Former McLaren CEO and Chairman Ron Dennis revealed how he negotiated a contract with 3-time World Champion Ayrton Senna.
Ayrton Senna is one of the most renowned drivers in the history of F1. He is considered one of the best the sport has ever seen and was seen as a hero by many.
The Brazilian legend enjoyed his best spell in F1 with McLaren under the leadership of then CEO Ron Dennis. Senna raced for the team between 1988 and 1993.
With the British team, he would amass 46 pole positions, and 55 podiums and resume a fiery rivalry with teammate Alain Prost. Senna also claimed 35 of his 41 F1 race wins and all 3 World Championship titles with McLaren.
He would knock on the doors of Ron Dennis in 1982. Senna requested McLaren to offer him a test drive option for their F1 team. But Dennis was only offering to sponsor his seat in the Formula 3 series.
Senna declined the offer made by Dennis and was adamant about testing for F1. He was given the chance to do so in 1983 and this time he immediately caught Dennis’s eye.
He was turned down by McLaren as the team did not have a vacant seat. But having caught Dennis’s attention, he got the seat in 1988 where he paired with Prost.
Also Read: How Brazillian legend made his way into Formula One
How Ron Dennis and Ayrton Senna negotiated over a coin flip
The 3-time world champion got the chance to race for McLaren in the 1988 season replacing Stefan Johansson. He was already heavily backed by Honda. And immediately Senna found his magic with the infamous McLaren MP4/4.
But ahead of this, Dennis and Senna were yet to sort out the contract. Although McLaren and Senna were thorough with most of the details, there were questions regarding what would be the Brazillian’s pay.
Dennis recalls, “Ayrton and I started to headbutt on the number. There was no way he wasn’t going to drive the car and there was no way we weren’t going to contract him to us.”
He adds, “But we couldn’t agree about the money. We were arguing over half a million dollars and I came up with the idea of us flicking a coin to decide. I flipped the coin and won the bet.”
This ingenious idea by Dennis proved to be a big win for McLaren as the duo were settling a long-term contract. Dennis said, “At the time neither of us twigged that we’d tossed a coin over a three-year contract. Which means the net result was $1.5 Million.”
Senna being a man of his word took the deal. His trailblazing performance in the 1988 F1 season saw him claim 13 pole positions in 16 races. Senna won 8 races and win his maiden Championship title.
