When you think of Scuderia Ferrari, three faces come to mind: Michael Schumacher, Jean Todt, and Ross Brawn. The Holy Trinity of Formula 1 racing broke records considered unbreakable and, most importantly, established a new standard of performance in F1. According to Todt, however, that trinity could’ve looked quite different had things gone a certain way. It could’ve been Ayrton Senna.
In a recent appearance on the High Performance YouTube channel, the former Ferrari boss and FIA president described an interaction with the Brazilian legend that could’ve drastically altered the course of Scuderia Ferrari, the sport, and sadly, Senna’s own life.
“It was in Monza 1993, I remember, he [Senna] came to my room in Villa d’Este,” said Todt during the interview. “We were staying in the same hotel, and we spent part of the night together to speak about him joining Ferrari. He wanted to come, he wanted to come, but he wanted to come in 1994.”
If you’re familiar with Senna’s timeline of his last year at McLaren, you know he was emotionally (and professionally) torn about his next steps. Part of him wanted to remain at McLaren, a team that had helped create the Senna legend, per se. Ron Dennis and Jo Ramirez did their best to convince him, but a gradually underperforming team with no clear path forward and a revolving door of teammates wasn’t part of Senna’s strategy. All along, his good friend Prof. Sid Watkins and girlfriend (rumored to be fiancée) Adriane Galisteu were trying their best to get the three-time F1 champ to retire, or at least take a sabbatical.
And while it’s been long-rumored that Senna sought out Ferrari, this is, as far as I know, the first official retelling of Senna’s official interactions with the team.
“In ’94, we already had a contract with Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi, and I said to him, ‘1994 will not be possible. In fact, we will not be ready yet, and we have those [driver] contracts.’
“And he answered to me, ‘In Formula 1, contracts are not important.’ And I said, ‘Yes, but for me, contracts are important.'”
Per Todt’s account, it’s clear that Senna really wanted to move to Ferrari. Ferrari really wanted Senna, but wanted him for the 1995 season. As he explains later on in the interview, Ferrari was in shambles. It hadn’t won anything in years; it had aging, primarily Italian staff who pointed their fingers at each other; and ultimately, the team’s misfortunes were always blamed on drivers who couldn’t “drive the car.”
If Todt could hire Senna for 1995, he could end the finger-pointing. Unfortunately, despite Senna’s push over several months of negotiations—and I’m sure Ferrari’s strong desire to hire him—the deal could not be done due to the timing. Senna went to Williams, and the rest we already know too well.
“He wanted to come, but he wanted to come in 1994,” he added. “Senna wanted to drive for Ferrari—I heard Ferrari wanted him before that, and there were some contacts between the two before [I joined Ferrari], but I cannot talk about what I don’t know. But with me as the head of the Formula 1 team, this discussion was in September 1993 for him arriving in 1995—but he wanted to arrive in 1994.
“That’s why he went to Williams. So, after that, in 1994, Ferrari still had the same drivers, but we were rebuilding the team. In 1995, we were still rebuilding the team, and then we knew that 1996 was the year, really, to try to have [a star driver],” said Todt.
The rest of the interview delves into Todt’s initial contact with Schumacher and Willi Weber in 1995, and how they signed a contract in Monaco after just 24 hours of negotiations. Schumacher then joined Ferrari in 1997. As you may know, it was not sunshine and rainbows from the start, but what those three eventually accomplished will always be one of the most dominant performances not just in F1, but all competitive sports.
Jean Todt: The Mastermind Behind Ferrari and Schumacher’s Dominant Era
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