Hill: Senna was at Fault

[Led ZeppF1]

Damon Hill has launch a statement that he knows that many people will never believe. He said that he believes Ayrton Senna was responsible for the crash that claimed his life.

"I am convinced that he made a mistake, but many people will never believe that he could," said Hill.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/3641633.stm

Uhm, I am one of that many people. Or exactly, I didn't want to believe this.

[Kicking-back]

I hope people don't take this as an opportunity to knock Damon.

Remember - this is the opinion of the man driving the same car on the same track on the same day.

We've seen plenty of drivers crash during races because they were pushing the car harder than it wanted to go.

If Ayrton hadn't suffered the million-to-one chance freak injury which killed him, we may well have heard him say he simply pushed too hard, given the cold tyres, low pressures etc.

Senna may well have made a mistake - but it was a freak set of circumstances which killed him.

[climb]

When the steering arm simply doesn't steer, every speed is excessive, but talking about a mistake in that case doesn't find me agreeing.

[Led ZeppF1]

Me, too, KB.

But I think his opinion will shocking many people. Even Damon had realize that many people will disagree with him.

[Kicking-back]

There was no proof of broken steering.

It always looked like a case of aerodynamic stall/losing control on a bump - the same bump he advised Damon to avoid the day before.

I was a big fan of Senna, but like many other drivers he wasn't above making a mistake.

[Led ZeppF1]

Aniway, Damon Hill also relives the final hours of Senna in his article for times online.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...077121,00.html

[Gt_R]

I'd just say that the fatal accident is the result of many factors that just occur at one freakish moment.

[DavidStHubbins]

What Damon said is exactly what I thought. Senna even told Damon not to drive over the bumps because it was dangerous. Senna himself did as he had a race to win and Schumacher behind him. The Williams was fast but a dog to drive. Fact is, if it had not been for the freak suspension arm he would have survived and probably won the championship...

[Liz]

Many things are coming to light as distance allows us to examine Senna as a person and not a saint. I've always found it odd that the only people whose opinions about him are not believed are his teammates. And you would think a teammate would know better than anyone else what the story was.

Bravo to Damon Hill for risking wrath to tell what he thinks, in spite of that.

[Mattracer]

Many will belive in Senna or their own views despite what Hill says.

[Kicking-back]

It's not a case of not believing in Senna, if you accept Hill has a point.

I think Hill's explanation probably has more merit than any other theory about the crash, but it doesn't take away from any of Ayrton's brilliance.

Senna was great, I reckon the greatest, but let's not see him as someone who was beyond making a mistake trying to push beyond the limit.

Look back to the Brazilian Grand Prix of 1994 - it happened there.

[pirenzo]

Absolutely right. Senna didn't make mistakes often, but he did make them... The fact is it wasn't a fatal accident anyway, he would have walked away from it, but from the freak chance a piece of suspension should piece his helmet...

[climb]

making mistakes is typical of human beings, and when driving an F1 car is particularly dangerous.
Gilles too, he died cos of a wrong overtaking manoeuvre.

[Phoenix1]

I just read the BBC version, what a twisted and perverse way to report it. Everything there is true but also out on context and no balanced as the original time article was.

I read the times article last week and I have to say that although the crash is put down to driver error it also goes into more detail about how Senna had 'feared' the safety car and the problems with tyre pressures. Remember 1994 was the first time the safety car was used. I was only 12 at the time so I can not recall if the safety car was anything 'special' like the modern one is or not. I see no reason to have a go at Damon and I see no reason why Damon would say something he did not believe who better to comment on the data brought back from the car but the driver who had developed and driver not just the 1994 in testing and development but had been at Williams over previous years as a racer in 1993 and a tester in 1992. All drivers do make errors, if you want resent examples that spring to my mind with cold tyres causing drivers to make errors I would cite resently Alex Zanardi, and back in 1999 Greg Moore also spun the car on cold tyres.

