Tragic Heroes Saving Lives

The San Marino Grand Prix at the Imola circuit in 1994, was nothing less than a cursed weekend...

Saturday April 30th,  participating in only his third event of his F1 career, Roland Ratzenberger lost his life during qualifier, fighting till the end. Damaging his front wing while fighting for the final grid position on the race Sunday, he went off track damaging the front wing.  Instead of pitting, he continued. Determined to get to the grid, pushed his car and between the high speeds and the wind pressure, he wing finally gave and went under the front wheels, robbing Ratzenberger of his steering. Ratzenberger was unable to manipulate the corner and when he failed to turn into the Villeneuve Corner, he struck the outside wall at 314.9 km/h (195.68 mph).


Ratzenberger, 30 April 1994

 Ratzenberger's death had a lasting legacy. On the 1st of May (1994), during the customary drivers' briefing, the remaining drivers agreed to the reformation of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, with Ayrton Senna (being appointed one of its directors just hours before his death), Gerhard Berger and Michael Schumacher as its first directors.



Sunday 1st of May 1994 will live in the minds of Formula One fans for an eternity. It was the day that history lost one of it's best drivers.  Some people say that the death of Ayrton Senna cast a shadow over Ratzenberger's, and understandably, you can see why.

With such a loved driver and man, he was taken from the fans well before his time.  Fighting for the lead with another great, Schumacher, his car was seen from the onboard camera (of Schumacher) bottoming out and having issues holding traction on the car.  On the seventh lap of the race, Senna's car (which was in the lead at that point) jumped the kerb and struck an unprotected barrier at Tamburello corner. The team's telemetry showed he left the track at 310 km/h (190 mph) and was able to slow the car down by braking to 218 km/h (135 mph) in slightly under 2 seconds before hitting the wall. Even with Senna managing to slow the car just before the impact, but even with the strength of the cars, this was not enough, although the safety cell in the car remained largely intact.

Following the deaths of Senna and Ratzenberger, many safety improvements were made. Although other drivers had died before him, Senna had arguably the highest profile. Improved crash barriers, redesigned tracks and tyre barriers, higher crash safety standards, and higher sills on the driver cockpit are among the measures that were subsequently introduced. Since Senna's death, no drivers have died behind the wheel of a Formula One car, despite large accidents still occurring.

What would be even more important than the reinstatement of the Driver's Association that has come out of the death's of these hero's would be the HANS device.  Though it was introduced in 2003, it was also immediately made mandatory by the FIA.

The HANS Devices which is (and has) designed to prevent the type of injury suffered by Ratzenberger.  Anyone who has witnessed some of the shunts during the races will testify to it's capabilities.  Without this simple piece of equipment, there would be far fewer drivers on the grid today.

"To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone."

- The late Bruce McLaren