Adrian Newey reveals mystery behind Ayrton Senna death, says puncture likely cause – Formula 1 news
Red Bull technical director Adrian Newey has revealed the mystery behind the legendary Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna’s death in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
Newey said that the cause of the fatal crash of Senna in the Williams car might have been a front tyre puncture after which Senna might have lost the control of the car.
Newey explained, “The honest truth is that no one will ever know exactly what happened. The right rear tyre probably picked up a puncture from debris on the track. If I was pushed into picking out a single most likely cause that would be it.”
He added that Senna’s car had a bad steering wheel assembly and might had some cracks in it. However, the question remains whether it failed during the accident or the accident was caused due to it.
However, there was no clear evidence that the steering wheel forced the car off the track.
The legendary Brazilian and three-time Formula 1 champion was always seen as a hard working and competitive driver.
The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix can be regarded as the worst race of centuries. In the Free Practice session of the Grand Prix, Senna’s fellow Brazilian, Rubens Barrichello had an almost fatal crash but survived to live another day.
In the San Marino Qualifiers, Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger died when his front wing broke and he lost control of the car. On the race day, the three-time world champion, Senna died after hitting a concrete wall.
Newey, Patrick Head and Williams’ team boss, Frank Williams were charged with manslaughter. Newey stated that he thought that he would leave the sport forever after the crash.
“Both Patrick Head [Williams’ technical director] and myself separately asked ourselves whether we wanted to continue in racing,” stated Newey.
Many rules were changed after Senna’s crash as the concrete walls were replaced by tyre walls to avoid fatal crashes. Also, some modifications were made for the drivers’ safety in the car.
17 years have passed since Senna’s sad demise from the world of Formula 1, but with Newey’s recent statements, a new chapter has been opened for many days to come.
Tags: