Imola at 20: How lucky was Rubens Barrichello?

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

This week marks the 20^th anniversary of the nightmare at Imola in 1994 for Formula One. It was a weekend of catastrophic events that changed motorsport irreversibly. On Viewing Perspectives this week, I am looking back at some of the events that made the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix such a hellish weekend for all concerned in the sport.

Imola at 20 continues tonight with a look into the accident that started the weekend’s chain of terrifying accidents. Grand Prix’s luck ran out in the days afterwards with the fatal accidents of Roland Ratzenberger and of course Ayrton Senna but it remained intact just about on Friday, 29 April 1994. Rubens Barrichello had a huge shunt at the Variante Bassa but escaped with only minor injuries. However, how lucky was Barrichello to survive his crash at Imola?

The prodigal Brazilian

A young Rubens Barrichello was considered by many to be the country’s next bright spark in Formula One. At just 21, he had made his debut in the sport in the previous year and despite not having decent equipment at his disposal, Barrichello put in some starring performances in the Jordan Hart car of 1993. Only a fuel pressure problem robbed him of a famous podium in just his third race at Donington Park and he finished a fine fifth on his first visit to the testing Suzuka track, home of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Barrichello was loved within the Jordan team and was retained for 1994. Together with fellow youngster and countryman Christian Fittipaldi, who had moved to the solid Footwork squad, both were considered as potential heirs to Ayrton Senna who took great time in mentoring the young prodigals of Brazilian motorsport.

Rubens started 1994 on a crest of a wave. A fine fourth place finish at his home event was followed by a maiden visit to the podium with third spot at the Pacific Grand Prix at the tight and dusty TI Aida circuit. He arrived at Imola in second place in the championship with seven points. Only the dominant Michael Schumacher had also scored in both world championship events.

Desperate action

Barrichello was 10^th fastest in the Friday morning practice session before afternoon qualifying and looked like he would be in the mix with the Sauber cars, the Tyrrell’s and Martin Brundle’s McLaren for qualifying positions inside the first five rows. That all changed on his first flying lap.

Approaching the end of his first quick run, Rubens lost sudden control of his car in the second part of the fast Variante Bassa chicane just before the pits at Imola. He then caught an outside kerb at some 140 mph, which immediately launched him into the air. By sheer luck and nothing more, Barrichello hit the final row of tyres at the top of the barrier, the momentum and speed enough to roll his Jordan car twice, before remaining upside down when it came to a halt.

He was knocked unconscious and the session was immediately stopped with Senna having just gone fastest. Less than 20 seconds after impact, an over-exuberant marshal turned Barrichello’s car over and gave the unconscious driver a sudden jolt. While this individual was only trying to do his job, this could easily have given Barrichello serious spinal injuries from the landing. Luckily it didn’t and only around 60 seconds later, Professor Sid Watkins and his medical team arrived at the crash site to treat the driver (pictured below).

The medical team arrive only moments after Rubens Barrichello's huge accident

Precautions were taken to stabilise the 22-year-old. Watkins managed to prevent Barrichello from swallowing his tongue which was blocking his airway. If the Doc hadn’t managed to do this, it is almost certain he would have died. It would have been a similar outcome if it was catch fencing and not tyre barrier that Rubens had hit. Sheer luck plays a part in this story.

He was taken to the circuit’s medical centre. Senna was one of the first to go and visit him, before telling reporters; “He’s alright, he’s shocked of course but he’s alright.” After being transferred for further observation to the Maggiore Hospital in Bologna, Barrichello was released the next day and returned to the circuit briefly to say his farewells to his pitcrew. Only a broken nose prevented him from taking part in the remainder of the weekend’s activities. Along with an evident cut to his lip and bruising, he was so lucky to not be the first victim of this weekend.

Confidence

Qualifying resumed as normal once the track was cleared. The majority believing the worst of the weekend’s moments was behind them. Damon Hill described the feeling back in 2004, saying: “We all brushed ourselves off and carried on qualifying, reassured that our cars were tough as tanks and we could be shaken but not hurt.” Everyone would have agreed with this sentiment until Ratzenberger’s fatal crash a day later.

