Ex-Ferrari F1 boss reveals how he denied Senna a chance to sign with the team

Former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt has revealed the crucial roadblock that stopped Ayrton Senna from signing with Ferrari in the early 1990s.

When Lewis Hamilton signed for Ferrari ahead of the 2024 season, a year before his eventual switch from Mercedes, it was the biggest story in world sport, transcending motorsport alone.

Had Todt been willing to rip up the contract of either Gerhard Berger or Jean Alesi for the 1994 season, the news would have caused exactly the same level of hype.

Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Todt said: "The first dream driver I discussed (with Ferrari) was Ayrton Senna.

"He came to my room and we spent part of the night together, to speak about him joining Ferrari, and he wanted to come. He wanted to come, but in '94. In '94, we already had contracts with Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi.

"So, I said to him that '94 would not be possible. Firstly, we were not ready yet, and then we have a contract. He answered to me, 'In Formula 1, contracts are not important'. I said, 'For me, a contract is important'.”

This principle is an altogether rare one in F1, especially in modern times, with release clauses now commonplace and drivers often attempting, and succeeding, in forcing through a move regardless of what is written down in their arrangements.

Prior to his fateful move to Williams for the 1994 season, Senna had been racing with McLaren, the team with which he is most associated, and with whom he secured all three of his world titles.

The move could have happened a season earlier, with Honda pulling out of F1, but a ‘No Senna’ clause in Alain Prost’s Williams contract prevented this from being a possibility, even with the Brazilian offering to race for free to skirt the issue.

Todt added: "I heard there was some contact before me, but I cannot talk about that. With me, at 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 is why he went to Williams."