Senna & Schumacher: A Hidden Friendship in F1’s Darkest Hour

Behind the fierce rivalry, Wheatley reveals the respect and quiet bond shared by Senna and Schumacher during Formula 1’s most tragic weekend.

Before Jonathan Wheatley became sporting director at Red Bull and now team principal at Sauber F1, he spent a decade as a mechanic at Benetton—from 1991 to 2001—before rising to chief mechanic at Renault.

Looking back to the start of the 1994 season, Wheatley remembers a light-hearted ritual he shared with Ayrton Senna. Just before Senna went out on track, Wheatley would hold up Michael Schumacher’s lap time, almost like a playful challenge.

“We had that kind of relationship,” Wheatley recalled on the Beyond the Grid podcast, released on the anniversary of Senna’s tragic death at Imola. “If Michael had taken pole, and Ayrton was about to leave the garage, I’d show him Michael’s time. He’d lift his visor, shake his head, and then usually go even quicker. Then he’d glance at me from the pit wall, as if to say, ‘Well, where’s my time?’”

It was a small gesture that revealed the mutual respect—and even warmth—that existed between two of Formula 1’s fiercest competitors.

“People often don’t see that side of it. You’re not just battling each other—you’re sharing this intense, unforgiving world together.”

But that same season would turn tragic in ways few could have imagined.

Wheatley still struggles to talk about the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola—a weekend marked by trauma, shock, and loss.

“That was the worst weekend I can remember,” he said. “I still carry those emotions with me.”

The weekend began with Rubens Barrichello’s violent crash. Wheatley remembers the haunting moment when Barrichello, still strapped in the car, instinctively covered his face with his hands—“a reminder that there’s a human being inside the machine.”

Then came the fatal accident of Roland Ratzenberger, followed by a disastrous start to Sunday’s race. JJ Lehto’s stalled car was hit at full speed, triggering a red flag. Later, Michele Alboreto’s loose tire flew down the pit lane, injuring Wheatley’s lead mechanic and another team member.

And then came the loss of Senna.

“I kept a lot from that year,” Wheatley said. “For me, as a young man, it was a turning point in my life. I remember Mick Cowlishaw—our chief mechanic—putting his hand on my arm. He knew how much I admired Ayrton. And he told me: he’s gone.”

After the race, the silence in the airport lounge said everything.

“No one wanted to get on the plane. We were just sitting there, quiet. The Williams team had just been told. No one knew what to say, or what was coming next.”

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Senna & Schumacher: A Hidden Friendship in F1’s Darkest Hour Senna & Schumacher: A Hidden Friendship in F1’s Darkest Hour