prost and schumacher were just great drivers.... Senna was something else, he was larger than life. like Hendrix, made his mark on the world and left soon after, never having time to fade. Larger than life.

He got pole position at Imola!! (and Pole at the previous races) In the lap before his crash, he set the fastest lap time!! He was going for his win more than ever, he didn't care about Schumacher...he probably would've won had he not had his misfortune at Tamburello!! (That car finished 2nd that season with Damon Hill...if Senna had been driving...it almost certainly would've won him his 4th title!!)

Hill + 1.651 .. incredible. On one lap Ayrton was a martian.

Seeing him go round Tamburello in this vid is strange, to think that 24 hours after this, he lost his life at that very corner... ;(

1:13 still so disturbing to me watch Senna passing this corner

i swear man, if he was alive that season then he would have won it

Notice the steering wheel isn't bouncing about all over in the onboard footage like it is in the race footage definitely the steering column that failed causing the crash

After watching this, it's very hard for me to believe that after qualifing, when the car is at it's lightest, LOWEST, fastest, and how many times he went through the parabolica, bottoming out was the best excuse they could come up with that caused his accident. Steering broke. Simple as that.

Hands down he was the greatest of them all! Ayrton Senna forever!!!! R.I.P. We lost a legend that day, but we will never forget............

Senna more than a whole second in front of his teammate! Very impressive!

Cheguei a sonhar agora, a camera onboard fazendo a tamburello e contornando normalmente, na corrida, Senna vencendo, vida seguindo. Ê saudade! :-(

Senna foi o melhor piloto que eu já vi correr 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

Que DIOS te tenga en su Gloria Gran Campeon!!!

Still poling laps right to the end. A true great. Senna was AWESOME.

1,651 s ahead of Hill in the same car. FACT.

For sure, had had a tremendous feeling of the car. Which driver besides him could do things like telling the engineers the behavior of the car describing details in a way comparable to the telemetry? Or distinguishing an engine 50RPM more or less than another engine by just HEARING it?!? The man was a true genius in his field, the better ever. And I bet if he was still alive he would've walked right up to 1997 or 1998, ending up with 7 or 8 titles.

34 anni vissuti con quel volto da bambino, da uomo sei diventato mito . ciao ayrton

So weird watching this knowing what happened there

His car speed went from 193 to an impact speed of around 135mph. No way he could do that with a peice of wing wedged under the car lifting the tires. Stering column broke leaving him only brakes to control the car.

The changes to the circuit now retains a lot of its qualities. They removed the chicane before the S/F line and the horrible chicane before Acqua Minerale. Still such an amazing ciruit.

The williams was really not good in the beginning of the 94 season, but Senna still beats everyone by 0,5 seconds there, simply awesome

Senna: forever number 1.

After what happened with Rubens Barrichello on Friday, joining with the death of Roland Hatzemberg in practice on Saturday is unfitting that happened at the race Sunday. Unfortunately, the greed for shady deals, money spoke louder and killed Senna. Bernie Ecclestone was responsible for this tragedy.

1:21.548 x 1:21.837 Senna fighting against himself. The BOSS 🤣🤴🏻🏁🇧🇷

Ayrton Senna brought Formula One onto a new never-before-seen level...

Whatever happened that day, it doesn't show that Ayrton is a bad driver!! He's the best driver the sport will ever have - what happened at Imola was a one-in-a-million tragedy!! And "the people in the know" are probably just Williams mechanics trying to clear their name for creating a shoddy car!!

Damon Hill almost won the 1994 crown... Senna was more or less 1 second faster than Hill. = Senna would have won 1994...BIG TIME. Quite easy maths...right?

@00Mancsfinest00 The black box was intact when it came out of the car, so there was telemetry until Williams trashed it. There was footage from Senna's camera also, until this "disappeared" . Williams covered a lot up. The Imola circuit owners did too, the race should never have run after Ratzenberger's death. The race should never have re-started after Senna's death. Sid Watkins stated that Senna spirit left his body right there on the side of the track.

You're right, there are hundreds of slow, fast corners like tamburello on race tracks all over the world. In my opinion, they didn't need to change the corner and put in a chicane, I think they shoulda taken down the concrete wall that Senna hit and replace it with a tyre barrier.

