Emerson Fittipaldi remains one of the few F1 champions who tasted success even after hopping the pond and competing in IndyCar. One of Brazil’s greatest-ever, he would have loved to go up against three-time F1 champion Ayrton Senna at one point in their career, but involvement from former McLaren team principal Ron Dennis stopped that from materializing.
Since Fittipaldi and Senna were from two very different eras, their paths never coincided in F1. By the time Senna debuted in 1984, Fittipaldi had already been gone for four years. However, he wasn’t done with racing by any means and was making waves in IndyCar in the United States. That’s where they had a chance to clash wheels in 1993.
A race involving both Senna and Fittipaldi would have been a monumental occasion for Brazilians. “I was expecting him to race Indianapolis with me,” Fittipaldi told TalkSport ahead of the Sao Paolo E-Prix. “Because that’s when I invited him to test my car in Phoenix.”
An emotional Emerson Fittipaldi remembers his dear friend Ayrton Senna
At the @Heineken F1 Festival: Senna Tribute, Fittipaldi also got to drive Senna’s iconic Lotus 97T #ObrigadoSenna #F1 pic.twitter.com/FeQbrcejlC
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 10, 2019
Senna had tested it out, and Fittipaldi revealed that he liked it. In 1993, he was set to share the grid with Fittipaldi until Dennis stepped in. Fittipaldi revealed that “Ron Dennis (who was Senna’s boss at McLaren) did not agree“, which is why the late Brazilian couldn’t pursue his desire to race in IndyCar.
That season would ultimately be Senna’s last with the Woking-based team. Fittipaldi’s wish may have come true, had another opportunity arisen a year later. However, as long as Dennis was in charge, he wanted Senna’s undivided attention on F1.
Dennis’ task of managing the star in Senna
Senna was one of the greatest in F1 history, but undoubtedly very difficult to manage. His competitiveness demanded the team’s 100% in every race of every season, which of course was welcome for most. But on the other hand, his star power and commercial appeal made him a very expensive driver to keep.
Senna had driven for Toleman and Lotus before moving to McLaren and quickly formed a close relationship with Dennis. Alain Prost, a two-time World Champion then, was already on the team and demanded to be the number one driver, as did Senna.
As such, Dennis had to carefully keep both happy and ruled with an iron fist at times to put things in order. Ultimately, things broke down and Prost, despite winning the 1989 title, left McLaren to drive for Ferrari. Senna stayed back, but not so easily.
McLaren did present the late great Brazilian driver with a great car that helped him win three Championships, but Senna demanded a lot of money — reported to be $5 million for just five races. After the British team’s performance wore off, Senna joined Williams in 1994, which turned out to be his last team in F1.