These accidents occur most weekends in top level racing but mainly in a test or because they driver normally does a 360 and carries on no one remembers it. Kicking-back is dead right in saying it takes nothing away from the driver and his skill in the car. I think Senna most of all know we where all human.

[climb]

A further step of the discussion: Damnon waited 10 damn' years to reveal the world his truth about Senna's fatal accident.
Do you think that it was the right moment to do it?
I don't think so; it seems like wanting to get the spotlight at any expense, a spotlight which doesn't belongs to him, cos' the eyes of the world should all be directed to Senna.

[N I Tram]

Maybe the timing of the comment is because a) for years, every interview he did was about his immediate racing objectives, and so the whole incident was irrelevant; b) no one has wanted to talk to him, at least about it, since he retired form racing; and c) The threat of legal action has been renewed recently, and Damon wanted his views ot be taken as evidence.

[Edgar Jessop]

I don't doubt Senna was capable of making mistakes but I'll merely recall that only a couple of weeks after the accident, long before all the debates began, Nelson Piquet simply stated the steering broke. Look at the telemetry traces, he said, Senna was braking before the impact but he wasn't steering. If you have no steering you brake, if you have no brakes you steer. If you have both you tend to try both...

Remember 10 years later there's a very strong political and European-legal motive for this motor racing accident to have been the driver's sole responsibility

[frostblade]

Incorrect Edgar - the best way to slow a car down is in a straight line. Senna had to get on the brakes to stand any chance, but in the end it made no difference.

To be honest, none of us were in that car, none of knows exactly what happens. Damon has expressed his opinion. Whether or not Senna made a mistake doesn't matter, the end result is the same. No point even going over it in my opinion.

[Aysedasi]

The bottom line is - none of us know for sure what caused the accident. Not me, not you, not Damon Hill. I'm not sure what Damon's thoughts really add to the subject after nearly 10 years....... (I'm not knocking him for expressing his opinion, however).

[pirenzo]

I doubt he made a snap decision to say this though. Some reporter probably asked him what he thought recently due t all the hype about ti being nearly 10 years and he probably just gave his view as anyone would when asked a question.

[Bononi]

I think he made it right. Senna was in a deep pressure in both sides of his life, professional and personal - I will add the launch of his long dreamed project, that nobody at the time could say it would succeed.

[spider]

Ok, this is an opinion of the man in the same car and I repect Damons opinion. However, I went onto google and typed in Ayrton Senna, on the 3rd down site (with candle, called the Senna files) it has the footage of the crash - onboard. Now this is v.upsetting, but it does show the steering, and Ayrtons reaction in the last few seconds. The steering goes right down to the left, and the wheels DON’T turn AT ALL – there’s no major bounce, he just goes STRAIGHT – you can see by his head movements the panic. Sorry, the steering broke – there you go, that’s my opinion. I even looked at the video the other day, just to convince myself, the wheels don’t turn at all – he just goes straight with no steering at all. I don’t agree with the outrageous law that Williams should be prosecuted, but that Williams did break I’m 100% positive.

[ralf fan]

Going to the last line of the 1st article what Damon is saying is that it was not Ayrton fault that the car went off track rather i think what he is saying is that as soon as the car lost control Ayrton could have lifted his foot off the pedal and hit the brakes and lose a postion to MS. thats how intrepretted the article.

[Phoenix1]

The main issue I think from reading all the points is that nothing has been, or can be, conclusivly proved/disproved as the Italians kept the car in a non-airtight locker so when Williams got the car back years later it was impossible to work out what had happened. It was a shame that they took so much intreast in his death but not in preventing a simular one or indead that they took so little intreast in Jordan or Simtek over the tragic weekend. I have seen the video and you do see the car bump upward. I know there will never be an answer and I will not search for one but I will remember and respect him.

[Damon]

I've always suspected that it was a simple error. Senna being Senna, he kept his foot flat when he should have lifted, it's the type of racer he was. Kudos to Damon for saying what many have suspected but not had the nerve to say. It certainly doesn't deminish Senna the legend in my mind.