How it unfolded
On Friday Rubens Barrichello's Jordan hit the kerb at Variante Bassa, struck the fence and broke his nose but survived. On Saturday Roland Ratzenberger's Simtek lost its front wing at over 310 km/h and hit the wall at Villeneuve corner; he died — the first driver fatality at a championship race weekend since 1982. On Sunday JJ Lehto's car stalled on the grid and Pedro Lamy ran into it, sending debris into the crowd and injuring nine spectators. The safety car led five laps. On the restart, lap seven, Senna's leading Williams FW16 left the track at Tamburello at over 300 km/h and hit the concrete wall at roughly 210 km/h. A broken suspension arm pierced his helmet; he was declared dead that evening in Bologna, aged 34. Schumacher won; in the pits a Minardi lost a wheel and four mechanics were injured.
Why it still matters
Modern F1's safety system was effectively built from this weekend forward. The drivers' association re-formed within days; the FIA redesigned gravel traps and barriers, raised cockpit side protection and tightened crash-test standards year on year. Sid Watkins professionalised track medical response, and the HANS device became mandatory in 2003. No driver died in a championship race until Jules Bianchi's accident at Suzuka in 2014 — 20 years later.