11/05/2005
NEWS STORY
Over eleven years after the death of F1 legend Ayrton Senna, an Italian state prosecutor has asked for the manslaughter trial relating to the Brazilian's death be dropped.
Having been acquitted of manslaughter charges in 1997, a decision which was upheld in 1999, a new trial for former technical director Patrick Head and chief designer Adrian Newey, now with McLaren, was ordered in 2003, due to "material errors" - thought to relate to the appeals process - in the previous trials.
When the new trial opened today (Wednesday), state prosecutor Rinaldo Rosini asked for the case to be closed due to the statute of limitations, which effectively means that time has run out.
The exact cause of the accident which resulted in Senna's death is still unclear, however, Head and Newey have always denied authorizing changes to the Brazilian's car that may have played a part in the accident.
It's believed that both Head and Newey will want the trial to go ahead in order that they can finally clear their names.