A Minute's Silence at Imola for Ayrton Senna

Poor and several Formula One drivers observed a minute's silence to remember and pay tribute to the Brazilian driver, Ayrton Senna, who died in a crash at the Imola circuit in San Marino, 20 years ago.

The silence was held at 2.17 pm local time, the moment when Senna crashed into a barrier at Tamburello turn on May 1, 1994.

"It's very moving because the incident happened a long time ago, but people's love for Senna has not faded," said Paula, Senna's niece, who attended the minute's silence ceremony, to Reuters Television.

"It seems that Ayrton Senna is still alive in their hearts," she added.

Those in attendance at the tribute event included two Ferrari drivers, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, and Senna's former teammate at McLaren, Gerhard Berger.

"Ayrton Senna is a role model for all drivers and it is clear that he is the best driver of his generation," said Alonso.

A range of activities were held in Italy and Brazil to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Senna's death.

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