Ayrton Senna's accident was avoidable

Senna's accident at Imola, San Marino, in 1994, was avoidable, as it was proved in Court in the second trial opened in 2005. It's not arbitrary that fans want someone to respond for Senna's death. Because, yes, it was a technical failure, but an avoidable one. 

Ayrton Senna with Chief Engineer at Williams, in 1994, Patrick Head, who was found guilty for "omitted control" in the reopened trial of 2005

According to the experts, the modifications in the steering column had been badly done. 

"A 600-page technical report was submitted by Bologna University under Professor of Engineering Enrico Lorenzini and his team of specialists. The report concluded that fatigue cracks had developed through 70% of the steering column at the point where it had broken. 

Lorenzini stated: “It had been badly welded together about a third of the way down and couldn’t stand the strain of the race. We discovered scratches on the crack in the steering rod. It seemed like the job had been done in a hurry but I can’t say how long before the race. Someone had tried to smooth over the join following the welding. I have never seen anything like it. I believe the rod was faulty and probably cracked even during the warm-up. Moments before the crash only a tiny piece was left connected and therefore the car didn’t respond in the bend.”

Why did Ayrton Senna die?

Ayrton Senna was not only a great driver, perhaps the greatest: he was a living myth. This was a man who fascinated millions of people of all ages and backgrounds, even those far from the world of racing.

Ayrton Senna - South Africa 1993 - Grand Prix

He was an ideal, a flagbearer for a poor country, who was able to show his great talent and to gratify his obsession with success in a rough and unforgiving world, one that was light years from every day reality.

Serious, well mannered, down to earth and so seemingly normal, Senna had a facility with words and such a positive presence, that he was immediately liked. Once in his car, he would transform into a phenomena: one that enchanted everyone for his easy control and the timing he achieved without ever appearing to strain himself.

Ayrton Senna saluting people in his home town Sao Paulo after winning his third Championship in 1991

He had an elegant way of driving: aggressive, but with incredible precision. With his 65 pole positions, it seemed that nothing could stop him. For those who love the Grand Prix, his victories in the early 90’s seemed mortgaged from a youth committed to show that he was the best: to his opponents, the world and most of all, to himself.

Ayrton Senna celebrating his win at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 1993, behind him is Fangio

In the business of the sport, he was a professional light years beyond the others. He presented his image brilliantly, gained profit from his ventures and was able to break through the barrier that normally separated race car enthusiasts from the rest of the world. He was famous everywhere. According to professional surveys, he was as popular as the Beatles, Clinton and Pele. His name was synonomous with race car driving.

Ayrton Senna in Japan, 1992. Suzuka circuit

Senna's unexpected and inexplicable death came as he drove the finest car towards victory in yet another Grand Prix. It came at a time when he was close to being crowned prince of racing, and made a myth of the only driver capable of living his own legend.

Years have passed and the myth is untouched. Neither the passage of time nor the arrival of new figures imposed by mass media can alter his fame.

Ayrton Senna's thombstone at the Morumbi cemetery in Sao Paulo, his home town

Senna continues to create a stir: merchandise bearing his name makes millions; the numerous publications about him continue to sell hundreds of thousands of copies, the charities carrying his name are flourishing. These latter continue to help poor children and to transmit the champion's positive message.

Ayrton Senna prsenting the charity project, the magazine for children "Senninha", in Febraury 1994, Sao Paulo

But today, instead of victories, it is Senna's trial and the unsolved mysteries surrounding his death that draw the attention of the media, fans and the common reader. It was a long, complicated and difficult trial that could place in jeopardy a dangerous sport. The Formula One has sixteen dangerous appointments in eleven countries each year. The tracks differ not only geographically but also, and more importantly, juridically. Faced wih a tragedy like that at Imola in May 1994 - two men dead and a string of serious accidents - the very sport is questioned. Everything from the danger to the utility of improved techniques and the intangible legalities must be examined.

Senna's trial provoked great controversy. The International Automobile Federation threatened to withdraw from races in Italy. The teams were opposed to a homicide trial, maintaining that the risks of the race are well known and accepted by its protagonists. What could have been a simple search for facts and the truth of what happened that May afternoon at Imola, became an international case. The case was made even more interesting by the doubts and questions that emerged in hearings where great figures like Damon Hill and Frank Williams testified; details about a world so ascetic and distant as to seem incomprehensible.

