Gerhard Berger unexpectedly came face to face with an extraordinary piece of his Formula 1 history during a visit to OMP’s headquarters in Ronco Scrivia. The former Ferrari driver discovered that the company still had the fire-damaged gloves he wore during his terrifying accident at Imola in 1989.
The Austrian had travelled to the Racing Force Group facility near Genoa as an ordinary customer, intending to purchase racing suits for his nine-year-old son Johan. Instead, a walk through the headquarters became an emotional reunion with the equipment that had protected his hands while his Ferrari was engulfed in flames for 23 seconds.
OMP’s equipment passed the ultimate test at Imola
Some pieces of Formula 1 history survive long after completing their life on the track, occasionally having passed the proverbial trial by fire in the process. In the case of the exhibits displayed inside the small museum at OMP’s renovated Ronco Scrivia headquarters, that description can be taken literally.
The Italian company is part of Racing Force Group and has a long history of producing specialist motorsport safety equipment. Today, OMP manufactures race suits, gloves and other fire-resistant clothing on behalf of Adidas for Formula 1 World Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, his Mercedes teammate George Russell and Audi drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.
OMP’s involvement in Formula 1 stretches back several decades, but 23 April 1989 became a defining date in the company’s history.
Gerhard Berger’s terrifying 1989 Imola fire
During the 1989 San Marino Grand Prix, Gerhard Berger suffered a violent accident at Imola’s Tamburello corner while driving for Ferrari. His car struck the barriers and caught fire, leaving the Austrian surrounded by flames for 23 seconds before the marshals managed to extinguish the blaze.
Despite the severity of the impact and fire, Berger escaped with relatively minor burns and a fractured rib. The injury forced him to miss only the following Grand Prix, an outcome that was particularly remarkable given the circuit, the corner involved and the safety standards of that era.
OMP supplied Berger with his race suit, fireproof underwear and gloves. The company continues to remember the incident with pride, displaying the scorched gloves as evidence of how its equipment performed under the most extreme conditions. Berger has also previously paid tribute to the Imola marshals who rescued him from the burning Ferrari.
Berger unexpectedly discovers his burnt gloves
OMP shared a video of the reunion on social media, showing a visibly delighted Gerhard Berger when he recognised the equipment that had protected his hands. He admitted that he had not known what had happened to the gloves after the accident.
“I didn’t know where they had ended up, and I’ve just realised that you had them,” Berger explained. “I’m always happy to visit old friends, and OMP was my supplier for a long time. We share many memories, including Imola. I was surrounded by flames for a long time. It was quite a serious accident, but I survived. Everything worked as it should, including these gloves.”
The 66-year-old had not travelled to the facility specifically to revisit his own racing career. Berger arrived as a customer to buy competition suits for Johan, who races karts at the age of nine and dreams of following in his father’s footsteps.
The accident that changed Berger’s attitude to fireproof clothing
Gerhard Berger also recalled that a visit to fellow racing driver Kris Nissen shortly before the Imola Grand Prix had convinced him to take every possible precaution with his protective clothing.
“Not long before Imola, I went to see Kris Nissen, who had suffered a serious accident in Japan,” Berger added. “His car caught fire, but he had only a T-shirt beneath his race suit and suffered burns across his whole body. I told myself that from then on, I would never again wear a simple T-shirt, only fireproof material. At Imola, that was my good fortune.”
Berger stressed that drivers must use all the protection available to them, even when the heat inside the cockpit makes additional fireproof layers uncomfortable.
“Even when it is hot, you have to take every possible precaution. What OMP does for drivers is very important because its products are always involved when accidents happen. Fire can be a threat, and having effective protection is fundamental,” he continued.
“A great deal of technology goes into making racing clothing, with many aspects that may not be visible from the outside. People might think it is just work clothing, but it is not.”
Imola crash became a turning point for OMP
At the time of Berger’s accident, regulations concerning what drivers wore beneath their race suits were sometimes applied with considerable flexibility. The final decision was often left to the competitors themselves, meaning some chose to wear ordinary clothing rather than complete fire-resistant undergarments.
Modern Formula 1 is very different. Advances in both technology and regulation have allowed the FIA to impose far more demanding standards, sometimes amid debate, to provide drivers with the highest possible level of protection. The continued development of more fire-resistant Formula 1 gloves demonstrates how safety equipment has continued to evolve in response to serious accidents.
OMP has contributed to that progress by investing in innovation, research and development. Its objective has been to create materials that are lighter and more comfortable without compromising the increasingly advanced protection required during crashes and fires. The company remains one of the Italian engineering specialists supporting Formula 1 away from the public spotlight.
Luigi Rossi recalls watching Berger’s accident live
Luigi Rossi, Racing Force Group’s marketing director, had been working at the company for only a few months when the crash occurred. Gerhard Berger was also the first Formula 1 driver Rossi had personally assisted in defining and developing a product.
“I watched the accident live on television and, I admit, after all those seconds in the flames, my immediate thought was that I would have to change jobs,” Rossi recalled. “But everything ended well, both for Gerhard Berger and for us.”
Rossi explained that OMP’s primary achievement had been to work in accordance with the regulations already in force. The way its equipment protected Berger helped establish the company’s reputation for quality and seriousness around the world, providing a decisive boost to its position in motorsport.
“Our merit, first and foremost, was that we worked in compliance with the regulations,” Rossi added. “From that moment, our professionalism and quality were recognised throughout the world, giving OMP a decisive push. We did not stop. On the contrary, we immediately began developing even more protective equipment.”
The scorched gloves now displayed in Ronco Scrivia remain both a reminder of one of the most frightening moments of Berger’s Ferrari career and a symbol of the safety progress that followed. Decades after the fiery Imola accident, their unexpected reunion also showed why apparently simple pieces of racing equipment can become invaluable parts of Formula 1 history.
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