Image credit: Instituto Ayrton Senna via Flickr, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Image credit: Instituto Ayrton Senna via Flickr, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Ayrton Senna Ferrari dream that never came, after he spent much of his career linked with Italian team.
He was one of the most talented and charismatic drivers in history of F1, and Ferrari team, many consider the pinnacle of the sport.
For Senna, driving for Ferrari wasn’t just a professional goal, it was a personal dream.
Ayrton Senna viewed Ferrari as the embodiment of F1 itself, history and passion all rolled into one.
Despite several chances to join the team, circumstances and timing meant this iconic pairing never happened.
Ayrton Senna Ferrari (The 1991 Near-Miss)
The first serious opportunity for Ayrton Senna to join Scuderia Ferrari came in 1990. But why it failed?
Cesare Fiorio, who was Ferrari’s team manager at the time, he successfully negotiated with the Brazilian star for the 1991 season.
The agreement appeared solid, with terms already settled, and it seemed that Senna’s long time dream of joining Ferrari would soon become reality.
However, Ferrari already had a top driver in Alain Prost, the three-time world champion already at the time and he was the biggest rival of Ayrton Senna.
Some reports suggest that the moment Prost discovered the deal, he asked the team to remain the Number One driver at Ferrari.
For Ferrari, who already that the situation would be complicated, they decided not to go through and bring Senna in.
Senna stayed with McLaren in 1991, and it paid off when he won the World Championship. But in F1, talent alone isn’t enough, relationships and politics can matter just as much.
1993: Todt’s Arrival and the Contract Clash – Ayrton Senna Ferrari deal
By 1993, Ferrari had undergone a leadership shift, with Jean Todt taking over as sporting director.
He reopened discussions with Senna about a potential move to the team, Jean Todt wanted to bring Ferrari back to the front, where they belonged.
Ayrton Senna’s passion for Ferrari was evident, he had long admired the team’s history and viewed it as the ultimate destination to cap off his career.
Some reports say Senna met Todt at the 1993 Monza GP to discuss joining Ferrari. At the time, the team already had contracts with Alesi and Berger for 1994, and Todt insisted they couldn’t be broken.
Ayrton Senna, argued that contract were flexible in F1, if there are opportunities things can change from race to race.
Yet Todt remained firm, he refused to breach existing commitments, a compromise was offered; a contract for the 1995 season.
Senna tested McLaren with Lamborghini engines and he was happy to have them for 1994, but McLaren had different ideas and made a deal with Peugeot for 1994 season.
Reports suggest that after that deal, Ayrton Senna was looking for alternatives, and he went to Williams for 1994, a team that was competing at the front, winning titles in F1 in 1992 with Nigel Mansell and 1993 with Alain Prost (who retired from F1 at the end of 1993).
Even after that, it was clear that Senna’s desire to drive for Ferrari was more than a fleeting interest, according to many sources; his dream was to retire driving for Scuderia Ferrari.
Those years were difficult for Scuderia Ferrari, especially in 1991 and 1992, but Ayrton Senna dream was just to drive for the team, and probably bring them at the top.
Ayrton Senna Ferrari; The Final Talks in 1994
The 1994 season began with Senna at Williams, a team he respected but where the car proved challenging, FW16 grew as reliability issues and handling difficulties limited his competitiveness.
During this difficult period, Senna reached out to Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, expressing his desire to finish his career with the Italian team.
Days before the San Marino GP, Senna and di Montezemolo met to discuss possibilities for the future.
Senna reportedly told the Ferrari president that driving for Ferrari was a personal dream, one that would cap off his remarkable career.
They agreed to continue discussions about a potential move, with Senna still under contract at Williams, tragially, this would be the last time the two men would meet.
Ayrton Senna lost his life at Imola shortly afterward, leaving his Ferrari dream forever unfulfilled.
Gerhardt Berger and Jean Alesi, continued to drive for Scuderia Ferrari for 1995, before Ferrari signing the German driver Michael Schumacher, who later become the most successful driver of all time in history of the sport, driving for Scuderia Ferrari team.
CONTENT CONTINUES BELOW
Ayrton Senna Ferrari; A Dream That Lives On
Senna’s passion for Ferrari was well known to those closest to him, his partner, Adriane Galisteu, recounted private conversations in which he spoke of Ferrari with intense admiration and love, calling it a goal he had always longed to reach.
Senna was 34, he would have been 35 in 1995, and Ferrari was not strong enough to give him a winning car, but by 1997, it could have been possible to win the title again in F1.
For Senna, Ferrari represented more than a team, it was the embodiment of Formula 1 itself, a final destination where his legacy could have been forever sealed in red.
His story is one of F1’s greatest “what ifs,” a reminder that even the most talented drivers can be limited by timing and circumstance.
