F1 legend Ayrton Senna was ready to sign for Ferrari, but the move never happened - here's why

Three-time champion and motorsport icon Ayrton Senna was ready to make a move to Ferrari prior to his Williams switch in 1994, an F1 insider has revealed.

Senna has become one of the most recognisable figures in motorsport since his tragic passing on May 1, 1994, with many modern F1 stars citing the Brazilian legend as their inspiration for getting into the sport in the first place.

The 41-time grand prix winner competed in 11 F1 championships and won three drivers' titles in 1988, 1990 and 1991, all with McLaren, but his influence is still felt in the pinnacle of motorsport today.

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton is a famous fan, with the Brit even enjoying the privilege of driving his hero's title-winning McLaren MP4/5B during a special demo run in 2024 at Senna's home track, Interlagos.

Hamilton has much in common with Senna across his F1 career, and though both drivers earned their maiden championship victory with McLaren, only the Brit was able to achieve his childhood dream of racing in red with the Scuderia.

But it seems Senna was a lot closer to a move to Maranello than previously thought. F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen tells all on McLaren move as Marko lands new Red Bull role

Jean Todt: Ayrton Senna was 'dream' Ferrari driver

In a recent appearance on the High Performance podcast, Jean Todt revealed just how much Senna wanted to move to Ferrari in the 90s, explaining why he was unable to hand him a contract despite the three-time champion being his 'dream driver'.

Todt has shaped F1 more than many and is the man credited with leading the Scuderia through their most dominant period in the sport with none other than Michael Schumacher as their lead driver.

But Senna was keen to lead the Ferrari resurgence.

Speaking in the recent podcast, Todt revealed that Senna was the first driver he had his eyes on whilst at the helm of Ferrari, having been recruited by the Scuderia's CEO at the time, Luca di Montezemolo.

"The first dream driver I discussed was Ayrton Senna during the Monza Grand Prix in '93," Todt said.

"I remember he came to my room in Villa d'Este. We were staying in the same hotel and we spent part of the night together to speak about him joining Ferrari and he wanted to come.

"He wanted to come but he wanted to come in ‘94 and in ' 94 we already had a contract with Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi and I said to him '94 will not be possible.

"First we will not be ready yet and then we have a contract, and he answered to me, 'in Formula 1, contracts are not important,’ I said for me, a contract is important."

The former Ferrari General Manager then clarified that he instead wanted Senna to move to the Scuderia for '95, with podcast host Jake Humphrey exclaiming: "Ayrton Senna wanted to drive for Ferrari."

The Ferrari legend then continued, revealing that he had heard whispers of Senna showing interest in the Scuderia before his time at the team, adding: "I heard there were some contacts before me, but I cannot talk about, I don't know.

"I mean with me as the head of the Formula 1 team, it was a discussion in September '93 for him arriving in '95 and he wanted to arrive in '94. That's why he went to Williams.

"So after that, ‘94 we still had the same drivers but we were rebuilding the team. ‘95 still rebuilding the team and then we knew that ‘96 was the year really to try to have… you know very often also amongst engineers some were saying, the chassis people, 'we don't have a good engine’, the engine people, 'we don't have a good chassis,’ and then above all we don't have good drivers so I say okay let's make sure nobody will be able to say [that]."

So who did Todt recruit to ensure he never faced questions over his driver lineup again? Schumacher of course. "As he was the best driver, we had to convince to take him," Todt concluded, discussing the partnership that resulted in five consecutive championship victories for the German racer and the Italian team between 2000 and 2004.

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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