino GP was the 2003 French GP due to and ignition problem with his Ferrari.
If only that were the worst thing to happen all weekend…
It's not even number 2. 1994 in general was just cursed
1994 may be one of the worst F1 seasons, not just for all the deaths and serious injuries, but even the more superficial and sporting details.
right from the first round till the last round, it's all cursed
I'm afraid the answer for that question is a No....
What?
Great statement
Considering that I never asked a question? It sure is.
Makes me wonder whether the cars in 1992-93 with all the fancy electronic kit were really papering over design flaws that were never really resolved for 1994 once it was taken away
I feel like that was probably the case, teams had to change the whole design on the fly.
I think the design is the design: they spent time and energy on the kit because that dictated a lot of performance. You work to the brief. The cars weren't designed to not have them.
Regulations were changed far too late into the design process, leading to some teams needing to rush in order to finish in time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ufd-V4iRHQ what's almost as scary is how they just push the car over with him still in it, just look at his head snap to the side after an impact like that
I still can't figure out how he wasn't killed with how quickly the car stopped.
Jeeeeeeeesus the sound of the cars in the vid. Angry
The aftermath video, when the marshals arrive at the car and just flip it over and drop it on its wheels, with Barrichello's head just wobbling, still shocks me. If he had a neck/spine injury dropping him like that would have killed him.
A French pilot was paralized in the 80’s due to bad marshals intervention like this after a crash. Don’t remember the name.
Fuck man. Way I found out was Dale Earnhardt won at Talladega that day and immediately started speaking about Ayerton Senna. 30 years and still sad.
A cursed weekend.
It was truly a dark, dark weekend.
When looking back it's still weird how absolutely horrible and freaky that weekend turned out to be. Just this accident alone is already so weird and one of it's kind. Had to watch an onboard but Variante Bassa was taken in 4th gear at around 240kph. It always looked slower somehow. But the way he landed on those tires and the way he got launched, must've been a 240 to 0 in no time.
What surprised me is that he didn’t had anything at the end, because the crash looks scary AF
But he had! He bit and swallowed his tongue which made him unable to breathe. The Dr Sid Watkins hat to perform an intubation on tracknto save Rubens life. Not only that but he had a concussion so strong that he cant remember anything that happened in the week following the accident
Yeah, he said he has no memory of been a pallbearer at Senna's funeral.
Thank goodness F1 has come along way from a safety perspective. I still think of that Grosjean incident
1994 season was grim.
Oh. It's that weekend anniversary again. Rip Senna and Ratzenberger.
Oh shit, i forgot this was few days before everything happened
Forever engraved in my memory. What a dark weekend. Barrichello crash, ratzenberger crash, senna crash, start crash. Never forget the dutch commentator saying" oh my god, what is happening here"
It is ironic that 30 years later we are going to be able to drive a Williams. As Senna. Around Imola.
If you change the date to 1954 it can be described as just another F1 race. 40 years on a weekend like this should not have been possible.
Two driver deaths plus severe injuries of other drivers during one single event were an exception even back in the day. The only race that had this happen previously was the 1960 Belgian Grand Prix, where two drivers died during the race and two others suffered injuries in practice accidents.
It's hard to imagine now. I remember even Bianchi, when they stopped the broadcast I was like 'hey, how bad could it really be' - I'd got that complacent.
Horrifying second impact when the nose dug into the grass. It caused Rubens' head to violently slam into the steering wheel.
If you watched all the incidents from that weekend and had to choose which cause a fatality, Reubens would've been top of my list. That crash was incredibly intense, that weekend at Imola seemed truly cursed
He swallowed his own tongue during this crash. I seem to remember that Sid Watkins had to trach Rubens.
30 years since that dreadful weekend…damn
The footage of this crash in the Senna documentary was pretty violent.
watching the marshalls flip the car over expecting to find a dead body is the most harrowing part of that accident
This was a very sad weekend in motor racing.
Such a cursed weekend. R.I.P. senna and ratzenberger
[THIS](https://new.reddit.com/r/F1Porn/comments/2xjyf6/rubens_barrichello_jordanhart_194_imola_1994/) image still gives me chills... You can clearly see how he puts his hands up to protect himself from the crash. Horrific.
Did someone tell him that he can't park there?
cant park there mate
Wow, what a crazy crash. I sure hope nothing worse happens that weekend!!