The late F1 medical delegate Professor Sid Watkins, who died in September 2012 after a short illness wrote in his 1996 book ‘Life at the Limit’: “By the time the helicopter took off to take Rubens to hospital, we were all fairly confident that he was going to be alright. Spirits were high; congratulations to the medical team were welcomed. The system had worked and the result was joyful.”

Barrichello put aside his own personal grief after Senna’s death and claimed Jordan’s first pole position in a wet qualifying session at Spa later that year. He finished sixth in the drivers’ championship in 1994 and went on to drive in over 300 races for Stewart, Ferrari, Honda, Brawn GP and Williams, winning nine races and coming in as runner-up in the championship standings to teammate Schumacher in 2002 and 2004. After a year in IndyCars in 2012, Rubens is now racing stock cars in his homeland and also entering into a media career with TV Globo in Brazil.

Sometimes, you are lucky in life and there is no doubt that Rubens Barrichello falls into that category. Fate and fortune were on his side that day at Imola and we are all thankful that he went on to have such a strong and likeable career that spanned another 17 seasons after Imola in 1994.

Categories: 1994, Ayrton Senna, Imola, Jordan, Motorsport, Professor Sid Watkins, Rubens Barrichello, Tyres, Variante Bassa

Imola at 20: A dreadful weekend relived

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

There are some moments where if you were old enough, you will remember where you were when a historic moment occurred. Events such as the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, 9/11, 7/7 and Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009 probably spring to immediate thoughts.

Those connected with the world of sport will have the same when relieving the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, England’s 5-1 football win over Germany two years earlier and Super Saturday at the Olympics in London. If you can remember, the same sadly applies to the events of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

Motorsport is dangerous, it always has been and always will be but no-one could predict the horrific chain reaction of accidents that marred the weekend at the Imola circuit in April/May 1994. By the end of the weekend, mechanics and spectators had been hurt, and two drivers had been killed on consecutive days – one of them perhaps the greatest human being ever to have sat behind a steering wheel – Ayrton Senna.

20 years on and in a series of daily posts on Viewing Perspectives – I reflect on San Marino 1994 as we approach this sad and painful anniversary. Whilst my Formula One passion has dwindled in the last year, the past can’t be ignored. Coming up this week, there will be pieces on the rule changes, the pain the Simtek team had to deal with following Roland Ratzenberger’s death and pay tribute to Ayrton Senna by choosing his top five races of his career.

However, it is only appropriate to start this series, Imola at 20 with a lookback at just what occurred on Friday 29 April, Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May 1994.

Early warnings

The paddock arrived at the popular Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari for the third round of the 1994 championship. German wunderkind Michael Schumacher had comfortably won the first two events in Brazil and at the TI Aida track under the Pacific Grand Prix banner. 

Championship favourite Ayrton Senna had scored absolutely nothing in points and was under pressure to deliver. Autosport magazine ran on their front cover SCHUMACHER 20, SENNA 0 in their preview to the weekend.

Senna was a previous three-time winner at the track and was desperate to perform, despite still big concerns about the handling of the evil Williams Renault FW16. He set the pace in Friday qualifying by some distance but reported to his race engineer David Brown that the balance was worse than it had been a fortnight earlier at the tight and twisty Aida track.

Friday brought a chilling omen though to the weekend’s forthcoming events. Early on in Friday qualifying, Rubens Barrichello had a massive accident at the Variante Bassa. The Jordan driver overshot the chicane and somersaulted into the barriers, narrowly avoiding catch fencing that probably would have killed him. Despite the ferocity of the accident, Barrichello suffered only minor cuts, bruises and a broken nose but his weekend was over.

Everyone hoped that would be the only lucky escape of the weekend but F1’s luck was about to run out.