Ayrton Senna on the starting grid at the Imola San Marino Grand Prix in 1994, where he would die in an accident few minutes later, at the Tamburello corner

Why did Ayrton Senna go off the fastest place in the track at Imola when he was leading in his 160th Grand Prix? Why did he die? What happened to his car? Did the steering column give way? What are the reasons for his death? 

A technical-juridical fact that might have been reported at the bottom of a page of a sport's magazine has become a regular news event that has been researched, fathomed and analysed from every possible viewpoint. 

The Williams team was entangled for many years in a court case with Italian prosecutors over manslaughter charges, ending in a guilty verdict for Patrick Head. 

The Italian Court of Appeal, on 13 April 2007, stated the following in the verdict numbered 15050: "It has been determined that the accident was caused by a steering column failure. This failure was caused by badly designed and badly executed modifications. The responsibility of this falls on Patrick Head, culpable of omitted control". 

The initial trial in 1997 resulted in acquittals after the judge ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove its case, but a retrial was ordered by Italy's highest court. Patrick Head was not arrested as the sentence was backdated to the time of the crash, 1 May 1994. The statute of limitations under Italian law for culpable homicide was 7 years and 6 months, and the verdict was pronounced 13 years after the accident.

The charges focused on the car's steering column, which was found to have sheared off at a point where a modification had been made. The prosecution charged that the column had failed causing the accident, and Williams contended that it had failed on impact. Senna did not like the position of the steering wheel relative to his seating position and had asked for it to be changed. Patrick Head and Adrian Newey agreed to Senna's request to lengthen the FW16's steering column, but there was no time to manufacture a longer steering shaft. The existing shaft was instead cut, extended with a smaller-diameter piece of tubing and welded together with reinforcing plates.

Ayrton Senna with Chief Engineer Patrick Head, who was found guilty for Senna's death in the reopeoned trial in 2007

A 600-page technical report was submitted by Bologna University under Professor of Engineering Enrico Lorenzini and his team of specialists. The report concluded that fatigue cracks had developed through most of the steering column at the point where it had broken. Lorenzini stated: "It had been badly welded together about a third of the way down and couldn't stand the strain of the race. We discovered scratches on the crack in the steering rod. It seemed like the job had been done in a hurry but I can't say how long before the race. Someone had tried to smooth over the join following the welding. I have never seen anything like it. I believe the rod was faulty and probably cracked even during the warm-up. Moments before the crash only a tiny piece was left connected and therefore the car didn't respond in the bend."

Source: /www.atlasf1.com/99/bra/santoro.html

Blog in English about Ayrton Senna da Silva's history, biography, facts, pictures, videos, Formula 1, McLaren, Williams, Lotus, Toleman, Renault, Honda, Japan, Suzuka, Imola, San Marino, Xuxa, Adriane Galisteu, Carol Alt, Viviane Senna, Cristine Ferraciu, Liliane de Vasconcellos, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Gerhard Berger, Bernie Ecclestone, F1, race, circuit, pole position, fastest lap, Michael Schumacher, Benetton, Ferrari, Mika Hakkinen, pilot, Brazil, Sao Paulo, death, accident, funeral, Morumbi, Italy, Adrian Newey, Frank Williams, Ron Dennis, Alfredo Popescu, Bruno Senna, Bianca Senna, Angra dos Reis, Quinta do Lago, Portugal, Senna Vive, Senna Lives On, Forever Ayrton, Damon Hill

Jo Ramirez ignores significant facts of the life of Ayrton Senna

Jo Ramirez, ex Team Coordinator (Logistics) of the McLaren team from 1984 until 2001, gave several interviews in 2010, prior to the world release of the movie-documentary "Senna", by Asif Kapadia. In those interviews, suprisingly, Ramirez stated some false assumptions about Senna's life, including some remarkable mistakes of what happened at Imola 1994 and Senna's private life. Surprisingly because Ramirez is mentioned as one of the sources when it comes to Senna's life, but his statements are for the most part inaccurate.

