15 years ago today.

Jasper · 15 years ago today.

On the 1st of May 1994, Ayrton Senna crashed his William's F1 car at Imola.

A racer I loved to hate, but the ultimate racer. Flat out, nobody could catch him.

Spare a thought for Roland Ratzenburger as well.

Humphrey The Pug

This was when I actually got into F1.

I was at Tina's parents and it was the only thing on telly so I watched it and it just happened to be that race, I've been hooked ever since, I believe the following race was Monaco which launched David Coulthards F1 career.

Didn't Rubens Barichello have a shocking shunt too, in a Jordan?

Eff One

One of the ugliest weekends of my lifetime. Although aware of F1 since the age of 5 in the late seventies, I'd only become a committed fan in the early nineties - ten years after F1's previous death during a race. Like many, I assumed that the cars were too safe to kill drivers any more.

They had Friday qualy then, and I was watching when Barrichello overcooked the entry into the fast chicane before the pits. The outside kerb launched him over the tyrewall and into the catchment fences at the thick end of 120mph. In retrospect he was lucky to get away with concussion and a minor hand injury.

The full violence of Ratzenberger's accident was missed by the cameras, and even having witnessed his lolling head in the shattered car I somehow assumed he would be okay. When the news came through an hour later I was devastated.

On Sunday morning there was a sense of calm, of having weathered the storm. Nobody believed for a moment that lightning could strike twice. I had to miss the race due to a family engagement; when I heard the news of Senna's death hours later I assumed it must be a mistake. Having recorded it I sat through the accident, its aftermath and the rest of the race in a state of numb horror and utter disbelief. Surely not Senna; he was indestructible.

Today I often watch Alonso and Hamilton, Vettel and Kubica, and wonder if any of them have ever been to the places that Senna went in an F1 car. Formula One changed forever that weekend, and me with it.

Frank Bullitt

Merry Talker screaming something along the lines of 'he's alive, he's moving' as Senna's legs twitched away was possibly one of the most uncomfortable bits of TV ever.

Twelfth Monkey

My sentiments are very much like Eff's. There seemed something faintly otherworldly about Senna, and not attending the '93 GP, which wasn't that far away, is a great regret.

It still makes me feel a certain melancholy to think about that day, and I confess I'd forgotten the anniversary. We watched the opening lap of Donington '93 last night. I remain in awe.

Blarno

I haven't watched a full F1 race since. Not out of any kind of sentiment, just because it went downhill very quickly.

Big TC

There was a Senna documentary shown 'behind the red button' which I watched with great interest.

There's surely not been a racer as committed as Senna was. His personality was certainly flawed too, but what a racer. Although never really a fan of his, I mourned his loss greatly as I kind of knew we'd never see another like him.

Gooner

I was 11 back then and I remember my Dad watching the race and I saw the crash but I didn't have a great enough interest in the sport to sit and watch so it wasn't until later that I realised what had gone on. They say he was killed by the front tyre being thrust towards his head and that it was enough for him not to feel any pain as he passed away, but even now it just seems so unimaginable that a driver should die in a modern F1 car. But then you could say the same of Rallying and we've see a few deaths in recent years despite being in the safest ever cars.

I hope there is some recognition of the anniversary of his death this weekend.

BeN