Roland Ratzenberger's Fatal Crash - Imola 1994

Twenty minutes into the final qualifying session, Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger failed to negotiate the Villeneuve curva in his Simtek; he subsequently hit the opposing concrete barrier wall almost head-on and was critically injured. Although the survival cell remained largely intact, the force of the impact inflicted a basal skull fracture. Ratzenberger, in his first season as a Formula One driver, had run over a kerb at the Acque Minerali chicane on his previous lap, the impact of which is believed to have damaged his front wing. Rather than return to the pitlane, he continued on another fast lap. Travelling at 190 mph (306 km/h) his car suffered a front wing failure leaving him unable to control it. The session was stopped while doctors attended to Ratzenberger. After initially being taken by ambulance to the on-circuit medical centre, he was airlifted to Maggiore Hospital shortly after, the second driver to be admitted there during the weekend. The session was restarted approximately 25 minutes later, but several teams—including Williams and Benetton—took no further part. Later in hospital, it was announced that Ratzenberger had died as a result of his multiple injuries. His death marked the first Formula One race weekend fatality since the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix when Riccardo Paletti was killed. It had been eight years since Elio de Angelis died testing a Brabham car at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Professor Sid Watkins, then head of the Formula One on-track...