Vettel ‘overwhelmed’ to complete Senna’s Imola idea with Austrian flag

Sebastian Vettel was emotionally moved after his parade lap at Imola, saying waving the Austrian flag “completed” Ayrton Senna’s intended tribute to Roland Ratzenberger.

This May marked 30 years since Senna’s death at Imola, a day after Ratzenberger was killed in an accident, and Rubens Barrichello had a heavy crash in practice – though it was Ratzenberger’s passing that deeply affected Senna.

In the wreckage of his crashed Williams, track marshals found an Austrian flag unfurled, which Senna had planned to wave during the cool-down lap as a salute to the Simtek driver.

With the blessing of the Senna family, four-time champion Vettel orchestrated a tribute to both Senna and Ratzenberger, also driving the McLaren MP4/8 that the Brazilian raced in 1993. Vettel waved both the Brazilian and Austrian flags during his demonstration lap, saying it was a way to “complete” what Senna had intended.

“The Brazilian flag is quite obvious because he used to wave it after races,” Vettel explained. “But I knew the story [about the Austrian flag]. I was thinking about whether I should finish it.

“I don’t think it can ever be finished, and what I did wasn’t to finish it, just to make sure people remember. So, taking out the flags, especially both of them, was very special. It was a very, very special and meaningful weekend for me.”

Sebastian Vettel drives Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/8

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Vettel, who raced for BMW, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin over 15 seasons before retiring from F1 at the end of 2022, said the tribute lap was the “most emotional” drive of his career.

The parade lap was met with warm applause from the Italian fans, and when asked if it brought tears to his eyes, Vettel replied: “Yes, absolutely.”

“It’s hard to put into words, I think it was one of the most emotional drives in my racing career, even though I was on my own on the track and not even competing. Incredible. When I took the flags out, the people… it was breathtaking. I’m glad I had the courage to put forward my ideas and invite the Senna family. All the feedback I’ve received has been positive.”

“He had empathy, the courage to speak his mind, push for education in his home country, and fight against poverty. In many ways, he was ahead of his time, especially as a racing driver. So, especially for young drivers coming up, it’s an incredibly important and influential story.”

Translation by Chloe