Tribute to Ratzenberger: tragically killed 30 years ago today
General
- Ludo van Denderen
The 1994 Imola Grand Prix is among the darkest chapters in Formula 1 history. Every fan of the sport can recall that the legendary Ayrton Senna was killed on 1 May '94 in a tragic accident in the early stages of the race. A day earlier, Austrian Roland Ratzenberger (33) crashed during qualifying at the same circuit. The Simtek driver was killed almost instantly.
In the hearts of - certainly Brazilian - motorsport fans, Senna lives on to this day. Nor has Ratzenberger been forgotten. A documentary series has now been made about the Austrian, which is free for all to watch on YouTube. In this series, his parents and others including Franz Tost (former team boss) and Karl Wendlinger (ex-F1 driver), look back on Ratzenberger's career.
Formula 1 was Ratzenberger's dream
The series reveals that Ratzenberger was extremely ambitious and went all out to realise his ultimate dream: racing in Formula 1. That opportunity finally came, in 1994 with the Simtek-Ford team. In the opening race of the season, Ratzenberger did not manage to qualify for the Grand Prix. He did qualify one race later at the Pacific Grand Prix). In the end, Ratzenberger crossed the line in 11th place in Japan, five behind the winner.
Ratzenberger's third Grand Prix weekend involvement was Ratzenberger's last in hindsight. In qualifying, the Austrian had a spin in the Acque Minerali chicane. Ratzenberger was under the impression there was no damage to his Simtek, so he continued. In reality, there was, to the front wing. The moment Ratzenberger entered the high-downforce Villeneuve corner, his car's wing broke, and the Simtek became uncontrollable. The Austrian had no chance of surviving the impact to the wall.