--- Interview for a Mexican newspaper - 2010---

After many sporting events, television cameras chase the protagonists to plant a microphone in front of them, ask questions to the heroes of the day. But despite the coverage (many of them are not exactly good at making statements), the fact that you watch all the races or matched, analyze each match, all interviews, all the repetitions, you can not say that because you have watched it, you already know everything about the spirit of the sport and the driver.

Ayrton Senna goes to take a look at the Canadian track, 1992, behind him, Jo Ramirez

The magic is still reserved for the movies.

This is exactly what happens with "Senna" , Asif Kapadia 's documentary about the legendary Brazilian Formula 1 driver. The documentary focuses on the driver, not the person, addicted to the speed, but more so, obsessed with the triumph. A fearless man , who made out of his art a religion .

This fascinating story of obsession, triumph and tragedy had a witness close to us : " Jo " Ramirez .

Contrary to what one might think , the lives of the people involved in the race are not as glamorous as it seems . Joaquín " Jo " Ramirez , a native of Mexico Narvarte- Mexico City, entered the motorsport by the back door : cleaning workshops at Ferrari , washing the cars , ordering the tools , sleeping whenever he could , eating there.

On the way , he met and befriended great racing legends such as Jackie Stewart , Mika Hakkinen , Alain Prost and, of course, Ayrton Senna .

Before the premiere of the documentary about Senna , we talked with Jo Ramirez about his colleague, Ayrton Senna da Silva . This is the interview.

- How did you meet Senna?

- I met him when he had just arrived in Brazil, I was working for Fittipaldi and he raced in Formula Ford. Emerson was the one who introduced me to him, and the three talked. Emerson said, "watch carefuly because this boy is going to be one of the greatest in history." Still, Emerson didn't imagined at that time that Ayrton would become so great.

Actually Jo Ramirez was just a Logistics Assistant at McLaren, never more than that to Ayrton Senna. He wasn't a personal friend of Ayrton Senna and only knew him within the working relationship. This is the reason why Jo Ramirez ignores many important facts of the life of Ayrton Senna, of course of his private life, but what is more striking, is that Ramirez also seems to mistake many important facts of his public life. He makes some very significant errors when he talks about Senna in this interview. These are the reasons why Jo Ramirez can not be regarded as a reliable source of information about the life of Ayrton Senna.

- Senna, the documentary mentions that his hunger for speed was almost religious, how would you describe the need for speed?

- Speed ​​is our business, Senna was born to drive cars, I've never seen someone who is so passionately dedicated to a sport. He was very diligent at work, nothing was given him free. For example, everyone knows how good he was when the track was wet, but he trained very hard; when it started to rain, he drew his kart and practiced. He was a phenomenon, a man destined to win.

Ayrton Senna, after winning the Monaco GP in 1992, is welcomed by his team members Josef Leberer - left - and Jo Ramirez - right -

- The Senna - Prost rivalry was really as big as it looks in the film ?

- Yes, it was very difficult to manage both, but it was the price of having two big stars, rather than having two guys who can not drive. The truth is that the two respected each other and Ayrton became an obsession for Prost. In the documentary Prost appeared as a villain and I disagree with this perception, in fact both were complementary, great rivalry made ​​both. I believe that if Senna had not died , the two would have been good friends. One thing : the day before his death, Senna ate with Prost.

False : once again, Jo Ramirez shows he has no rigour when he reports the facts. He probably only speaks of what he heard and not what he saw in person . He distort the facts. Senna did not "eat " with Alain Prost on the day before he died. Actually Ayrton Senna saw Alain Prost in the Renault motorhome restaurant and went to sit beside him , without saying a word. He remained there for a long time without saying a single word ( source: book " The life of Senna , Tom Rubython), not eating. This is what Alain Prost says, who knows better about his own life than Jo Ramirez, who at McLaren was working as a logistics assistant, not as a personal friend of Senna. And what is more important : this did not happen "one day before Senna died," but on the same day of his death, at noon. Prost was eating at the restaurant in the Renault motorbox and Senna went there not to eat with him, but just sat there for a few moments, perhaps trying to calm down before the race and after the death of Ratzenberger. The truth is that Alain Prost was a great motivation to Senna during his career and that's what Senna was missing in Formula 1 at the start of the 1994 season.

