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Driving the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, He had a mechanical failure, hit a wall head on at high speed, and he suffered numerous head injuries from a wheel impact. Part of the car's suspension also penetrated his helmet visor.

On lap 7 at San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Senna was being followed by Schumacher when the steering column snapped on his Williams-Renault FW16 . He hit the wall at 230 kph (143 mph). The right front wheel came loose and flew off with part of the suspension attached, and pierced his skull causing fatal brain damage. The steering column seems to have snapped because of metal fatigue, perhaps because it was weakened after Senna had it shortened.

The point where he crashed was a high speed, full throttle corner. On the previous lap there had been an accident meaning the safety car went out slowing down the cars. This led to his tires cooling down which caused them to shrink slightly, very slightly but crucially lowering the car's ride height. As he gained speed, the downward force on his car had more and more effect, until the car was pushed down so much that the belly of the car came into contact with the track. This instantly took away all the downward force, greatly reducing its cornering ability, and Senna sped off the track into the wall.

His death came just one day after Roland Ratzenberger died in a similar crash during qualifying, and two days after Senna's friend Rubens Barrichello also hit a wall at high speed but survived.

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Q: How did Ayrton Senna da Silva die?
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