Sebastian Vettel leads Ayrton Senna tribute with entire F1 grid at Imola

Four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel led a track run of the Imola circuit on Thursday to commemorate the 30th anniversary deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger.

On Thursday at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Vettel - who made his first F1 paddock appearance since Japan last year - and the Senna foundation organised an on-track congregation.

F1 drivers, including Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, were present with a number of F2/F3 drivers, team principals, and various media personnel.

The majority of them were pictured in Senna-themed t-shirts, 30 years on from his tragic death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

As well as the start-finish straight photo, Vettel led a run of the famous Imola track in rainy weather conditions.

The personnel involved were then involved in a further moment of commemoration at Tamburello, where Senna famously crashed in 1994.

Out of the current grid, Pierre Gasly will sport a Senna-inspired helmet for this weekend’s race.

This comes after the 2020 Italian Grand Prix winner had the opportunity to drive Senna’s first ever F1 car - the 1984 Toleman.

Speaking in the FIA press conference, Gasly said: “I've always admired him since I was a child. Obviously, in France, I grew up hearing a lot about Alain Prost, who is the most successful French F1 driver of all time.

“And obviously, with Alain always came Ayrton's name. I watched a lot of documentaries and it's probably the most, to me, iconic battle in F1 history. I always admired, I will say, the style of racing, but also the person he was – the values, the way he was caring about his community.

“And, you know, he’s one of the biggest champions of our sport and I think it was important to pay tribute, especially on this year, 30 years after the incident, it was important to me to pay tribute to one of the best of all time.”