Thirty years ago, Formula 1 witnessed one of the most tragic weekends in the history of the sport.
During the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna were killed in two separate accidents during the race weekend.
One of Ayrton Senna’s greatest rivals, Alain Prost, has shared a message on Instagram to mark the anniversary of his passing.
Formula 1 fans were graced with some of the greatest battles in the sport’s history between the French star and the Brazilian magician.
The events of that awful weekend at Imola denied the world plenty more years of action between the two world champions.
Alain Prost shares message on the anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s death
Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger’s deaths will never be forgotten, but they weren’t the only awful events that occurred over that weekend.
Rubens Barrichello was in the infancy of his Formula 1 career having only joined Jordan the previous year.
He hit a curb in the first practice session and went flying into a tyre barrier, knocking him unconscious and FIA doctor Sid Watkins saved his life after the Brazilian swallowed his tongue.
In qualifying, Ratzenberger was critically injured at the Villeneuve curve and was the first driver to be killed at a race since Riccardo Paletti in 1982 during the Canadian Grand Prix.
Paletti drove into the back of Didier Pironi’s stranded Ferrari on the grid that day, and Pedro Lamy had a very similar crash at the start in Imola when he hit JJ Lehto’s Benetton. Both drivers were fine, but nine spectators were injured when debris flew into the crowd.
On lap seven, Senna then had his fatal crash, going straight on at the Tamburello corner and he was killed instantly, although the race eventually restarted with Michael Schumacher taking the chequered flag.
However, the German said after the race that, “I can’t feel satisfied, I can’t feel happy” following the event.
Alain Prost has now paid a short tribute to Senna on the anniversary of his death and the man who pushed him to become a four-time Formula 1 world champion.
Ayrton Senna one of Formula 1’s greatest drivers
Prost posted a picture of himself and Senna in their matching McLaren polo shirts and said “It would have been good to laugh again today together.”
The rivalry between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna is arguably the greatest in Formula 1’s history.
Prost retired at the start of the 1994 season having won the championship the previous year and never returned to Formula 1.
The Frenchman started his career at McLaren, before a three-year stint at Renault and then returned to McLaren in 1984.
He won the championship in 1985 and 1986 but was joined at McLaren by Senna in 1988.
The Brazilian won the title in his first year with the team, defeating his teammate by just three points in the most dominant season by a team in F1 history until Red Bull’s 2023 campaign.
Alain Prost regained the title from Senna in 1989, with their collision at the Japanese Grand Prix one of the sport’s most iconic images.
The rivalry continued in 1990 but at separate teams, with Prost joining Ferrari while Senna remained at McLaren.
Sticking with the British team was a masterstroke for Senna and earned him two more titles while Prost walked away from the sport in 1992 only to return to Williams for a single campaign in 1993 which he consequently won.
Senna inherited Alain Prost’s seat in 1994 and secured three pole positions – including at Imola – before his fatal crash.
The pair were intensely competitive and pushed each other to their limits and while their rivalry boiled over at times, they had immense respect for their rival’s incredible talent.