| Date | 1 May 1994 |
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| Time | 2:17 p.m. (CEST) |
| Venue | Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari |
| Location | Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
| Cause | High speed crash |
| Deaths | Ayrton Senna |
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|---|---|---|
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Career and personal Eponyms and art  |
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On 1 May 1994, Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna was killed after his car crashed into a concrete barrier while he was leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at the Imola Circuit in Italy. The Supreme Court of Cassation of Italy ruled that mechanical failure was the cause of the crash, as post-crash analysis found that Senna's steering column had snapped around the time that his car was about to round the Tamburello corner.
Senna's death was the capstone to one of the darkest weekends in Formula One history. The previous day, Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger had died when his car crashed during qualifying. Several other collisions took place that weekend, including a serious one involving Rubens Barrichello. Ratzenberger and Senna's crashes were the first fatal accidents to occur during a Formula One race meeting since Riccardo Paletti died at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix.
Senna's death, as well as the other events of the race weekend, helped trigger significant reforms prioritizing driver safety in Formula One. The Formula One drivers' union, the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, was re-established in the wake of Senna's death. Formula One did not suffer a fatal accident for another twenty years, until Jules Bianchi sustained fatal injuries at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.