For the longest time, Michael Schumacher was being blamed for Senna’s untimely demise during the San Marino Grand Prix. Schumacher was the young charger who looked the most likely to dethrone Senna. After his troubled switch to Williams, Senna was eager to silence his doubters. And with Senna convinced that Benetton was still running the out-lawed ‘electronic aids‘ on Schumacher’s car, he was ready to risk life and limb to beat the young German.
After the Safety Car restart at Imola, Schumacher was hunting the Brazilian down at an insane rate until he crashed on lap 7. After Senna’s death, a Benetton insider even confessed that Schumacher blamed himself for “pushing Senna too hard.”
Michael Schumacher attends to the inauguration of a picture of Ayrton Senna on the Imola racetrack after the second qualifying session on the eve of the San Marino Grand Prix, 24 April 2004. Photo: Jean-Loup Gautreau. Text and photo via Getty Images. #f1 pic.twitter.com/bR7OYhleap
— Demetriou Neto (@NetoDemetriou) August 24, 2023
Now, after all these years, ex-McLaren team boss and the mastermind behind Senna’s three world championships, Ron Dennis has finally absolved Schumacher of his guilt. In a resurfaced video on Instagram, Dennis explained, “Ayrton’s accident was caused by problems with his own car. It certainly was connected in no way to the competitiveness of any of the cars around him.”
“People would claim at the time that his, let’s say pursuit of Michael in the Benetton was overly aggressive because of his necessity to compensate for the inadequacies of his own car. But I think that’s nonsense!”
The scars of Ayrton Senna’s death still haunt Adrian Newey
In the aftermath of Senna’s death, a manslaughter case was lodged against Frank Williams & Co. Though acquitted in 1997, Williams did face the wrath of many Brazilian fans who held him responsible for the death of their hero.
A faulty steering column weld is regarded as the most widely accepted conclusion that led to the crash. However, Williams’ legal team implied driver error on Senna’s end as a contributing factor, too.
But Senna’s demise hit Adrian Newey the hardest within the Williams camp, who was the brain behind the troubled FW16. In his critically acclaimed memoir ‘How to Build a Car‘, the British designer assumed responsibility, in part, for Senna’s fatal crash.
Ayrton Senna’s first time in the Williams FW15C accompanied by Adrien Newey and David Brown.( note Senna in his McLaren race suit )
Senna would test the Williams FW15D for the first time in January 1994.
Williams Factory #F1 #formule1 #F1Retro #RetroGP #Senna pic.twitter.com/8OuaRawku1
— Kris van Ditshuizen (@KrisVanD2) November 1, 2022
“I will always feel a degree of responsibility for Ayrton’s death but not culpability,” concluded Newey.
