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| Fans have flocked to Ayrton Senna's grave in recent days to mark the 20th anniversary of the triple world champion's death. The Brazilian passed away after a crash at the Imola Circuit in 1994 in qualifying ahead of the San Marino Grand Prix. |
He was a Formula One driver who transcended his sport and even 20 years after his death, Ayrton Senna commands the adoration of fans across the world.
This week marks the
anniversary of the crash at the Imola Circuit in Italy which took the
life of the Brazilian driver, just 24 hours after Austria's Roland
Ratzenberger had suffered the same fate.
Tributes have poured in
for both drivers, with a memorial service held at the track which
claimed the lives of both men on Thursday.
A collection of
motorsport legends past and present were in attendance, where a minute's
silence was observed at 14:17 local time -- the exact time of Senna's
accident two decades earlier.
Fans paid their own
tributes to Senna, with many laying floral tributes at the feet of the
bronze statue of the triple world champion which sits near the section
of the track where he crashed.
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| Senna's sister Viviane was on hand at the grand unveiling of the plane. She is the head of the Ayrton Senna Institute, which partners with major corporations to give educational opportunities to millions of children across Brazil |
Senna's passing was the
last time a driver has died as a result of a crash at a grand prix, in a
sport which in its formative decades had become infamous for driver
fatalities.
"Senna was very important
for Formula One, as a driver and a person and his death led to a rapid
acceleration in the process of increasing the level of safety in our
sport," Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen told the sport's official website.
"That has avoided other
tragedies from occurring. Unfortunately however, one cannot change the
past, neither for Ayrton nor for Roland Ratzenberger.
"The only thing we can do is remember this champion, whose exploits defined the history of Formula One for a long time."
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