EPISODE · Apr 29, 2026 · 34 MIN
29th April 1979: The Warnings That Weren't Heard
from Chequered Past · host Martin Elliot
On April 29, 1994, Rubens Barrichello's Jordan was launched into the tyre wall at the Variante Bassa chicane in Imola at over 200 kilometres an hour. He survived. The paddock noted it, breathed out, and went back to qualifying. Two days later, Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna were both dead. In this episode of Chequered Past, we explore what April 29 means in Formula 1 history — a date that turns out to be less about triumph or tragedy than about the moments that precede both. From Patrick Depailler's final Grand Prix victory in 1979, five weeks before a hang-gliding accident ended his career, to Mika Häkkinen's last-lap heartbreak in Barcelona in 2001, to the Red Bull debris that shaped Lewis Hamilton's 2018 championship without anyone noticing — April 29 is a date that keeps issuing warnings. The question the sport has never fully answered is whether it was listening. Send us Fan MailMusic by #Mubert Music Rendering
Embed this episode
What this episode covers
On April 29, 1994, Rubens Barrichello's Jordan was launched into the tyre wall at the Variante Bassa chicane in Imola at over 200 kilometres an hour. He survived. The paddock noted it, breathed out, and went back to qualifying. Two days later, Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna were both dead. In this episode of Chequered Past, we explore what April 29 means in Formula 1 history — a date that turns out to be less about triumph or tragedy than about the moments that precede both. From ...
NOW PLAYING
29th April 1979: The Warnings That Weren't Heard
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
No similar episodes found.
Similar Podcasts
No similar podcasts found.