Williams may face charges

THE Italian sports daily, Gazzetta Dello Sport, yesterday speculated that Frank Williams, boss of the Williams Formula One motor racing team, could be one of 17 people facing manslaughter charges in a Bologna court in relation to the deaths of Brazilian Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger of Austria at the 1994 Imola Grand Prix.

World champion Senna died during the event when his car went off the road at an estimated 155 miles an hour while he tried to negotiate a bend. A subsequent enquiry proved that Senna had died when part of the car's suspension broke off in the impact of the crash and smashed into his helmet. Ratzenberger had died less than 24 hours earlier, following a crash during final practice for the same Grand Prix.

Yesterday's media speculation, however, prompted an immediate correction from the office of Bologna based investigating magistrate, Maurizio Passarini, who has headed the judicial enquiry into the deaths of the two drivers. An assistant to Passarini said yesterday: "There has been no decision and no statement from the magistrate. That's the situation. These are all hypotheses that are being made but on the basis of nothing, in the sense that the magistrate has not made any statements."

Gazzetta Dello Sport reports suggest that investigating magistrate Passarini has almost finished his enquiries and that next week he will ask for 17 people, including Williams and also Patrick Head of the Williams team, to be charged with "culpable homicide" - the Italian equivalent of manslaughter in relation to the deaths of Senna and Ratzenberger.

In addition the Italian paper suggests that prosecutor Passarini will use evidence supplied both by the engineering faculty at the University of Bologna and by Italian Air Force experts which concludes that both drivers died because of equipment failure in their cars, rather than through their own errors.

In particular, the experts evidence suggests that modifications to the steering column on Senna's car may have caused the steeling to fail as the Brazilian negotiated the Tamburello bend, thus prompting his fatal crash into a wall.

The 17 people allegedly involved in the enquiry include 14 non Italians and comprise officials of both Senna and Ratzenberger's teams, Williams and Simtek, as well as administration of the Imola Grand Prix circuit.

Under Italian law, the defendants could face sentences of up to five years imprisonment. If the case does come to court, however, it is highly probable that any eventual conviction will result in a suspended sentence.

The speculation about the Senna and Ratzenberger deaths comes at the end of a week when Italian state television RAI underlined the immense popularity of Formula One racing with Italian sports fans by signing a four year contract with FOCA, motor racing's governing body, allegedly worth $130 million. RAI estimates that, on average, a Formula One Grand Prix attracts a televisual audience of between 4.5 and 5 million viewers.