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F1 champion Ayrton Senna remembered 30 years after his tragic death

A week has passed since the 30-year anniversary of three-time F1 champion Ayrton Senna's tragic passing at the San Marino Grand Prix on 1 May 1994. The Brazilian icon was just 34 years old at the time. The anniversary was commemorated on the Imola track where he crashed, as well as in Brazil. sntv covered the events and provided archive footage throughout his career.

Last Wednesday, Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicalli, was joined by politicians from Brazil and Italy, as well as a representative from Austria, to pay tribute to fellow Formula One driver Roland Ratzenberger, who tragically passed away a day earlier on 30 April 1994, during qualifying.

At 2:17p.m. CET, a minute of silence was held and flowers laid down at the Tamburello curve to observe the exact time and location Senna fatally crashed into a concrete wall at approximately 300kph (185mph). Flowers were also placed at the Villeneuve coner only slightly further down the track where the 33-year-old Ratzenberger crashed. Meanwhile, the grave of Senna in Brazil was visited by fans from around the world who wanted to pay tribute on the 30th anniversary of the death of their idol. 

Senna, who won F1 titles in 1988, 1990 and 1991, was leading the race at Imola when he crashed. The attention raised by Senna's death led to safety improvements at the Imola circuit and throughout F1, resulting in shorter straights, more space in dangerous corners and less powerful engines. 

Here we explore our coverage of the anniversary memorials including content usage:

  • sntv covered anniversary events in Sao Paulo and the Imola racing circuit, and provided archive footage from throughout Senna's illustrious career.
  • Content covering the anniversary has been used by media outlets in over 45 markets.
  • The most usage was seen in Spain, Italy, the USA and Brazil, with media interest also recorded in China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland and the UK.
  • Video covering the anniversary has been used for over four hours by media outlets internationally. 

As a global sports news video partner, sntv is committed to covering sports across the globe. If you want to hear more about how we can help with your coverage plans, please contact us.


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