On this day in F1 – 1997 Williams dismissed of manslaughter charges

After a ten-month trial in Monza, a judge in Italy dismissed manslaughter charges against Frank Williams and five other defendants over for the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994.

Viviane Senna, the dead driver’s sister, said: “The family will maintain, with regard to the verdict of the Italian judge, the same silence which it has maintained ever since the accident.” The FIA had said that if any of the defendants were found guilty it might be difficult to persuade teams to go to Italy for races. But Rosario Alessi, president of Italy’s motor racing federation, said there was no question of a “generous” verdict. “If there had been responsibilities, then they would have come to light because the judge and prosecutor have been very scrupulous right from the start.”

Credit: ESPN