Jean Todt breaks his silence on the failed negotiation of 1994 and explains why he barred the three-time champion from joining the Italian team
Jean Todt, former Ferrari director and former president of the FIA, has revealed unprecedented details about the negotiation that almost brought Ayrton Senna to the Italian team for the 1994 season. In an interview with the High Performance podcast, the manager recalled a private meeting that took place in Lake Como, Italy, in 1993, where the Brazilian openly expressed his desire to transfer to the Ferrari team.
The obstacle to the agreement, according to Todt, was strictly contractual. At that time, Senna was looking for an alternative to McLaren and wanted a seat at Ferrari in the year 94. However, the Italian team had ongoing commitments with Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger. Todt reports that Senna even argued that, in Formula 1, “contracts are worth nothing”, but the manager insisted on honoring the bonds established with his drivers at the time.
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Faced with Todt’s refusal to break with Alesi or Berger for 1994, the talks were postponed for an eventual agreement in 1995. Without the immediate vacancy at Ferrari, the Brazilian driver opted to sign with Williams, the team that had the most technical and efficient car on the grid at the time. The outcome of this choice culminated in the tragic accident in Imola, in May 1994.
Todt also drew a parallel with Ferrari’s restructuring that began in that decade. After the impossibility of counting on Senna, the manager focused his efforts on Michael Schumacher. The negotiation with the German, which took place in 1995, was resolved in just 24 hours in Monaco.
