Damon Hill & Ayrton Senna

Credits- IMAGO / Avalon.red

Legendary Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna suffered a tragic accident on May 1, 1994, when his car collided with a concrete barrier during the San Marino GP in Imola. After witnessing the events surrounding Senna’s crash, his teammate Damon Hill decided that no one would watch F1 at his house due to the possibility of disturbing visuals and heightened uncertainty surrounding safety.

Hill was driving for Williams in 1994, the same team as Senna. So they spent a lot of time together. It’s understandable why the tragic incident had such a profound effect on Hill.

Damon’s son, Josh Hill, recently shed light on the same on the Backseat Drivers podcast. He said, “There was a rule in our house between my parents that they basically wouldn’t show the Formula 1 on television.”

“Just in case, I mean me and my brother were very young at the time. We were watching and something happened to Dad and we’d see that at a very young age.” 

The podcast host then added that the safety precautions in 1990s were nowhere near as advanced as they are today. Josh agreed and revealed that back then, his dad and his counterparts had no way of knowing what would happen if they crashed.

What made the 1994 San Marino GP even more tragic was that Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger passed away just one day before Senna, following an impact during qualifying. It was arguably one of the darkest weeks in the sport’s history, which made authorities implement major changes to improve safety moving forward.

Immediately afterward, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association was reestablished to ensure that drivers’ voices and concerns would be heard. One of the key regulations introduced by the FIA to improve safety was a 15% reduction in car downforce.

This change aimed to prevent drivers from pushing their cars to dangerously high speeds. Furthermore, the FIA improved the tire barriers to help reduce the impact of crashes.