Location of Roland Ratzenberger's Fatal F1 Crash at Imola 1994

Roland Ratzenberger (4 July 1960 – 30 April 1994) was an Austrian racing driver who raced in Sports prototype, Formula Nippon, Formula 3000 and Formula One. He died during qualifying for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, the same event at which three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna died the following day.

The layout of the two corners where the fatal crashes happend was changed after the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

Tragic events at this race proved to be a major turning point in both the 1994 season, and in the development of Formula One itself, particularly with regard to safety. The race weekend was marked by the deaths of Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger and of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna in separate accidents. Other incidents saw driver Rubens Barrichello injured and several mechanics and spectators injured. In terms of driver fatalities, this was Formula One's darkest day since the 1960 Belgian Grand Prix; which was also an event that saw 2 drivers killed on a race weekend.