I think it was suicide.
If the steering column broke he would still have time to break.
He was really going into that wall at full speed and straight on.
Sorry for the horrible english. I'm Swedish.
[deleted]
It seems likely that the car lost downforce. No downforce means no steering as well as no braking (due to the loss of friction between the tires and the road)
sharetheSwedeking, what evidence do you have that the car lost down-force? You explain the obvious result of losing down-force, but fail to explain how his car arrived in that position. He went into the turn at a high rate of speed and the body of the car (which provides the down-force) was still completely intact. I guess your view of the footage watching the crash was better than mine during the documentary, and everyone else who has ever witnessed the accident on film or even in person, so please complete your theory for me.
My somewhat sarcastic point is this- you were not one of the crash analysts on the race site that day so how can you possibly have any idea as to what caused the crash? You can't, and neither can anyone else. Even the film concluded that his crash will always remain a tragic mystery.
If you don't have a correct answer, don't speculate just to feel like you know what you are talking about.
As for the OP, your question is as logical as the Swedeking's answer, so all you are going to get is a bunch of biased opinions.
To conclude my trolling rant; Senna made a deal with the Devil to be the best Formula One driver in history, but when he started thanking God too much and donating to Brazilian charities, the Devil decided that enough was enough.
Somewhat sarcastic? Dripping. Granted I deserve it, but still.
I had read this -
"They say that after running behind the safety car (first season a safety car was used in F1, and a slow saloon car at that) the tyres cooled down losing pressure and therefore ride height. The car then bottomed out at the corner and lost all its downforce. That downforce, far greater than the actual weight of the car, was what kept it on the road. Without it it simply did not have enough grip to make the corner."
They also mentioned that there was data that suggested that the steering was still working when he lost control.
- in another thread (so, not a source that deserves any trust, I realize this). It was the explanation that matched up with what I remembered seeing, and seemed to make sense to me, and so I guess I just went with it. To be fair, my wording was "it seems likely" so nothing definitive or anything, I was just throwing it out there.
And so I stand by my comment, although I will concede to a small edit. It seems likely (to me) that the crash was a result of a loss of downforce.
And I speculate because what else can we do? As you say, the crash will always remain a tragic mystery.
Rewatch the on-board footage from the crash. You can tell the moment when he lost control. He hits the wall less than a second later. There was absolutely nothing that he could have done to prevent the crash. At that speed, you have to react in less than a second. When you suddenly lose control of the car, there isn't much you can do.
_
Check out http://www.FreedomainRadio.com for the only credible modern philosophy show.
Not suicide, no reason, Senna was beginning a new chapter of his racing career with Williams and came across as calm and happy that year.
Besides, those cars were designed for that sort of impact and it was actually a stray steering arm which pierced his helmet and killed him - without that its very likely he would have lived.
There were any number of possible causes and the crash was never properly investigated.
It was widely known that the Williams cars were far less stable than they had been and far more difficult to drive, meaning that if anything did go wrong at a critical moment like the Tamburello, not even the unearthly skill of Ayrton Senna would have been enough to save the situation.
The Italian coroner, on reading engineers reports, described the car as "unstable about all three axes". Whether he was referring to mechanical or aerodynamic instability or a combination of the two, I do not know.
I do know that Formula 1 cars of that era were aerodynamically unstable and this has been proved many times.
It could have been a steering column failure. It could have been a loss of traction and aerodynamic effect due to the chassis contacting the road at the critical moment. It wasn't suicide (which would have conflicted with Senna's personal beliefs anyway).
The suspension part probably would have been a cause of death were it not for that fact that so many other things went wrong. He suffered no fewer than three fatal head injuries and the official cause of death is a basilar skull fracture - identical to Roland Ratzenberger the day before.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Ayrton_Senna
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilar_skull_fracture
Hopefully, this is all that is needed to put this topic to rest. It's not really a part of a discussion of the film.
Even at that speed, if he was able to brake, he would not have been able to turn. If the front tires lock up, they slide the way your momentum is going. It was not suicide, something broke.
shareDon't think it was suicide. I feel it was a mix of things. It was a horrible weekend. Young Barichello crashed, Ratzenberger died... and the legendary shots of Senna in the Williams car moments before the race, how worried and unresty he was. While everbody said before other races he was cool and focussed. That and a car that was plain awfull in the beginning og 94. Constantly chaning over-understeer...I can imagine Senna did not have much faith in his car (something that is incredibly important). And the biggest of all: Bad luck.
Let's not forget Senna's death was BAD LUCK. A piece of the wheel suspension hit his helmet and penetrated his skull. A few centimeters and he would have stepped out of the car. You couldn't have planned it if it were suicide. He would have survived.
I think it was suicide.
If the steering column broke he would still have time to break.
He was really going into that wall at full speed and straight on.
He did break as telemetry showed. I remember reading that the tarmac outside the track was an inch or so lower than at track level, also if the front wing of the car hit the grass the tires lost contact for a moment. Anyway, he would have survived, the problem was that piece of metal hitting his head.
It wasn't suicide, there are better and more reliable ways to commit suicide.