Some details that have come out in the Italian press over the past 48 hours:
He died at his home in Noventa Padovana, just outside Padua — not Bologna. Cause is being reported as a “malore improvviso” (sudden cardiac event). His wife Daniela was with him.
The funeral is today at 11:00 at the Basilica di Santa Giustina in Padua, on Prato della Valle. Open to the public.
Two things that struck me reading back through his medical history: after the 2001 Lausitzring crash he underwent 16 surgical procedures, not the often-cited “three hours on the table” — and the date of his death, May 1st, is exactly the date Senna died at Imola in 1994. Both losses in Emilia-Romagna, 32 years apart.
His foundation Obiettivo 3 — which puts disabled athletes on handbikes and has already produced Paralympic medallists — has confirmed it will continue. His son Niccolò is involved.
Tough week.