THE FINAL LAP

THE SAN MARINO GRAND PRIX, 1994. THIRTY years ago this May Day. AYRTON SENNA sits on the start line and removes his helmet, which he never usually does. “The helmet hides feelings which cannot be understood,” he once said. Today, he doesn’t bother to conceal. The camera zooms in on him and holds. His expression is all focus, but below the surface melancholy currents of reflection run silent and deep. Already the weekend seems cursed. His compatriot and protégé Rubens Barrichello broke his nose and arm in a crash two days ago, and yesterday the Austrian, Roland Ratzenberger, was killed when his front wing broke and sent his car into a concrete wall. The sight reduced Ayrton to tears, not just because he liked Ratzenberger — everybody did — but…

You're reading a preview of

The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.