May 1994 brought an existential crisis in Formula 1. Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna were killed in separate accidents during the San Marino weekend, inviting the harshest possible scrutiny – and then, shortly after their emotional funerals, Karl Wendlinger suffered major head injuries when his Sauber hit a barrier sideways during practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Naturally there was urgent pressure for something to be done – or at least seen to be done. For years a widespread assumption had persisted that Formula 1 was safe enough, and it had been over a decade since the last fatality at a grand prix.
