IMOLA, Italy —
Formula One paid tribute on Wednesday to triple world champion Ayrton Senna at the Imola circuit, where the Brazilian died 30 years ago after crashing during the San Marino Grand Prix.
Stefano Domenicali, the chief executive of F1, was accompanied by hundreds of fans, as well as politicians from Brazil and Italy. A representative from Austria also attended to remember the driver Roland Ratzenberger, who died the previous day during qualifying.
At 2:17 in the afternoon (1217 GMT), a minute of silence was observed and a bouquet of flowers was placed at the Tamburello curve to remember the exact moment and place in which Senna, who was 34 years old, crashed into a concrete wall while going 300 kph (185 mph).
A bouquet of flowers was also placed at the Villeneuve curve, a little further on, where Ratzenberger, 33, crashed.
Senna, who was crowned F1 champion in 1988, 1990 and 1991, was leading at Imola when he crashed. Ratzenberger was a rookie in F1.
“They are part of the history of sport and history in general for what they represented,” declared Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani. He was accompanied by his peers from Brazil and Austria, Mauro Vieira and Alexander Schallenberg.
Senna’s death led to a series of changes to improve safety at the Imola circuit and in the rest of F1, with shorter straights, more space in dangerous corners and less powerful engines.