Sebastian Vettel called out the names of the two Formula 1 drivers who died in crashes at Imola 30 years as he drove laps of the track in honour of them before today’s race.
Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger died in separate crashes during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix weekend.Vettel drove a McLaren MP4/8 previously raced by Senna, sporting overalls in the same colours as the three-times champion’s helmet. Vettel also added Senna and Ratzenberger’s helmet colours to his design for the run in front of the crowd ahead of today’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
The winner of 53 grands prix said his run in the MP4/8 was “one of the most beautiful moments I had behind the wheel, to be honest.”
“I was alone on track and I wasn’t racing, but the car is fantastic to drive,” he told Channel 4. “I love the car.”
Vettel waved Brazilian and Austrian flags to pay tribute to the two racers. After Senna’s crash during the 1994 race an Austrian flag was discovered in the cockpit of his car, which he planned to wave as a gesture of respect to Ratzenberger, whose death occured 24 hours before Senna’s fatal crash.
“I had the flags with me and the moment I got those flags out, the people were just going mad. It was such a great moment. I was shouting their names in the helmet.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“Also to get the Austrian flag out, which is the job that Ayrton wanted to do and really belongs to him because he had the Austrian flag in the car on that Sunday, was very, very special.
On Thursday, Vettel led the F1 field plus drivers from support races in a lap of the track on foot, and stopped at the scenes of the two crashes.
“I feel it’s a colleague of us drivers that we never got the chance to meet, never got the chance to race against, obviously, but also meet in the aftermath,” he said. “So I’m very happy to have that great moment on Thursday when we ran the track together with the drivers, also Formula 2 and Formula 3 drivers. But to be out in the car today, taking the flag out, is incredible.”
“Especially for those who weren’t around because they weren’t born or they don’t know the story, I think it’s such a powerful story,” he added.
“Yes, he was an incredible talent and one of the best racing drivers we’ve ever seen. But he was also an incredible man standing up for important things in his home country, trying to fight poverty. He was just compassionate and there was a soul to him and that’s why I think it’s, again, very important to remember that.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2024 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
- Ferrari expect qualifying gain after spotting rivals’ power strategy tactics
- How Alonso and Stroll copied Verstappen’s tactic plus more unheard Imola radio
- Verstappen beats Hamilton’s winning rate with Emilia-Romagna GP victory
- How Russell resisted losing position to Hamilton “for no reason” with extra stop
- “Lando’s found some pace”: Unheard radio from Verstappen-Norris Imola duel
Jere (@jerejj)
19th May 2024, 20:41
Even some donuts at the end of his demo run.
bull mello (@bullmello)
19th May 2024, 23:47
Thank you Sebastian Vettel. Good tribute to two racers and human beings.
Olivier
20th May 2024, 13:34
It would have been heart-wrenching to see him drive Senna’s Rothmans Williams around the track at Imola, waving Austria’s flag as a tribute to Roland, just as Senna intended to do on that fateful day.
Rascasse
20th May 2024, 13:48
It was a really cool demo by Vettel and kudos to him for doing it.
I’m interested in the tyres on the McLaren: they are marked Goodyear Eagle, so I assume they are genuine. Does this mean they are new? The markings look old though. If they are originals from that era then how come they aren’t completely dry rotted? Or perhaps they are NOS reserved for occasions like this.
These are the things I think about…
Nick T.
20th May 2024, 17:58
Cool and classy tribute by Seb. He was genuinely emotional. You hear some drivers talk about being “overwhelmed” with emotion about this or that sometime, but Seb really was. Seemed like he communed with the racing gods.
PT
20th May 2024, 21:24
It’s strange to think that Vettel had to bring his personally owned McLaren MP4-8 to remember Senna. Neither of the currently existing teams Senna raced for thought of anything like that – McLaren or Williams. I can understand Williams’ situation now – they’re trying to figure out how to get higher up the grid with a limited budget, but surely McLaren could have done something with their collection of the late 80s and early 90s McLarens. Zak himself owns a few. Even Alpine remembered Senna and made Pierre Gasly driving Senna’s Toleman at Silverstone last week, so it was cruel that McLaren had nothing to say or do.