Senna's fatal crash explained and what happened next (2024)

New six-part Netflix series Senna covers his life from his early karting days, his huge successes in F1 and the background to his fatal crash at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola on May 1, 1994.

Netflix drama Senna covers the story of the legendary Brazilian racing driver from his rise to three F1 World Championships to his untimely death in 1994.

Ayrton Senna is remembered as one of the greatest racing drivers of all time thanks to his strong and aggressive style which yielded his F1 World Championships and achieved 41 wins, 65 pole positions, 19 fastest laps and 80 podiums.

The new six-part Netflix series covers his life from his early karting days, his huge successes in F1 and the background to his fatal crash at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola on May 1, 1994.

While driving for Williams, Senna crashed on lap seven at the flat-out left-hander Tamburello corner. The crash saw him receive extensive medical treatment and he was airlifted to hospital but he later died from his serious injuries.

The same weekend saw two other serious incidents that marred the race weekend and was the catalyst for major safety improvements in F1. The first was a serious crash by Jordan driver Rubens Barrichello who was knocked unconscious when his car rolled after a high speed crash during Friday practice.

Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger was also killed in a crash during qualifying, which made it seem more incredible the race weekend continued.

Senna only depicts what happened in the crash and the immediate aftermath, but what happened after his crash and what changes were introduced to Formula 1?

What happened after the crash?

Senna led the San Marino GP and was in front of Benetton driver Michael Schumacher when the safety car entered the pit lane.

When racing resumed, the Brazilian crashed on lap seven at Tamburello corner at 131mph after leaving the track at 192mph. The high-impact crash tore the front-right wheel and nose cone off his Williams FW16 as Senna's head was forced back into the headrest and fractured his skull.

The front-right wheel struck Senna's helmet while a piece of the suspension and a piece of the upright assembly also penetrated Senna’s helmet. Senna sustained three major injuries that all alone would have been fatal.

While Senna's head slightly moved afterwards, it was clear that Senna was seriously injured. Medical personnel raced to the scene and gave immediate medical treatment.

Respected doctor and neurosurgeon Sid Watkins performed an emergency tracheotomy to establish a secure airway as well as cleared the respiratory passages, stemmed the blood flow, replaced lost blood and immobilised the cervical area.

Senna was transported to Maggiore Hospital, where doctors rushed him into intensive care. Meanwhile, the race restarted 37 minutes after his fatal crash.

Senna's heart stopped beating shortly after 3pm local time and doctors restarted it, but the decision was made not to restart it after another stop at 6.37pm.

At around 7pm, it was announced to the world that Ayrton Senna had died.

Senna's state funeral in Brazil

The Brazilian government declared three days of mourning to commemorate the driver's death. On May 5, his funeral saw an estimated three million people line the streets of Sao Paulo to pay tribute to Senna and grieve over the national hero.

The funeral, which saw many prominent motor racing figures attend, was broadcast live on Brazilian television.

At the following race at Monaco, the FIA decided to leave the first two grid positions empty and painted them with the colours of the Brazilian and the Austrian flags, to honour Senna and Ratzenberger. Drivers also held a moment of silence to remember the drivers.

How F1 became safer

Retired F1 World Champion Niki Lauda announced the reformation of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) at the following race in Monaco. He and other drivers would campaign for improved safety in the sport and become a powerful voice to the FIA.

Immediate changes were made for the Spanish GP and Canadian GP, while more followed including improved crash barriers, redesigned tracks and tyre barriers.

The cars improved too - higher sills on the driver cockpit were installed and a limit on 3-litre engines was imposed.

More safety improvements were introduced over the years to reduce the number of serious crashes in F1. Since Senna's death on the track, there has only been one more fatal crash in F1 - Jules Bianchi at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

Formula 1 continues to become a safer sport for its drivers and spectators with the introduction of the Halo in the cockpit and introduction of the virtual safety car.