Vettel shares his recollection of Imola 1994

20 comments on “Vettel shares his recollection of Imola 1994”

1. 

   MaddMe (@)
   2nd May 2019, 0:20

   Even 25 years after that dreadful race weekend, I stand by my thoughts at the time that given the death of Ratzenburger and Barricello’s horrific crash, the race should have been cancelled.
   1. 

      Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
      2nd May 2019, 0:38

      @maddme ominous.
      I recall the 2014 Japanese gp, in free practice at the last chicane a tractor was on track just as ricciardo was passing by, as the 2 images overlayed one could not fathom, what if a car hits the tractor? The rest is, unfortunately, history.
   2. 

      GT Racer (@gt-racer)
      2nd May 2019, 0:43

      @maddme There was no valid reason to as the cause of both accidents was pretty much known by Sunday morning & neither was caused by the track which met every safety requirement that was asked of it. Rubens went into the corner too fast & Roland suffered a front wing failure that was caused by damage when he made a mistake & ran off track the lap before.

      There had been plenty of races before Imola that had seen serious accidents & even fatalities during practice/qualifying & the race always went ahead be it F1 or any other category. If you have a fundamental problem with the track then yes you look at canceling the rest of the weekend but if the track meets the safety standards & wasn’t the cause of an accident then you carry on. That’s how it had always been & the same was true afterwards.

      There have been cases since in Indycar where a driver has died on race day & the race has continued. Greg Moore on lap 9 of the 1999 Fontana race & Paul Dana during the morning warmup for the 2006 round at Homestead. And there was those 2 races in F1 at Monza in 2000 & Melbourne in 2001 where a track worker was killed by flying debris early in the races which continued on to the end.

      The mentality of those on the inside is that you carry on.
      1. 

         Masher (@hamish)
         2nd May 2019, 1:54

         According to Italian law, on the basis the Ratzenberger died at the scene, all racing should of stopped at that point as it is considered a crime scene and therefore is subject to a scene investigation. This is why the FIA with both Senna and Ratzenberger stated that both died in hospital and no at the race track to ensure the continuation of the weekend.

         This is not an isolated incident as five Melbourne doctors were investigated in by the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria for altering the recorded time of death of track marshal Graham Beveridge during the 2001 Australian Grand Prix. Any fatalities or suspected fatalities that occurred at the race track had to be transported to the Alfred for certification of death, to be consistent with the agreed protocol. Although it was blatantly obvious Beveridge died instantly, the doctors continued resuscitation efforts to conform with the protocol.
   3. 

      frood19 (@frood19)
      2nd May 2019, 10:12

      @maddme I feel like this would be strongly considered now, though perhaps attitudes have not altered (it’s hard to predict how people would react to something so emotionally extreme). one thing to bear in mind is that in 1994, many in the sport would have had strong memories back to a time when death in the sport was far more frequent and the show did go on even if a death occurred in the race, let alone in practice. it seems weird to think but of course 1994 was 25 years hence from 1969, when attitudes and actions toward death in the sport are essentially inconceivable now.
      1. 

         Magnus Rubensson (@)
         2nd May 2019, 16:08

         Then step back another 25 years from 1969 you end up in World War 2.
         Times were different compared to now.
      2. 

         Phylyp (@phylyp)
         2nd May 2019, 17:18

         1994 was 25 years hence from 1969

         @frood19 – ooh, very nice way to put it.
2. 

   Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
   2nd May 2019, 0:34

   I don’t think wolff can tame Ocon. Ocon has done so much for mercedes that said I’m sure he would challenge Lewis if he could. Another potential issue is that Ocon is too tall.
   Bottas has been a troublesome surprise to Wolff, you can see the tame reactions whenever Bottas gets the pole or the win. Lewis has already hinted his dissatisfaction when he spoke to Di Resta so
   Mercedes needs to keep Hamilton happy, either Bottas stops performing well or Lewis is going to be a problem. It’s not like Lewis is that far from bottas, it’s early and probably, Lewis will still manage to beat Bottas.
   1. 

      Phylyp (@phylyp)
      2nd May 2019, 3:35

      Lewis has already hinted his dissatisfaction when he spoke to Di Resta

      @peartree – what did he say/hint at? I don’t watch the pre/post-race stuff, so I’d missed this.

      @ben-n – very good comment, and a deserved CotD.
      1. 

         Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
         2nd May 2019, 8:10

         @phylyp Lewi after congratulating Bottas said

         it was all lost in qualifying so; there’s nothing really for me to say but it was a great result for the team, honestly this is the best start of a season we have ever had.

         Only a point behind, still upset.
         1. 

