Every driver in F1 has a source of inspiration that leads to them taking up the sport. For most, it is legendary drivers like Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Jim Clark, etc. For Sergio Perez, it was Senna who inspired him to take up F1, but not for the reasons one would expect, as he revealed in a YouTube video posted by Red Bull.
May 1st, 1994, is a day that lives in infamy and haunts the memories of every F1 fan. Driving for Williams, Ayrton Senna, crashed as he led the race in Imola, never to race again. It was a day already marred with loss as rookie Roland Ratzenberger took his last breath after crashing into the Villeneuve corner at 190 mph the day before. Before racing would begin on Sunday, Senna met with Alain Prost to discuss reestablishing the Grand Prix Driver’s Association to improve safety in the sport.
However, the legendary Brazilian could never see it become a reality as he crashed on lap 7 of the race. At around the 191 mph mark, his car left the racing line at the Tamburello corner and hit the concrete retaining wall. By the time medical authorities could reach the driver, Senna had already lost 4.5 liters of blood, and, as the FIA Medical Chief Professor Sid Watkins operated on him at the site of the accident, he knew Senna would not survive.
Sergio Perez took up racing after he saw the 1994 Imola GP
Perez grew up in a house that was a massive fan of F1 racing. His father was a huge Senna fan and rarely missed any of his races. Appearing as a guest interviewee on Oracle Red Bull Racing’s official YouTube channel, the Mexican driver revealed the influence of Senna on him and the accident that made him want to become an F1 driver.
“I remember my first ever race that I watched was with my dad, and that was when Ayrton (Senna) had his big accident. I was quite shocked, you know, when that happened. And I still remember that day we were a massive- my dad was a massive Ayrton fan, and when that happened, it was quite a strange day for the family. And yup, it is when I actually fell in love with the sport. It’s a bit strange, but it is when that happened.”
It was a sad day in the Perez household as they’d just seen their racing idol take his last breath, just like millions across the globe. However, from that sadness emerged a life goal for Sergio Perez, who took up racing and went on to become one of the most celebrated Mexican drivers to ever grace the sport of F1.
Perez receives the same advice as Senna
After the first seven races of the season, Max Verstappen was starting to gain an edge over Perez with five wins to his name as opposed to Perez’s two. As the Mexican needed to up his game to continue challenging for the driver’s title, Emerson Fittipaldi gave sage advice to the 33-year-old- the same he once gave to Senna.
Late in the eighties, Senna went to Fittipaldi to complain about people’s comments over his future. In response, Fittipaldi said, “Focus on your driving, and when you arrive at the paddock, nobody cares what people said about you. You just have to go and drive and not be affected by people who are going to judge you. You have to be yourself back again in the cockpit.” The 76-year-old wants Perez to adopt the same attitude and not pay heed to what the critics say. He only needs to go back to doing what he is best at and that is driving a racecar.
