Senna wanted Ferrari move in 1994

Former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt has revealed he turned down the chance to sign Ayrton Senna for the fateful 1994 season. Senna went on to sign for Williams and was killed in the third race of the season at Imola after suffering injuries in a high-speed crash.

Todt revealed how Senna had approached him towards the end of the 1993 when he had decided to leave a McLaren outfit that had faded from the title picture after swapping Honda engines for Ford, while the emergence of Williams and the team's many technological innovations also turned the tables.

With Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi contracted for the following season, Todt turned down the three-time world champion, who went on to secure a stunning move to Williams, where he was replacing former McLaren team-mate and rival Alain Prost.

"I spent three hours in my room with him talking about him joining Ferrari," Todt told RaceFans.net of a meeting with Senna at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix.

"At that stage, in September in Monza in '93, he was very interested to come.

"But he wanted to come [in] '94. And '94 we had two drivers with contracts, Alesi and Berger.

"I said 'we have two drivers'. He said: 'But in Formula 1, contracts is not important'. And I said to him 'for me, contracts is important'."

Senna soon after confirmed he would replace the retiring Prost at Williams, qualifying on pole position for the first three races of 1994, although failing to finish at Interlagos and Aida - in a collision with Ferrari stand-in Nicola Larini - before his fateful crash at the Tamburello Curve 25 years ago today.

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Lewis Hamilton could win an Oscar tonight as F1 takes Hollywood by storm

• 2 minutes ago

'Band back together': Hamilton and Bono celebrate on Chinese GP podium after historic race victory

• 1 hour ago

Fernando Alonso blasts latest F1 embarrassment: 'The worst show you can have'

• 2 hours ago

F1 News Today: Lewis Hamilton stars at Chinese Grand Prix, F1 winner left in tears

• 2 hours ago

Bonkers to think Oscar Piastri has had a worse start to the season than Aston Martin

• 2 hours ago

F1 Standings 2026: Lewis Hamilton fights back as Max Verstappen melts down

• 3 hours ago