10 years since Senna's death
 

A couple of articles for you Pockets, and others who enjoyed watching the Brazilian master....

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?id=1785893

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?id=1781652

Don

Not to highjack your thread but ESPN online really bites these days!

Courts
 

Hi F-1 guys and gals, After ten years the Italian High Court is re-opening the Senna incident. Good luck. Senna requested the change to the steering and thats what killed him. Dale Ernhardt changed the way his seat and restraints were mounted and he also paid with his life. Pay attention to what the Mfg. and engineers tell you
Take care, BOBB

That's one great driver!

Re: Courts
 

I think that's a stretch. Senna was killed by a suspension arm that pierced his visor, true. But saying that he requested a change to the steering, so a steering component killed him, is taking it too far.

I didn't really know what happened to Senna until I saw the race on Speed. People who were there dissected it and showed what factors combined to cause the accident. The time behind the safety car dropped the temperature and pressure in the tires, making the car sit lower. The lower car was bottoming out on the bumpy track. The speeds were too high. The medical team didn't get there fast enough (not that it would have mattered). Wheels were untethered and allowed to scatter everywhere. There was no such thing as a pit lane speed limit.

It was a racing accident, and those happen. At least we learned something from Senna's death and we haven't lost a driver since. I think that's remarkable. If you can stomach it, look at Webber and Alonso on the main straight at Interlagos last year. Or Fisichella t-boning Sato at the A1 ring in 2002. Or Schumacher's full-throttle crash at the end of the main straight at Silverstone in 2000.

Ayrton Senna may have died before his time, but the mark he left on F1 is lasting anyway. Motor racing is and always will be a dangerous sport, but thankfully these days we can focus on the racing instead of the danger. Because we've come to expect that, no matter how hard the accident, the drivers walk away.

I just recently watched a BBC documentary on Enzo Ferrari. Previously I had not known that, in the early days of Grand Prix racing, it was common to lose 3-4 drivers per year.

That seems barbaric and unconscionable to me. So many people say that our current forms of entertainment are corrupting and evil - but look back at that stuff.

Ditto. He was a genius behind the wheel of a race car!

For what it's worth...
 

...Damon Hill doesn't believe the steering column failed.

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?id=1786099

I think Pockets' analysis pretty well covered it. From the view from Schumacher's camera, I saw the car bottoming out badly just before the crash.

Don

Flash! Button is on pole!!!

Re: For what it's worth...
 

That kid's going places, man... I really hope I see Jenson Button as WDC soon. :)

Of course, he'll have to wait until Michael retires. :p

Button is good but I also feel that Alonso has a bright future in F1. They are both very talented drivers! :)

-Chike

Of course Alonso's awesome. It'll be interesting to see who Ferrari gets in the end. :)

Probably both of them