Remembering Ayrton Senna: Formula 1 recalls triple world champion on Brazilian's 26th death anniversary

On 1 May, 1994, Formula 1 lost one of its great champions, Ayrton Senna. Twenty-six years after the fateful crash, the world still remembers the Brazilian driver who died at the age of 34, when leading the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. Formula 1 saluted the triple world champion with a tweet. “His legend will forever live on Today we remember Ayrton Senna,” read the post.

Formula 1 also shared a short clip showcasing Senna’s first point in F1 during his second-ever race. Carmaker Ferrari too issued a tweet , writing, “Today we come together to remember the legend that was Ayrton Senna." A report in Evening Standard recounts the final moments of Senna on the fateful day. The weekend leading to Senna’s death had seen Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello suffer a crash and Austrian rookie Roland Ratzenberger was killed after a heavy crash against a concrete wall during the qualifiers. Despite advice against competing, Senna decided to participate and during the seventh lap hit a concrete wall at 145 mph. He did not survive. In a 2019 interview with AFP, Senna’s former team-mate Gerhard Berger had revealed that Senna’s death shook the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). Teams and drivers, and everyone joined forces to bring about a change in the sport. In the days following the accident, Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda and Berger along with others introduced reforms to the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association and called for a reduction in speed. The speed reduction was introduced for the Spanish Grand Prix at the end of May of the same year. Here’s how others remembered Senna on his death anniversary: