New found footage of the San Marino GP in 1994 has emerged. Fan recording from the spectator stands is a haunting thing to watch knowing what we know now.

Both Ratzenberger and Senna died at Imola in what was a cursed race weekend. The fall from grace of a champion is never nice to watch at the best of times, this is not something Senna was afforded the chance of.

That fateful day will be remembered by so many, for so many different reasons. Schumacher fell from grace after his return to the sport in 2010, adding further weight to the argument of going out on a high.

It is being robbed of this duel between those two personalities that was such a big loss for Formula One fans. We can only hypothesise how the season would have panned out, were it not for that tragic incident. There are even some who say that he is remembered in his god like stature, due to dying behind the wheel.

1st May 1994 was a bad day for motorsport as a whole. Senna had complained about the handling of his FW16 previously that weekend. Professor Sid Watkins (F1 doctor and good friend of Senna’s) had told him to ‘stop racing and go fishing’, to which Senna told him he could not stop racing. As Senna left the track at the high-speed Tamburello corner, on lap 7, a hero was lost, but the legend lives on.

How a man (or woman) is remembered by his peers has to be the ultimate test. For this, the most prominent showing of emotion has to be bringing a grown man, and a multiple World Champion, to tears. In the interview below, even the great Michael Schumacher cannot contain how he feels after winning in Italy, in a Ferrari – surely one of the best feelings there can be for an F1 driver.

Another poignant time, was when a question was posed to Fernando Alonso after winning his second WDC, in 2006. He was asked, “When will you be satisfied?”

Alonso paused, and responded that when he had 3 titles he would be happy then.

When asked why 3, he replied, “Because that’s what Senna achieved.”

That in itself says it all.

Fearless and proud

Martin Luther King Jr. famously said ‘A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live.’ Senna did just that. One of the most fitting tributes I can think of, is his personality. Even after the death of Ratzenberger (the day before his own), he was fearless, continuing to race. An Austrian flag was found in his cockpit; which he had intended to raise in honour of the Austrian at the end of the race.

Ayrton died doing what he loved and will always be remembered for that; there are not many better ways to bow out.

Adam Macdonald