20 years commemoration of Senna

This Thursday marked the two decades that have passed since Senna’s tragic accident.

To commemorate the memory of what was the best Formula One driver of his generation, thousands of people gathered at Imola to pay their respects to Ayrton Senna.

Alongside family members, former and present racing drivers came at the Italian circuit. Among them were double world champion Fernando Alonso and Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikikonen and Senna’s team-mate at McLaren Gerhard Berger.

‘For a lot of us, he was our idol. I used to watch his races on the news and when you saw that yellow helmet and the No. 1 on his car, that really hit you as a kid,’ said Alonso.

Damon Hill, Senna's team-mate in 1994, said: ‘The Japanese and the Brazilians saw him as a god. His passion was undeniable and I sincerely believe he wanted to make the world a better place.’

20 years ago, in what arguably was F1’s darkest weekend at the San Marino Grand Prix, Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger crashed and died during qualifications on Friday. The very next day, on Saturday, 34-years-old Brazilian legend, Senna, careered off the track at 190 mph, suffering fatal head injuries.

Third on the all-time list behind Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost, Senna achieved, in a ten-years career, 3 world titles and 41 race wins.

Fans all over the world gather at the Italian circuit to pay tribute to the famous driver. In the Tamburello corner, the place where he crashed, lies a bronze statue of Senna where people continue to live flower.

Back in Brazilia, his homeland, Senna was also commemorated by the Corinthians football team who, in a moment of silence held for the driver, pulled replicas of Senna’s helmet over their heads.