1994 San Marino Grand Prix sport auto racing
The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix (formally the 14º Gran Premio di San Marino) was a Formula One motor race held on 1 May 1994 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, located in Imola, Italy. It was the third race of the 1994 Formula One World Championship. Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger and three-time world champion Ayrton Senna were killed in separate accidents during the event. Michael Schumacher, driving for Benetton won the race. Nicola Larini, driving for Ferrari, scored the first points of his career when he finished in second position. Mika Häkkinen finished third in a McLaren.
Fatalities and injuries at this Grand Prix proved to be a major turning point in both the 1994 season, and in the development of Formula One itself, particularly with regard to safety. In addition to the two fatalities, other incidents saw driver Rubens Barrichello injured and several mechanics and spectators injured. The deaths were the first fatalities in the Formula One World Championship since the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix, and the first with two driver deaths since the 1960 Belgian Grand Prix.
The race led to an increased emphasis on safety in the sport as well as the reforming of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association after a 12-year hiatus, and the changing of many track layouts and car designs. Since the race, numerous regulation changes have been made to slow Formula One cars down and new circuits incorporate large run-off areas to slow cars before they collide with a wall. Senna was given a state funeral in his home town of São Paulo, Brazil, where around 500,000 people (some numbers say 2 million) lined the streets to watch the coffin pass. Italian prosecutors charged six people with manslaughter in connection with Senna's death, all of whom were later acquitted. The case took more than 11 years to conclude due to an appeal and a retrial following the original verdict of not guilty.
As a result of increased standards in safety following this race, there was a 20-year gap between the deaths of Ratzenberger and Senna, and the crash of Jules Bianchi at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix which led to his death the following year.
athletics competitive physical activity physical competition