Imola '94: Prelude to disaster (Part 1)

Matt Bishop (journalist, editor, novelist and PR) and Richard Williams (journalist, author and broadcaster) are here to reappraise the past - and they'd love to have you along for the ride!

2024 marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most tragic events in motorsport history: The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, when both Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna were killed in action. In this episode, the first part in a three-episode mini series, Matt and Richard examine how F1 had evolved as a sport by 1994, both culturally and from a safety standpoint. They explain how attitudes to injury and death had changed, but why at the same time a sense of complacency may have taken hold.

And, with the usual array of anecdotes and insight, they look specifically at 1994, and how a combination of rule changes, suspicion and back luck had left Senna in an uneasy frame of mind heading to Imola for round 3 of the championship.

Next time: Matt and Richard unpick the gut-wrenching events of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

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