Ayrton Senna commented in multiple interviews that he would have liked to run with FerrariIt is known that there were several interviews between both parties to finalize the process, but it was never carried out for various reasons. However, days before the 1994 San Marino GP, in which Ayrton Senna lost his life, the driver and the Italian team got together in a secret meeting that, until recently, it was unknown what it was about.
Thanks to the Beyond The Grid podcast, an official Formula 1 communication channel, Luca di Montezemolo, former Ferrari president, spoke for the first time about that specific meeting he had with Senna four days before his death.
“I invited him to my house in Bologna, half an hour from Imola by car and we met for dinner. Then we went back to Imola and had one of the most intense talks of my life, ” said Montezemolo.
“I want to find a way to join us at the end of the season,” Luca di Montezemolo mentioned to Senna. “I signed with Williams but you know if i had the chance to get to FerrariI would prefer,” Ayrton Senna replied.
“I will consider to see if there is any legal option to go with you a season later,” Senna finished.
“I want to finish my career at Ferrari and become world champion with you,” Montezmolo assures that were the last words Senna said to him.
The idea was for the Brazilian driver to migrate to Ferrari for 1996, the same year he arrived Michael Schumacher to the team, so it would have been one of the most interesting pairs of all time in F1. Montezmolo commented that this was not the only meeting with Senna, since in 1993 they tried to sign the pilot, but they had just signed a contract with Gerhard Berger.
It was a personal matter for the driver, but the current against driving aids helped Ferrari and Senna think along the same lines. The team disagreed with the electronic traction and active suspension aids, points that were not happy either. Ayrton.
However, the yellow helmet never made it to the red car and the possibility of one of the best signings in F1 history vanished with the driver’s death.