Simplesmente Ayrton Senna

1.6 seconds faster than his team mate

1.7 seconds faster than his teammate!!! To think that Damon finished only a point behind Schuey at the end of the year. So 94, 95, 96 and 97 could have made Senna 7 time World Champ and then a swift move back to McLaren in 98, 99. RIP Ayrton... Saudade

OMG what an amazing man we lost that weekend.. Schumacher can only dream about being like him.. RIP

Senna drove in a umblivable way, extremely clean with perfect lines as this Williams was the Mercedes of two years a go. Simply flawless. Schumacher the most near payed almost half second but above all his team mate Hill more than 1 point six second ... But in race the stuff changes always so much, this becouse Ayrton had an extraordinary capacity to memorized the circuit and in qualifiyngs he gaves the best ..

AIRTON SENNA SOBRAVA PILOTO E FALTOU CARRO OBRIGADO AIRTON SENNA.

It was weird, Senna's car had more Power but the bennetton seemed faster in the Race, perhaps where aerodynamics were important.. that Williams was unsafe at that point in the Season, god Knows how he qualified on Pole, Pure Genius that's how.

SENNA ETERNO!!!!

F1 died with Senna

The car was very light during this qualifying lap whereas he was on full tanks when the accident happened. I believe the extra weight made it bottom on the bumps. Schumacher said he almost lost it on the previous lap. An accident of that impact could easily have broken the steering column. Rule changes killed Senna, - the car was not set up properly.

At the end look at Damon Hill in 7th, 1.6s off Senna's time. Lehto is 1.1s off Schumacher's time. The cars took great skill to corner in these days, that's why there were many spins in this session. In Hungary that year there were 50 spins in practise alone.

What is your problem with Ayrton!?!? He was competetive, which you have to be in that sport!! That's why he won more pole positions and podiums than Prost, and more than Schumacher (if you compare the amount of races they were in)!! His crash was a extremely unlucky - not only the fact that the car inexplicably left the track Also because he was only killed by a tiny piece of assembly (from the axle) that went through his skull..if it had gone a little higher, he would've been here today!!

My opinion is that the steering broke when it hit the bump, For someoene to feel a slide and corrected that fast, even with Senna is just too quick, to me, the reason he hit the brakes with that he felt the steering break.

Pela câmera on board dá pra ver certinho o botão amarelo no volante, ou seja, a barra de direção quebrou mesmo...já vi teorias de que o carro teria perdido contato com o solo, acho que não foi isso!!!!!!!!!

that steering wheel looks so on its place

It's kind of strange to see how Senna drives through Tamburello, knowing what happened to him the next day. Still sad...

1.7 seconds faster than his teammate!!! To think that Damon finished only a point behind Schuey at the end of the year. So 94, 95, 96 and 97 could have made Senna 7 time World Champ and then a swift move back to McLaren in 98, 99? Who know's how many titles he could have achieved? RIP Ayrton... Saudade

Looking at the onboard, I have to say the handling looks good. People go way overboard about the setup problem of this car. It had nothing to do with the accident. Clearly, after Senna got the steering column adjusted poorly overnight, it failed at Tamburello.

Not to mention Schumacher's team (Benneton) were using an illegal traction control system in their car (something which Senna noticed in the race before Imola)!! So the fact he was facing opponents who he (correctly) believed were cheating, may have got to his head, rightfully!!! Schumacher's a great driver, but Senna had driven in an era when the cars were much harder to drive (and less safe) - his crash was totally unrelated to Schumacher's success!!

If I am not mistaken, Senna said that he would race until 2000 at least, finishing his career with Ferrari. Maybe longer, if in a good mood with the Scuderia, a good car....he also said that he will stop F1 when he will feel that he's missing 0.01s. They are drivers that where still fast at 39/40 years old, so Senna, in better shape than theses drivers would have done better.

I had the chance to live 1 year and half in Brasil, mainly in SAO PAULO, I lived there in the same district that SENNA used to live - pure coincidence -, '' in the barrio de SANTANA '' at about 20 minutes by foot from his own house,I met friends and brasilian people who know him and his family, I was on his own grave in the famous MURUMBI cimetary located in the south of SAO PAULO CITY But anyway, out of the fact that he was the best F1 pilot of all times, HE WAS A VERY HUMANISTIC, SPIRITUAL MAN

Senna in fact hit 60 poles by 1991. In the next 2 years his car was up to 3 seconds slower than the Williams.

The difference between Senna and Hill (that was driving a Williams too, and that would becomes a champion of the world) - more than 1,5 s - show us who was the best of all: AYRTON SENNA DA SILVA

Tamburello was not the reason he died. Ayrton was just extremely unlucky that something happened to the car as he was going round a very fast corner, and he was unlucky that that piece of assembly didn't go 6 inches higher or lower. If u wanna blame something, blame the safety of the cars back then.

i can't believe i just watched the deathplaces of two incredible racing drivers in just 10 seconds! I wish Senna hadn't died

How I miss those days... F1 weekend where more exciting with pilots like Senna with real personality.