- The documentary projects the image of a Senna obsessed not for the podium , but with the glory to come first, as you have experienced this obsession to get as close to him ?

- It is true that Ayrton was obsessed with victory. Generally he was not happy in second or third place. But he also liked to take some distance from it, I remember one occasion he had a bad start, began to overtake and pass, and finished third. He was very pleased with the result, despite not getting on the first position . What motivated him was competition, competing to win, always .

Jo is contradicting himself here. If what motivated Senna was winning (as everyone knows), competing and arriving in 3rd position wasn't just enough for him. This occasion when Senna got third and was happy about it it was in the 1991 season, when he knew he didn't have the best car, since the Williams were, and therefore, he could not sacrifice an entire race just for the sake of winning, but managed to calm himself down and realise that points were points after all. Otherwise, from a pure personal point of view about racing, Senna has said that what motivated him was exclusively winning, not just competing... "Winning is the most important thing. That story that competing is the most important is not true." 

Ayrton Senna receives a tribute from the McLaren team, at the farewell party after the Australian GP in 1993

- There is something in the documentary that you dislike, or feel that is not exact?

- The fact that Prost is seen almost as a villain and as I said before, in fact, both had a lot of respect for each other. Prost was never an obsession for Ayrton. In fact , the only driver that Senna really feared was Terry Fulerton, a driver from his days in karting. I did not like that much in the documentary that Xuxa is in it. It was a passage in the life of Senna , but it was not her, with whom he was going to marry, he would marry his last girlfriend, Adrian Galisteu, but the family did not give permission to have her in the film .

There are many inaccuracies in this answer... First of all: it's false that Alain Prost was never an obsession for Ayrton Senna. All friends, family and experts in Formula 1 and even Alain Prost, say that Ayrton Senna was obsessed with Prost, in the sense that Senna wanted to beat Prost, while Prost did not care too much about Senna. Senna, on the other hand, arrived at the McLaren team with only one idea in mind : to destroy Prost in his own territory, and so he did . That's why Senna lost part of his motivation during the 1994 season, when Prost retired, and that's why he said that phrase on French television on Sunday, May 1, 1994 : "Alain , I miss you." Again, Jo Ramirez proves that he knew nothing about the real facts of the life of Senna , despite being close to him in the McLaren team. 

And it's also false that Ayrton Senna was going to marry the brazilian model, Adriane Galisteu. Senna himself had stated just a month before his death in an interview to the Brazilian magazine "Caras" that he did not intend to marry her, and showed a quite reluctant attitude towards his girlfriend, Adriane Galisteu. He said in that interview that he had not yet found the right woman to marry, he refused to mention Adriane as his girlfriend, and he said he wanted to look around for other women to find someone better. Many interpret this interview in the magazine Caras as the first step that Ayrton Senna gave in order to break up with Adriane Galisteu. Senna was disappointed with her for her vulgar photos in the same magazine, Caras, made ​​in February 1994, where she posed in some very embarassing poses. He felt deeply humiliated and gave an interview a month before his death where he said that  "you can not always be with the person you love" referring to his former girlfriend Xuxa.

It is also false that Adriane Galisteu did not appear in the film "Senna" of Asif Kapadia. She does appear, although very briefly, only a few seconds: she can be seen on the back of the motorbike Ayrton in Monaco 1993, the first time he took her with him to the Formula 1 circuits. Now, given the paramount importance of Xuxa in the life of Ayrton, as he had said numerous times, stating that she was the love of his life, and not Adriane , it is obvious that Xuxa deserved more time in the film than Adriane Galisteu. Ayrton spent over three years with Xuxa and only 13 months with Adriane Galisteu. Ayrton always stated that Xuxa was his true love, and he never said anything about loving Adriane Galisteu. The only person who says he was in love with her was Adriane herself. In the book she wrote only 5 months after Senna's death to make money. Adriane was more of a partner during the Formula 1 season for Senna, rather than a "big love". This is proved by the words of Ayrton Senna in several interviews, on television and in the press . He never said Adriane Galisteu was a possible future wife and those closest to him, like his friends or family, deny that. 

