Quotes of the week

There are no small accidents on this circuit. Ayrton Senna, before the San Marino Grand Prix.

Motor racing has always been dangerous, and it takes a weekend like this to scrape away that very thin veneer of apparent safety. The performance of the cars is stunning and I believe cornering speeds are probably in excess of what circuits are capable of safely taking. Damon Hill.

There will never be another Senna. The poet of speed is dead. El Diario, Bolivian sports newspaper.

Senna was the greatest driver ever and when someone like him is killed you have to ask yourself what is the point of it all. Niki Lauda.

It naturally shakes you but in the end either you want to be a racing driver or you don't. Mark Blundell.

There is no way to explain what has happened, but we have to learn from this. Michael Schumacher.

I lost an idol and a friend. Rubens Barrichello, Senna's Brazilian compatriot.

I told him that as the No 1 driver and a world champion, it was up to him to work at making the sport safer. He completely agreed but unfortunately he cannot do anything now. Niki Lauda, who spoke with Senna the day before the San Marino race.

As a mark of respect for Senna, I will never get into a Formula One car again. He was the only opponent I truly respected. Alain Prost.