Luck runs out on the sport

Around 18 minutes into Saturday’s second qualifying session, 31-year-old Austrian rookie Roland Ratzenberger left the circuit at the flat-out Villeneuve kink on the approach to the Tosa hairpin. Ratzenberger was travelling at close to 200mph, unaware that an excursion on a previous lap had damaged the front wing of his Simtek Ford. As he went to start his next flying lap, the wing weakened and fell off exiting Tamburello. With no control on his steering or braking, he stood little chance.

The impact was destructive as the wrecked chassis finally reached a stop point at Tosa, with Ratzenberger slumped in the cockpit and clearly in big trouble. Marshals quickly gathered around him to prevent any further distressing images to television viewers around the globe. The fraternity was stunned – Senna close to tears in the Williams garage when he realised how big the shunt had been. He went down to the scene of the crash to see the damage for himself. 

When he got back, he told Brown and teammate Damon Hill that he had no chance of surviving.

Sure enough, FIA press officer Martin Whittaker had the tough task of confirming the death of Roland Ratzenberger on arrival at the Maggiore Hospital in Bologna. His fatality was the first in a Formula One racing car in eight years – the last being Elio de Angelis perishing at the wheel of a Brabham during a test session at Paul Ricard, France in 1986. The last driver to die on a racing weekend was Riccardo Paletti at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix.

Qualifying did resume but Benetton, Williams and Sauber immediately withdrew from carrying on that day. Everyone looked lost and wondered what they were doing racing in these circumstances. Senna claimed a joyless 65^th pole position from Schumacher, Ferrari favourite Gerhard Berger and Hill. If Saturday had been a hellish day, Sunday would be even worse.

The king of racing is dead

Sunday morning began with a minute’s silence and the confirmation of the reformation of the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association). Three-time world champion Niki Lauda would chair the new committee with a meeting scheduled to improve safety from the next event in Monaco two weeks after Imola. Senna, Berger and Schumacher were among the prime movers.

With Ratzenberger’s fatal crash still on everyone’s mind, the show must go on and the 25 cars lined up for the start of the race. Senna looked pensive and very thoughtful on the starting grid as he sat in his FW16 chassis. This wasn’t a weekend for happy faces.

At the green light, there was more trouble. The unsighted Lotus of Pedro Lamy careered into the stalled Benetton of JJ Lehto on the grid. Lamy’s car was shattered but the Portuguese driver walked away without injury. Lehto likewise but an errant tyre from the Lotus vaulted a fence and entered an area where spectators were located. A policeman and seven fans were injured by the flying debris, although lightly in comparison to the weekend’s earlier events.

Rather than choose to halt proceedings, the safety car was deployed whilst marshals cleared up the wrecked cars and the various pieces of carbon fibre. Senna still led Schumacher, Berger, Hill and the fast-starting Sauber Mercedes of Heinz-Harald Frentzen. After five laps at reduced speed, the race restarted again with the top two breaking away considerably from the chasing pack.

The wrecked Williams of Ayrton Senna is returned to the pits

Senna had been faster than Schumacher all weekend but the Benetton’s aggressive three-stop strategy plan meant he was keeping up with the Brazilian. Entering Tamburello on lap seven, Senna’s car went straight on rather than turning to the left kink of the bend. He was powerless to correct the car and headed straight for the concrete wall. The Williams rebounded towards the racing track, stopping just short of the tarmac in a crumpled wreck (pictured being taken back to the pits) with the Brazilian motionless. The race was stopped.

From an early stage, it became clear that Senna was at best gravely injured. The accident had been heavy but he would have walked away unharmed had it not been for a piece of suspension assembly from the car that broke away and pierced the great man’s helmet. Professor Sid Watkins and the rest of the medical team got to work and a helicopter quickly arrived on the circuit. Watkins later revealed that when he got to the scene, he could see that from Senna’s neurological signs, it would be a fatal accident.