- You were there the day of the accident that killed Senna. Jo Ramirez: how did you spent that day?

- After the accident, I did not know anything. Obviously, they stopped the race, I kept doing routine things to finish, but I have not heard the news or anything. Inside I was convinced that he would not die, he was out of danger ... in some manner.

- What do you think is the legacy of Senna?

- Senna took Formula 1 to a new level. He showed that it was possible to do more, no matter the conditions. It is important that his legacy and his memory are known.

Source: http://blogs.eluniversal.com.mx/wweblogs_detalle.php?p_fecha=2011-08-19&p_id_blog=78&p_id_tema=14592

Investigation and trial on Ayrton Senna's accident at Imola 1994

The Williams team was entangled for many years in a court case with the Italian prosecutors over manslaughter charges, ending in a guilty verdict for Patrick Head. 

The Italian Court of Appeal, on April 13, 2007, stated the following in the verdict numbered 15050: “It has been determined that the accident was caused by a steering column failure. This failure was caused by badly designed and badly executed modifications. The responsibility of this falls on Patrick Head, culpable of omitted control”. Even being found responsible for Senna’s accident, Patrick Head wasn’t arrested: in Italy the statute of limitation for manslaughter is 7 years and 6 months, and the final verdict was pronounced 13 years after the accident.

A 600-page technical report was submitted by Bologna University under Professor of Engineering Enrico Lorenzini and his team of specialists. The report concluded that fatigue cracks had developed through 70% of the steering column at the point where it had broken. Lorenzini stated: “It had been badly welded together about a third of the way down and couldn’t stand the strain of the race. We discovered scratches on the crack in the steering rod. It seemed like the job had been done in a hurry but I can’t say how long before the race. Someone had tried to smooth over the join following the welding. I have never seen anything like it. I believe the rod was faulty and probably cracked even during the warm-up. Moments before the crash only a tiny piece was left connected and therefore the car didn’t respond in the bend.”

Senna did not like the position of the steering column relative to his seating position and had repeatedly asked for it to be changed. Patrick Head and Adrian Newey agreed to Senna’s request to lengthen the FW16′s steering column, but there was no time to manufacture a longer steering shaft. The existing shaft was instead cut, extended by inserting a smaller-diameter piece of tubing and welded together with reinforcing plates. Many surmise, based on the “yellow button tracking analysis” done in 1997 by CINECA that the movement of the steering wheel during the final seconds into Tamburello was abnormal. A reference point (yellow button) on the onboard video is seen to move several centimetres in its own plane, due to the steering wheel moving up and down, indicating a fully or partially buckled steering column.
Williams released its own video to prove the movement was normal by Coulthard manhandling an FW16B steering wheel, yet the effort required by Coulthard to deflect the wheel in the demonstration is termed to be “quite considerable”. The nature of Tamburello requiring a light and anticipatory grip on the wheel (because of the high speed and bumps) coupled with Senna’s slight frame causes some to question whether or not the movement of the yellow button was indeed as “normal” as Williams has claimed.

No known analysis has been done on the tracking of the yellow button at other laps of the FW16 around Imola or other racing circuits.

During the trials, Fabrizio Nosco, a Regional technical commissioner, testified that both of the vehicle’s black boxes were intact, except for minor scratches. He said “I have seen thousands of these devices and removed them for checks. The two boxes were intact, even though they had some scratches. The Williams device looked to have survived the crash.”. In a move that apparently breached FIA regulations, Charles Whiting, a FIA official, handed the black boxes to Williams before the regulating body’s own investigation into the accident. Williams claimed the black boxes were unreadable, and the boxes returned for the court proceedings were indeed unreadable, a full month after the accident. The black boxes might have put to rest the cause of the accident.

At the conclusion of the Italian trial, Senna’s FW16, chassis number 02, was returned to the Williams team. The team reported that the car was in an advanced state of deterioration and was subsequently destroyed. The car’s engine was returned to Renault, and its fate is unknown.

His death was considered by many of his Brazilian fans to be a national tragedy, and the Brazilian government declared three days of national mourning. Senna is buried at the Cemitério do Morumbi in his hometown of São Paulo.

