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“Sporting camaraderie”- Watch Ayrton Senna save Erik Comas’ life during the qualifying race of 1992 Belgian Grand Prix

Samriddhi Jaiswal
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"Sporting camaraderie"- Watch Ayrton Senna save Erik Comas' life during the qualifying race of 1992 Belgian Grand Prix

Ayrton Senna saved Erik Comas after he fell unconscious as he hit the wall during the qualifying race of the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix.

After beating Williams’ Nigel Mansell to the championship in 1991, Ayrton Senna was again chasing the championship in 1992 in his McLaren.

Though there was a huge gap between the points as Mansell had already scored enough to claim the title in the Hungarian GP itself. And there were still five more races to go.

In the very next Belgian GP qualifying race, Ligier’s Erik Comas crashed heavily into the wall and fell unconscious. Senna who came right behind him stopped his car and shut off the engine of Comas’ car to reduce the risk of fire.

Following the unfortunate event, doctors advised Comas to not drive during that weekend and he was withdrawn from the qualifying. Later, Comas said, “It’s likely Ayrton saved my life at that moment.”

The race ended with Nigel Mansell claiming the pole position in his Williams-Renault. Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher finished second and third respectively.

Also Read: Adrian Newey feels guilty about his mistakes which possibly affected fatal crash of Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994

Max Verstappen shares qualities with Ayrton Senna

Max Verstappen claimed his first championship title in 2021 after he defeated Lewis Hamilton in the last lap of the final race of the season.

Since then there has been a lot of controversy about how the race turned out to be. However, the Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko praised the Dutchman and drew similarities between Verstappen, Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.

Marko Said, “But what they all have is a complete focus – you can also call it recklessness. There is nothing else but, ‘I want to win and I will do everything for it.’”

Marko also explained how sometimes the Dutchman pushes the car beyond the possibilities. Verstappen’s will to give it a try makes him different from all the other drivers.

Also Read: Helmut Marko draws similarities between Max Verstappen, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher

About the author

Samriddhi Jaiswal

Samriddhi Jaiswal

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Samriddhi Jaiswal is an F1 editor and writer at The SportsRush. She started her career as a business journalist but soon found her calling in lights out here we go! Samriddhi has been a Ferrari fan even when her interaction with F1 was occasional. Her first real experience with the thrilling sport came when Charles Leclerc clinched his iconic victory in Spa and Monza and painted the track red. Now, a Tifosi, Samriddhi is a hardcore fan of the prancing horse and can relate to the chaos within the Italian camp and also admires Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Off the track, she finds her home in books and musical instruments.

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