The two successive top-lick curves on the course where Senna and the day before, in a grim prophetic preface, Roland Ratzenberger died have been significantly slowed by lower-gear chicanes and gravel traps. He was always very upbeat, and always very positive, says Corbett. Wirth, his small team and their main sponsors, MTV and Russell Athletic, were in a splendid mood. Roland Ratzenberger/Simtek - F1technical.net Has Alonso made the right choice gambling on Aston Martin F1? Id got to F1 before him but that season it was great to see him. That evening the beaming Austrian celebrated in the Kentagon, the crowded bar at the top of Paddock Bend. Wirth had watched the catastrophe swiftly unfold on a television monitor. Then came San Marino. Looking at the data he'd zig-zagged and braked, and in his mind he'd be saying, Do I come in and check it? I can understand why he didnt. 30 April 2020 Formula 1. From the Vault: the tragic death of F1 driver Roland Ratzenberger in 1994 The 33-year-old was killed during qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix on 30 April 1994, the day before Ayrton Senna. Following the end of the resulting safety car period, Ayrton Senna dies following a crash at Tamburello. Roland Ratzenberger on his last day (30 April 1994) at Imola during the San Marino Grand Prix. Negotiations were at a very advanced stage when Ratzenberger lost the financial support of a "major sponsor. The Grand Prix Drivers' Association got off the ground and that would change a lot in terms of safety in Formula 1. Keiner kann dieses Wochenende vergessen, egal ob er 1994 frs GP-Wochenende von Imola vor dem Fernseher sass oder vor Ort war: In knapp 24 Stunden verloren wir Roland Ratzenberger und Ayrton Senna. And most touching of all was that Roland's personal sponsor, Barbara Behlau [founder of Barbara MC, a Monaco-based sports management agency] was so impressed by the way we had coped with the tragedy that she wanted to put more money into the team for the rest of the season. Inevitably the two men chatted about their hopes for the future. On the 20th anniversary of that tragic weekend, its Sennas death that still haunts the sport while Ratzenbergers fate has largely been ignored. Senna never made it to the chequered flag. All Rights Reserved. Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were long-time rivals before they became teammates at McLaren. But we thought we were in with a chance of getting both cars in again..