Ｓenna forever.

here after watching lecrec flying on friday practice sessions of the 2024 f1 imola gp .... 30 years post senna death ... i learned recently that i watched the '94 Imola gp .. but i have no memory cause i was a few years old :(

Back then we thought that Williams was the best car at the grid. Of course, as time went by, we learned that Newey screw up and the car had serious aerodynamic problems (changing the balance on every corner). Also at the time, we didn't know that Schumacher was the "new" Senna and the Benetton B194 projected by Byrne and Brawn was one of the best cars ever designed. The 1994 season was marked by Senna's death, for sure. But also characterized by the "birth" of a new set of legends. Anyway, as Frank, Patrick and Newey said (on many occasions), Senna was fighting against the car and they were more than impressed on how good he really was - driving a car with under and over steering problems - since Williams simply couldn't solve the balance issue at the beginning of the season. Re-watching this flying lap after so many years (now knowing all his problems with Williams car) is a truly joy. Cheers!

It's kinda magical. That fucking steering column...

Senna......:"UN MONDO CHE NON C'È PIU!!!!!😪😪😪😪😪😪😪

I believe Prost asserted after the accident that Senna knew something may have been untoward with the steering; he pointed to Senna appearing to 'test' the steering at the last right-hand chicane, prior to the main straight, during his final race lap. I've done some observations myself, comparing Senna's steering movement at this last chicane (2:20-2:23) on the video above vs Senna at the same chicane on his last lap during the race (link below, fast forward to 0:34-0:37) and there is clearly a significant difference in how Senna steers through this final chicane. In qualifying (above), he steers more rigidly and direct, with less steering action - whereas during the race on this final chicane, he is apparently testing/flexing the steering, almost as if he wanted to make sure it was in working order. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qtynZKWhs97Ne40.html

The ultimate drivers driver rip senna

Whenever I watch these onboard shots of Senna at Imola, I always look for his steering wheel to "flex" like the Coulthard demo at Senna's trial claimed it did. I have yet to see his steering wheel "flex".

@00Mancsfinest00 if that was the case he should have crashed a lap previous. The telemetry says he turned the wheels away from the wall but you can clearly see in the onbored footage the wheels do not change direction.

0.5 sec over the 2nd place. The best driver we'll never know, but no doubt about who was the fastest in one lap.

OK, I think I already tried to explain these cars did not use ground effects. The bottoms were flat, the only thing there was is a diffuser to make the car more efficient and produce less drag. The sparks come when the car's bottom makes contact - yes - but it doesn't mean it's too low. It was normal. Besides, it's usually just bumps hitting part of the skidplate. There were bumps on Tamburello. Again, I ask you to find me cases where sparks and bottoming out caused anyone to go off. It was 100%

Great archive, thanks. Wonderful cars in those days (not including the safety aspects, of course)

Oh and the in car footage shows senna not looking down through tamberelo on his pole lap, but on the lap he died he looks down to the left before he goes off, definitely a mechanical failure

You cant take the corner too fast. Even a full fuel load on cold tires (Which they weren't). The corner is flat out, and had been for years. The steering colomn was re-welded, so the best bet is; when he went around during the race the welds broke under the extra G's (As thats a massive G corner, and puts massive strain on the entire car). As ofcourse, when you re-weld something, it will never be as strong as it was; always becomes a little weaker.

Senna died in the lead, with fastest lap and pole, Schumacher's car was that good even he couldn't get pole in the first three races.

THe besst driver of the F1 history, period, Shumasher is the worst fiasco. Senna the best. LONG LIVE TO THE KING!

True, Damon Hill found the car almost undrivable.

I'm really horrified about how much stiff were f1 cars since 1994, almost no suspension travel, nightmare cars to drive in my opinion

@MrGene321 Thats just simple g-force as the steering broke man, thats why his head slumped left.

tamburello was a flat out curve, simple, error is impossible for a regular drive, Senna would corner one hand and drinking soda...

Well the steering column was patched up the night before - fact. Williams insisted it was cracked "only" 20% before impact - even that would be completely abnormal for the 2nd fast lap on a race. The court ruled in 2005 it was the steering that caused the accident. Upon supposedly correcting for a slid in a "split second", Senna had 1.7 secs before impact to steer away, but supposedly didn't..however he never corrected - the onboard shows his helmet swing left just before the car veers off. If

Ok, you can say that and I see you are trying to analyze. But there is one main problem with the theory you argue - Tamburello isn't really a corner - it is a flat-out bend, which means these cars, as long as properly-functional, take Tamburello as fast as they can go, like a straight line. You don't need to apex anything. This is the LAST place you can mess up, or be thrown out by "cold tires"

Still thinking that Sennas death is a failure in the matrix. In the real world he has won GP od San Marino snd the 94,95 and 96 Championship.

the best driver ever!!

