Senna's 'legendary' aura inescapable at Imola - Sainz

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has described returning to the site of Ayrton Senna's death as being an "emotional" experience.

Last year, Formula 1 returned to Imola for the first time since 2006. After the Chinese Grand Prix was postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Italian circuit was again added to this season's calendar.

Imola remains infamous for the tragic 1994 weekend in which Senna and Roland Ratzenberger lost their lives, with the former succumbing to injuries sustained in a heavy accident at the then high-speed Tamburello curve.

Despite the heavy revisions to the layout since that fateful day, including Tamburello being converted into a chicane, Sainz has insisted an aura remains at the venue when drivers return.

When asked what he knew of Senna, Sainz said: "Honestly, personally I know everything you can know from documentaries, books, information from the paddock and speaking to people who worked with him or had an encounter with him.

"From his personal side, very little. It is whatever you get from the videos, from the interviews - I watch videos on YouTube.

"Those already do a good job of making him look like the legend that he actually is.

"Being back in the place where he lost his life is always a bit imposing, a bit emotional for every Formula 1 driver because we know here, we lost probably the most special talent there was in F1 history."

Commenting on just how Senna transcended F1 to gain notoriety in the wider world of motorsport, Sainz added: "When you see, also, MotoGP riders, people from other disciplines talking about F1, they remember Ayrton Senna and how special he was.

"I think every sportsman realises how special Ayrton was and through the documentaries, we realise how different he was, how charismatic he was and how special he was."

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