FORMULA 1’S SEVENTY GREATEST INFLUENCERS
The death of Formula 1’s most compelling performer on a bleak weekend at Imola overshadowed practically everything else that happened in grand prix racing during the 1990s. Ayrton Senna’s appeal transcended nationality, reaching multitudes otherwise indifferent to motor racing, and the mystery of his fatal accident attracted worldwide attention.
The removal of the Brazilian’s body from the wrecked Williams FW16 was supervised by Sid Watkins, F1’s safety and medical delegate. Sixteen years earlier, Watkins had been the head of neurosurgery at the London Hospital when Bernie Ecclestone offered him a job through which attitudes to driver safety would be transformed. The unnecessary death of Ronnie Peterson following a first-lap crash at Monza in Watkins’ first year accelerated the creation of new protocols that ensured expert medical treatment could arrive at the scene of an accident immediately and without obstruction. A medical car and a fully equipped helicopter became part of the grand prix scenery.
Fondly and gratefully known throughout the grand prix world as ‘Prof’, Watkins had become particularly close to Senna. At Imola, affected by Rubens Barrichello’s heavy crash and the accident that took Roland Ratzenberger’s life, Senna told Prof he didn’t want to race the next day. “Give it up and let’s go fishing,” Watkins replied.
That was a decision beyond his mandate, but one reason the double fatality so shocked the world was that his work over the years had turned death on the track – once a regular feature of grand prix racing – into a rarity.
As the president of the FIA, Formula 1’s governing body, and was a target of some of the outside world’s criticism for the accidents at Imola. Neither man felt able to attend Senna’s funeral. Many things they had done in F1 had irritated participants and enthusiasts alike, and now there seemed to be a chance to make them pay.
