and was declared unfit to race by Watkins. Despite it being only the second race of the season, Piquet tried to persuade officials to allow him to compete knowing any lost points could lose him the championship (which he ultimately won). In response, Watkins threatened to resign if overruled. The officials opted to support Watkins, and Piquet sat out the race, later admitting that it was the correct decision. 1990s Watkins founded the Brain and Spine Foundation in 1992, a charity that aims to improve "the prevention, treatment and care of people affected by disorders of the brain and spine". He was a Patron of the foundation. At the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Watkins had to attend to his close personal friend, three-time champion Ayrton Senna, following the accident which claimed his life. Watkins had concerns about Senna's mental state following two crashes earlier in the weekend that had injured Senna's countryman and protege Rubens Barrichello and killed Austrian Roland Ratzenberger, suggesting to him that the two leave the track, go fishing, and forget about the race. Early in the race, Senna hit a retaining wall at nearly 140 miles per hour and Watkins was the first to attend to the driver. He reported that based on what he ascertained on arriving at the scene, that there was no chance Senna could have been saved, due to the graveness of the head injury he had suffered. Watkins also said he noticed Senna sighed, and his whole body relaxed, and that, though he was not religious, he felt it was at that moment Senna's "spirit left his body". The FIA Expert Advisory Safety Committee was set up in 1994 following the race and Watkins was appointed as its chairman. Watkins was also responsible for setting up a rally research group and karting research group in 2003. The three groups were brought together in 2004 as the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety, with Watkins as president. For the 1995 European Grand Prix, Rubens Barrichello and Max Papis failed their drug tests after the Saturday qualifying session when both tested positive for ephedrine. Watkins later argued that ephedrine had no effect on a driver's ability and that Formula One should not use exactly the same list as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in any case. At the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, Mika Häkkinen crashed heavily during the Friday qualifying session at