Michael Schumacher looked up to Ayrton Senna as his racing idol growing up. However, unfortunately, the German watched his racing idol die on the track after a horrific accident. And seeing that it propelled Schumacher to foresee his own possible death.
The German race driver saw his racing hero being airlifted and moved to a hospital. Soon, he was pained by the death of a fellow driver and his racing hero, and the memory of Senna’s death terrified him for some time.
Michael spent a few days reflecting and then went to Silverstone in the week following Senna’s death for a test session, to see if he still had the passion, the speed and above all the stomach, for Formula 1.#KeepFightingMichael pic.twitter.com/DcWrPgfgaN
— Michael Schumacher (@_MSchumacher) April 24, 2023
The former Ferrari driver took a week off and considered if he wanted to return. He even pictured himself dying, similar to Senna’s tragic death in Imola.
Michael Schumacher struggled to drive without thinking about his death
Ayrton Senna was leading the 1994 San Marino GP ahead of Michael Schumacher. On lap 7, the Williams driver could not control his car and hit the concrete barrier at the Tamburello corner. The 3x world champion lost consciousness upon impact, and the race was red-flagged.
At the time, it wasn’t clear if Senna was in a coma or had passed away. The Benetton driver revealed in a Netflix documentary that his then Engineering Director, Tom Walkinshaw, confirmed the news that Senna died.
Hearing about Senna’s death broke Schumacher, but not seeing the Williams driver on the grid for the Monaco GP two weeks later hurt him the most. He said in a Netflix documentary, “The worst was the two weeks after this once I had to accept that he is dead. This was just something crazy.
Schumacher claims he pictured the worst incident happening to him while he was testing at Silverstone a week after the incident. There were several moments when the German thought he could be the next driver to die on the track.
He shared, “At Silverstone, I went there and you suddenly saw many things with different eyes. I went around with a road car and I just thought: ‘This is a point you could be dead, this is a point you could be dead.”
He continued, “I thought ‘Crazy, you always tested here, you always raced here.’ But there are so many points you can crash and, you can be immediately dead. That was the only thing I was thinking of. It was something very strange.”
Schumacher dedicated his title win to Ayrton Senna
Michael Schumacher would go on to secure his first F1 championship that season. The German won the title in the last race of the season, beating Williams’ Damon Hill with a controversial move.
He completed the season with 8 race victories, 10 podiums, and 92 points. However, the German dedicated his maiden title win to his racing idol Ayrton Senna.
He said after the Australian GP, “When I talk about a nightmare, it is usually in the other direction. We all know what kind of feelings we had to make about this but as well for Roland.”
Another sad day.
An emotional Michael Schumacher after winning the 1994 Championship, gives his championship to Ayrton Senna. #F1 #RetroF1 #Senna pic.twitter.com/ztDswWAbDp
— UnracedF1 – Passion for historical F1🏁 (@UnracedF1) April 30, 2023
He continued, “For me, it was always clear that I was not going to win the championship. It’s Ayrton Who’s going to win the championship but he hasn’t been there for the last few races. I’d like to take this championship and give it to him.”
Later in the 2000 Italian GP, Schumi broke the Brazilian’s record of 41 race wins. When asked how he felt, the German driver broke down in tears. For the Ferrari driver, Senna was the greatest driver who he grew up watching.
