I have to admit I was not a fan of Senna's at the time, but as usual I was watching F1 on TV on a Sunday afternoon when tragedy struck. It was pretty clear from the start it was very serious and I guess many of us will have the memory haunting us in a sense. I remember the news of his death came quite quickly, and the following day at the university I was attending this was the only topic in very gloomy classes - even for people who could not care less about motor sports.

RIP Senna - whether or not he was the greatest will not be easily settled - so many others can claim the same (for me Fangio, Stewart, Lauda and Schumacher), but surely his premature departure robbed F1 of many thrilling years.
I could never help but think that had Senna not died and kept on racing in a competitive car, Schumacher might not have won so much or so easily. At the very least, with all due respect, to me the fact that Senna was no longer there did take away a bit of the shine to many championships afterwards.
He will be forever missed by all F1 fans.