The pairing would have undoubtedly been the most talked-about in the history of the sport, but it never took place.
Three-time world champion Ayrton Senna came close to racing for Ferrari, but it was prevented by a technicality.
When Senna was given a seat for the 1995 season, Jean Todt, who is today the team leader of AlphaTauri, was the team manager of Ferrari. But he desired it for the previous season.
“I still want to be behind the wheel of the Ferrari on my final start, final lap, and final race, even if it is just as sluggish as a Volkswagen Beetle. The myth of Formula One is Ferrari. The custom, the heart, and the passion”
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Senna and Ferrari, Ayrton
The president of Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, stated last week that Ayrton Senna had discussed joining the Prancing Horse in 1994 and that the Brazilian would have finished his career there.
Di Montezemolo detailed correspondence from 1994 in a piece on the Ferrari website:
He desired to join Ferrari, and I desired to have him on the squad. We got together on April 27 at my house in Bologna while he was in the country for the San Marino Grand Prix. He expressed his gratitude to me for taking a stand against the excessive use of electronic aids while driving, which he claimed obscured a driver’s abilities. After a lengthy conversation, he made it obvious to me that Ferrari was where he intended to end his career after nearly joining us a few years prior. We promised to get together again soon to discuss how we could get around his current contractual commitments.
Senna was 34 at the time, therefore the fictitious relocation would have undoubtedly taken place soon after, possibly as early as 1995.
It would have been a dream come true for many fans, especially those who are drawn to the color red, to see the most renowned driver in the sport link up with its most recognizable organization.
Attila Senna
The Formula One World Drivers’ Championship was won by Ayrton Senna da Silva in 1988, 1990, and 1991 (Brazilian Portuguese: [a’iRto’sena da’siwva](listen); 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994). Senna won 65 pole positions, which was a record until 2006, and 41 Grands Prix. He is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to have won the World Championship. While racing for the Williams team and taking the lead in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, he was killed in an accident. Senna is regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers in the history of the sport by the media, analysts, and spectators.
Karting was where Senna started his motorsport career. In 1981, he advanced to open-wheel racing, and in 1983, he won the British Formula Three Championship. In 1984, he made his Formula One debut driving for Toleman-Hart. The following year, he switched to Lotus-Renault, where he won six Grands Prix over the following three seasons. He joined fellow Frenchman Alain Prost at McLaren-Honda in 1988. Together, they won 15 of the Grands Prix that year, leaving only one for a loss, and Senna won his first World Championship. Senna won his second and third championships in 1990 and 1991, while Prost won the title in 1989. The Williams-Renault team started to rule Formula One in 1992. Senna was able to secure a transfer to Williams for the 1994 season while winning five races and finishing the 1993 season in second place.
Senna held the record for the most pole positions from 1989 to 2006, and he was known for his qualifying pace over a lap. Additionally, he received praise for his efforts in wet conditions at races like the European Grand Prix in 1993 and the Grand Prix of Portugal in 1985. He is the fifth-most successful driver of all time in terms of race wins, holds the record with six victories in the Monaco Grand Prix, and has won more races for McLaren than any other driver. Throughout his racing career, Senna courted controversy, especially during his contentious rivalry with Prost. Senna and Prost collided during the Japanese Grands Prix in 1989 and 1990, which each decided the championship for that particular year.
McDonald MP4/5
Due to McLaren’s success in 1988, it was able to devote a lot of time and energy to the MP4/5 project. This was equipped with a 3.5 V10 Honda engine because turbocharged engines were outlawed and normally aspirated engines became the standard.
The MP4/5 was the focus of one of the most iconic F1 moments and a key turning point in the storied Senna-Prost rivalry.
At the penultimate race, the Japanese Grand Prix, the teammates were battling for position when they collided and stopped on lap 46 at the final chicane. Prost immediately withdrew from the race, but Senna’s car was carried out to the circuit, pitted for repairs, and eventually won. Senna’s push-start, however, disqualified him from the race results and gave Prost the victory.
Senna was incensed and promised never to forget what he felt to be the decision’s injustice.
Senna had the better season on paper, winning six races to Prost’s four, in a sort of reverse of the previous year. When the relationship finally broke out, Prost moved to Ferrari for the 1990 season.
How Ayrton Senna Craving a Ferrari F1 Seat: “The Tradition, the Soul, the Passion”
In the world of Formula One, nobody can ever forget the name Ayrton Senna. He was one of the sport’s most brilliant and endearing drivers ever. Senna was the driver who contributed to the development of contemporary Formula 1. However, if this one thing had happened before the Brazilian’s unfortunate demise, everything might have been different.
98T Lotus
Ayrton Senna of Lotus Renault crosses the finish line first, defeating Nigel Mansell of Williams FW11 by 0.014 seconds.
Senna was teamed in 1986 by Lotus with British driver Johnny Dumfries, a Scottish peer who later won the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans. Off the track, he was known as Earl of Dumfries.
