Adrian Newey the Red BUll’s renowned engineer and Formula 1 designer has indeed won many constructor championship titles during his remarkable career. However, there was a time when Adrian felt huge emotional damage over the tragic death of Ayrton Senna.
Initially, it was said that Senna’s death was due to steering column failure, but Newey doesn’t believe that steering column failure caused the accident, he feels immense guilt about the aerodynamics of the car. The ’94 cars were aerodynamically unstable, and Newey blames himself for not getting it right.
“The ‘94 cars, one of my huge regrets, regardless of what was the cause of the accident at Imola, the one thing you could definitely say about the car is it was aerodynamically unstable,” Newey admitted.
Why did Adrian Newey feel regret after Senna’s death?
Adrian Newey’s feelings of regret after Ayrton Senna’s tragic death stem from his role as a Formula 1 designer and the impact of that fateful day
Adrian Newey was the chief designer at Williams during the 1994 Formula 1 season. Ayrton Senna, the legendary Brazilian driver, was racing for Williams that year.
On May 1, 1994, during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Senna suffered a fatal crash. The exact cause of the accident remains a topic of debate, but it occurred while Senna was leading the race.
Newey was responsible for designing the aerodynamics of the Williams FW16 car. In hindsight, he felt immense guilt about the car’s aerodynamic instability. The ’94 cars were notoriously difficult to handle due to their aerodynamic characteristics.
While Newey doesn’t believe that a steering column failure caused the accident, he still blames himself for not getting the aerodynamics right. This emotional burden has stayed with him over the years.
