Brazilian racing driver. The previous day, Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger had died when his car crashed during qualification for the race. 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 that of Riccardo Paletti at the Canadian Grand Prix , and were also the last until that of Jules Bianchi at the Japanese Grand Prix.
This became a turning point in the safety of Formula One, prompting the implementation of new safety measures in both Formula One and the circuit, as well as the Grand Prix Drivers' Association to be reestablished. The Supreme Court of Cassation of Italy ruled that mechanical failure was the cause of the crash. In , Senna left his longtime team McLaren , which he had joined in and won three World Drivers' Championships with in , and , to join Williams , replacing his former teammate Alain Prost.
There he was paired with Damon Hill. Williams was expected to contend for the F1 World Championship as they had in the previous two seasons with Prost and Nigel Mansell , albeit with cars that no longer had electronic aids, which had been banned for the season. On debut for his new team during the traditional pre-season testing at the Estoril Circuit , Senna said of the Williams FW16 :. I have a very negative feeling about driving the car and driving it on the limit and so on.
Therefore I didn't have a single run or a single lap that I felt comfortable or reasonably confident. I am uncomfortable in the car. It all feels wrong. We changed the seat and the wheel, but even so I was already asking for more room. Going back to when we raced at Estoril last September, it feels much more difficult.
Some of that is down to the lack of electronic change. Also, the car has its own characteristics which I'm not fully confident in yet. It makes you a lot more tense and that stresses you. The problems continued as the season commenced.