Source: http://www.sennafiles.com/ayrton-senna/death/investigation-and-trial/

Was the Williams team legally found guilty for Senna's death?

Yes. But nobody paid in the end.

This is very little known but yes, the Williams team was finally found guilty for Senna's death. 
"The Williams team was entagled for many years in a court case with the Italian prosecutors over manslaughter charges, ending in a guilty verdict for Patrick Head. The Italian Court of Appeal, on April 13, 2007, stated the following in the verdict numbered 15050: "It has been determined that the accident was caused by a steering column failure. This failure was caused by badly designed and badly executed modifications. The responsibility of this falls on Patrick Head, culpable of omitted control". Even being found responsible for Senna's accident, Patrick Head wasn't arrested: in Italy the statute of limitation for manslaughter is 7 years and 6 months, and the final verdict was pronounced 13 years after the accident."

Senna runs to join Sid Watkins in the Medical car after Ratzenberger's fatal crash, Imola, April 30th 1994

Ayrton Senna runs to the track after hearing about Ratzenberger's death - Imola, San Marino, 30th April 1994

161 starts, 65 pole positions, 41 wins. 

Those are the statistics of none other than Ayrton Senna. The statistics, however, do not even begin to tell the story of the incredible man that was Ayrton Senna. A testament to his greatness was that during the recovery efforts after his fatal accident, the medics found an unexpected item - an Austrian flag, sadly bloodstained from the accident. Had Senna won the race, and he had every intention of doing so, he would have held the flag aloft on his victory lap to honour the memory of Roland Ratzenberger. It would have been a simple gesture, but it sums up the nature of Ayrton Senna perfectly.

Picture: Senna runs to join Sid Watkins in the Medical car after Ratzenberger's fatal crash, Imola, April 30th 1994

Ayrton Senna Memorial at Imola, San Marino, Italy

Ayrton Senna Memorial at the circuit of F1 in San Marino, Imola, Italy

 "I’m not a big fan of May 1. I know what to do each year on my wife’s birthday, our wedding anniversary, on Christmas, and all of the other major dates circled on the calendar, but the annual reminder of Ayrton Senna’s death on May 1, 1994 tends to leave me a bit confused and emotionally conflicted. It's been 19 years since his crash and subsequent death at the San Marino Grand Prix—more than enough time to have gone from mourning his loss to celebrating his life—but there are still tinges of sorrow that surface each May.

As much as I’m thankful for all he accomplished and left behind, I’m also somewhat selfish in wanting to have seen more. I feel the same way about the late Greg Moore and Dan Wheldon. Having witnessed their brilliance for only so briefly, living without it has left an immeasurable void that, if I’m honest, will probably remain unfilled. What I’m also left to consider each year on May 1—and I imagine I’m not alone—is how big of a role Ayrton Senna played in my life. Like millions of other Formula 1 fans, I dove headfirst into the sport in the 1980s. Despite my appreciation for many of the World Champions in the field, I was immediately drawn to Senna, a driver whose otherworldly talents were so perfectly balanced by his many flaws. He was painfully human —the most relatable driver on the grid, I reckoned. I digested every bit of news and information on Senna that was available from magazines like Autosport, On Track, and MotorSport (during those pre-Internet days) and videotaped nearly all of his F1 races (once I was old enough to get a job and pay for cable, that is).

I spent countless hours arguing with co-workers, bosses, and drivers about his superiority to Prost, Piquet, Mansell, and the rest. He was my hero, and my worship of him continued into the Nineties, adding Schumacher and Hill to the losing column in my superiority debate. By the way I miss those heated roundtables but remain convinced that I was always right... And then it came crashing down for me on live television in the early hours of May 1 at a hotel near Laguna Seca.

The outcome of his crash was obvious at the time, and although I was in shock, the announcement of his death that came over the public address system in the Monterey paddock wasn’t unexpected. Following Senna was incredibly personal for me and made his death hard to reconcile. Again, I can’t say if my attachment to him—one forged from half a world away—was unique, but every year on May 1, I’m taken back by the flood a memories—of who I was at the time, of what he meant to me, and of how my appreciation for him has matured."

By Marshall Pruett