Ayrton Senna was a Brazilian racing driver who died on May 1, 1994, when his Williams FW16 collided with a concrete barrier while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
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The Italian Supreme Court of Cassation issued its verdict (number 15050) on April 13, 2007, stating that: “The failure of the steering column was determined to be the cause of the accident.
This failure was caused by modifications that were poorly designed and executed. Patrick Head, who is responsible for omitted control, bears responsibility for this “.
Adrian Newey, who designed Senna’s car, believes the crash was caused by a tyre puncture. Following the JJ Lehto crash, there was debris on the track.
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The accident happened during the restart of the second lap. Senna had taken a tighter line at Tamburello corner to reduce the impact of the bumps on the car.
Ayrton Senna entered the Tamburello corner at 192 mph (309 kph), before braking hard and colliding with a concrete wall at 131 mph (211 kph).
His front right tyre and nose cone were ripped off the car in the crash. Ayrton Senna was not instantly killed, but his neurological signs indicated that his brain stopped functioning after the initial impact on the wall.
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