Ayrton Senna was undoubtedly among the best drivers of all time. Many even hail him as the greatest ever regarding raw pace. However, his racing career stopped when he died in a crash during a race.
He was still on the better side of his 30s and a few years away before he could decide to retire finally. Had he been able to continue, he could have had some success instead of being a three-time world champion.
But his death is not the only reason he got lesser world titles compared to Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and his biggest rival, Alain Prost.
The Brazilian race driver was in Williams during his final race days. The team was still a force to reckon with, and had he made his timing right, he could have had more.
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Ayrton Senna could have been a four-time world champion
The Brazilian race driver before Williams was in McLaren, where he had won three titles. But in 1992, the Woking-based team slipped in performances, and it was Williams with the faster car.
Nigel Mansell, in his career, finally managed to win his maiden and only championship as he led Williams to glory. On the other hand, Senna finished P4 in the standings. But things could have been different if Senna hadn’t taken loyalty too seriously.
“Ayrton wanted to go to Williams, but he was loyal to Honda,” Julian Jakobi, Senna’s manager, said in the latest episode of F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast. “His basic instinct was to go to Williams earlier, but he was loyal, particularly to Mr. [Nobuhiko] Kawamoto, the president of Honda.”
Jakobi claims Senna was close to Kawamoto as their association with McLaren brought the Brazilian into the team, which together won three championships in 1988, 1990 and 1991. Thus, giving it another year.
Had Senna gone there, Nigel Mansell would never have been the champion
During the Belgian Grand Prix in 1991, Jakobi claims he brought two offers: a contract extension from McLaren and a Williams contract. Senna was eager to join Williams, knowing it was becoming the title favourite.
However, a call with Kawamoto changed Senna’s decision overnight, and he decided to stay. Senna’s former managed claims that if Senna had gone, Mansell wouldn’t have been in Williams, but with the Brazilian backing out, the latter got a lifeline and resulted in him winning the title.
But after the 1992 season, Honda decided to cease its F1 operations, infuriating Senna. He was even close to taking a sabbatical from F1 as Prost did in 1992. In the end, Senna gave another year to McLaren and finished runner-up in the 1993 season. In 1994 he joined Williams, but it didn’t go well.
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