After 45 minutes of work, Senna was airlifted to hospital in Bologna and the race was unbelievably restarted. For the record, Schumacher was beaten off the line by Berger but quickly passed the Ferrari and went on to win by over a minute from the second Ferrari of Nicola Larini and Mika Hakkinen’s McLaren Peugeot. Berger retired due to a handling imbalance with his car, whilst Hill finished a lapped sixth after contact with Schumacher on the first lap of the restart. There was also another accident in the pitlane that injured mechanics from Ferrari and Lotus when an errant wheel came off Michele Alboreto’s Minardi after his second pitstop.

The most important thing now was to find out Senna’s condition. The news came through before 6pm UK time that he was clinically dead at the age of just 34, as confirmed by Sky News (video below).

It had been a truly terrible weekend and 20 years on – the pain for those closely associated to both Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna will never go away. Both left memories and they will never be forgotten by anyone who is involved in the Grand Prix fraternity today.

Categories: 1994, Ayrton Senna, Death, Imola, Motorsport, Roland Ratzenberger, Rubens Barrichello, San Marino, Simtek, Williams

Remembering Sid

Professor Sid Watkins - 6 September 1928 - 12 September 2012

Wednesday night brought some sad news to the world of motorsport and especially Formula One.

The great medic, Professor Sid Watkins died in a London hospital aged 84 after a short illness.

The first indication of his passing came on Twitter at around 9pm, although it took some 90 minutes for official confirmation from a viable source.

Sid was trending on Twitter throughout the evening and the tributes came flowing in for him from motorsport illumines like Rubens Barrichello, Ron Dennis and Sir Frank Williams.

The head of safety

All the tributes spoke of his greatness as a doctor, his fondness as a man and the way that he revolutionised safety in Formula One.

Watkins started out as a medic in the sport in 1978 and stayed on as the prime doctor for all Grand Prix events until 2004.

Until last year, he was the Head of Safety at the FIA and was still an honorary member on the board this year.

He was at the British Grand Prix back in July, perhaps not looking as perky as he used to be but still fighting fit and showing his real passion for motorsport. 

His death therefore came as a real shock to me.

The Professor built up great relationships with many of the drivers.  He was the first on the scene on that horrific weekend at Imola in 1994 to attend and save Barrichello’s life.

Sadly, both Roland Ratzenberger and the great Ayrton Senna perished later that weekend. 

After Ratzenberger’s fatal crash, Watkins revealed in his book Life on the Limit, published in the 1990s what he said to the distressed Senna at the crash site.

He said: “Ayrton, you’ve won three world championships, you’re the quickest driver and what else do you need to prove.  Why don’t you quit and I’ll quit and we’ll go fishing together.

Senna’s response was: “Sid, I can’t quit.”

His campaign was fruitful

24 hours later, the three-time world champion crashed fatally at the Tamburello corner.

In the phenomenal Senna movie, Watkins said: “We got him out of the car and got an airway into him and it became clear to me that this was going to be a fatal head injury.

“Then, he sighed and his body relaxed.  And I’m not religious but it felt to me as if his soul had departed.”

Watkins campaign for safety has seen not a single fatality in Formula One since 1 May 1994.

He attended to Martin Donnelly when he was lying in the middle of the Jerez circuit in Spain like a mangled puppet after the Irishman was thrown from his Lotus in 1990.

He also saved the lives of Erik Comas and Karl Wendlinger, who both suffered head trauma accidents and his quick-thinking saved Mika Hakkinen’s life after his crash at Adelaide in 1995.

Hakkinen went onto win two world championships and had much to be thankful for.  Sid Watkins had many friends and no-one could say a bad word about him.

Formula One will miss him and he will be profoundly missed by his family.  He was a charming, kind and honest man who was great at his job.

Without Sid Watkins desire to keep Grand Prix racing safe, motorsport would be in a far poorer place than it is today.

RIP Sid

Categories: 1978, Ayrton Senna, FIA, Formula One, London, Medical, Professor Sid Watkins, Rubens Barrichello, Safety, Twitter