Despite the Scotsman’s brilliance, he couldn’t compete with teammate Senna in the Lotus 98T. The Brazilian won the Spanish Grand Prix in one of the closest races in F1 history, and two months later, when he won again in Detroit, he left the US leading the championship.
Despite the promising position, Senna’s challenge was unsuccessful due to five retirements in the final nine races. Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, and winner Prost all scored more than his total of 55 points, but Dumfries only placed in the top two three times.
Did Senna compete for Ferrari in a world championship?
Senna took Prost’s Ferrari out at the first corner of Suzuka in 1990 to exact retribution and win his second championship. Senna’s third victory, in 1991, was simple as his dominance as a driver and his fixation with improving even further became more apparent.
What vehicles possessed Senna?
- 1988. Senna’s powerful McLaren MP4/4 from that season helped him win his first world championship in 1988.
- 1989. Driving a McLaren MP4/5 in 1989 was Senna.
- 1990. Senna raced the McLaren MP4/5B in 1990.
- 1991. Senna’s new Honda V12-powered MP4/6 helped him win the season-opening United States GP.
Who was Senna’s driving team?
Between 1988 and 1993, Ayrton raced for McLaren, winning the F1 World Championships in 1988, 1990, and 1991. In honor of the legendary Ayrton Senna, we’ve also looked back at the career of Bruce McLaren, the man who founded McLaren and competed in 101 Grands Prix, winning four of them. He was born in 1937.
What transpired between McLaren and Senna?
Given that both drivers are frequently recognized as among the best to participate in the sport, the Senna-Prost rivalry is regarded as one of the strongest rivalries in Formula One to date. Prost joined Niki Lauda at McLaren in 1984, and in 1985 he won his first championship. The following year, he won his second. Prost was the one who persuaded McLaren’s executives to sign Senna away from Team Lotus in 1988. The rivalry is claimed to have begun at this time, when Senna just barely defeated Prost to claim the 1988 championship. Allegations of preferential treatment and favoritism for Senna finally led to Prost moving for Ferrari in 1990 as the rivalry between teammates reached a head in 1989. In the end, this resulted in a fierce manufacturer rivalry between Ferrari and McLaren.
Senna won the South American Kart Championship in 1977. As a result of his success, he went on to compete in the international karting scene, where he placed second in the Karting World Championships in 1979 and 1980. In the succeeding years, Senna would continue his ascent to Formula. Prost, who is five years Senna’s older, was born in a French hamlet called Saint-Chamond not far from the cities of Lyon and Saint-Etienne. After dropping out of school in 1974 to pursue a career as a full-time racer, Prost went on to claim many national and international karting titles before making his Formula 1 debut in 1980 for the McLaren team, which was then led by Teddy Mayer.
Following his results in the 1983 British Formula 3 Championship, Senna initially entered the Formula 1 field. Senna tested Senna’s vehicles for Williams, McLaren, and Brabham during this time. Senna, however, was unable to get a spot with either of these teams the ensuing season and was forced to accept a seat with Toleman, who were now in their fourth season and had yet to finish a race higher than fourth position.
Even though Prost had already won two Formula One World Championships, Senna’s unrelenting driving style frequently contradicted Prost’s methodical approach. Due to their divergent racing styles and the fact that both men drove a superior vehicle, it was inevitable that there would be extremely contentious situations both on and off the track. Prost concluded their Formula One careers with 51 victories and 4 world championships. Prior to his passing in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Senna had won 41 races and three world championships.
Had Senna the best vehicle?
With a switch to McLaren for the 1988 season, Senna’s ascent continued, and he was given the best car of his career. The Steve Nichols-designed Honda-powered MP4/4 is still one of the most dominant F1 vehicles of all time, according to some.
At the Monaco Grand Prix, Senna had one of his most illustrious efforts in this vehicle. Senna beat Prost to qualify by 1.427 seconds and afterwards compared the lap to an out-of-body experience.
Senna subsequently admitted, “I was kind of driving it by instinct.” “I had entered another dimension. I felt as though I was in a tunnel that was completely unfamiliar to me.”
“I had reached my limit and couldn’t take it any further. I never truly experienced that emotion again.”
Senna, who was determined to humiliate Prost, disregarded warnings to slow down during the race and crashed on the Sunday when comfortably in the lead.
The 2010 documentary on Senna’s career prominently included footage of that incident.
In the great scheme of the season, where the MP4/4 won all but one of the 16 races, the DNF was of no consequence. Senna had seven of them, which were sufficient for him to win his first title.
Due to a rule anomaly, Prost actually outperformed Senna during the season, 105 points to 94. However, only a driver’s top 11 finishes counted towards the title; in those standings, Senna outperformed Prost with a score of 90 to 87.
In what vehicle did Senna pass away?
Pedro Lamy and JJ Lehto had a violent collision at the opening of the race that sent pieces of debris into the audience and hurt spectators. To slow the field and enable the cleanup of debris, track authorities deployed the Opel Vectra safety car, driven by German Formula Three racer Max Angelelli.