The poignant Senna and Ratzenberger link to the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix

This year will mark 30 years since the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix weekend.

The tragic events of Imola ushered in a series of rule changes and safety advancements that meant it would be 20 years before another driver suffered injuries which would prove fatal when Jules Bianchi succumbed to his 2014 Japanese Grand Prix injuries in July 2015.

The deaths of Ratzenberger, in just his second Grand Prix weekend and three-time World Champion Senna, hold a poignant link to the season-opening race of 2024 - the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Ratzenberger and Senna link

The 1994 San Marino GP weekend was race number #551 in the history of the World Championship from the first at Silverstone for the 1950 British Grand Prix.

This weekend's Bahrain GP is race number #1102 meaning half of the total number of World Championship Grands Prix ever held have been done so since Ratzenberger and Senna were killed.

The fact that F1 has held 551 races, as of this weekend, in 30 seasons since Imola also goes to show the calendar expansion.

1994 was the 45th season of the World Championship, with an average of 12.2 races per year. To get through 551 races in 30 seasons, this climbs to 18.3 races per year.

The table below shows some landmark F1 Grands Prix.