            RB13
            2nd May 2019, 10:27

            Of course he’s going to be dissatisfied with 2nd place what a bleedingly obvious statement. He’s a serial winner, 2nd is the first loser to him. It doesn’t hint at any intra team conflict HOWEVER you can tell he has new respect for Bottas from the slightly awkward cool down room atmosphere, he’s going to start taking him seriously now as he had probably, as most did, written him off in his head as a competitor.
         2. 

            Robbie (@robbie)
            2nd May 2019, 12:03

            @peartree I highly doubt Bottas’ form is a ‘troublesome surprise’ to TW nor that he is reacting ‘tamely’ when VB poles or wins. As long as they are doing 1-2’s he doesn’t care who is leading.

            Wrt ‘still upset’ let’s recall him saying he was ‘too friendly’ to VB and therefore ‘handed it to him’ at the start of Baku. The gloves are coming off.
         3. 

            Phylyp (@phylyp)
            2nd May 2019, 12:54

            Thanks for that @peartree
3. 

   Matthijs (@matthijs)
   2nd May 2019, 8:54

   I realise that I always find it odd to see Senna in the 1994 Williams. To me 1994 was a real turning point, the watershed between the ‘ancient’ F1 and ‘modern F1’. The ancient F1 was the era of Prost, Senna, Mansell, Piquet and the new F1 was the era of Schumacher, Hill, Hakkinen. It was also the time that big teams as Brabham and Lotus folded along with all the ‘amateur’ teams (Lola, Life, Dallara, Larousse, Pacific, Andrea Moda etc). And it was also the time that I started watching F1. Seeing the ‘ancient’ Senna in a ‘modern’ F1-car feels weird. I have a similar feeling with images of Mansell in the 1994 Williams or the ’95 McLaren.
   1. 

      Ben Needham (@ben-n)
      2nd May 2019, 9:15

      @matthijs – I agree, I have a framed picture of him in the car at Interlagos and I still find it strange to see him in the Williams.

      In terms of the era breakdown of F1, I always think of 1995-1997 as a transition period before modern F1 started in 1998.
   2. 

      Niefer (@niefer)
      2nd May 2019, 18:23

      @matthijs, @ben-n
      I suppose it’s odd that I don’t find it odd at all. I mean, I visually reckon Senna in that Williams one of the most good-looking combinations in the F1 history:

      – His helmet surely is one of the finest.
      – The FW16 (and his immediate predecessors) arguably has the sexiest design lines a F1 car can possibly have.
      – The Rothmans livery is something beautiful.

      I always thought the helmet and the livery fitted so well together. Something that makes me sad is being deprived of the possibility of having a fine #1 Williams-Rothmans-Senna in my miniature collection.

      But now that you pointed out that turning point, it really puts the things onto perspective.
      1. 

         Matthijs (@matthijs)
         3rd May 2019, 7:45

         @niefer You are certainly not odd, I am :) I agree Senna in that Williams is one of the most good-looking combinations. Shame it only lasted 3 GPs…
4. 

   Ben Needham (@ben-n)
   2nd May 2019, 9:12

   Thanks for the Comment of the Day, nice to wake up to! Thanks @phylyp as well for your kind words.

   Ocon is a really interesting case and I’ll be curious to see where he ends up; if he makes it back at all. Hamilton makes noises about quitting, but I don’t feel like Ocon is a replacement for him. A Bottas-Ocon line-up feels underwhelming to me for a top team. If Bottas continues this run of form (which I admit to still having some doubts about), then surely Ocon will have to leave the Mercedes “family” (a term I hate, incidentally!).

   Are Mercedes suffering from not having a true junior team? If Ocon joins Wehrlein in leaving then they’ve lost two very promising talents; plus the question of George Russell, who looks too good for Williams at the moment.

   The team is fast enough to get results with almost any driver on the grid at the moment, so perhaps they’re not as worried about having a line of progression behind the current drivers.
   1. 

      RB13
      2nd May 2019, 10:33

      As much as I do not rate his driving, I think were Hamilton to retire then Mercedes would aggressively pursue Vettel.

      Mercedes is a major team and requires a box office figure, they would throw the kitchen sink to get Vettel or Max onboard, maybe MAYBE Danny Ric if his reputation doesn’t take too much of a battering this season but my god his stock must be low after the Baku debacle.
5. 

   Jere (@jerejj)
   2nd May 2019, 14:14

   I share the same sentiments as the COTD. I hope Ocon to get back to being a full-time F1 race driver, but not at the expense of Bottas especially if he can keep on matching Hamilton throughout the season.

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