Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Senna’ tells the story of the rise of Ayrton Senna in the Formula One racing world. The six-part miniseries explores the origins of the man who would go on to become one of the most iconic names in the history of racing. The challenges and hurdles he faces in his career form a major part of the story, but it is also his love for the sport and respect for other sportsmen that takes center stage. By the end, Senna seems entirely absorbed with the safety issues of the drivers, especially after he sees several of them being injured and one dying right on the track. Still, there is one life that he was able to save with his quick thinking, and Erik Comas still thanks him for it.
Ayrton Senna Stopped Mid-Race to Help Erik Comas When He Crashed
In 1992, Senna and Comas were racing on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Belgian Grand Prix. The track is one of the most challenging ones, with all sorts of twists and turns waiting for the drivers. That makes it dangerous, and therein lies the thrill. Reportedly, the curbs at the track had been temporarily removed a few weeks before the race but were put back later for the grand prix. On August 28, 1992, the track was open for the morning practice, which is when Comas crashed on the exit of the flat-out Blanchimont lefthander, driving at around 300kph. The crash was pretty huge, with the front right wheel of the car breaking away because of it. The left wheel smashed through his head, and he fell unconscious. The car stopped in the middle of the track and created quite a dust cloud. At the same time, his foot was still on the throttle, and that was what caught Senna’s attention.
Senna was the first driver to pass by the crash, and he heard the weird sound of Comas’ engine, which made him realize that it was still on. He immediately stopped and ran out of his car to check on Comas, which was a risk in itself because the other cars were still racing on the track. The first thing he did was turn off the engine and prevent any fires or explosions that may have happened because of it. Comas later found that the crash had led to a fuel leak, which means that an explosion was very much in the cards had someone not stopped the engine in time. Following this, Senna stayed with Comas, supporting his head to stop any other injury from happening until the medical team arrived and took over. Comas later revealed that he has no memory of the crash, and whatever he knows of it comes from the images that he saw later. Having read about the crash and having heard about it from the people who had been there, Comas has no doubt that that day, Senna saved his life.
Erik Comas Saw Senna Crashed on the Track in a Tragic Twist of Fate
Comas recovered from his injuries soon enough and was racing again. As if he didn’t already respect Senna enough, his regard for the Brazilian driver increased when he discovered that he was his savior. Almost two years later, the places were reversed when Senna crashed, and Comas stopped to witness the aftermath. Remembering that day, Comas revealed that he met with Senna on that Sunday morning of May 1, 1994. They’d sat next to each other during the drivers’ briefing, and Senna asked Comas to join him in London the next week, where they planned to talk about the safety issues for the drivers, which is something that Senna had already been discussing with other drivers and ex-drivers as well, including Niki Lauda and Alain Prost.
Later on the track, Comas sustained some damage during the race and was in the pits for repair when Senna’s fatal crash happened. He wasn’t aware of the situation by then and decided to go forward onto the track. By some error, he wasn’t stopped by anyone, and he drove right to the spot where the medical team was working to keep Senna alive. Comas said, “I was in the pits, and they released me by mistake, which they really should not have done, and to me, this was just kind of destiny now.” By that time, the helicopter had arrived to take Senna to the hospital, and Comas watched the whole thing right from his car. Comas felt it to be a cruel twist of destiny that Senna was there to save his life, but Comas couldn’t do anything to help Senna.
Comas didn’t have any doubts about how bad the situation was with Senna and immediately withdrew from the race. He was so shocked and heartbroken that he immediately decided he didn’t want to drive anymore. It was when his teammates implored him to come back that he went back to racing, but he had already made up his mind that this would be his last season. Sure enough, the year 1994 was the last time he raced in Formula One. The trauma of the incident stayed with Comas for more than a decade, and it took him a while to be able to talk to people about it. He also visited Senna’s grave in Brazil and paid his respects to the man who had saved his life.
Read More: Ayrton Senna’s Net Worth: How Rich Was the Racing Driver at the Time of His Death?