And that one race lap he completed was the 3rd quickest of the entire race. No way he lost downforce. All the years I have watched racing, I have NEVER seen an accident where the steering column broke. EVER. Has anyone?

I miss the 90s back when drivers had to shift it manually

great lap senna.

"Can he improve on that in the dying minutes of the session?"... err oh dear.

Even is senna dossnt win 7 championship it is very good for him to get what he get because of many legends of formula 1 he is race with in his career. Michael is by himself for years. Senna also has many great drives you can see him pushing and so focusd. You feel him and he is so smooth with driving. One of the best for ever :D

Well, the doctors who attended Senna on the track say that he died from a massive injury in the base of the skull, caused by the impact of his car's front wheel. So my mistake, it was not the "tire" itself that hit him (in fact the wheel hit him so hard due to the tire explosion, which happened to explode because of the great impact on the wall).

The photo shows the driving bar broke in Senna´s car with a lot of blood in floor. Normaly only the steering is removed by the car by the driver...but in photo we cans see a big part of the driving bar anexed to the steering wheel, and that reveals all. Cheers

@elkyf1 2:32 ~ 2:37 should have been lap 7 of the race.

Hill "I have a family.." this his own words on that car. . A car extremely dangerous as you know, becouse wold be loosing the grip without any advice. Senna was phenomenal, no doubs about, his lines precision and his car control was out of the common expecially during the qualifying lap where him tried to memorized the circuit in to the minimum details like nobody else. Many people still belive that the steering columns of bouth cars was modified in England before the Imola week end, but it's not like this. The night between the Saturday and the Sunday, was Ayrton that request at his mechanics to modified the steering column and this is not an assumption but an certainty for one reason ; the 16 centimeters add in to the original 22 centimeters column high resistance steel steering was a piece in simply steel. Or somebody still belive that at Grove racing department there isn't an high resistance tube ?, c'omon..

Disturbing to see Villeneuve curva and Kronenburg AD ,.. even after 21 years. Rothmans also got stuck into head like a burn mark ,.,., damnit : ( Wouldve sooo luv 2 see how many WDC's and what after the career? I bet B.Senna wouldve gotten pretty long F1 Career if nothing else but at least with a help of A.Senna backing him up,. who knows maybe even with their own team. Prost failed thou quit badly with his team so ... we never know now,. its a shame. Rest in Peace Senna The Great.

2:34 If only he had gotten through there just as smoothly the next day...RIP Ayrton

por cierto Ayrton, dale un gran abrazo a todos los chicos de mi parte, en especial a Tazio , Juan, Gilles y Michele

Two races down before Imola, no points, neither due to car failure. One a spin and stall on home soil after being overtaken by Schumacher, the other a first corner mauling after generating too much wheelspin on the line. Quite easy maths? Yeah, that's what everyone THOUGHT at the start of '94, but already it wasn't playing out that way. I have as much respect for Ayrton as anyone, but Schumacher was getting in his head and that is a fact. More a compliment to Michael than an insult to Ayrton.

Jesus 1.6 faster than damon. Ayrton was out of this world. Later revealed damon said he was afraid of the car and was nowhere near ayrtons speeds in the corners

Saudades!

@Taikamya Benetton Ford 747HP, Williams Renault 782HP. And dont tell me Benetton had more downforce or what so ever. They are both fantastic drivers. Each in their way

well I'm sorry, but you people obviously don't know what you are talking about. Clipping the ground could have been fatal for a 1982 car, which didn't even had a front wing, because it used ground effects. For the Senna years, bottoming was 100% normal - PLEASE do your research first, before getting upset. Sparks came very often, and usually a lot more! On the underside of the car was something called a "skidplate"! There never was an accident in that era caused by bottoming, not one, even

AYRTON SENNA FOREVER GOD YOU IN MY HEART OBRIGADO AYRTON

Jesus Christ, man, there was no one in front of Senna!

Such a shame that Senna had to die, when he had 4 straight poles in his last 4 races. Ask Damon Hill, and he'll tell you that the early version of the 1994 Williams was very difficult to drive and had poor balance. Senna agreed with Hill on this, but through his share skill he put that car on pole anyway for the 3 first races of 1994. Such a shame Schumacher only got 3 more poles due to a way longer career. The fools only look at the final numbers, not how many races those were achieved in.

A última pole do campeão.... 😢