He was the son of an F1 world champion but Ayrton Senna was the only driver who ‘respected’ him

Follow us on Google Discover

Ayrton Senna left McLaren at the end of the 1993 Formula 1 season. He’d been with the team for six seasons, but he no longer felt they could meet his ambitions.

Senna won all three of his world championships with the Woking outfit in a four-year spell between 1988 and 1991. But his run of dominance came to an end amid Williams’ ascent.

Nigel Mansell took the title in 1992, and Senna’s former nemesis Alain Prost kept the trophy at Grove in ’93. That was enough to lure McLaren’s biggest asset.

While Prost was his most memorable opponent, Senna raced alongside four different drivers at McLaren. The list also included Mika Hakkinen, who would go on to be the team’s next champion.

Michael Andretti and Ayrton Senna got on ‘very, very well’

Hakkinen only partnered Senna for three races, having replaced Michael Andretti at the back end of the 1993 season. Andretti, a star on the American scene and son of 1978 world champion Mario, joined the team as a rookie.

Having been on course to win in the 1992 Indy500 before a mechanical failure, Andretti was labelled a future world champion by Ron Dennis. But McLaren’s own website describes his solitary, incomplete campaign as a ‘disaster’.

Andretti scored his first podium at the Italian GP, but that wasn’t enough to save his seat. He remained mid-table in the championship as Senna fought with Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher for second place behind Prost.

The promotion of Hakkinen brought his F1 career to an end. Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast earlier this year, his father paid tribute to Senna for treating Michael with respect.

“I got to know him because my son, Michael, was his teammate,” Andretti Sr said. “Even though I was racing, I did make a couple of races, and I was in Monaco for the celebration for his world championship.

“He was the only one that respected Michael. They got on very, very well, no question.”

Andretti continued racing in his homeland, and now oversees an eponymous team in IndyCar. He was the face of Cadillac’s F1 entry until a rebrand last year.

Ayrton Senna outsmarted Ron Dennis at McLaren with a genius negotiating tactic

Senna was intent on two more world championships, hence the move to Williams. That would have seen him equal Juan Manuel Fangio, who held the record at the time.

Gian Carlo Minardi says Senna promised to race for him as soon as he’d achieved that feat. The Brazilian’s career would, of course, be cut short.

Senna’s final contract at McLaren was a race-by-race deal amid his concerns over Honda’s withdrawal. The Japanese giants had been instrumental in McLaren’s erstwhile superiority.

Ron Dennis was understandably desperate to keep the all-time great driver on board, which is why he agreed to the unique arrangement. He certainly met his match from a negotiating standpoint.

Indeed, Senna and Prost worked with the same manager during their two years together, which effectively forced Dennis to present them with equal terms.

In addition to being an extraordinary talent, Senna possessed a formidable business mind.